Cold Hard Facts On Church Planting

I'm going to do a series of posts based on the following list that I've comprised in regards to church planting.  Those that believe there is some type of glamorous life that attends starting a church from "ground zero" have clearly never been involved in such a daunting task.  I'll un-package each of these ideas day by day.  My intention will be to cover 4 or 5 points each day.  For the first posting however, I only want to begin with the list. It'll make a great conversation starter to this new blog and certainly provide lots of food for thought.  These truths are simple, proven and undeniable. So if you want the straight up brass tacks and cold hard facts of launching a brand new church, read on....

1. Your website IS the entry point to your church. Without it, you'll merely exist in your head but not in your community. 

2. The first few people that tell you "If you start a church, we're in, will actually never show up. 

3. At least 40% of those you launch with will be gone at the one year mark. 

4. The first 5 years are totally practice. Period. 

5. Church planting will take more from  your family  than you've anticipated. 

6. The music department will be your biggest headache. 

7. Any success you have will be frowned upon with suspicion. 

8. Most plants fail in year 3. 

9. You'll always have a money problem. 

10. New churches are breeding grounds for authority vultures. 

11. You create your own shackles & limitations. 

12. Your location probably sucks. 

13. Your preparation was entirely inadequate. 

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

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

16. No matter what kind of weekend you have, late Sunday nights are always difficult on a planters spirit. 

17. You'll  have to suffer through some major disloyalty in the process of building the right team. 

18. It's easier to raise money than it is volunteers. 

19. People that say "We are never leaving" already have one foot out the door. 

20. If the planting personality leaves too soon, the church won't survive. 

21. Starting a church with mostly family will serve to be a fatal mistake. 

22. If you're committed to reaching un-churched people , prepare for "churched" people to misunderstand you. 

23. If you are unclear on your vision, then the people are totally ignorant of it. (DNA)

24. The "exception to the rule" plants will make you feel like a total failure. 

25. Numbers is a book of the Bible that has nothing to do with your Sunday average attendance. 

26. If you do something too long people start making it Biblical. 

27. A denominational name for your plant horribly limits who you'll be able to reach. 

28. Get used to hearing "Pastor, the church has just changed and we need to leave". 

29. Multi-site will prove to be one of your best decisions. 

30. You'll need to learn to play hurt without calling a time out. 

31. You're going nowhere without a team. 

32. You've got to get people used to the idea that "Our church exists for those who aren't here yet". 

33. What you celebrate, God will accelerate.