Church Planting

A common challenge that every church planter will be faced with is the challenge of making “mountains out of mole hills.” I am not talking about blowing a given issue out of proportion, rather, I am speaking of providing majestic mountains on mole hill resources.

I snapped the picture above as we were recently driving into Los Angeles. And my heart was gripped by the numbers on it. Four million people in this one city—just seventy miles from where I pastor.

The story of Crown Point Baptist Church begins with the directive of the Saviour to simply, “Go.” At the age of fifty-four, Pastor Mark Irmler and his family surrendered to the call to start a new independent Baptist church in the city of Simi Valley, California.

As we began preparations to plant Huikala Baptist Church, I read dozens of books on church planting, subscribed to blogs and podcasts, and became a student of other successful and unsuccessful church plants.

An annual feature of the Spiritual Leadership Conference is the Church Planter’s Luncheon where church planters and their wives enjoy a meal, fellowship with other church planters, and teaching on church planting.

Thirteen years ago, Anthony and Angela King sold most of their possessions to move from Hawaii to attend West Coast Baptist College and to serve the Lord. Now, they are serving the Lord as church planters in downtown Honolulu, Hawaii.

Pastor Tavv Shaver planted Evergreen Baptist Church in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. After speaking at the West Coast Baptist College 2014 Church Planting Conference, he spoke with The Baptist Voice about church planting.

The first anniversary of the church should be an exciting and memorable event. This special day will require planning and preparation well in advance. The first anniversary affords an opportunity for the entire church family to recall the goodness of God.

There are many different ways churches have been started. I am in favor of any honorable method that proves to be successful. Any method that works, you might say, is a good plan. However, my experience tells me that some methods are better than others. Unfortunately, many church plants are not successful, and there are reasons why they are not successful.

Momentum in church planting is wonderful when you have it, but not so good when you don’t. If you have it and lose it, it is especially difficult to regain. A good start to a new church can provide momentum, excitement, and a good spirit from the beginning.

How do churches grow and become strong? There are many factors, but the most significant factor for a church to become strong is the longevity of the pastor. Starting a church can be achieved quickly in a matter of months, but building a strong indigenous church requires hard work over many years.

Every great leader has a vision for God’s work. Noah had a vision of how to escape impending judgment by building an ark. Abraham had a vision of a land and a people that would please God. Moses had a vision for the people of God to escape from the slavery of Egypt.

When it comes to planting churches, I think we romanticize the spiritual condition of our nation. Do you wonder how many Americans actually believe the Bible is accurate? Do you wonder which cities most need a gospel-preaching church?

You are probably familiar with the famous saying, “Nothing ventured nothing gained.” In other words, it is better to try something that fails than to do nothing when failure is guaranteed. In church planting this is especially true. Timidly sitting back waiting on people to come is not a good plan for success.

Missions is church planting. Whether a man starts a church in America or overseas the goal is the same; start local New Testament Baptist Churches. Missions should begin at the local church and spread to the neighboring communities, throughout the state, then all of America, and finally to all the world in the regions beyond.

When I believed God was burdening my heart to plant a church in my hometown, many people laughed or just shook their heads. You see, I am from Las Vegas, Nevada. In 1977, I planned to graduate on May 11, get married ten days later, and assist my pastor in building a recent successful church plant in Burlington, North Carolina. That year, however, God changed my direction towards planting a church in Las Vegas.

On July 11, 1982, my wife Josselyn and our four-year-old son Peter drove the last few kilometers of the Trans-Canada Highway into the vast metropolitan area known as Vancouver, British Columbia. We arrived rather naive, certainly ill prepared, lacking in training, and vastly underfunded.

A crisis is certain to occur eventually in every new church. New churches often face tragedy in their infancy while they are still weak. It is important to remember that we are in a spiritual battle against principalities and powers. Satan tries to destroy new churches before they even get established.