As we continue upload content to the new site, we’re starting a new series called Oldies But Goodies (OBG). These are resources from past events that we’ve found especially valuable.

The following audio is from a Church Planting Forum we hosted with Dr. Ed Stetzer, the Vice President of Research and Development for Lifeway. In it Ed lays out 6 pitfalls which most North American church planters face that undermine their work, and what they can do to avoid them. The pitfalls are Lack of Spiritual Preparation, Stress within Family Relationships, Inadequate Training, Lack of Accountability, and Broken Partnerships.

Download

Ed has also recently put together a new series on his blog called Top Issues Church Planters Face. We’ll be taking a look at these in more depth in the future (they are very helpful), but here they are:

*. Introduction
1. Leadership Development and Reproducing Culture
2. Financial Self-Sufficiency and Viability
3. Launch Team Development and Mobilizing Volunteers
4. Systems, Processes and Cultures
5. Casting Vision and Avoiding Mission Drift
6. Evangelism and Discipleship
7. Spiritual, Physical and Mental Health of the Planter and his Family
*. Conclusions/Observations

Welcome to our new website. Please take a minute or two and look around. In the days to come we’ll be uploading more content, both old and new.

We’re excited about how this site will serve as a tool to further our vision of planting 1000 churches in the next 40 years. That vision is built on two convictions:

(1) Church planting is THE primary way that we fulfill the Great Commission. The only way that you can “make disciples… baptizing… and teaching” (Matt 28:18-20) is to plant a local church. The apostle Paul had a very simple strategy for his ministry: go to the largest city in a region, and plant a church. This idea isn’t new to us. In it we were heavily influenced by people like Tim Keller. But we gladly adopt it as our own.

(2) Jesus has promised to build his church (Matt 16:18). It’s what he died for. So we want to take him at his word, dream big, work hard, and leave the rest up to God, “for he is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).

We hope this site will prove to be a valuable resource not only for prospective church planters, but pastors and lay leaders as we seek to advance the gospel through the local church.

Mike McDaniel
Director of SendRDU