At my home church, Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, GA, Associate Pastor Tim Beard provides leadership to the Fellowship Bible Church Planter Residency Program. The men who go through this year-long program learn from some of the greatest Christian leaders in the world including our senior pastor Dr. Crawford Loritts.
Recently, I had the privilege to spend time with these heroes of the faith and teach on leadership as they launch their ministries.
Because what they were already exposed to such high quality information Crawford, Tim and others, I wanted to share with them principles they may not hear in mainstream learning environments. The following are 4 Things Every Church Planter Should Know:
- Focus On Self-Leadership. The toughest person a church planter will ever lead is themselves. If you have to choose between character or competence, pick both but go with character. Character promotes personal holiness over personal freedoms. Character avoids anger. I am seeing an epidemic of angry pastors and it is destroying their influence. The only difference between anger and danger is a “d”. Characters measures success properly. Character ensures you will be a prophetic voice in your community and not a self-help guru who sprinkles in Bible verses. There is no more important moment than when a church planter begins their day with an open Bible and quiet time. Make a covenant with your eyes. Beware of girls, gold and glory. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life will destroy your church. And finally, place your family first. They will love you no matter how well you preach or lead.
- From The Very Start Put Systems Into Place, Not Silver Bullets. Institute an annual funding plan so your vision can become a reality. Institute an annual preaching calendar so your church gets a balanced diet of God’s Word. Institute a volunteer attraction, training, on-boarding, appreciation and evaluation system.
- Speak To Business Leaders. When you look out at your congregation, who is out there? Business leaders. They are either business leaders, working for business leaders, studying to become business leaders, related to business leaders, retired business leaders, or transitioning from one to the other. Churches should disciple people to have a biblical framework in that which they do more of than anything else outside of church.
- How To Pick Elders. Start with the biblical requirements found in Titus 1 and 1 Timothy 3. Then, pick people who first love Jesus. Secondly, they love their pastor. Thirdly, they love their church. In that order. Then find people who understand church leadership. There is a natural tension between business leaders and church staff. Business leaders focus every day on transaction. Church staff focus every day on transformation. There is a natural tension. Pick people who understand both. Pick people who can connect budgets and tasks to the fulfillment of vision. And finally, only pick people you like. Chemistry matters. You will be fighting hell together for several years. Don’t pick people who will not have your back at all times.
It was an absolute joy to invest in these dear brothers. If you want to know more about the Fellowship Bible Church Planter Residency Program, email Tim Beard at tim.beard@fellowshiproswell.org. He is amazing!!!
This program will surround you with people who love you and will position you for success as well as any program out there.
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