Best Practices for Discovering and Recruiting Church Planters (Part 3 of 3)

Church planting is still one of the most effective ways to expand the gospel's reach in today's world. However, finding the right leaders to launch and sustain church plants is often a significant challenge.

Successful church planting networks and denominational leaders understand that discovering and recruiting church planters requires intentional prayer, consistent strategy, and spiritual discernment. 

Join us as we finish our examination of the best practices for identifying, attracting, and equipping potential church planters.

7. Offer Financial and Organizational Support

Many potential church planters hesitate to leap into church planting due to financial concerns. Networks and denominations can support planters by:

• Providing seed funding or matching funds for new church plants

• Offering fundraising training, coaching, and administrative support

• Connecting them with partner churches that can provide additional resources and emotional support.

Financial support is essential for removing barriers and allowing church planters to concentrate on their mission. I firmly assert that regional entities must invest at least 51% of their income into church planting initiatives. We must act in faith, believing that a substantial investment in the harvest will position our organizations for God's extraordinary blessings in our financial future. 

In 1998, we began with $3 million in assets. When I left 26 years later, the organization boasted nearly $13 million in assets while investing over $8 to $9 million in church planting during that period. We successfully weathered the Great Recession and COVID-19 by consistently prioritizing investment in the harvest. 

Consider this: fifteen years ago, I worked with a regional network of churches that had $6 million in their trust fund, yet their board made the critical mistake of refusing to invest in church planting. Today, they are left with reduced resources and, regrettably, a significantly diminished number of churches. 

In 2008, my colleague Steve Pike was entrusted with $30 million to ignite a new movement of churches within his denomination. Just two weeks ago, they celebrated the remarkable achievement of planting 5,121 new churches since 2008. Notably, their fellowship is the only large denomination (over 10,000 churches) in North America that is experiencing positive net growth today. 

Let me be clear: when we, as leaders, neglect to invest in the harvest, we rob ourselves of God's opportunity to bless our commitment to His great mission of redemption. It's time to take decisive action and invest boldly in the future of the church, through church planting.

8. Celebrate and Multiply Success Stories

One of the most effective recruitment tools is the testimony of successful church planters. Sharing stories of thriving church plants through videos, social media, and church gatherings inspires others to consider the call. Successful church plants often produce future church planters, creating a multiplication effect that sustains the movement. We become what we celebrate. Remember to celebrate everyone who successfully becomes a self-supporting, self-governing, and self-propagating local church. We need to learn how to make all our church planters heroes.

9. Pray for Workers to Enter the Harvest Field

I purposely have kept the best for last to emphasize its critical importance to this process. A year ago, I was asked. "How are you finding all your church planters?" I responded, "Prayer." Not to be glib or super-spiritual, but to simply explain a needed reality. When Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 9:37-38 to pray for laborers, he wasn't just giving them a task—he was inviting them into deep spiritual dependence on the Father. Raising workers for the harvest is not a human effort; it is a divine mission that requires reliance on the Lord of the Harvest Himself.

When we focus our attention on the Lord of the Harvest:

• We Recognize Our Limitations: We cannot call, equip, or send workers in our own strength. We must trust God to reveal it to the individuals. Only God can stir hearts, open doors, and provide what is needed for the mission. Our role is to pray with humility, acknowledging that without Him, our efforts are in vain (John 15:5).

• We Seek the Heart of God: Spiritual dependence means aligning our prayers with God's will. When we pray for workers, we must first seek his heart for the lost and broken. This requires time in his word and in his presence, allowing the Holy Spirit to shape our prayers.

• We Trust in His Timing and Provision: Sometimes, the answers to our prayers don't come immediately. Dependence on God means trusting that he will call and send workers at the right time. It also means believing he will provide every resource—wisdom, finances, and strength—for those he calls.

D.E. Hoste, the devoted successor of Hudson Taylor at the helm of the China Inland Mission, was widely admired for the depth and sincerity of his prayer life. His heartfelt intercession on behalf of his fellow missionaries was not just a duty; it was his foremost responsibility, taking precedence over everything else. Those in the administrative offices came to know his routine well. Each morning, he would enter his office with punctuality and quickly sift through the letters awaiting his attention. If he came across urgent or particularly significant notes, he would read them; otherwise, they remained untouched on his desk. He would close the door and place a card marked "Engaged" outside, signaling that he was immersed in the vital work of prayer. 

Hoste understood that as the mission expanded, so too did his need to earnestly seek God’s guidance for provisions—workers, financial support, and success in spreading the gospel throughout China. In his office, he often invited two companions to kneel in prayer with him, fully aware that he needed their support in this sacred ministry. Sometimes his wife would join him; at other times, he would call upon a staff member or a missionary passing through. He found that the presence of another helped keep his mind anchored, especially during prayer sessions that could extend up to four hours, each moment steeped in a profound commitment to lay his life's work in the hands of his mighty God.

True prayer for workers is an act of faith, surrender, and trust in the Lord of the Harvest. May we learn how to be "Engaged" as we intercede for laborers to be sent into His mission.

Conclusion

Recruiting and discovering church planters is not a passive process—it requires intentionality, humble prayer, and strategic effort. By developing a clear profile of a church planter, fostering a culture of multiplication, and putting prayer first, denominational and network leaders can raise up and empower the next generation of church planters. When done effectively, church planting not only expands God's kingdom and enlarges your reach but also strengthens local churches and transforms lives for generations to come.

For more on discovering and recruiting church planters, see Part 1 and Part 2 of this article.