New Churches Podcast

Everything about planting screams, “Emergency!” Host Ed Stetzer talks with Scotty Smith and Adam Muhtaseb about the importance of taking the long view on church planting.

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Church planters come in and they’re so drunk with the vision. The only thing they’re thinking about is the launch service. It’s not even like, “What do I do the week after?” @EdStetzer

I realized early on we were going to absolutely need to do the mechanics but equally the organics. The Lord’s building for eternity, not next week. @Scotty Smith

From the beginning, our vision was to be a church planting movement. So I set up systems, values, programs, etc. to build our church toward that. @Adam_Muhtaseb

A lot of the church planters I’ve worked with think pragmatically about getting a job done and they lose what Scripture says is central, which is a love for Jesus. @Scotty Smith

In the U.K. I lived on this one-lane road and every day I walked by this church that has been worshipping in the same space for over 1,000 years. I don’t hear lot of church planters even talk about 100 years from now. @EdStetzer

You should be spending just as much time working on the church as you are working in the church. @Adam_Muhtaseb

The good news for some church planters is you don’t have to work 80 hours a week. if you do, that’s called idolatry. @Scotty Smith

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Regardless of a church’s financial situation, every pastor can benefit from having a “No. 2.” Host Clint Clifton talks with Todd Adkins and Jamie Caldwell about important aspects of adding executive leadership.

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You need a guy riding shotgun with you. Whether you pay that guy or not, you need this role. @Todd Adkins

You’re looking for somebody who’s going to complement the giftings of the senior pastor. The executive pastor may look a little bit different in one situation than it does in another. @ClintJClifton

In a church-planting environment, there’s there’s no way not to do life together. You got to be staying in your house all day not to do life with the people, because the church plant’s usually small and the team’s tight-knit. @ClintJClifton

If you trust him, then give him the freedom to do the job. Nobody wants to get hired and then be led by the hand in this incredibly micromanaging process. – Jamie Caldwell

Hire slowly and make sure there’s a culture fit before you pull the trigger. If there is any area in which they are different than you, make sure it’s an area you want to change in your culture. @Todd Adkins

Know where you’re weak and then ask people to take on roles who can help you with those weaknesses. If they don’t know how to do it, learn together. – Jamie Caldwell

Most church planters are gifted on the vision front. They often aren’t real good at the details and administration of the church’s life. Pray that God would provide somebody who could help you. @ClintJClifton

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Did the pandemic affect your church differently than others? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about fascinating new research.

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Movie theaters and schools where, disproportionately, church plants meet, were shut down. It really had an impact on church planting. When schools started meeting again, many didn’t let anybody in from the outside, to create a bubble. @EdStetzer

I was surprised at how few things dipped during the pandemic. I was brought to tears when I tallied the survey responses and I saw how many hundreds of churches launched during the pandemic. @WarrenBird

New churches put a heavier emphasis on evangelism than discipleship, but discipleship increased. @EdStetzer

We found that, both pre-pandemic and during the pandemic, evangelism was stronger than the discipleship component, but during the pandemic the discipleship meter was almost as high as the evangelistic meter. @WarrenBird

I think it probably was the greatest time of church shifting and switching in our lifetime. I want new churches to be evangelized into existence. @EdStetzer

While people are willing to gather in most places now, the volunteering piece – that second step of engagement – has been really slow. It did not surge back with the people coming back. @WarrenBird

Can you imagine three years ago saying, “Hey, everyone, scan the QR code on your screen”? But now the grandmas are holding up their phones and scanning the QR code. It is fascinating how this has been accelerated technologically. @EdStetzer

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Jesus said to make disciples, but how do we make disciples who make disciples? Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about the challenge of discipling new believers.

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We’ve created the separate categories of discipleship and evangelism. Jesus simply says our task is to make disciples. Evangelism plays that role of helping people understand who Jesus is and become disciples. The continuation of their growth is the ongoing work of discipleship. @Colby Garman

Discipleship has a more academic part and then there’s the activity part. We’ve got to have the information but we’ve got to do the activity as well. – Dave Proffitt

What we’ve seen in churches a lot is training and training but never having a use for that training. When somebody has something particular in view, they see learning as important and valuable. @clintjclifton

There’s nothing more powerful than feeling out of your depth, so we have to push people to accomplish something they never thought they could do. @Colby Garman

I believe if you teach something to somebody, that person should go right out and find an audience. I mean immediately. – Dave Proffitt

Every aspect of the life of the church has a discipleship opportunity buried in it. How we see people serving, how we think about the membership process – all these things are discipleship. @Colby Garman

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Clint Clifton believed our love of the Lord compels us to evangelize and multiply churches. Host Ed Stetzer, Colby Garman and Trevin Wax honor Clint by talking about what mattered to him.

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Such a tragic loss. You could see the tidal wave of grief and loss spread. It’s been difficult, but we’ve also seen God’s grace give strength. @Colby Garman

Clint wrote: “If you’re going to plant a new church or lead your church to plant a new church, you will have to maintain a deep resolve to endure the difficulties ahead.” @EdStetzer

Clint’s planting legacy comes back to the assumption that every church should be involved in church planting, not “Should we? Could we?” but “Why would we not? How could we not be involved?” @TrevinWax

At the core of Clint was that life is an act of worship. Church planting for him was an act of worship, more than a strategy. @Colby Garman

Clint was continually willing to get up again, do it again, start something again. This is the kind of church planter that really makes a gospel difference.  @EdStetzer

Clint’s heart was to trust the good heart of the Father. @TrevinWax

Clint would want you to know that it doesn’t take you being the most brilliant or the most articulate. It just takes showing up, doing it again, making much of Jesus and not making it about you. @EdStetzer

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What does it actually cost to plant a church? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Warren Bird about the fascinating results of a new church planter survey.

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Financial self-sustainability begins at about 76 in attendance. @WarrenBird

Self-sustainability takes longer or could be faster in some settings. Setting makes a difference. @EdStetzer 

Funding of churches, like everything else, is becoming more localized. I want to be able to go visit it, help out, see it and and put my body where my money is. @WarrenBird

The greatest growth by percentile happened in churches that had no paid staff members, and churches with a part-time pastor grew faster than those with a full-time pastor. @EdStetzer

To grow anything on scale, if that’s what you think God is doing, if that’s where you think the harvest is, generally the sooner you can work with people’s giving in order to be fully focused on that mission, the better. @WarrenBird

God’s doing all kinds of things in all different ways. This kind of research really helps us think well about church planting. @EdStetzer

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Looking at this past year, many of us think, “Wow, that could’ve gone better.” Host Clint Clifton talks with Dave Proffitt and Colby Garman about planning well to execute your ministry task.

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You will either plan to advance the key things in the life of the church or someone else is going to plan those things for you. @Colby Garman

Proverbs 16:9 says “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” @clintjclifton

A lot of what the church needs to know is not necessarily going to come from the pastor. It’s going to come from the team of gifted people God has assembled to be the foundation for the church. – Dave Proffitt

I think of times in our ministry where a person had an idea that I, in a million lifetimes, never would have come up with. @clintjclifton

I want to plan to accomplish, but I also want to be prepared to pivot where I see God working. @Colby Garman

Often we have no idea what God’s doing. Our work is worship. We offer it to God because we love Him and He does with it what He sees fit. @clintjclifton

You’ve got to commit to prayer and to evangelism. You’ve got to connect with people. You’ve got to a servant leader. We need to train a disciple and we need to mentor. We need a coach and we need to recruit, recruit, recruit. We need to apprentice and become apprenticed. – Dave Proffitt

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One of the most important topics for pastors and church planters is improving their preaching. Host Clint Clifton and Noah Oldham discuss ways to continue to grow as preachers.

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Most church planters consider themselves to be pretty good preachers yet, in my observation, most need to grow in their preaching. @clintjclifton

Most church planters need time and reps and seasons to grow as communicators so they can be effective in the long run to help the church be strengthened. @NoahOldham

An Indian proverb says, ‘He who has a good friend needs no mirror.'” @clintjclifton

When I’m preaching, I want to disappear, yet I often carry more of myself into the pulpit than I realize. I want Him to increase and me to decrease. @NoahOldham

Every time we imitate another preacher, it’s like a photocopy of a photocopy. @clintjclifton

We call sermon critiques “wins and opportunities.” There’s no losses. It’s an opportunity for growth. @NoahOldham

I heard Tim Keller say your first 300 sermons are garbage. So if you’re not to 300 yet, you should just assume your preaching needs a lot of improvement. @clintjclifton

The post Year in Review: 3 Ways to Improve Your Preaching appeared first on New Churches.

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