Reformed Baptist Church Planting (Part 6)

A Layman’s Guide To Church Planting – Protect the Vision

I was convinced that I was called to pursue a Reformed Baptist church plant. So I was very concerned in the early stages to protect and solidify the vision for the church plant. I didn’t want to pour a great deal of energy into a Reformed Baptist church plant only to have the doctrinal center or overall philosophy shifted by a new consensus among the initial core group. People who respond to a church plant opportunity often have very different ideas of what the church will look like even if they are using the same terminology. Also, some will respond to the opportunity for something different even if they aren’t attracted by your solution to the problems they perceive in other churches. Furthermore, a layman will not naturally carry the same authority as a pastor, so the threat of having the church vision you believe is most God-honoring voted out is very real. How can you protect your vision?

I believe there are several strategies that can be employed at the very beginning to protect the vision for the church.

1. First among these is to establish a confession up front. By “up front” I mean from the very first conversation with the second person who is brought in on the idea. If people are introduced to the church plant with the notion that a particular doctrinal statement is part of the very idea, they will more likely decide at the beginning whether they can live with that or not. If not, they won’t hang around. If so, they aren’t likely to make an issue of it later. This doesn’t mean that they completely understand or agree with or even know the full contents of the confession. After all, the 1689 Confession can take an hour at one sitting to read thoughtfully! But they will understand that the doctrinal position has been fully disclosed and is not a negotiable element.

2. To reinforce the place of the confession, you can either study through the confession with your core group or occasionally quote from it in Bible study as you encounter various doctrinal issues that it addresses. Be aware that even some who call themselves Reformed Baptists will be unfamiliar with the concept of a confessional church. You will have to demonstrate clearly what it means to use the confession as a subordinate standard. Don’t quote the confession to end disagreements. Show that the confession is supported by Scripture, and use it to summarize the teaching of Scripture. Sometimes a disagreement will remain after appealing to the Scriptures. If so, you’ll need to state graciously that the confession holds no authority over the conscience but that it will serve as an arbiter in this church plant over what is taught when differences of conviction arise.

3. Another key strategy to solidify and build unity of vision is to publish a written vision statement at the outset. You will attract (or repel!) people based on the vision statement. The vision statement should describe as specifically as possible what the church will look like in its maturity. It will serve as a target. If others read this and don’t want to aim at that target, they will be unlikely to come alongside and try to steer in a different direction. Your vision statement should aim to inspire, not just inform. It should generate excitement! One of our core women told me in the early days that she wanted to go back and read the vision statement on a regular basis because it got her excited all over again about what we were doing.

4. You may also consider producing a written plan up front for progressing through each step toward becoming a church. For example, when you have so many committed families and individuals, you will begin a Sunday evening meeting. When you grow to this level, you will ask for financial commitments. When you have this many people and this much of a financial commitment, you will seek a part-time or full-time pastor. When you get to a certain number, you will begin Sunday morning worship services with an interim pastor. After a particular point is reached (number of committed individuals, number of elder candidates), you will covenant together formally as an independent church body. A plan like this will help people avoid the feeling that your group is just wandering aimlessly, vaguely hoping that something good will eventually happen spontaneously. It also gives you specific goals to anticipate and work toward.

5. You can provide further stability for your vision by establishing a lay leadership committee and a procedure for adding members to it. Members of the committee should be required to be godly men who will commit to work toward the vision and respect the doctrinal statement. Creating a recognized leadership group will provide more weight to the direction of the church plant. Our church constitution spells out how to form such a committee and how this committee is superceded by a body of elders once they are recognized.[1]

6. A crucial step in the very beginning is to establish a relationship with a mentor church. The relationship needs to be spelled out very clearly. Will the church provide elder oversight to the church plant or to particular men in leadership, or will their role be advisory only? I sought out a relationship through Pastor Phil Newton with the elders of South Woods Baptist Church in Germantown, Tenn. This relationship was established when we were only two committed families, and it was very helpful! Pastor Newton made himself available for a multitude of emails and cell-phone calls from this bewildered layman time and time again. He always had wise counsel and words of encouragement. His church prayed regularly for us and provided some financial assistance when we called a pastor. This relationship reaped immeasurable blessings!

7. You should think carefully about the kind of relationship you establish as well as the kind of church with which you establish it. The kind of church they will be interested in establishing is most likely the kind of church that they are. They will need to be humble enough to respect the intuition that the local leaders have about your situation and not try to squeeze you into their mold in areas that are non-essential. On the other hand, if they don’t take some level of ownership over what you’re trying to do, then they probably won’t be motivated to offer a great deal of help. Look for help from those with whom you already have some connection or affinity. Geographical proximity can be a big plus as well. If the mentor church can regularly or even occasionally provide you with a skilled, grace-filled preacher or teacher, this provision will greatly bless your church planting efforts.

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[1] Our constitution can be found in our church member handbook at www.graceheritage.org/resources/handbook.pdf.

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by Stan Reeves. This article was found on Reformed Baptist Fellowship blog.