Purpose Driven Church Planting & more ?’s
I recently read Starting New Churches on Purpose by Ron Sylvia. It was a surprise read for me. I don’t know why but I wasn’t putting much stock into it but the content was very practical and there were things in it that triggered some big questions that I will need to decide on. One of the most practical aspects of the church was it’s appendix that had suggestions on books, church web sites, demographics, church planting, music resources, media resources, mailer suggestions, and more. One of the websites was www.pdplanting.com I think I am going to go to one of the conferences they are putting on in Nashville at the end of September. Has anyone ever done anything with this group/conference? Anyone live in Nashville?
Now for a few more questions. This book advocates for a church plant model of starting with a community (think Saddleback) and working towards a core. Start big and create momentum. One of things I heard at Origins was be strategic with a core. Start with a core group and out of the core group you will grow. Not that one approach is better then another but eventually I will need to decide which approach is best for my context. I’m automatically starting with a core group before we launch based on people are moving with my family to plant this church. However, conversations have already started as to when are we going to start meeting as a small group and I’m not sure if that is what I want from this group. Here is a quote from the book, “Remember you are building a launch team not a core group. A core group will want Bible Studies and worship experiences. A core group will immediately want to start acting like a church. There is no church until you launch it. The launch team is focused on the aspects of launching, the assignments, and responsibilities. There job is to get this church off the ground, and their job is to train and prepare for the launch.” My vision is for this launch team to be similiar to the above quote but my fear is that some people choosing to move are signing up for a different motive but I could be wrong. More of this will be clear when I have the opportunity to cast Vision for the first time in a month. What has been your experience or what are your thoughts?
