Cold Hard Facts On Church Planting, PART 6

Tonight we are only going over numbers 14-16 on our list. I feel that these points are extraordinarily important, so I want what we discuss to sink in thoroughly. 

14. If you build it, they won't come. 

There is a common misconception that if you tell people you're gonna start a church then masses of people will just show up automatically. I must confess that I had this same very strange fantasy 7 years ago when we made plans to launch Global Vision. When you are fired up and zealous over your calling you have a tendency to think that everyone else will be as well.  The old baseball movie Field of Dreams taught us that "If you build it they will come."  At this point in my ministry and church planting "career" I say "Really, are you kidding me?"  There's is no doubt that God draws and directs people to your church but you better get into your heart right now that it is absolutely foolish to think folks are just gonna see your sign and start pouring in.  I don't care what type of building you have, music you play or specialties you offer, it takes HARD WORK every single day to get people to show up.  And once they do, it's as equally difficult to get them to stay.  The problem seems to be that everybody wants a ready-made ministry and very few people want to stick around and build something from scratch.  When you do find that handful of people who see the need and are willing to stick it out, don't let them go.  They are the most valuable people in your ministry. So again, I'm stressing to you: Don't expect people to haphazardly show up.  You'll have to 'Go out in the highways and hedges and COMPEL them to come in." 

15. Most people are coming for only 1 reason. Find it and perfect it. 

This statement may seem strange, but it's true nonetheless. Here's what I mean.  It's difficult if not impossible for a church to be excellent and the absolute greatest in every area.  Some churches have unbelievable music and semi-decent preaching.  Some churches have unbelievable preaching and semi-decent music.  And on the rare occasion you get both of those at the pinnacle, you'll probably have issues in the nursery of in the children's ministry.  Because something is always gonna need improvement, you'll always be in tweak mode.  However, figure out what the most outstanding area of your ministry is and totally perfect it.  If you have one major draw card ability, then people will put up with less than great in other others.  Now this does not give you an excuse to look stupid in other areas.  You should always be raising up new leaders with a "No Junk for Jesus" mindset.  But let's be honest, you really have one major area of giftedness from God.  Guess why? It's because THAT VERY THING is what makes you attractional.  Use it. Perfect it. 

16. No matter what kind of weekend you have, late Sunday nights will be bad. 

If you're a Pastor, especially a church planter, then this principle on the list needs very little explanation.  No matter how many people show up, no matter how big the offering is, there's something about this type of ministry endeavor that leaves you feeling like a complete and total failure weekend after weekend. Deep down you know you're making a difference. You keep telling yourself that its not about the numbers, yet when people don't show up it destroys your spirit. In my experience, we can have an "off the chain and marvelous attendance, but for some stupid reason I keep thinking about all the people who weren't there. And to add insult to injury, my bad perception starts making up the reasons that they missed. We could've had Day of Pentecost results and by bedtime I'm under my Juniper tree mad at the world. Thank God I've begun to realize that I'm "accepted in the beloved" and God "builds the house". And don't ever forget that when you wake up the next morning everything will seem bigger than what it really is.  Know this: Monday is A BIG FAT LIAR.