5 Things I Wish Every Church Planter Knew (Part 4)
Continued from an earlier blog post...
4 - THERE WILL BE MANY MANY CHAPTERS IN THE STORY OF YOUR CHURCH!
Most church planters are type "A" personalities. They are driven people who like to get stuff done. Because of this, it's easy to fall into the trap of wanting to see their entire vision for the church unfold within the first year. This isn't possible. More than that, it is emotionally and physically destructive.
When we started Great Lakes Church, it exploded. None of us expected to be running 500+ people from day one. As a result, I didn't take a single day off for over 6 months. Truthfully, I didn't even want to. I was so caught up in the momentum of what was happening that I didn't stop to think about the fact that our church would have many many chapters in it's story and it was stupid to try and cram them all into the first year.
If you're launching a church, you've got to remember that this is a journey. Don't feel like you've got to sprint all the time! There will always be more people to reach, more programs to start, more money to raise, more volunteers to mobilize and train, more staff to hire, more vision to see fulfilled, etc.
Initially, not having our own building was GREAT. Today it's a pain. We have to organize our entire church around the seating capacity and time schedule of a movie theater. I'd love to have our own place, but I've had to accept that it's not the right season for our church yet. The same thing w/ Jr High ministry. I'd love to have a program on Sunday morning for 6th-8th graders, but I'm not going to force it. Someday, that chapter of our church history will be written. Just not now.
Dave
PS - If you missed last Sunday, here are the "TOP 10 NAMES FOR A MULLET":
10 - Business in the front, party in the back!
9 - The El Camino headrest
8 - The Achy-Breaky-Big-Mistakey
7 - The Wisconsin Waterfall
6 - The Mississippi Mudflap
5 - The Nebraska Neckwarmer (or Neckbeard)
4 - The Tennesse Top Hat
3 - The Missouri Compromise
2 - The Camaro Crash Helmet
1 - The Canadian Passport
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