Episode 697: No planter goes in thinking it’s going to be easy, but none knows quite how hard it’s actually going to be. Host Clint Clifton discusses the incredible benefits of endurance in planting with Jeff Belcher and Amanda Hudson.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
- The importance of staying through difficulty and the fruit of endurance
- Why longevity in a community enables others to entrust you with valuable resources
- How to navigate in a transient context and guard against the temptation to not get close to people
- Advice for new church planters about “buckling up” for longevity
- How enduring seasons of difficulty prepares you to experience a “sweet season”
Helpful Resources:
- Clint’s article: Church Planter Postpartum Depression?
- Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer
- Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass?
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Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches):
I often tell church planters that the only way to ensure you won’t be a failure before you plant a church is to refuse to quit. Church planting is so challenging and if you have an escape hatch, the odds are when things are really intense, you probably will walk through one of those escape hatches. @ClintJClifton
We like the idea of being a consistent factor, a foundational person and a familiar face. It’s encouraging, especially for people who don’t take church life seriously, to see us always present. — Amanda Hudson
I look back at the seasons of difficulty as a gift now, where in the midst of them I saw them as the worst possible thing that could happen. If you stick it out when things are crushingly difficult, there comes a day you look back and say I’m so glad I didn’t quit. @ClintJClifton
Looking back is essential in the Christian life. When we remember past trials and we’ve seen the ways that God’s brought us through, that can definitely be powerful in moving us forward through the challenges in church planting. — Jeff Belcher
If you’re starting to wonder, “Did I do the right thing?” – the the answer is yes. Don’t don’t quit. Don’t give up. Church planting is difficult. We’re fighting for the eternity of people and so there’s a real adversary in the midst of that. @ClintJClifton
We refer to one another all the time as family, and families don’t quit one another. If we as planters come before our congregants and say we’re a family, then what does that say if we bail out when things get hard? That’s not the nature of the family of God. — Jeff Belcher
Walking away, like a father walking away from his family, is devastating. If when things get hard, we walk away, then that says a lot about the God we’re proclaiming to people. Commitment to church family is just foundational to planting. — Jeff Belcher
Published September 1, 2022