Best Practices for Discovering and Recruiting Church Planters (Part 1 of 3)
Written by Gary Rohrmayer
Church planting is still one of the most effective ways to expand the reach of the gospel in today's world. However, finding the right leaders to launch and sustain church plants is often a significant challenge.
This is why every organization in North America asks the question, “Where have all the church planters gone?” Here are a few observations from multiple sources to answer that question:
Church Planting is Hard!
Older Churches are Healthier and more Relevant.
Younger Leaders are Waiting for Succession Opportunities.
Younger Leaders are Taking Longer to Develop.
It is Financially Impossible for Some Younger Leaders.
Our Passion for the Lost is Growing Cold.
We Need a Spiritual Revival within The Church.
They don’t like a “Model Centric” Approach towards Church Planting.
The Inability of the Church to Consistently Raise up and Send out Leaders on a Local Level.
Successful church planting networks and denominational leaders understand that discovering and recruiting church planters requires intentional prayer, consistent strategy, and spiritual discernment.
Here are some of the best practices for identifying, attracting, and equipping potential church planters.
1. Develop a Clear Profile of a Church Planter
Before beginning the recruitment process, it is essential to define the characteristics of an effective church planter. In the mid-1980s, Dr. Charles Ridley conducted a study of church planters in the United States and Canada. Based on his research and subsequent field testing, he developed thirteen characteristics defining effective church planters. Over the last forty years, these characteristics have stood the test of time and are the foundation of every major church planting organization in selecting church planters.
Here are his 13 behavioral competencies and a brief definition of each:
Personal motivation—demonstrates the ability to be a self‐starter who works with diligence and excellence
Visionizing capacity—pictures a preferred future, initiates plans, and builds significant projects from the ground up to realize that preferred future
Creating ownership of ministry—passes on the baton of ministry by making disciples who make disciples and reproducing leaders who raise up other leaders
Spousal cooperation—works together effectively in both marriage and in ministry, maintaining individual and family health
Reaching the unchurched—connects with and influences people toward a closer relationship with Christ and the church
Relationship‐building—initiates connections with new people and authentically engages them in deepening relationships
Commitment to church growth—understands, embraces, and effectively implements principles of church planting and growth
Responsiveness to community—discerns the culture of the local context and implements redemptive ministries that meet the needs of people
Gift utilization—discerns, develops, and deploys others to serve in their area of giftedness
Flexibility and adaptability—negotiates change and manages multiple tasks while staying centered on the overall vision
Building body cohesiveness—orchestrates widely differing people to function as a unified group
Resilience—stays the course in the face of major setbacks, disappointments, and opposition
Exercises faith—evidences a strong, vital relationship with God and willingly takes significant risks to pursue God’s calling
By having a well-defined profile, denominational leaders and church planting networks can more effectively identify individuals with the necessary qualities and calling.
2. Create a Culture of Multiplication
Discovery and recruitment are most successful in a culture that values and prioritizes church planting. Church leaders should regularly talk about the need for church plants, celebrate successful church planters, and integrate the vision for multiplication into their preaching and leadership development efforts. When church planting is embedded into the DNA of a movement, potential planters are more likely to emerge from within the community.
Two things a church planting leader can aim at in creating a culture of multiplication:
First, call every leader to become a “discipler”. To intentionally spend time evangelizing the lost that surround them and establishing new believers in their walk with Christ. Pastors need to view themselves as “discipler” first and a pastor second if they are going to be engaged in the harvest. Remember, Jesus did not command us to “Go make leaders.” He said, “Go make disciples.” Too many pastors are waiting for ready-made leaders to walk in the doors instead of identifying, discovering, and making leaders out of the harvest through a holistic discipleship process. I believe the future of every church, whether large or small, is in the harvest … future members, finances, and leaders will all be found as we enter the redemptive work of Jesus. The more successful you are at developing disciples, the more successful you will be at developing leaders and discovering church planters.
Second, turning every leader in your organization into a “spotter” for potential church planters is essential to becoming a multiplying movement. As a church planting leader, I sent an email to all our pastors on an annual basis inviting them to be "spotters” for potential church planting candidates. That email included a profile for a planter, a clear pathway toward church planting, and upcoming opportunities for potential candidates to interact with church planters living on the frontlines.
Join us next month as we continue our journey of discovering more church planters to meet the growing demands of the declining church in North America.
For now, I will let you ponder this question: What if 1% of your congregation or denomination has the character, skills, and abilities to plant a new church? How many candidates would that be
For more on discovering and recruiting church planters, see Part 2 and Part 3 of this article.