Planting Partners

Church planting in the Minnesota Baptist Conference is a part of ConvergeUSA, the church planting arm of our national movement, Converge Worldwide. Every year, ConvergeUSA asks its different districts across the United States to gather a few simple statistics to provide a snapshot of our church planting movement nationally.

After a number of emails to our planters that included a small amount of guilt along with a heavy dose of appreciation, here’s what was gathered from 22 or our 27 plants that launched publicly between 2000 and 2008. The information is for the 2008 calendar year.

Avg. Weekend Worship Attendance in 2008- 227
Avg. High Weekend Attendance in 2008- 310
Avg. Monthly Income in 2008- $5353
Avg. Baptisms in 2008- 12

If you do the math, you will see that these Minnesota Baptist Conference church plants gathered almost 5000 people in weekly public worship. They collected almost $118,000 a month to resource life-changing ministry across the state. (That’s more than $1.4 million for the year!) But most important, these young Minnesota Baptist Churches baptized 264 disciples in 2008. This doesn’t take into account for the churches for which I did not receive information from, or for the 10 plants that were planted in the latter half of the 90’s.

When comparing this information to the 2007 snapshot, average weekly attendance was up 11% in 2008 and the average monthly income was up 27%. The only decrease was in baptism, down 9%. However, from the reports I’ve heard from a number of our plants, it looks like 2009 is going to be a great year for baptisms!

I’m looking forward already to what 2009 will look like. In 08 we launched four churches. Already in 09 we’ve had three church launch and this fall should see another three or four launch. Plus, another three are coming together for a 2010 launch!

When the information is compiled from the other Converge districts, I’ll pass along the “big” snapshot!

Blessings!

Joel Nelson
Minnesota Baptist Conference Church Planting

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Leadership Development by Larry Osborne

April 30, 2009 by Jeff Gauss

These are some notes from my pre-conference intensive with Larry Osborne from Northcoast Church in San Diego – the first church to do the multisite thing.

The Barnabas Factor (I came in late for this)

Gifted young leaders are going to be weird and have blindspots. If it’s not sin, support them and their annointing (if there is good fruit, they are annointed), regardless of your comfort zone.
Defend the right to be different! Judge the fruit, not the person.
Not giving people a platform they can’t handle, but giving them all they can handle.
Put young leaders on the platform when you are there. He said that he comes back early from vacation and sits in the front row and takes notes from whoever is speaking in his place.
When developing leaders don’t be afraid of failing, but be afraid of fatal flaws (something that can destroy the ministry).
They have nearly 8,000 people in their congregation but none of their sites are bigger than 550 people. This is intentional because he feels that once you get larger than this you start having professional “casting calls” instead of empowering young leaders.

Random thoughts:

Ministry is addictive (in a good way). Don’t ask new leaders for too much too fast. Lower the bar enough for them to gain entry and once they are in they will become addicted and raise the bar themselves.
The pony is more important than the mail (Pony Express). If you burn out your leaders, you won’t have any ministry.
Develop a nose for leaders and a heart for the regular guy.
Beware of high-passion and highly contentious people – even if they are passionate and contentious for a good cause. Contentious people are like pit bulls and they will always end up biting you.
Beware of smothering discipleship that creates co-dependency. I believe here he was referring to creating disciples of a particular leader and becoming dependent on that leader (and vice versa) instead of Christ.
Empowerment and excellency will always be in tension.
Never confuse a helper with a leader. A helper assists with work. A leader leverages work.
The leaders who got you here may not be the leaders who can get you there.

This guy was awesome. I could sit at his feet and be smothered by his discipleship all day long.

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Why Plant a Church?

April 30, 2009 by Jeff Gauss

(The following is some notes from a talk I recently gave about church planting.)

Biblical Rationale for Church Planting

Matthew 16:18 – “Upon this rock, I will build my church.” The church has a vital role in the redemptive plan of God.
Matthew 28:18-20 – “The Great Commission.” We are to be a “sent people.” Historically, new churches have been the most successful at “making disciples of all nations.”
Acts 2:41-47 – New converts are quickly assembled into “congregations” that continually multiply.

Why Plant a Church?

The fields are ready for harvest
1. Only 17.5% of people in the U.S. attend church on any given weekend in 2005 (American Church in Crisis (ACC) by David Olson).
2. About 4,000 churches close every year. Approximately the same amount of new churches start each year. However, to keep up with population growth, an additional 3,200 churches need to start every year (ACC).
3. The number of unchurched Americans is increasing by a rate of 1 million per year (Church Leader’s Intelligence Report, 4-1-09).

To reach young people
1. 70% of Protestant church-going high-schoolers have stopped attending church by age 23 (Lifeway Research).
2. And it’s getting worse… at the current rate, only 4% of American teenagers will end up as Bible believers. (Washington Times)
3. 19% of 18 – 22 year olds identify themselves as atheist or agnostic (Barna Group).

New churches are more effective
1. It has been proven over the years and is universally accepted across all denominations that the most-effective way to reach unbelievers is through the planting of new churches.
2. Evangelical churches under 10 years old grow at an annual rate of 16.5% compared to 0.6% for churches 10 – 40 years old and -1.1% for churches over 40 years (ACC).
3. New churches have 4 times the conversion rate per attendee than established churches (ACC).

Why Support Church Planting?

The average start-up cost of a new church is $172,000.(Leadership Network)
The average church plant takes 32 months to become financially independent.
All church planting in the BGC is church-led and church-supported. Meaning the only way new churches get started is if existing churches support them.
Established churches that are involved in church planting typically experience spiritual revitalization as a result.
A study of 160 SBC sponsor churches from 1992 – 2002:
1. overall 49% increase in worship attendance
2. overall 28% increase in baptisms

Some other stats I included in talking about my specific context:

Based on location (urban, suburban, large town, small town, rural), small towns have experienced the biggest decline in church attendance -1.3% (ACC).
78% of unchurched people think that Christianity is more about organized religion than it is about loving God and people (Lifeway).

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Who will go?

April 14, 2009 by Jeff Gauss

I can’t sleep tonight. I am deeply burdened. One of the reasons I decided to plant in Thief River Falls, MN was because of the huge potential to start a movement in NW Minnesota – in communities like Detriot Lakes, Moorhead, Crookston, and East Grand Forks.

East Grand Forks has been on my mind a lot lately. It is only 50 miles from TRF on the MN/ND border across from the larger Grand Forks. Today we did some shopping in Grand Forks so I decided to take some time driving around East Grand Forks. Wow! Does this place need a vibrant new work of God!

East Grand Forks (EGF)is a small town of 8,000 people (roughly the same size as TRF), but it plays much larger, being right across the river from Grand Forks, a large town of 50,000+ and home to the 10,000 student University of North Dakota. EGF has a very nice new riverwalk with a thriving business community. There is a new 12 screen movie theater for which many Dakotans cross the river, along with a Cabelas and several large nice restaurants and bars (Applebee’s, Blue Moose, Whitey’s). On a weekend night, the area is teeming with people – many of them college students. On a Saturday night it easily feels like a town 3 times it’s size.

And what is there to offer all these people spiritually? Just 9 churches (plus a Kingdom Hall)! And only one of them is “evangelical” and it is very small from what I can tell. I’m sure your better at math than I am, but that’s just a little better than one church per 1,000 people! Ninety-one percent of residents claiming a religion identify themselves as either Lutheran or Catholic. There is a fairly large Hispanic population (about 8% of the pop.) and a larger than average population below the poverty line (12.4% in 2007; probably higher now).

My heart aches. What a ripe mission field!

I am praying to the Lord of the harvest.

Matthew 9:35-38

³⁵ Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. ³⁶ When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷ He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. ³⁸ So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Links:

http://www.city-data.com/city/East-Grand-Forks-Minnesota.html

http://www.city-data.com/city/Grand-Forks-North-Dakota.html

http://www.grandforksgov.com/

http://www.ci.east-grand-forks.mn.us/

http://www.visitgrandforks.com/main.php/index.php

http://www.und.nodak.edu/

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Stop Skimming

April 8, 2009 by Mark Bjorlo

I just read a great article in Leadership Journal called Skimming by Pete Scazzero here is an excerpt:

Like skimming a book, this can produce the impression that everything is covered, but in reality, you aren’t completely there. How do you know you’re skimming?

When you go from meeting to meeting without awareness of God.
When you say “yes” to new commitments and expansions without properly following through on what you are already doing.
When it is Friday and you realize you have not had enough time to allow the truth of what you are preaching to transform your own walk with Christ.
When you avoid difficult decisions and truths because someone will be upset.
When you muddle your way through a meeting because you have not clearly determined your goals and agenda.
When you make a pastoral phone call or visit – resentfully.
When you cannot stop thinking about the unfinished work at church when you are with your family.
When you are too busy to reflect on your own heart or cultivate your own personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
When you are not investing in your own personal growth and marriage.
When you measure your success based on what other people say rather than your own internal values before God.

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Barnes on Church Planting in WSJ

March 24, 2009 by Bob Evans

Political commentator Fred Barnes writing in the Wall Street Journal:

In 2007, my wife Barbara and I left The Falls Church, which we had happily attended from the time we became Christians a quarter-century ago. It’s a 277-year-old church in northern Virginia well-known for its popular preacher, the Rev. John Yates, its adherence to traditional biblical teachings and its withdrawal in 2005 from the national Episcopal church. Our three grown daughters and their families stayed behind at The Falls Church.

We didn’t leave in anger. We didn’t have political or theological anxieties. Rather, we left for a new church because our old church wanted us to. The Falls Church has become entrepreneurial as well as evangelical. It’s in the church-planting business. And we were encouraged by Mr. Yates to join Christ the King, the church “planted” near our home in Alexandria. We were a bit ambivalent about the move, but when Christ the King opened its doors in September 2007, we were there.

Read the whole thing

From “Between Two Worlds”

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Taking the Guesswork out of Church Planting

March 24, 2009 by Jeff Gauss

Great new research by Ed Stetzer and Leadership Network on the State of Church Planting USA showing the contributing factors to a successful church plant.

Some highlights:

80% of fast-growing church plants allot a full 10% of their budget to outreach and evangelism.
70% of slow-growing church plants typically started small, with less than 25 people.
90% of struggling church plants started with only a single paid staff person.
88% of fast-growing church plants have teams.
Attendance rates are much higher in church plants where the planter underwent assessment.
The more frequently the church planter meets with a mentor/coach, the higher the average weekly attendance of the church plant.

The research is broken up into topic-specific areas and is available at: leadnet.org/churchplantingresources.

Church Planting Overview
Funding New Churches
Who Starts New Churches
Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches
Researcher’s Commentary on State of Church Planting USA (podcast)

Posted in Assessment Center, Church Growth, Church Planter, Church Planting, Coaching, Fund Development, Statistics | Leave a Comment »

Church Planting Assessment Center

March 21, 2009 by Mark Bjorlo

convergeusa_dark2

ConvergeUSA Assessment Center (formerly TeAmerica) is one of the longest running, most influential and highly trusted Church Planting Assessment Centers in the country. Under the leadership of Paul Johnson and then JD Pearring the Assessment Center touched some of the best church planters in the country. Now a new era for the Assessment Center has begun under the leadership of Dr. Curt Gruber and Marlan Mincks as they build on the solid foundation lay by their predecessors by upgrading and strengthening the process.

It is an intensive four day event staffed by multiple, trained assessors to encourage and observe Church Planting candidates.
It is an opportunity for candidates to preach, cast vision and work in team setting.
It is an opportunity for candidates to meet with counselors and assessors to prepare for life as a Church Planter.
It is a multi-day process where assessors will provide helpful and thorough assessment of Church Planting candidates.

Why Participate in an Assessment Center?
The ConvergeUSA Assessment Center is one of the oldest and reliable in the country with 17 years under its belt.
The ConvergeUSA has a high rate of success in Church Planting, directly related to its world-class Assessment Center.
Many other denominations & para church organizations have model their process after ours for example: Evangelical Covenant Church, Growing Healthy Churches, etc.
To find answers to your questions about your possible future involvement in Church Planting, and network with other couples sharing the same interest and passion.
Based on this intensive multi-day process, the team of assessors will pray, discuss, evaluate and collate their findings to give you the **** ***essment possible.

Who Can Participate?
Pastors in transition assessmentcenter_08oct06
Restart Pastors
Church Planters
Youth Pastors
Associate Pastors
Missionaries
Para-church workers
Second-career Lay Leaders

How Do I Sign Up?
To attend an Assessment Center, you will need to fill out an application.
First you have to established a relationship with one of our ConvergeUSA certified sending agencies, preferably in the region you are considering planting. They will provide you with additional details and application form.
Second, fill out application.
Third, engage in a pre-assessment interview.
Fourth, the sending agency will register you for the next scheduled Assessment Center.

Sending Agencies Protocol
This document will give you all the details you need for signing up a candidate for the ConvergeUSA Assessment Center
Click here to down load the Application Protocol

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