copied from "LAUNCH with Nelson Searcy – LIVE Blogging"
17 03 2009
Good morning, world, and welcome to the only “live” national LAUNCH conference with Nelson Searcy in 2009. The Conference is being held at White Marsh Baptist Church, just north of Baltimore, Maryland. About 100 attendees are here, from locations as diverse as California, Michigan and Tennessee.
Nelson and Kerrick Thomas, executive and teaching pastor at The Journey Church of the City in New York City, are here to teach the material in their book. The church where they serve is probably the most successful church plant in my tribe (SBC) in the Northeast–meeting in 5 locations with over 1200 currently in attendance.
Why Launch?
“We believe that most great churches are launched, not planted,” says Searcy. “Planters are heroes; we really believe this is a heroic activity. In fact we believe in learn and return…what God teaches us, we have a obligation to share with others…The principles we teach here work all over America…East Coast, West Coach, big city or the sticks. A lot of what we teach is not new from us, but we learned from others, too.”
“America is the third largest unreached country in the world…70% is unreached…The only legitimate reason to start a new church is to reach the lost.”
Searcy and Thomas started in two locations on Manhattan when they “launched” Journey in the spring of 2002. Both of them worked an additional job when they began the work together. 110 were present at launch on Easter 2002, after cultivation in the months preceding it. By August they were down to 35 on one Sunday. “If we hadn’t launched large at Easter, we’d have been out of business by this time.”
To date, they’ve helped start four other churches and have multisite locations in three or four other places of the city. They have baptized 700 people in last seven or so years.
Launching large is a key…”Keller told us we were the largest launch in the previous decade, but it’s relative to an area…there is a corrolation between launching large and reaching as many people as possible….for God’s dream for your church is bigger than your dream.”
Launching quickly is a key, too. Churches should start quickly, in 2-4 months beginning monthly services, then a few more months going to weekly services. “Lost people are the same everywhere; they’re not going to come to your church until you start services.”
A third key is launching from the outside in. “Opposite from the Purpose-Driven concentric circles, you have no core when you start a new church. In fact, new churches shouldn’t have a core for about a year. Focus only on the community and the crowd…try to get people to come to your church/ service. If you build a core, they become resistant to reaching more lost people and will become inwardly focused. You and your worship leader with everybody else lost is lots better than a bunch of disgruntled Christians from the church down the street.”
There are a number of significant ideas we believe and suggest you understand and implement, including the following:
Your calling is the most important factor to your plant’s success.
Resist the temptation to do everything first….do the weekend service/childcare and evangelism, no more.
Calling. “There are no higher highs and no lower lows than in church planting…Most churches fail because I believe they’re led by a non-called leader. In fact, the calling of God is the only thing that will keep you there at times. Please note, too that God ALWAYS calls both you and your spouse to church planting…but not necessarily at the same time. And you will most likely be called to reach people like yourself…93% of planters do, since only 7% have a cross-cultural gift.”
Searcy references The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing as one of the 5 most important books church planters should read. This book, by Al Reiss and Jack Trout, will help you live out your calling and reach all ages, but because you are more focused on the one group you are called to reach. Music is the number one key. “The call” is a call to prepare to lead, to teach, to depend on God!
“Our goal is to focus on the “nuts and bolts” side of church planting; we believe this is our unique contribution to the ministry of church planting for others who come after us. So, one of the focus elements needed is raising funds for church planting. The only people who don’t like you talking about money are people that come to you from other churches. One of my regrets is that I didn’t talk about money enough in the first few months. Hudson Taylor said, ‘God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s provision.’ God wants you to succeed!”
Funding. “Start by knowing how much you’ll need to start your work. Plan on salaries that are comparable to the people you’re trying to reach. Get the only kind of equipment you need…not top of the line stuff…this is, in fact, one of the biggest mistakes planters make today. No monies are left to do evangelism or add staff! Lease equipment if you can, instead of buying it. Don’t just assume you know what’s happening in the city; find out by talking to business people in the community where you’ll serve. Plan for being self-sufficient as a new church in 2-4 years and be able to show potential donors how you’re going to do that.”
“The largest base of donors we received came from local churches across the country,” Searcy says, “…only one of them came out of a personal relationship from years before. Most gave $2,000-$3,000 a month for one to three years. Most came after we launched, though, since churches like to fund success. And know that fund raising must continue through the years. Finally, don’t ever forget, you planter are the chief fundraiser for the new church; no one else can replace you with donors. So, over four years we were able to raise about half a million dollars for our church plant. These skills I used in raising this money has been used over and over again in the growth and development of our church.”
“Why do some churches succeed and others don’t? Leadership, planning and the spiritual blessing of God. There are probably lots of others. IN FACT, we believe the most important factor is A HEALTHY LAUNCH…80% of the time this is the key to success, just as a healthy birth is key to a child’s growth and development.”
Planning Your First Service. “Picking the right date for launch is the most important decision you’ll make after you nail down your call from God,” Searcy states. “Easter…when school starts back…these are good times, but not the best. We believe the best time is February. This gives you a chance for a second launch at Easter time, before the drop off in summer. Then you have a major push in the fall and you’re off to a great start. And don’t launch at any other time of the week than Sunday morning. Then back up 3-6 months to start your monthly services that will lead up to your launch. And by the way, your launch team commits to help you launch the church weekly, but it ‘goes away’ after you’ve started weekly services.”
Meeting Location. “The location where you meet should match the people you’re trying to reach,” according to Searcy. “Ideally, it will be a place like a hotel ballroom where you can move from one place to another. Movie theaters are also good, as are comedy clubs. Public school auditoriums are another option or community theaters, but they are pricey. But regardless, don’t sign a long-term lease.”
Launch Day. Searcy says, “Start a teaching series this day based on a felt-need important to your target group. Have your launch team inviting their friends to join you for this first weekly service. And don’t ever use a guest musician or band on this day! People need to see what’s going to be a part of the regular church life from this time forward. Finally, be sure to collect information from everyone who attends and followup on them right away.”
Three Great Temptations You Must Overcome.
“First, you will be tempted to change the launch date. NEVER change it…NEVER. Second, don’t delegate too much control and authority to the launch team. You must lead, so take responsibility and make it happen. Third, you may be tempted to merge with another (dying) congregation that offers you resources but brings with it lots and lots of baggage. DON’T DO IT!”
