Why Church Planting?
The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for 1) the numerical growth of the Body of Christ in any city, and 2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else--not crusades, outreach programs, para-church ministries, growing mega-churches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal processes--will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting. This is an eyebrow raising statement. But to those who have done any study at all, it is not even controversial.
So, why is church planting so crucially important? Because...
We want to be true to THE BIBLICAL MANDATE
Jesus' essential call was to plant churches. Virtually all the great evangelistic challenges ...
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by Scott Thomas, President of Acts 29
I often say that every church leader needs a coach. Below are thirty reasons the participants of Gospel Coach Training have shared:
Coaching helps to remind a leader of the Gospel
Coaching exposes a leader's blind spots
All leaders are capable of succumbing to sin's deception
Leaders are models for faithful obedience
Coaching is preventative maintenance for a leader
The stakes for a church leader are high
Coaching models biblical community
Coaching provides a prayer partner for the leader
Leaders can be prideful
Leaders are often lonely
Coaching is a practical means for a leader to pay careful attention to self
Coaching brings encouragement to the leader
Coaching can protect the flock from a leader’s mistakes and bad decisions
Coaching ...
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By Pastor Scott Thomas
After 46 years, Penn State football’s head coach Joe Paterno was suddenly fired. The once great reign of the NCAA Division I football’s winningest coach had come to an abrupt and tragic end. 83-year-old Joe Paterno (endearingly known as “JoePa”) achieved 409 wins, five undefeated seasons and two national championships. But suddenly, none of that mattered anymore. In one week, after the arrest of a former assistant coach on child sexual abuse charges, everybody's favorite grandpa was removed from the sidelines for the first time since the Lyndon Johnson Administration.
The Apostle Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). Finishing with honor for the glory of God is the goal. It ...
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by Scott Thomas, President of Acts 29
Besides sharing one Barbie-sized bathroom with 287 people for six hours, the most difficult thing about flying is keeping up with the ever-changing TSA rules. They now use Imaging Technology that can scan a person's body for exploding underwear or exploding breast implants (seriously).
The qualifications for a pastor have been the same for almost 2,000 years. (Don't tell the TSA or they might mess with it.) Jesus came as the perfect fulfillment of this list of qualifications. He is the Chief Shepherd of the Church and we are the undershepherds.
Before you run a battery of tests to determine if you have the qualities of a church planter, make sure you are first qualified as an elder. I found 17 distinct qualifications for a church planter ...
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by Scott Thomas, President of Acts 29
Church planters, as I have observed and personally practiced, live in a constant state of being either angry, depressed or delusional. One might say, "I am neither angry or depressed." Delusional: "An idiosyncratic belief or impression that is not in accordance with a generally accepted reality" (Wordreference.com).
Church planting is hard. Working with people is hard. Dealing with our own emotions is hard. A passionate, emotional pastor planting a church with opinionated people is bound to encounter a conflict or two...per hour. The conflicts are not the problem. The responses usually are. Harsh words in the midst of conflict are like weeds in an untended garden. They crop up everywhere until they finally take over and choke out any ...
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