"Vision...Strategy...Reality-We Can Get There From Here" Seven Keys To A Church Planting Strategy In the first 30 years of our history as a denomination, we have started (through a variety of methods) 30 churches...an average of one per year. Thank God for those churches and the people reached for Christ through them! What will our denomination look like over the next 30 years? One of our main priorities for the next decade is to emphasize church planting. It is entirely possible for us to see 100 more churches in our next 30 years! An important question to ask is "how can we get there from here?" In other words, how do we go from vision to reality? One of the simple answers of bridging the gap between vision and reality is to have a wise strategy. As we work out this strategy as an Evangelical community in cooperation with the Holy Spirit's leadership, a "priority of church planting" can become the "reality of planted churches!" I've been learning from church planting leaders across the country how other groups plant churches continuously. From their wisdom, here are "Seven Keys To A Church Planting Strategy." 1. Assemble A Partnership. In each Conference and across our Denomination, people who want to work together to plant more churches are coming together. A "Church Planting Partnership" of several Conferences was started in 1997 to help us learn and minister more effectively. God is also raising up more passionate prayer warriors on behalf of church planting. 2. Attract Key Leaders. We are creating a climate that will attract, honor and equip "spiritual pioneers" to plant new churches. More key leaders and churches across our whole denomination are committing to a church planting vision. God is sending us leaders from inside (current pastors, youth pastors and gifted lay ministers) and outside our Church (Bible colleges and other holiness groups). 3. Assess Planters Wisely. Our first "Evangelical Church Planting Assessment Center" has set us on a course to wisely prescreen and assess potential church planting couples. This helps our leaders choose the best qualified and gifted people for church planting. 4. Acquire More Funding and Resources. Some Conferences are intentionally budgeting more finances for church planting resources and training. We are finding that when people know where we're going (vision) and how we plan to get there (strategy), funding comes much more easily. Money flows to vision and strategy! One simple method of increasing church planting funds: if 100 churches would invest $25 per month, we would raise $30,000 a year! 5. Activate Effective Training. Ongoing training amplifies unified and effective ministry for church planting couples, church extension boards and conference leaders. Several Evangelical leaders have received great training at "Church Planting Bootcamps" sponsored by the Church Multiplication Training Center (CMTC). Consultants and other book and tape resources are helping us, too. 6. Assist Planters Through Good Coaching. Planters on the field need good coaching to help them in their work. Several leaders have been trained to be church planting coaches. 7. Adopt Systems We Can All Use Effectively. As we attract, assess, fund, equip and coach our church planters better, the potential for more strong, healthy churches increases greatly! Each of our Conferences has their own personalities and preferences, yet we can adapt cohesive principles for our church planting ministry. When we work out of the same basic "playbook," our churches and Conferences can work together as a powerful partnership. Look down the road with faith... We've made a priority... We can map out a strategy... As we work in community... New churches will be a reality! We can get there from here! Tim and Shirley Roehl planted and continue to pastor ChristLife Evangelical Church. Tim serves as Director of Church Extension for the North Central Conference and is a lead coach at CMTC Church Planting Boot Camps. He will be teaching pastors how to plant churches in Minsk, Belarus April 21st - May 6th.