13 Characteristics of an Effective Church Planter

This is a post from Dr. Charles Ridley of Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) that I believe is helpful for church leaders as well.

Take some time and think about it:

13 Characteristics of an Effective Church Planter
By Dr. Charles Ridley

What does it take to be an effective church planter? Dr. Charles Ridley conducted a study of church planters in the United States and Canada. Based upon his research and subsequent field testing, he developed a list of 13 church planter characteristics. For over a decade, these characteristics have been used to select church planters. Here is his list of characteristics and their definitions.

Visioning Capacity
· Being a person who projects into the future beyond the present.
· Developing a theme which highlights the vision and philosophy of ministry.
· Coping effectively with non-visioning elements.
· Not erecting artificial walls or limits either overtly or subconsciously.
· Establishing a clear church identity related to the theme and vision.
· Believing in God's capacity to do great things.

Intrinsically Motivated
· Having a desire to do well and a commitment to excellence.
· Stick-to-itiveness and persistence.
· Having initiative and aggressiveness without the negative connotations.
· Having a willingness to work long and hard.
· Being a self-starter with a willingness to build from nothing.
· Having a high energy and vitality level; physical stamina.

Creates Ownership of Ministry
· Helping people to feel responsible for the growth and success of the church.
· Gaining a commitment of the people to the vision.
· Establishing a congregational identity.
· Avoiding stereotyping of the congregation by imposing unrealistic goals.

Relates to the Unchurched
· Communicating in style that is understood by the unchurched.
· Understanding the psychology or mentality of the unchurched.
· Moving and functioning in the personal space of the unchurched without fear.
· Quickly getting to know the unchurched on a personal level.
· Breaking through the barriers erected by the unchurched.
· Handling crises faced by the unchurched.

Spousal Cooperation
· Having an explicit agreement regarding each partner's involvement in ministry.
· Having explicit rules regarding the use of home as an office.
· Evaluating the consequences of ministry demands upon the children.
· Functioning as a team through individual and collective action.
· Having a strategy for dealing with strangers.
· Modeling wholesome family life before church and community.
· Agreeing upon and sharing the ministry vision.
· Deliberately planning and protecting private family life.

Effectively Builds Relationships
· Responding with urgency to expressed needs and concerns of people.
· Displaying Godly love and compassion to people.
· Getting to know people on a personal basis.
· Making others feel secure and comfortable in one's presence.
· Not responding judgmentally or prejudicially to new people.
· Appreciating and accepting a variety of persons.
· Spends time with present parishioners without ignoring them for new people.
Committed to Church Growth
· Believing in church growth as a theological principle.
· Appreciating steady growth without preoccupation with quick success .
· Committing to numerical growth within the context of spiritual and relational growth.
· Recognizing that non-growth is threatening and self-defeating.
· Establishing the goal of quickly becoming a financially self-supporting church.
· Not prematurely falling into a ministry of maintenance.
· Seeing the church project within the larger context of God's kingdom.

Responsive to Community
· Understanding the culture of the community.
· Identifying and assessing community needs.
· Responding to community needs on a priority basis.
· Determining successes and failures of other attempts to respond to the community.
· Not confusing what the community needs with what the church wants to offer.
· Acquiring and understanding of the character and pulse of the community.
· Adapting the philosophy of ministry to the character of the community.

Utilizes Giftedness of Others
· Understanding the culture of the community.
· Releasing and equipping people to do the task of ministry.
· Discerning of spiritual gifts in others.
· Matching the gifts of people with ministry needs and opportunities.
· Delegating effectively in areas of personal limitation.
· Avoiding personal overload by delegating effectively.
· Not prematurely assigning ministry positions before people are equipped.
· Not placing unwarranted restrictions on other's spiritual giftedness.

Flexible and Adaptable
· Coping effectively with ambiguity.
· Coping effectively with constant and abrupt change.
· Adapting oneself to the uniqueness of the particular church planting project.
· Shifting priorities and emphasis during various stages of church growth.
· Doing whatever is necessary whenever necessary.

Builds Group Cohesiveness
· Developing a nucleus group or groups as a foundation.
· Quickly incorporating newcomers into a network of relationships.
· Engaging others in meaningful church activity.
· Monitoring the morale of people.
· Utilizing groups effectively.
· Dealing with conflict assertively, constructively and tactfully.

Resilience
· Experiencing setbacks without defeat.
· Riding the ups and downs (i.e. attendance).
· Expecting the unexpected.
· Rebounding from loss, disappointments and failure.

Exercises Faith
· Possessing a conviction regarding one's call to church planting ministry.
· Believing in God's action.
· Having expectation and hope.
· Having a willingness to wait for answers to specific prayer requests.

Dr. Charles Ridley, A leading pioneer in church planting assessment, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

NEW ORU Academic Video 2009

This is an excellent overview of the outstanding programs offered by the one and only Oral Roberts University. Check out http://www.oru.edu for an HD quality video.

Enjoy...

Misdressed Warriors

In the later part of Ephesians 6, Paul begins to describe the parts of the Armor of the Christian warrior. As a kid we learn these pieces of armor and sometimes we get a gold star for all the ones we get right. Now that I am older, I am wondering if God gives us a star for each one or if he gives us a star for wearing the complete armor and using it as it was intended to be used.

What I mean by that is that we hear quite a bit about the helmet of salvation or the breastplate of righteousness and especially the sword, which is the truth. But is not the last piece the most vital of all?

What is the last piece? The piece we emphasize less? That is the shoes of the readiness of the Gospel of peace. The final part of the armor is the shoes. It is the metaphor for 1 Peter 3:15; to be ready to give a reason for the hope that you have for anyone that asks you.

Stop. Think. Ask yourself, “Am I a misdressed warrior?”

Or do I look ridiculous with this massive cool armor, sword and shield and yet I am in bare feet? I don’t think a soldier would last long without good foot wear. Watch the movie Glory and you will see what a difference adequate foot wear can do for a group of soldiers.

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" (Romans 10:14-15)

You can boast about all the other pieces as much as you want, but be reminded to put on the last piece. Shoes matter. How beautiful are the feet!

Think about it…

Thoughts on Loving People from my friend, Trinity Jordan

In the Name of Love
Trinity Jordan, pastor, Elevation Church, Layton, Utah

The two young Mormon missionaries stood there in my living room, wide eyed, pondering what they had just heard.

I decided to repeat myself to make sure they heard me correctly, “Yes, I would like very much to go through the missionary discussions. But, before we do, can we hang out three times without talking about your beliefs or my beliefs. Tonight we will order pizza, make some lemonade, and just chat.” They nodded as if they really didn’t speak my language.

The night passed as we dove into casual conversation of where we were from, what our interests were, and where we had been in life. The next meeting brought with it a trip to a local ice cream shop to continue our conversation. As we ate our ice cream and laughed at each other’s stories, I looked down at one of the Mormon missionaries’ shoes. They were completely ripped apart.

“What is up with your shoes, bro?”

“Well, I’ve been on my mission for 10 months now and I only brought with me one pair of shoes.”

“What size do you wear? I’m sure I’ve got an old pair of shoes in my closet that are better than those.”

I was secretly plotting at this point. I had learned from the previous week that his birthday was coming up. I could make our third meeting a birthday party, complete with a gift of shoes that he desperately needed.

The balloons were in place. The cake was made. The streamers hung from the ceiling. Friends of mine that I knew would be nice to these young missionaries were hiding all over my house. The doorbell rang. I answered the door.

Surprise!

As they walked into my house like two deer in headlights. I held out my present to my new Mormon missionary friend. He slowly opened the present. He stopped as he lifted the lid of the shoebox and stared at the new pair of shoes. “Why did you do this?”

“Cause I love you, man. You are my friend.”

“No, really, why did you do this?”

“Mama said you can learn a lot about a man by the shoes he wears, bro. I’m serious; I love you.”

The gospel story is a story of love. God’s love for us. God’s love in us. God’s love changing us and God’s love flowing out of us to transform the world.

John tells us that God is love. Paul says we have died to Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us.

This means we have the most amazing love in the world living in us. A love that changes lives. A love unlike what anyone in the world can offer. A selfless, gracious love.

My job as a follower of Jesus is to love. This is the characteristic that defines me as a disciple. My love for others. My job isn’t to save anyone. But, rather to be a living witness for Jesus. The job of Savior of the World is filled and He is doing a great job. I’m terrible at it.

This is why people walk away hurt from our churches. We are doing jobs that are not ours to do and we neglect what we are supposed to do. Love people. People need to feel like they belong with us before they believe like us. By loving them we let the good news of the gospel penetrate their hearts. The good news is that Jesus gives us life and hope through what He did for us on the cross. This will lead to spiritual conversations of Jesus and the life that He offers to all.

I believe in the local church. Can you imagine what we could do if we always did our job of loving people we come into contact with? Pharisees would call us friends of sinners. The drunks and prostitutes would be welcomed into our church services feeling welcomed and ready to receive Christ’s offer of redemption.

We have gotten so disconnected from a dying world around us, we are trying to perfect methods of salvation instead of working on truly loving the people we come in contact with everyday. We harm those around us when we don’t do our job and try to do God’s job. You and I are not charged with convicting the world of sin—that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. Our task is to unconditionally love people.

Kathryn wants to be like Mommy!

Here is a glimpse into the awesome world of my baby girl. Oh, and Mommy, WE LOVE YOU! Enjoy...

Contextual Theology and Being Missional

Being missional is the buzz word that is replacing all things emerging, so I believe it is a good idea to dialog about what it means to contextualize theology. This is not only the work of a missionary in a foreign land anymore; it is now the work of local pastors and leaders in the churches of America.

Paul G. Hiebert in his book, Anthroplogical Insights for Missionaries (Baker, 1986), suggests that critical contextualization is a proactive to balance effectively the development of contextual theology. His four step concept was developed by missionaries ministering in a foreign culture to help in making sure that the development of a contextual theology remains properly balanced. Hiebert's critical contextualization encourages the participation of all the members within a church.

1. The first step is to recognize the need to deal biblically with all areas of life.


2. Step two is for the congregation to meet and analyze the cultural issues they confront from an uncritical perspective.


3. The third step is to conduct a Bible study that is relevant to the particular cultural issue being considered.


4. Finally, the congregation needs to evaluate critically their own past customs in the light of their new biblical understandings and to make a decision regarding thier use.

Although this process can be tedious, it is the new work of the local church as they seek to understand, engage, and influence today's culture with the timeless message of hope that the local church champions. Think about it...

QUESTION: What is your church or ministry doing to contextualize theology (i.e. being missional)? Is it effective? Is it worth it? Any suggestions?