Church Planting Together

Money is the least fun part of church planting. It is easy to let your personal budget get eaten up with church planting expenses in the early days. In this episode, Loren and Carrie share mistakes that they made and how they eventually fixed the problem and found the ability to give more and give intentionally. In addition, they offer some practical tips and share how Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University afforded them the tools to get things under control in their personal budget and the church budget.

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Church Planting will put great stress on your marriage relationship and we want you to be prepared. This is an episode that you won't want to miss! Kevin and Brooke Llanos have been through serious difficulties in their marriage and now counsel others to grow and maintain a healthy and strong relationship. In this episode, Kevin and Brooke share tools and tricks to have better communication and remain a team in your marriage. They also share resources like The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman and Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. The majority of the resources they use are from an organization that is local to them called Healthy Marriage Coalition.

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Sometimes God decides that it is time for you to plant a church. In this episode, Loren and Carrie interview new church planters, Kevin and Brooke Llanos. They intended to have a neighborhood bible study, but God had other plans. Even though they don't fit the church planter mold, God has been faithful to bring them through every step of the process so far. In this episode, they talk about how God leads them and some of the blessings and challenges along the way.  Hopefully, this will bring some encouragement to others.

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It might feel impossible to take a Sunday off in the early days... and later days of church planting, but do it! Do it now! In this episode, Loren and Carrie share how taking time off has been good for their relationship and church. They share why you should take a vacation and how when the resources aren't there.

Below is a blog post by Ed Stetzer containing free and discounted resources for pastors broken down by state. I have not checked all of these to see if they are current, but it is a great starting place. Also, I included a link to Hume Lake Christian Camps.

List of Pastors' Retreats and Getaways

Hume Lake Christian Camps

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Although most church planters set out with the intention of serving the Lord, it's easy to get on the wrong track and make your church plant about you. In this episode, Loren and Carrie share 10 signs that you are making your church plant about you.  Loren also uses the word "environ," which Carrie is pretty sure isn't a word (it turns out it actually is).

There are probably hundreds, but here are the ten that they chose:

1. You find your identity in the church plant's success or failure
2. When someone leaves the church, it absolutely crushes you
3. You are not willing to adapt to the culture
4. You are unwilling to sacrifice personally
5. You are willing to sacrifice your marriage and family
6. You can't delegate or let other people shine
7. You are threatened by the success of others
8. Your church is "insider" focused to the exclusion of outsiders
9. You are unwilling to do the right thing because of how it might affect the success of your church plant
10. You are unwilling to listen to the counsel of others

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When everything is falling apart, there is a good chance that Jehovah Sneaky is at work.  In this episode, Loren and Carrie talk about how Genesis 5:20 and Romans 8:28 were a comfort each time it felt like their church plant was doomed. 

It felt like it was over when people leaving the church were leading ministries, and close friends moved away. There were also money blunders and crazy things happening with the church building... Yet, through it all, God has been faithful.  In fact, He used those scary experiences to lead them in the direction He wanted! Carrie and Loren acknowledge that their ignorance has been one way that God led them to where  He wanted them and used other terrifying situations to accomplish His will.

Nothing is too difficult for Him! 

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People will try to hijack the vision of your church! In this episode, Loren and Carrie use the analogy of a cruise ship to identify four types of people you will have at your church, both in the first year and always. It is important to protect the vision of your church plant, and the couple gives some suggestions on how to do it, as well as how people interact differently with Carrie than with Loren.

The four types of people are
-crew members
-passengers
-stowaways
-Pirates

Crew members are those who are on board with the vision and engaged in ministry. Loren and Carrie share about how to help them keep from burning out.

Passengers are those who are aligned with the vision but are not engaged in ministry.  Loren and Carrie share why this is not always bad, but how to help them eventually become crew members.

Stowaways are those who have been drug to church by someone.

Pirates are not aligned with the vision and might try to move the vision or your church plant in a different direction. Loren and Carrie share how to navigate this.

Carrie also shares the most important words she has learned in ministry while dealing with pirates in the church.

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For a copy of the vision chart, contact us at [email protected]
We're happy to send you one. 

There are many phases of church planting. Many times, we forget to sit back and celebrate our wins. In this episode, Loren and Carrie talk about the other side of that... taking the time to mourn.

Once your church reaches a certain size, relationships change and you may come upon a sense of loss and loneliness. You go from inviting everyone to everything to no longer being able to do that. In this episode, Loren and Carrie share what they went through as a people pleaser (Carrie)  and a non-people pleaser (Loren) as the church grew. Carrie shares her struggles with navigating close friendships in the church and they both give advice on what to do if you find yourself in this place.

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Wondering whether or not you should join a church planting network? Loren and Carrie think you should! In this episode, Loren and Carrie share their experience with Converge Worldwide,  give five benefits to joining a church planting network, and talk about things you should look for in a network as you make a decision.

First, Loren talks about how being part of a network provides doctrinal accountability, legitimacy, important partnerships with other churches, financial accountability, and people who want to see you succeed. Carrie shares that the relationships gained were the most valuable asset they had in the early stages of planting a church.

Next, Loren talks about the things you should look for in a network before deciding. A strong track record of successful church planting is top of the list, followed by coaching, relationships, and financial support.

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Loren subjected Carrie to hours and hours of apologetics podcasts throughout the years. She wasn't really excited about it at the time.  When she began church planting, she finally experienced the practical need for apologetics in church planting.

In this episode, Loren and Carrie share how apologetics has helped strengthen their own faith and make it through difficult times. Whether you are an academic thinker like Loren or an extremely feely, people pleaser like Carrie, apologetics can play an important role in your faith and your marriage. They also share how apologetics can also help you to disciple others in truth.

Resources for Apologetics

Reasonable Faith with William Layne Craig: https://www.reasonablefaith.org/

Children's Books (We loved these for our kids). He has written several more since our kids had them. 

Dr. Craig's "What is God Like" series

God is All-Knowing

God is All-Powerful

God is Three Persons

God is All-Loving

God is Everywhere

God is All-Good

The Greatness of God

God is Spirit

God is Self-Sufficient

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