Resources in this category support a church planter's walk with God.
Ronnie Martin
You were not born a pastor, you were born a person. As Charles Dickens once said, “This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate.” Without receiving yourself as a person,...
Barnabas Piper
Few hurts hurt like church hurt. People join churches expecting a place of love, grace, and safety–a place that looks and feels like the heart of Jesus. Sadly, the reality of sin often messes that up, and people get hurt....
Dan Steel
Appropriate church planting metrics are a thorny topic that many of us struggle with. How do you know if it’s going well? How can you tell? Is it simply a matter of counting? And if so, what do we count?...
Noah Oldham
I was in the middle of small group when I received a barrage of text messages. People from different spaces in my life were desperately trying to reach me. Their pastor had been fired for a moral failure. They felt...
Jon Kelly
The goal of church planting is the fulfillment of the Great Commission. We are called to make disciples for the glory of Christ—everywhere. For the church to do this well, it will require intentionally engaging the lostness of our local...
“You can be impressive, or you can be known, but not both.” — Ray Ortlund Jr. The first time I heard these words, I had an epiphany. The dichotomy presented was the very tension I had so long lived in...
J.A. Medders
The “9 Essentials of a Faithful and Effective Church Planter” is a framework for assessment, training, coaching, and resourcing church planters. Here is a quick overview. Every sport has metrics for what makes an ideal athlete. Speed, wingspan, IQ, mechanics,...
Gus Hernandez Jr.
Have you ever ended up in the wrong location? Navigation woes can be quite frustrating! Several years ago, my wife and I were driving up to visit her family in Delaware for Christmas. After driving all day, we decided to...
Dayton Hartman
Hospitality is a defining feature of the Christian life, individually and of the church corporately. The Apostle Paul calls us to be a welcoming people because we have experienced the gracious welcome of Christ (Rom. 15:7). To put it another...
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” — African Proverb Starting a church often feels like something of an adventure. There’s early energy, vision, anticipation, and a belief that God will...
The appointment of leaders is all throughout the Scriptures. Whether it is Moses delegating responsibilities to other leaders at the recommendation of Jethro, Jesus entrusting authority to the Twelve, or Paul giving Timothy counsel on appointing leaders within the church,...
There’s an infamous rumor that church planting is a lonely journey. Since 2020, one of my responsibilities has been to oversee Church Planter and Spouse Care for the largest church planting network in North America. For the previous nine years,...
One of the questions I’m often asked about, when discussing why church plants struggle, is whether any of the results were particularly surprising. In one sense, the answer is no. Having served as a pastor and planter for over 20...
Mark Lee
In 1991, doctors at Stanford University Medical Center removed a 300-pound tumor from the stomach of a 34-year-old woman. The tumor was twice the size of her natural body weight! Reporters asked her the obvious question, “Why did you wait...
Jen Oshman
Church planting is exhausting, round-the-clock work. When we planted over seven years ago, every family member poured themselves out for the task. Along with our church-planting friends, we did everything from counseling and teaching to web design and childcare. So...
It doesn’t matter the size or polity of your church, you cannot have a healthy leadership culture (or church culture) without having an honest leadership culture. Without honesty, there is no trust. Without trust, there is no relationship, no togetherness,...
I am always struck by the different kinds of environments pastors find themselves in. I’m in a context where things like rest and renewal are talked about often. Many of the churches in the network I serve have either taken...
Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” from the 2022 Midnights album is a self-reflective track dealing honestly with her insecurities, quirks, foibles, imperfections, and flaws—seeing herself as her own worst enemy. It’s catchy and light-hearted (and I apologize if you’re singing it for the...
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