Whats so hard about planting a church.

 

I often get asked what the hardest part about church planting is. Honestly, it has taken me quite some time to articulate the answer to that question. The truth is we are very new into the process, but I can say emphatically this is the hardest thing I have ever attempted to do!

If I were to narrow it down to the hardest part I would have to say that for me it’s been being willing to walk out God’s process for me. That sounds pretty vague so let me explain a little further. After talking to probably 25 different church planters I have come to realize that everyone has a different story. Every church plant has been different.

The temptation is to find out what worked for someone else and simply copy it. Obviously it wouldn’t work, but the temptation is there nonetheless. In this process that God is helping me through, I have had to admit to myself that I don’t know exactly what I am doing! I know how to lead, I know how to preach, and I know how to do church, but I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this journey is all new to me. One of the hardest things for a leader to do is admit they don’t know what they are doing. Leaders like to pretend they know all and are the smartest person in the room. I will say that admitting I don’t know it all was incredibly freeing and caused me to seek God in a way that I hadn’t before. I understand the verse that states lean not on your own understanding so much better now.

Another temptation in ministry is to define success based on visible results. Is the church growing? How big is your staff? How many does your state-of-the-art facility seat? None of these things are bad and are often good indicators of success. But with where I am at right now I have had to redefine success. We have a small but incredible team. Our house seats about 30, and we are renting it. I have learned that real success in ministry and in life is not always in those numbers.

If you were to apply the definition of success that I first listed to most of our Bible heroes, they would have been complete failures. Jeremiah preached a message of repentance for 40 years and no one repented. The truth is in God’s eyes success is simple obedience! Learning this simple truth has helped me be more comfortable with the challenges that have come our way. We have added to our team and had people leave our team.

Life has ups and downs, and we can’t always control every circumstance. But one thing remains the same: We have the choice to obey or disobey. Better to go down swinging at what God told you to do than not to swing at all.