Unfiltered: Real Church Planting Conversations

Bryan Moak, vice president of Church Strengthening for Converge MidAmerica, joins Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee to discuss how your church plant can start healthy and stay that way.

1:18 Bryan recommends guarding the vision. "We start adding stuff that makes sense at first, and all of a sudden, we’re adding stuff that no longer makes sense to the vision. Once you start something, it is really hard to get rid of it. And things become sacred cows really quickly."

2:16 Bryan says to be careful about who you put in leadership. "Test leaders well before you put them into those positions."

3:33 Bryan talks about how a planter should approach a church that is considering replanting or even giving away its building.

5:44 Bryan discusses how Natural Church Development (NCD) can help you assess your church’s health.

8:07 Bryan says a church must be committed to prayer to be spiritually healthy.

8:35 If you take an assessment and then put it on a shelf and say, "Oh, that was interesting" and never doing anything with it, it’s not going to be effective. "What makes NCD effective is when you actually play it out and implement changes with what we say is your minimum factor — that thing that scores the lowest."

9:22 Bryan says it’s OK to want your church to grow, but you want it to grow in the right way, the God-honoring, gospel-centric way.

11:05 Bryan talks about holistic small groups as an example of a minimum factor.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we do church. Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss a new strategy for launching churches.

1:22 Danny talks about how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed his thinking about online campuses.

3:22 Danny discusses what he sees as potential pitfalls when it comes to just operating as a virtual church.

4:21 Lee asks, as a virtual church, "How do we get people to take that next step relationally with people that are going to spur them on in the faith?"

5:29 Lee shares more questions to consider: What does church discipline look like in a virtual church world? How do you do worship? How do you do communion? How do you do children’s ministry?

6:08 Lee and Danny talk about opportunities that exist when it comes to virtual church planting.

8:04 Lee points out the need to be good stewards of resources when considering funding a virtual church plant.

10:02 Danny discusses the skills a virtual church planter will need to be successful.

11:18 Danny thinks we’re going to see a lot more co-vocational pastors.

12:06 Lee encourages you to reach out to Converge or Converge MidAmerica if you’re interested in virtual church planting.

Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee share their thoughts on what the post-COVID-19 church will look like.

1:45 Danny thinks even if a vaccine comes out tomorrow, it will take a minimum of one to two years for people’s psyche to calm down and get back to normal, if ever.

3:38 Danny and Lee talk about how services – in person and online – will be different in the future.

5:35 Lee says churches have an opportunity to raise up a whole new group of leaders. How do we equip them to carry out neighborhood ministry at the level we need to so it’s not so dependent on just hired staff?

6:37 Danny says the church has a huge opportunity to scale at a very large level and even go into other communities at a low cost.

8:38 Lee addresses the challenge of creating community and doing discipleship when everyone is battling screen fatigue.

10:46 Lee says a benefit of the COVID-19 pandemic is it is forcing Christians not to isolate themselves just among other Christians. Use this as an opportunity to teach your people what it means to love people compassionately and be kind and loving to their neighbors.

12:29 Danny thinks multiple types of communicators will be needed in the post-COVID-19 church.

13:59 Lee talks about how his church plant is trying to figure out how to hire social media people and video editors.

14:44 Lee reminds us that the church’s mission hasn’t changed. Our methodology may change, and that’s OK. God is still God, and he’s still in control of everything.

Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss how you can be prepared to relaunch your church.

1:06 Danny talks about the mentality planters need to have when relaunching.

1:38 Planters need to have a plan and not think, "We’ve been going for a while, so relaunch means we’re just going to pick up right where we left off."

3:01 Danny gives his advice on sermon series topics.

4:11 Lee encourages churches to have a communication plan ready now in prepping the groundwork for when they get to relaunch.

4:44 Lee shares several questions to think about.

6:08 Danny says pastors and planters need to be prepared that not everyone is going to respond to reopening the church in the same way.

7:32 Lee and Danny talk about volunteers.

9:47 Lee says pastors and teams will need to be flexible for the next couple of years.

10:10 Lee and Danny talk about how to communicate with people who come back and those who stay home.

11:28 Converge is praying for you and is here to walk with you as you’re thinking through and creating a relaunch strategy.

Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss lessons learned during the coronavirus pandemic when it comes to virtual church.

1:40 Lee says his church plant, which is about 18 months old, was already having conversations about how to maximize the online church experience before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

2:16 Lee quickly learned that the quality of recording and sound equipment matters when it comes to keeping people engaged online.

3:34 Lee talks about the setup he’s using to record his sermons.

4:38 Lee’s church is using SlingStudio to manage the camera and recording.

5:57 Lee says it’s also important to pay attention to lighting.

7:00 Lee talks about how to preach using a teleprompter.

7:58 Danny and Lee talk more about SlingStudio.

10:03 Lee discusses how to create a worship experience that engages people at home.

11:08 Lee talks more about using a teleprompter and how much one costs.

12:33 Lee says they try to make their services no longer than 45 minutes.

13:19 The order of service at Lee’s church is a quick host introduction and prayer, two worship songs, a bumper video leading in the sermon, the sermon and ending with the host.

13:52 Lee has found that participation falls off quickly when sermons are longer than 25 minutes.

16:08 Lee tells pastors to watch what other churches are doing to find ways to improve. Evaluate every week; how did we do engaging people online?

16:52 Lee is looking at this as a long-term gift to the church versus being a detriment.

Brandon Petty joins Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee to discuss his church plant near Nashville, Tennessee.

1:07 Brandon talks about what drew him to plant Generation Church in Portland, Tennessee, in 2012.

2:16 Brandon says Portland has seen an influx of impoverished people since 2008. There’s also a high percentage of divorce, sexual abuse and drug addiction there.

4:02 Brandon discusses the advantages of planting in a city the size of Portland (population of about 13,000).

5:41 Brandon talks about the challenges that come with planting in a city the size of Portland.

7:45 Brandon shares how he developed a launch team and built relationships in the community.

10:13 Brandon talks about the excitement his launch team had leading up to the church’s launch.

12:19 Brandon says one of his church’s biggest challenges is finances, because of the demographic it reaches. "Our financial situation is pretty good for a church our age, but not good for a church our size."

Hiring a new team member can be a challenging and sticky moment. Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss what they’ve learned over the years to help you through the process.

1:44 Danny thinks the biggest thing is to be patient and get the right person, not the best person.

3:00 Danny says it’s important to spend time with a candidate outside of the interview room context, where you get to see how the person operates in real life.

4:00 Danny discusses hiring pastoral staff.

4:46 Danny talks about how he decided if someone would be at the director level or pastor level.

5:28 Danny says his church gave candidates a 25-question theological survey as the first step in the hiring process.

6:24 Danny’s church posted an opening online and on social media, but the most important thing they did was let people in their network know that they were hiring for the position.

7:12 As they got inquiries, Danny’s church would send candidates its theology and philosophy of ministry.

8:04 After that stage, the church chose five or six people to have phone conversations with.

8:20 The final three candidates would spend the weekend at the church.

8:41 Danny used three different interview groups (character, competency, culture) made up of pastors, elders and laypeople.

9:35 Danny says he did an exit interview at the end of the weekend to get candidates’ feedback. He also allowed them to clarify anything they had said and share "any skeletons in the closet."

11:03 Lee likes to focus internally when hiring because those people are already immersed in the church’s culture.

12:00 Lee says planters need to know their philosophy of ministry and write it down so that they won’t comprise when hiring or placing leaders into positions.

13:00 Lee reminds us that, ultimately, any hiring involves risk. "You’ve got to be willing to take the risk to grow the team, but don’t compromise the things that got you to where you were and will continue to move you forward."

13:30 If you realize that the person you hired is not a good fit; pull the trigger quickly to end it, move on, readdress and try to hire again, if possible.

14:10 Danny shares two clarifying questions he asked his team: If we saw this person failing five years from now, what would be that issue? If this person is going to be successful five years from now, what is going to be that thing?

Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss how to recruit, mobilize and inspire your volunteers, especially after you’ve reached the one-year mark.

0:52 Lee says it wasn’t difficult to get people from the launch team to serve and give. The challenge came at about the year mark. 

1:28 At the one-year mark, Lee realized the majority of their giving was still coming through launch team members.

1:47 Only 10% of the regular attenders were regularly serving. Lee says the goal is 40% participation.

2:14 Lee reminds planters that this is normal as you move beyond the launch phase to being an "actual" church.

2:30 Lee says it’s important to create the opportunity and share the vision.

2:38 Lee says there are two ways to share the vision: Focus on the need, or focus on the opportunity and great impact. Don’t go with the need. If you only focus on the need, the need will always be there. You may get people serving for just a moment to fill that immediate need, but eventually, you’ll wear your people out because the need never actually gets dealt with.

3:23 Lee talks about how he addressed this issue with his church from the stage on a Sunday morning.

5:12 Lee says it’s important to celebrate the people who are serving every weekend and the lives being changed because of their service. 

5:31 Also, challenge volunteers to find and recruit the next person to come and serve with them.

6:13 Lee talks about why one of his church’s top givers decided to leave the church six months after it started.

7:26 Lee says, if you mobilize and inspire your people, you’ve got to have that next step right away. "That’s where I find a lot of guys fall short."

7:54 Lee talks about the three next steps he gave to people in his church. First, he talked about becoming a prayer partner.

8:18 Secondly, become a volunteer partner. His church set up tables in the lobby for each of the key volunteering opportunities and invited people to stop by one or more of the tables right after the service.

9:42 Danny likes that Lee made this part of the service rather than asking people to stay longer or come back later. 

12:24 Lee encourages volunteers to share their story: why they serve week in and week out, what they love about their area and invite people to join them in that process.

13:02 Lee says the biggest coaching piece was the need for leaders to immediately follow up with each person who signs up in their area of interest by calling or texting them.

13:42 The next step is to invite them to serve with you.

14:24 Lee talks about the third way he asked people to partner with his church — financially.

Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee help planters think through ministry opportunities and challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

0:56 Lee says one of the good things that’s come out of this is it’s caused local church leadership to realize that leading the local church isn’t something that just happens on the weekend.

1:50 Danny encourages planters not to think short-sighted — how do I reproduce my Sunday service online? — but instead ask the bigger questions: How do we do evangelism and discipleship? How do we operate as a church?

2:10 Danny recommends using this time as an opportunity to innovate. “I think this is a time for the church and church planters to be able to explore and experiment. The gospel hasn’t changed, just how we operate as a church in evangelism and discipleship. That definitely in these times has fundamentally changed, but probably will have a long-lasting impact.”

3:33 Danny says this is the time to go back to the basics and be checking in with people.

4:04 Lee says that no matter what online platform you use for services, find a way to have a host who interacts with people, so there’s a relational connection.

4:47 Danny talks about a church plant in Arkansas that did a great job of interacting with people during its online service.

5:48 Lee discusses creative ways he’s seen church plants engage their community during this crisis. 

8:06 Lee talks about the benefit of having a social media calendar.

9:36 Lee says planters need to figure out ways to stay connected to their people. His church plant is posting a video devotional from a key church leader every morning.

10:24 Lee says planters need to have at least a 90-day giving strategy. Make sure you set up online giving/text to give.

10:53 Lee thinks churches will see a rise in mental illness, domestic abuse and personal grief in the next 3-6 months.

12:03 Lee says this crisis shows why it’s important to be part of a tribe. Who do you have as a local pastor to be able to lean on and share ideas and resources with?

Go to converge.org/coronavirus for more resources.

In the midst of an election year, Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss what you should — and shouldn’t — say about politics from the pulpit.

1:09 Danny says planters cannot completely ignore politics because it is such a cultural issue. It can be a discipleship issue of teaching your people how they ought to engage culture.

2:09 Lee says it’s important to remind your people to address political issues from a biblical standpoint. "What does the Bible teach? Try to allow the Bible to be your grid as to who you’re going to vote for and don’t just focus on one small snippet, focus on the whole."

3:04 We have freedom of speech, but as Christians, we don’t have the right to be mean. "Don’t lean so hard into your liberties of what the nation does that you lose sight of what it means to be a Christian witness in the midst of this season," Lee said.

3:34 Danny says sharing your political views can cause you to lose your opportunity to share Christ with someone. "What’s more important for me to proclaim? Is it to proclaim Christ or to proclaim the candidate or party that I am a part of?"

4:25 Lee says part of the discipleship process is helping people understand social media — be careful what you post and how you post it.

5:29 Using your church building as a polling site provides a great opportunity to be able to connect and love people and allow them to walk into your building and see what you’re doing.

6:06 Lee says, looking back, he backed away from some social justice issues that probably would have been more appropriate for him to say something. "I do think that there’s a moment where pastors need to speak up for those that are facing some of the injustices that exist in our world. But there is an appropriate way that you can address those conversations and not alienate everybody."

7:18 Danny and Lee share their thoughts on bringing public servants or candidates in to pray for them.

9:26 Lee talks about how to deal with someone from your church who is running for political office.