Advice for a Young Church Planter Earl Brubaker

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1 Advice for a Young Church Planter Earl Brubaker I remember it as if it were yesterday, though it happened over forty years ago. We had recently relocated to Portland, Oregon, where I had accepted the call to pastor a struggling group of about forty people. The church had been in decline for several years. We were young, inexperienced, scared, and yet excited about what we were trusting God to do. Shortly after that move, we were returning to Portland late one evening, driving south on I-5 through Vancouver, Washington. As we reached the crest of the hill and started down toward the Columbia River that divides these two cities, the lights of the city of Portland spread out before us. I remember my fervent, heart-felt, silent prayer to God that night. Lord, you have placed us here. Help us to reach this city for Christ. Several years later we began planting a church. The lessons that molded our ministry began, however, in those days in what we now refer to as a turn around ministry. Though I have now served in several struggling churches, planted a church, lead a Church Extension mission, and interacted with scores of church planters and church leaders, I am still learning how to effectively serve an unchanging God in an ever changing world. I still breathe a silent prayer as I sit with anxious church leaders, counsel prospective church planters, or take a call that begins with, I need to talk to you about a problem we have. Perhaps some of the things God has taught us in the school of experience can help you plant a church or to pray for and support a church planter. Begin with Vision Why plant churches if there are no places where new churches are needed? Every pastor needs to be convinced of the primacy of the local church. A church planter must also be convinced that the existing churches are inadequate to meet the needs of the local community. It is easy to acknowledge the need for churches because the number of churches per capita in America has steadily declined for a century. It is quite another matter to be convinced that this community needs a new church. Even beyond that, as a church planter you must be convinced that that God wants you to accept the challenge of planting a church in this community. Make sure your concern is not merely personal preference or convenience. The frustration of being unable to find a church that will call you as its pastor is not a good reason to become a church planter. Being unable to find a church that measures up to a long shopping list of programs and ministries you desire is not an adequate reason to plant a church in a given community. Though one should never compromise essentials, the inability to find a perfect church is not adequate criteria for becoming a church planter. Do the Work of an Evangelist I shall always remember the time I spent with Don Strunk, then Director of Northwest Independent Church Extension, as I was enroute to my first pastoral assignment. After a long session of how to instructions, Don looked at me and said, You probably do not see yourself as an evangelist, but you need to do the work of an evangelist just as Paul instructed Timothy in

2 2 Timothy 4:5. Church planting that is not based on evangelism is not building the body of Christ, it is merely rearranging it. That is not always bad. Rearrangement is necessary when matters of theology and integrity are at stake. However, people who are disgruntled with churches they have been attending seem inevitably drawn toward a new church. These people usually have their own agenda and, while they are originally excited about this new ministry, soon become unhappy again and leave. Such people make the early attendance numbers look good, but they require excessive pastoral care and distract the church planter from his primary task of evangelism and discipleship. Patiently Preach and Disciple Having fewer people in one s congregation is no reason to be careless about the ministry of the Word of God. A church planter needs to master the skill of preaching with the same passion to fifteen or one hundred fifty. He needs to study just as carefully and prepare just as diligently. Slothfulness with God s Word is a death knell to effective church planting. Preaching the Word without doing the work of an evangelist, however, may not cause the church to grow. Dr. John Mitchell, founder of Multnomah School of the Bible, was fond of saying, Just preach the Word and people will come. Many of the small church pastors around him preached diligently, and people went to hear Dr. Mitchell instead! Be patient with people. Pastors spend all their time with the church, shepherding the flock with compassion, leading with vigor, and then arrange their social lives around the church as well. Laymen spend most of their working lives in arenas that do not involve the church, then volunteer a few hours each week to church ministry. Their social circle includes both the church and those in the arena of their employment. Their living and interacting in the world is part of the ministry God has given them just as your immersion in the church is the ministry God has given you. One of the most critical ministries in church planting is the development of mature, godly leaders. It must be a priority. Because it never seems to happen rapidly enough, it is tempting to rush men into leadership before they are fully qualified. It is also a constant temptation to be impatient with the rate of progress of leaders in training, because we expect those we are mentoring to learn in three months what it took us three years to master. Temper Vision with Reality Books are written about church plants that begin with fifty, grow to two hundred in a few months and two thousand in a few years. For every church plant like that, there are scores more that require years of prayer and tears and hard labor. I once served a church that tripled in attendance in three years. It was exhilarating. I was asked to do seminars! Nobody ever asked for a seminar about the other churches where we labored just as diligently, preached just as faithfully, and trusted just as fully, but did not see astounding growth. Paul surely knew this tension when he wrote, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase (1 Cor 3:6). If your vision is not tempered with practicality, the disappointments will be overwhelming. Make Plans But Be Flexible Forty years ago the generally accepted wisdom for church planters was to find an inexpensive store front to rent. It gave them visibility and indicated that the church was somewhat stable.

3 Currently the venue of choice for new churches is a school gymnasium. An easily entered, nonthreatening building that offers space for growth is more valued than the sense of permanence. Often, however, the venue of first choice is not available, or perhaps is not affordable. What to do then? Churches have begun in homes, in theaters, in fire halls - almost any place large enough for a group to meet. Our experience was beginning a church in a restaurant. The restaurant opened for business at 11 a.m. The owner charged no rental fee if we purchased a continental breakfast that she provided at a very reasonable cost. Since this was during the other great recession (in the 1980 s) most of our core group were unemployed. Renting a facility simply was not an option. Meeting in a restaurant required tailoring our meeting times to fit the restaurant s business schedule. So the schedule was breakfast at 8 a.m., worship service at 9 a.m. and resetting the room for restaurant business at 10:30 a.m. Three Forks Bible Church in Montana began with Sunday evening worship services. Cornerstone Community Church in Vancouver, B.C. began with Sunday afternoon services because that was the only time they could rent a place to meet. All three of these eventually moved to a more traditional Sunday schedule, but flexibility was the key to getting started. Methodology needs to be flexible as well. There are many ways to plant churches. Rather than mimicking another s successful method, maximize the abilities God has given you while you tailor you method to fit the people in the community where God has placed you. If one method does not work, move on and try another. Our message is unchanging. The variable is where, when, and how we proclaim that message. The simple things are incorporating the church, establishing financial policies, even writing church constitutions. The complex things are finding ways to reach people where they live. Embrace Your Smallness No, you should not be content for the church to stay small. We should never be totally content with the size of any of our churches until we have reached all the people around us with the Gospel. One church, however, will never meet the needs of every person, and some people will never settle into a small church. They will be attracted to all the things a larger church offers even if that larger church s doctrine is questionable. Acknowledge that it is simply impossible for a new church to offer all the opportunities and programs that larger, established churches offer. Do not try to do it all. One church planter began his effort by pursuing his strength - door to door evangelism. He soon had a discipleship class for new converts. When he started the church, however, he wanted to offer everything - men s group, women s group, small group Bible studies, AWANA, youth group etc. Since all in his congregation were new believers, he and his wife did everything for a while. They soon burned out and that eventually led to the demise of the church which had a very promising beginning. Embrace your smallness by capitalizing on the strengths of smallness. The sense of fellowship enjoyed by a group of forty will never be quite the same with a group of one hundred. Teens in a larger youth group never receive quite the same attention as do the three or four teens who are

4 loved, nurtured, and enjoyed by one dedicated, mature couple in the church. A church of one hundred is never quite as excited to welcome each new believer as is a church of fifty. Live Within Your Means Raising missionary support is difficult, and especially so for most home missionaries. The common expectation that an American church plant should be self supporting in three to five years leads to the reality that a church planting missionary may always struggle financially. Going into debt is counter- productive, because it mortgages the future. It is difficult for a small congregation to increase the salary of its pastor. The one, unfailing constant is God s promise of his provision for his work. Since God knows our needs we must not allow ourselves to sink into the mire of blaming the fledgling church or our faithful supporters for not giving more to meet our needs. Sometimes the solution to financial struggles lies in becoming bi-vocational, like the Apostle Paul. However, this creates a demanding schedule that places employment, ministry, and family needs in tension. If such an arrangement becomes necessary, be sure to seek employment that includes people contact and that has flexibility in scheduling. This is much easier if the church planter has developed vocational skill. I have known church planters who were electricians, upholsterers, accountants, or craftsmen of various kinds. Being bi-vocational is an asset. My first ministry was in a saw-mill town. Men in that community were not interested in listening to a pastor who could not hold his own in the mill. Every significant spiritual conversation I had with unbelieving men in that community began at break times in the mill. Farm communities often present a similar dynamic. Maintain Your Support System God ordained the church as a body of believers who are designed to work as a team. A support system is essential because even the most gifted pastor cannot meet all the needs of a church. Such a system includes mentors, counselors, prayer partners, and social contacts for both yourself and your wife. Mentors help us grow and stay sharp in ministry. Counselors address specific difficulties we may face. Prayer partners share our burdens, and social contacts make leisure time more recuperative. Your wife should be your greatest ministry partner and source of great encouragement and support. All of these are essential for your personal welfare as well as for your greatest productivity in ministry. Never Quit Growing. Read church planting books. Study the church planting ministry of the Apostle Paul. Keep up with current theological issues. Interact with other church planters. Utilize the wonderful network of fellow laborers in IFCA International as a means of ministry growth by faithfully attending IFCA Regionals and whenever possible the Church Extension Conferences and Conventions. Never quit growing in your attempt to understand more about the micro-culture that makes up the community in which you live. The moment you feel you have learned all you need to know

5 about church planting is the moment you begin to decrease your effectiveness as a church planter. Conclusion Being a church planter is a difficult but amazingly rewarding ministry. You will be stretched beyond anything you imagined, but you will never regret having done it. At the time this article was written, Earl Brubaker was General Director of Northwest Independent Church Extension and had served as a church planter for decades. He also served as President of the Board of Directors of IFCA International.