Acts 29 Church Plant: Tyler Jones - Vintage21 - Raleigh, NC
0 Comments
We interviewed Tyler Jones, Lead Pastor of Vintage21 and host of the upcoming Acts 29 Boot Camp in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Tyler and his wife Kimberly moved to the Raleigh area in 1997 after graduating from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at North Carolina State five years before starting Vintage21. After attending many churches in the area, Tyler and Kimberly noticed an absence of people in the 20-40 age groups. After much prayer and guidance, they felt God's call to begin a church with people of that age group in mind. Vintage21 began five years ago with a small group of people, and has been growing ever since. Kimberly is a pharmaceutical doctor, and they have two daughters.
When and where did you plant Vintage21?
We planted Vintage21 in downtown Raleigh in November of 2002 - about a week before Thanksgiving actually - and believe me, we had no idea what we were doing.
What do you mean that you had no idea?
Well, we thought we did, but we were quickly humbled. The truth is we received no coaching at all. Just look at when we started - there might be an equally inopportune time to launch a new church, but the week before Thanksgiving and four weeks before Christmas has to be up there. The only thing I knew was that I had been called to plant a church where we could work toward one goal - to bring the love of Christ to the one million unsaved people in the Raleigh area.
What was that time like for Vintage21?
Well, our first gathering drew roughly 37 people and that whole first year we grew by subtraction - we lost two folks for every new person that got involved. In that year we did a few things right, like our infamous "Jesus Videos", but we spent a majority of the time picking ourselves back up off the ground from the frequent "2x4" to the forehead. It was tough, but it was also a time that forced us to learn to rely on God's provision, so we grew stronger in that way. I remember one winter morning when the rock salt we bought for the sidewalk outside cost more than the offering given that day. At that point, you really have to say, "Okay God, this is going to have to be your show, or we're not going to make it."
You are still here. So what happened?
Well, we were in what is a similar situation for many plants-the first year was raw survival. That is why statistics reflect an overwhelming number of failures for new plants. The bottom line is that God showed up. We survived and grew not because of funding, a cool website or gimmicks, but because of the grace of God, and His love for our city. Over the past four years, God has grown our church at 100% each year and we are on track to see that same growth in 2007. If you had told me that we would have grown that much at the time of the "rock salt incident," or a hundred others like it, I would have told you that you were crazy. That is the story of our church - God has been good in the midst of many mistakes.
What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting Vintage21?
That is a tough question to answer because there are so many areas of responsibility within planting. I met with many church planters before their official launch and they believed finances and a critical mass of people are going to be the hardest issues. These are definitely major concerns but I have found two issues more challenging.
The first challenging issue is leadership development. When you first plant, you have to lead everything in order to protect the vision God has called you to build. This ownership is critical at first but as a planter, you must simultaneously be raising leaders to alleviate your burden. Therefore, it is a difficult balancing act: if you give things away too quickly, the vision will fail, but if you hold onto them too long, you will burn out and/or growth will halt.
The second issue is even more challenging because it seems counterintuitive. The way you start a church will eventually kill it if you do not radically reorganize your structures. For example, for a church plant to grow, a planter must begin by leading relationally within the core group. However, once your church really starts to grow - once you have broken the 100-person attendance mark - then one man can no longer affectively pastor the whole congregation. In order to care for people, your style must change from relational to implementing systems and structures. This feels very wrong at first and the temptation is to stick to your guns, work more and meet with more people. This is a critical mistake and can lead to negative impacts. You will burn out, and you will paralyze lay leaders from ministry that they have been called to do.
These two reasons really led us to join Acts 29. The network has provided invaluable coaching and helps through leadership development as well as pointing out potential unseen pitfalls. Do not plant in isolation. It will stifle your growth.
How did you become involved in Acts 29?
My first contact with Acts 29 goes back to a conference held in Seattle in October of 2001. The network was new and the conference missed the mark for me but I enjoyed watching this guy named Mark Driscoll debate theology with another conference speaker. Mark was relatively unknown at that time and a man who fearlessly loved Jesus intrigued me, defended scripture with verbosity and at the same time was completely blowing a church up in the least-churched city in America.
It took 2 years to reconnect but the Lord led me to an Acts 29 conference in Florida where I met a group of men who were conservative in their theology but very progressive in methodology. At that conference, we discovered an endless source of coaching, training, accountability and an opportunity to journey with other planters doing what we dreamed of accomplishing. We have been "all in" with Acts 29 since that day.
What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant?
Do not plant unless you are sure of God's calling. For some reason church planting has become trendy and men see it as an easy way to the top of church leadership, without realizing the disaster it will bring to your family and congregation if God does not call you. I thrive in a risky environment, and I do not doubt my call to plant and I have seen God do amazing things at Vintage21. Nevertheless, planting a church is a brutal endeavor. Acts 29's assessment process is a powerful tool in helping men figure out if they are gifted and called to be a lead planter. I would highly recommend all men wanting to plant to submit to assessment by Acts 29 or another capable network/denomination.
What can we look forward to at the Raleigh Boot Camp in September?
Acts 29 has really blown up on the west coast and obviously, Mars Hill is our mother church. The Boot Camps in Seattle have typically been the largest and most successful, but the East Coast is really catching up. Ed Marcelle, in Troy NY, hosted an amazing Boot Camp in October 2006 and we plan to follow suit. We are going to have well-known speakers like Ed Stetzer and Mark Driscoll, who will always challenge your thinking. Other planters such as Chan Kilgore and Daniel Montgomery will challenge you deeply and will be on your podcast list after the Boot Camp. That is not to mention the chance to attend the Convergent Conference at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, which is right down the road. In addition, for those who have not been to Raleigh, you will find yourself feeling "called" all of a sudden to plant here-it is an amazing city. Vintage21 just moved into a new building that is top-notch, and we are excited for the chance to host this Boot Camp.
You can register for the Raleigh Boot Camp through Sporg. The dates are September 19-20.
0 Comments | Login to Post Comments