Reality Check for Church Planters

Jesus does four important things that anyone called to church planting or pastoring must consider:

1. Jesus reveals Himself to us.Of course, part of that journey involves us struggling with the questions of who this Jesus is. The disciples had to travel the same path. Ultimately, the church planter has to know who Jesus is and the priority He must have over everything and everyone else.

2. Jesus tells you who YOU are. You will never understand who you are until you know who Jesus is. It is from Him and Him alone that you get your identity. In certain circles, Peter is considered the foundation upon which the church or "ekklesian" (as the Gk. reads). But "Peter" means "little rock" or a piece of a larger stone. That's it. Like Peter, every church planter is merely a "piece" of the foundation (cf. Ephesians 2:20). Hmmmmm.....

3. Jesus builds the church, not the planter. This might be the biggest kept secret in the world of personality-driven ministry circles. Yet, the bottom line is that Jesus is the One building the Church. This should encourage planters to go the Master Builder and not the latest, hottest conference (btw, I really like church planting conferences) every time the sun rises.

4. The church Jesus builds is on the offensive and prevails against the enemy.The church is supposed to be advancing the kingdom of God, not waiting to get suckerpunched by the devil. We don't react; we create. We don't succumb to the wiles of the kingdom of darkness; we live out the kingdom here and fulfill the Great Commission.


Created 9 months ago