Flannel and Beards

Episode 15 Notes: Finding Your Target Audience

If you don’t target someone, you won’t hit anyone.

Different audiences are going to respond to different approaches.

We can waste our time and resources if we do not have a target audience.

Our audience helps us to determine where to spend our time.

Most churches have a base line economic level.

A churchplanter has a limited budget and resources, so you have to strategically target an audience.

A target audience doesn’t mean you don’t have a heart for everyone to know Jesus. It means you recognize that God doesn’t need to use you to reach everyone.

Different churches reach different people.

Who are the churches in your community reaching? Who are they not reaching?

We have to align our time, budget, messaging and programming around our target audience.

Even people who don’t think they have a target audience, practically have a target audience.

People on stage let people know who your target is.

Men want to find a man they can look up. Women want to find a women they can relate to.

We can confuse people when we say we want to focus on one audience and then highlight people who don’t fit our target audience.

Be mean about protecting who your target audience is.

Know the needs of the audience you want to reach.

A blended service that attempts to please everyone will disappoint everyone.

Don’t exclude people outside of your target audience, but let them know if they come the focus isn’t going to be on them.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 14 Notes: Churchplanting Calling

Calling is God’s unique purpose for you.

God’s will and God’s calling are two different things.

The will of God is what God wants everyone to do.

Calling is what God wants you uniquely to do.

God’s will is the behaviors He wants us all to have.

We use calling to excuse what we don’t want to do and defend what we want to do. Because people won’t argue with God.

The calling of God usually leads us to greater sacrifice, danger and risk.

“The center of God’s purpose is the most dangerous place to be, not the safest place to be.” -Erwin McManus

We use God as an excuse to do what we want.

Sometimes we say we prayed about something, but all we did was think about it.

Don’t church plant because it is sexy. Churchplant because you are called.

People chase platforms. Some people see church planting as a path to a platform.

Churchplanting is too hard and painful to do on a whim.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 14 Notes: Churchplanting Calling

Calling is God’s unique purpose for you.

God’s will and God’s calling are two different things.

The will of God is what God wants everyone to do.

Calling is what God wants you uniquely to do.

God’s will is the behaviors He wants us all to have.

We use calling to excuse what we don’t want to do and defend what we want to do. Because people won’t argue with God.

The calling of God usually leads us to greater sacrifice, danger and risk.

“The center of God’s purpose is the most dangerous place to be, not the safest place to be.” -Erwin McManus

We use God as an excuse to do what we want.

Sometimes we say we prayed about something, but all we did was think about it.

Don’t church plant because it is sexy. Churchplant because you are called.

People chase platforms. Some people see church planting as a path to a platform.

Churchplanting is too hard and painful to do on a whim.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 13 Notes: Things That Make a Churchplanter Smile

God knows how to party!

1. Life transformation in people you have been investing in make church planters smile!

When we see people’s life trajectory radically changed by encountering Christ through you, that makes you smile!

People reading the Bible for the first time makes me smile!

Watching people grow and produce spiritual fruit is exciting!

When you don’t celebrate what has happened you will focus on what hasn’t happened and get discouraged.

The work of the church is to make disciples of Jesus. The work of humanity is to worship God.

We should celebrate the gap between where people were and how far they have come, not how far they still have to go.

We have to celebrate more things than baptisms.

Spiritual growth moves people from all about themselves, to all about God, to all about others.

2. Other church planters make church planters smile!

It is easy to get isolated as a church planter, but you rob yourself of the smiles another planter could bring you.

The common spiritual warfare of church planting has a way of bonding brothers.

3. When something you dreamed about becomes a reality!

When a vision goes from idea to implementation it makes you smile!

Never stop casting vision.

“One God idea is better than a million good ideas.” -Mark Batterson

A church plant is a God idea planted in a church planter to be birthed through a planter by the power of God.

4. Seeing “God things” makes a church planter smile.

When God does something despite our skills or planning it reminds us that the results are up to God.

It lessens the burdens on us when we see God do what we cannot.

Our Christianity is to often explainable.

5. What you learn about God through church planting makes a church planter smile!

Churchplanting forces you to rely on God like never before which grows your faith.

Your theology becomes more robust by churchplanting.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 13 Notes: Things That Make a Churchplanter Smile

God knows how to party!

1. Life transformation in people you have been investing in make church planters smile!

When we see people’s life trajectory radically changed by encountering Christ through you, that makes you smile!

People reading the Bible for the first time makes me smile!

Watching people grow and produce spiritual fruit is exciting!

When you don’t celebrate what has happened you will focus on what hasn’t happened and get discouraged.

The work of the church is to make disciples of Jesus. The work of humanity is to worship God.

We should celebrate the gap between where people were and how far they have come, not how far they still have to go.

We have to celebrate more things than baptisms.

Spiritual growth moves people from all about themselves, to all about God, to all about others.

2. Other church planters make church planters smile!

It is easy to get isolated as a church planter, but you rob yourself of the smiles another planter could bring you.

The common spiritual warfare of church planting has a way of bonding brothers.

3. When something you dreamed about becomes a reality!

When a vision goes from idea to implementation it makes you smile!

Never stop casting vision.

“One God idea is better than a million good ideas.” -Mark Batterson

A church plant is a God idea planted in a church planter to be birthed through a planter by the power of God.

4. Seeing “God things” makes a church planter smile.

When God does something despite our skills or planning it reminds us that the results are up to God.

It lessens the burdens on us when we see God do what we cannot.

Our Christianity is to often explainable.

5. What you learn about God through church planting makes a church planter smile!

Churchplanting forces you to rely on God like never before which grows your faith.

Your theology becomes more robust by churchplanting.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 12 Notes: Developing Core Values

Core values define the safe limits of who you are as a church.

Core values become filters for ideas to see if they align with who our church is.

Don’t steal someone else’s core values.

Unique core values are birthed out of prayer.

A church plant is something God births through you.

Study the early church in Acts to develop Core values.

Write down what you think the church should be and what you think it shouldn’t be.

Develop key themes and flesh them out into practical statements.

Get feedback on your core values from people who know churchplanting.

Package them into memorable statements or key words.

One of the greatest challenges for church planters is to be who God created us to be.

Developing core values takes a lot of work!

God has been planting seeds of your core values over time.

Hating church is never a healthy starting point for a church plant.

Allow the context to help develop your core values.

Each context God is developing a unique church with a unique set of core values.

Core values need to continue to be clarified and evolve.

Different churches with different core values can exist side by side and reach different people.

There is often culture shift between stated values and practiced values.

Does what you do, align with what you say are your core values?

Don’t forget your core values! You must maintain the integrity of your core values.

Operating outside of your core values will cause confuse.

Expect push back from people who want to change or destroy a core value.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 12 Notes: Developing Core Values

Core values define the safe limits of who you are as a church.

Core values become filters for ideas to see if they align with who our church is.

Don’t steal someone else’s core values.

Unique core values are birthed out of prayer.

A church plant is something God births through you.

Study the early church in Acts to develop Core values.

Write down what you think the church should be and what you think it shouldn’t be.

Develop key themes and flesh them out into practical statements.

Get feedback on your core values from people who know churchplanting.

Package them into memorable statements or key words.

One of the greatest challenges for church planters is to be who God created us to be.

Developing core values takes a lot of work!

God has been planting seeds of your core values over time.

Hating church is never a healthy starting point for a church plant.

Allow the context to help develop your core values.

Each context God is developing a unique church with a unique set of core values.

Core values need to continue to be clarified and evolve.

Different churches with different core values can exist side by side and reach different people.

There is often culture shift between stated values and practiced values.

Does what you do, align with what you say are your core values?

Don’t forget your core values! You must maintain the integrity of your core values.

Operating outside of your core values will cause confuse.

Expect push back from people who want to change or destroy a core value.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 11 Notes: The Importance of Prayer

Praying binds the heart of people together.

Nothing we do is going to matter if it is not preceded by prayer.

We need to believe that God is in our every day deeds.

We get so busy doing for God, we forget to be with God.

The more we do, often the less time we spend with God.

Prayer lines our heart up with God’s heart.

“Prayer is never a substitute for obedience.” -AW Tozer

We cannot read the Bible without prayer.

The Spirit changes us, when we pray.

Prayer is not an excuse for inaction, but equips us for our action to be effective.

We must put Jesus and his desires at the heart of our prayers.

Many times we are functional atheists when we pray.

If you want to see prayers answered, pray for what God wants.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 11 Notes: The Importance of Prayer

Praying binds the heart of people together.

Nothing we do is going to matter if it is not preceded by prayer.

We need to believe that God is in our every day deeds.

We get so busy doing for God, we forget to be with God.

The more we do, often the less time we spend with God.

Prayer lines our heart up with God’s heart.

“Prayer is never a substitute for obedience.” -AW Tozer

We cannot read the Bible without prayer.

The Spirit changes us, when we pray.

Prayer is not an excuse for inaction, but equips us for our action to be effective.

We must put Jesus and his desires at the heart of our prayers.

Many times we are functional atheists when we pray.

If you want to see prayers answered, pray for what God wants.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]

Episode 10 Notes: Things That Make Churchplanters Cry

“Not all tears are evil.” -JRR Tolkien

Sometimes tears spiritually mature you.

When your heart breaks for what breaks the heart of God, you are becoming more like Jesus.

We need to be authentic and transparent with our heart and hurt.

We must keep soft hearts when we churchplant.

Churchplanting will either make your heart cynical or soft.

“Until God breaks your heart for the people who don’t know God, you won’t reach people. God will never use you to reach a people, until He breaks your heart for a people.” -Andy Wood

We cannot reach a people we despise.

Through Christ we can see the lies that people around us have believed and how it is destroying their lives.

God loved the people in your city long before you got there, and He sent you to show His love for them.

It can be overwhelming when you see the depth and darkness of the brokenness in our cities.

You don’t understand the pain of a people, until you live with them in community.

The needs of your city are too vast — you are inadequate to meet them without supernatural help.

Wrestling with our insecurities to start a church and trying to meet the needs of a community will bring you to heartbreak.

Our weakness drives us to God where our strength is.

All of our efforts fall short without God.

When God reveals our inadequacies it is a divine revelation for our good.

The worst suffering is seeing someone you love suffer.

A whole family sacrifices to make a churchplant work.

There are things that Jesus cannot teach us through joy, so He teaches us them through sorrow.

“Sometimes God has a hard grace for us.” -Paul David Tripp

Sometimes we weep because we are simply physically exhausted.

Broken hearts drive our hands to action.

1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

Tweet about us! Use the hashtag #flannel&beards

Twitter and Instagram @beardsflannel

Email us at [email protected]