JR Woodward :: Blog :: Lessons From Church Planters Part I

I'm typing from Richmond, Virginia.  This week I have the privilege this week to help train 40 church planters as a part of the Ecclesia Network.  It is an intense but rich time.  During one of my last sessions I will be talking about Leadership Skills and Attitudes for the Journey.  One of the things that I did in preparation for this talk was to survey a number of church planters that I know and work with around the world.  I asked them five questions.  One of the questions was:  What are the three biggest lessons you have learned as a church planter?  I thought I would take some time to share some of these with you in this series.

Church Planter in Los Angeles

1. Dependence on God



2. To be faithful and create an atmosphere for growth, letting God be responsible for His part



3. Know that there are going to be unexpected difficulties

Church Planter in Amsterdam

1. Don’t over complicate things, keep it simple



2. Focus on prayer, outreach and basic discipleship



3. Watch out for disunity! It will kill a church plant, communication is a key to avoiding some of the pitfalls of disunity

Church Planter in England

1. What it takes to get them is what it takes to keep them.  (In other words if you invest a lot of time and energy I developing a relationship with someone and they become a part of your church plant, they will come with the expectation that you will continue to invest that kind of time and energy on them.  When that doesn’t happen they’ll be hurt, feel rejected, and in most cases they will share their ill will with others.)



2. You are not desperate for people (If you live as if you are desperate for people to be a part of your church then you will lower your standards, compromise on non-negotiables, etc. etc. etc. to get people to take part.)



3. Who you are in private is far more important that what you say and do in public

I will be sharing more lessons that people have learned in part II.  If you are a church planter, what would be your top three lessons you learned?  Help us add to the wisdom from practitioners.