I've been blessed to be a part of four church plants throughout my life. A church plant is literally a brand new church that is just starting--whether it's out of someone's living room, or a group meeting at a park or school, it's a new church forming. These four church plants were vastly different, as they should be. Here are some challenging lessons I've learned through the pain, trials, successes, and failures along the way.
The Harvest is God's Job, Not Mine
You can have the best strategy, team, marketing templates, financial support, you name it--but God is in charge of the harvest, not you. I gave myself fully to where God had me at that moment in time. I was all in. We tried crazy things to reach people with God's love. Some things were successful, other strategies, not so much. Honestly, we probably tried too hard! Instead of being available and focusing on who God brought to us, we often "forced" God's timing on certain relationships. There will always be a lot of "woulda, coulda, shouldas" that float around in my mind from time to time. However, I can only be responsible for myself, and my journey with the Lord. When you love people deeply and want them to find Truth and Peace, it is really hard to watch them choose darkness. During those hard times when I couldn't see any harvest, I really had to get to a broken place of surrender. Surrender, and trust. That's all I was really supposed to do in the first place. Unfortunately, it took me awhile to stop shaming myself or others for a lack of harvest. I had to learn over and over that everyone is responsible for their own walk with God, and God is responsible for the harvest-I just get to throw the seeds.
Spiritually Strong Leadership is Essential
This seems obvious, but I can't emphasize it enough. Each pastor and leadership team at the four church plants I've been a part of had vastly different strengths and weaknesses. The two churches that thrived and continued to multiply over and over were led by spiritually strong leaders who were able to disciple and train up other leaders. Their church plants still faced hardships, but they led through those trials with wisdom, vision, and integrity. These leaders were faithful in leading themselves, their family, and others. They were not dooped by people pleasing, distractions, or criticism, but rather were focused on the mission and vision that God had called them to. The successful church plants had intentional leaders that built strong teams with clear communication. The two "failed" church plants I was a part of also had spiritually strong leaders. However, it became clear that their gifts and talents were a better fit elsewhere, and God had other plans for these leaders instead of long-term ministry in church planting.
I used to wonder why God had called us away from being a part of vibrant churches that we loved, to come serve in a church plant and feel like we failed. We KNEW through several signs and affirmations that we were supposed to move to Loveland to be a part of a new church plant. What we didn't know is that this calling was actually just the beginning of a new venture for our family to start other ministries we've seen God bless and bring harvest from throughout the years. Our trials with church planting prepared my husband for the ministries he serves with now. If we had not been through these seasons of highs and lows, we would not have been able to spur others on and share wisdom from our experiences.
Struggles Can Become Crippling Strongholds
Every little struggle has the potential to become magnified. Addictions and struggles of the past will rear their head when you're sold out to launching a new community of faith. If you struggle with depression you will for sure feel depressed at some point. If you're a recovering perfectionist, you may find yourself trying to control everything and everyone a little too much. (I had to make so many amends to my children during this season because of my own brokenness). The lazy will become sloth-like. The workaholics will become slave to their work with no boundaries. The prideful will fall. Those that live in a constant state of sarcasm will end up wounding people they're trying to love to Jesus. There will be spiritual warfare that reveals all your humanness and wickedness. However, instead of spiraling down, when you feel those strongholds taking place, it's a good time to worship. Surrender. Fully surrender. The harder I tried to control my own behaviors and worry about others, the more I failed. It was only when myself and my team fully surrendered and humbly made amends where needed, that God helped break down those strongholds.
Satan Will Attack EVERYTHING
We should know that the enemy will be after us when we're leading lost people to Truth, but sometimes we forget! When I think about it now, I realize just how much attack was coming at us. Financial attack, relationship conflicts, rocky marriages, even our children. We felt the weight of heavy debt at one point in our church planting venture--it was crushing. Thankfully, God provided for our needs and in our fear of the future He brought peace. While we were in that season though it was terrifying. Praise God for strengthening our marriage through that time, though we felt the enemy working hard to drive us apart. We also had our first and only miscarriage while church planting. When we thought we were already emotionally low we fell even further down. Having a miscarriage really puts life into perspective. The things we were stressing over immediately seemed so silly and insignificant. This miscarriage, while heart breaking, opened the door for further ministry to the families in our church and also helped us to realize what really mattered in our ministry. We watched as our team was attacked in several of the same areas. I wish we had been more prayerful together and united during these years. Sometimes we were, but often we were running so fast and hard that we let busyness rob our time of prayer and spiritual intentionality together as a team.
The Miraculous Will Happen
Doubts, trials, attacks from the enemy, and failures will for sure happen in every church plant. Heck, that's just the normal part of the Christian life that is heightened in missional work. But you know what else will happen? Miracles. Yes. Keep your eyes open for the hand of God to move. While you're grieving over the loss of relationships when close friends leave your church, there will be friends you never thought support you that come through. God will bring other relationships into the picture that give you life and community. You'll see financial miracles. Marriages healed. People choose Christ that have every reason not to. You'll even see people fall in love with the little church you're a part of when your heart is no longer in love with where God has you. God will take your little measly offering and turn it into a worshipful offering. The seasons of "failing" were vulnerable, humiliating, and harder than I can express in words. However, I wouldn't change them for the world. I've learned to surrender and trust because of them. Thank God we came and planted churches. What looks like "failure" to the outside world definitely felt like "failure" within my spirit at times. God was in it all though. He used each church in each location to bring more people into His loving arms and unite them with a gracious Christian community.
Is There Such A Thing As "Church Plant Failure?"
Even though two of the four church plants I've been a part of decided to close their doors I wouldn't call them "failures." Let me ask you this: If you did what God asked you to do, but it didn't turn out the way you imagined, is that failure? I think not. We did what we KNEW God asked us to do. Were we perfect? No. We made lots of mistakes along the way, but we remained faithful serving until God released us from each church plant.
The "successful" church plants might be deemed as such because they are still in existence, they built buildings, and helped start other churches, etc. I'm honored to have been a part of their beginnings! God used each plant for a season and there is still fruit visible today! When a normal business closes, their "product" is no longer available. When a church plant closes, though it is disheartening, it's exciting to see that some of the harvest and fruit will continue to produce! People who came to follow Jesus are continuing to do so and now generations have been changed! We will never fully know the impact of what these "failed" church plants made. Don't lose heart. Though man may mess up, hurt the church, or fail, God can still use ANY church plant to bring Him glory--cause they're His. If you've felt like a failure and had to grieve the closure of places and people God has called you to, I pray you are encouraged with the fact that "you're not that powerful." God is still on the throne. The church is HIS. He still has a plan for you, Christian, so get back up and keep pursuing Him with everything.
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