Cold Hard Facts in Church Planting....
1. Your website IS the entry point to your church. Without it, you'll merely exist in your head but not in your community.
If you underestimate the power of a functional website you are without a doubt limiting your outreach capability. Money invested in this area will more than pay for itself in visitors and returnees. Even people that live too far away to attend your church want to know what's going on in your ministry. A website creates buzz in the community and also gives you a major voice without you even saying a word. At Global Vision we've found that at least 95% of our visitors have first "surfed" through our website before showing up. That being said, having video sermons will prove to be an added bonus that will definitely impress newcomers. It also gives first timers an idea of the service style, dress code and a peek into a building that they'll already be foreign to. Remember: Video is the new audio.
People also want to know where the church stands theologically. Social media connection is such an unbelievable power source in these days that it cannot be ignored. Your "branding" is very important. When people recognize your logo online then it'll be remembered when they see it out in the community. Much more could be said but I'll move on with a very important word. DO NOT use "free" website pages. It lengthens your web address and screams "We are cheap".
2. The first few people that tell you "If you start a church, we're in, will actually never show up.
Every church planter in the world has probably heard this phrase. I know for me it was used abundantly. It's a nice way of making you feel more confident and God may even use it to increase your resolve about launching. However, most of the people that make that statement do not have a pioneering spirit and when the "rubber meets the road" on actually starting a new church they will conveniently forget their commitment. It's easy for a friend to get excited about your passion to plant, but its not so easy to convince their families to leave a "stable" church environment for the not so certain success of a new church. So in essence, you'll hear it quite a bit. It'll stroke your ego and allow you to create a "launch" list, but don't hold your breath. It's kinda like, "If I had a million dollars..." It's easy for folks to say what they would do in the "IF" zone. Reality has a strange way of leveling the playing field.
3. At least 40% of those you launch with will be gone at the one year mark.
This is without a doubt the most negative reality of our church planting list. It seems a bit harsh and shocking but its a true "phenomenon" nonetheless. This is not to say that those that start with you but don't stay with you are bad people. The fact is simply that as a new church grows, or doesn't, people's attitude towards the church begins to change and the "new car smell" seems to go away. Sometimes there will be an actual problem within that first year and because the church has never withstood anything before it can seem chaotic and people start bailing. At other times newcomers feel like they came to help you out on loan from another church. That can be a good thing but it doesn't keep the feeling of abandonment from being just as strong. Why 40% seems to be the magical number isn't scientific, but it does show itself to be true. Some plants will experience less of a drift if they start with a really solid team. However, some plants will experience a much bigger increase in those that depart. Just remember that not even God Himself kept his entire "launch" team and He created them. He lost 1/3 of those that He started with. Strange analogy for sure, but you get the point. Don't expect everyone to stay. As a matter of fact, just expect that everyone will eventually leave. It'll soften the blow when it happens as well as motivate you to go reach a bunch of brand new people.
4. The first 5 years are totally practice. Period.
Don't get offended by this statement. Simply accept it for what it is. Church planting is totally trial and error. It takes the first 5 years to work out the kinks, get settled into the right location, figure out who you are as a body and get an idea of who's willing to stick it out for the long haul. The first 5 years will also reveal as to whether the planter is going to be able to survive the road ahead. If there's going to be a major conflict or crises that threatens the life and stability of the new church, it normally happens within this time frame. I'm not saying that the people you reach and ministry that gets accomplished in those first 5 years isn't valid or important. I'm simply stating that it takes that long of a run to transition into a church with acceptance from the community as well as those that attend. After 3 to 5 years, the congregation will begin to take on the personality traits and heartbeat of the leadership. If you're past the 5 year mark, you know this to be true and if you're not, then dig deeper and keep pressing forward.
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