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What Is Covocational Church Planting?

A covocational church planter is one whose primary vocation is in the marketplace and who is also called to start a church. Rather than viewing work outside the church as secondary or provisional, covocational leaders understand their marketplace vocation as an essential part of...
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Evangelism as Discipline

Paul Worcester

When I started to grasp the urgency of our need to share the gospel, I began attempting to share Christ, but I only did so sporadically. I would read a book on evangelism, get all fired up, and go share with a bunch of...
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The Planter Without a Platform

Dan Steel

There is an unwritten rule in our church-planting culture: find the right person, and the church will follow. The “right” person?   The right person is winsome, visionary, a gifted communicator—an all-round leader who more than capably reads Scripture, the room,...
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What Church Planters Must Remember About People’s Greatest Need

Noah Oldham

Church planters live in the middle of need.  You feel it from the earliest days. There are practical needs, financial needs, relational needs, leadership needs, facility needs, community needs, marriage needs, parenting needs, counseling needs, and on and on. Some...
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When Strategy Isn’t Enough: The Power of Relational Covenants

Ben Barfield

I remember sitting in a staff meeting not long ago thinking something feels off.  Nothing had gone wrong. Nobody was arguing; the agenda got covered, and on the surface, it looked like a good meeting. But it was quiet in a way...
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3 Things Church Planters Tend to Neglect

Ronnie Martin

Church planting is a whole mood.   When a new church finally launches, so does the church planter! A maelstrom of multi-tasks (if they weren’t already in motion) descends in quick succession, and they are all necessary (and usually good) things. But the urgency that comes with planning...
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The Crowd is Not a Church

Adam Muhtaseb

In 1945, World War II ended. Japan surrendered. The fighting was over.   But nobody told Hiroo Onoda.  Stationed in the Philippine jungle, Onoda kept fighting WWII for 29 years. Search parties went looking for him. He assumed they were Japanese prisoners forced to act against...
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The Church Planter as Worship Leader: 4 Ways to Lead God’s People in Praise

Jon Kelly

In the beginning of Chicago West Bible Church, one of the first hires that I made was hiring a part-time Worship Director. Faithfully leading God’s people in worship was a high priority for me. While my heart and motives were good, what...
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Women’s Ministry Must Be a Priority for Church Planters. So, Where Do We Start?

Emily Dunlap

In church planting, prioritizing and starting specific ministry areas in your church can be overwhelming. However, a key focus area for ministry must be women’s discipleship. In every church, effective women’s discipleship is vital to the church’s health. If a formally established, Word-driven, and strategic women’s ministry is crucial to your church, where do you begin?   Church planters should not start any new...
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7 Point Inspection for a Church Planter

Luke Simmons

Recently, I discovered I was breaking the law.  Somehow, my vehicle registration slipped through the cracks of my junk-filled personal email account. After my wife was pulled over while driving my car, she told me with loving firmness that I needed...
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A Diagnostic of Weary Church Planters

Dan Steel

I bet you know the passage. Matthew 11:28–30.   “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,...
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4 Leadership Lessons from Gethsemane

Noah Oldham

Years ago, I saw a meme that showed a dog chasing a bird off a cliff, mouth open, ready to bite. The caption said, “Some decisions made in anger can’t be undone.”  That meme has stuck with me. Because it’s funny until it’s not.  It’s funny...
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3 Criteria for a Healthy Men’s Ministry

Barnabas Piper

Traditional men’s ministry is activity-centric with a heavy (literally) dose of food thrown in. Or maybe it’s food-centric with an activity as the primary excuse to gather and eat. And for good reason—shared activity (games, sports, projects, etc.) and good...
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4 Axioms from Spurgeon’s Leadership

J.A. Medders

Our lives are filled with axioms. These truisms, even if overstated, make a helpful point that’s easy to remember.  In the world of sports, we hear, “Your best ability is availability.” I love this axiom. A great player who is always injured hurts his...
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5 Principles for Hiring Staff

Luke Simmons

“What do I need to be thinking about when it comes to staffing?” As I coach church planters, this question comes up again and again. Hiring and building a staff is an area of leadership that most church planters are...
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4 Steps of a Discipleship Pathway

Vick Green

What are the essential steps that are needed to move someone from being a new believer to becoming your dream disciple? I want to give you four essential steps to your pathway and then show you the one that nearly every church is missing.   Ken Blanchard identified four stages...
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Legacy Over Platform: Six Things That Will Outlast Your Sermons

Jon Kelly

In an age where sermons can be downloaded, clipped, shared, and forgotten within hours, it is easy for pastors and church planters to think that our primary influence comes through our preaching. Preaching certainly matters. Faith comes by hearing the...
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Church Planter Identity Crisis

Will Basham

Most Americans don’t just work; we tend to derive identity from our work. Secular research confirms what many of us already feel: our careers don’t simply provide income; they shape our sense of self. It’s no surprise that this is the case when we live in a...