Partnering Well with a Church Plant
With the overwhelming responsibilities and needs in ministry, it is easy to focus on our church and lose sight of our support role towards a church plant. Although sending a monthly check is a great and needed way to support a church planter, this alone does create a healthy partnership. As the saying goes, “Out of sight, out of mind.” To keep your church planting partnership in front of your people, you must have intentional pathways for partnership. Here are some practical pathways you can serve and support your church plant starting today.
6 Pathways for Partnering Well:
Baby shower for expecting planters.
Have your church host a baby shower for an expectant planter. A partner church once hosted a shower and provided a planting couple with diapers, baby food, and clothes. The men who drove their wives down to New Orleans to host the shower went to Lowes and Costco; they bought the planter a freezer and filled it FULL of food. What a blessing!
Monthly volunteers for childcare during worship.
SEND New Orleans has several partner churches that take one worship service a month and send a volunteer team to do childcare. Providing childcare allows overworked volunteers to come and worship with their church family. In the early stages of church planting, it takes time and development to create ministry teams for infants and children, background checked and trained caring well childcare providers are some of the most generous help you can provide.
Date night and childcare for a planter.
One of the most significant barriers planters face in cultivating a healthy marriage is simply finding childcare and resources to make it happen. Plan to send a small team down to provide childcare and a dinner gift card. I promise it will be a blessing.
Church Planter Profiles prayer strategy.
The most significant partnership a planter can have is a faithful church praying for their family and work. Taking time to print out a church planter profile is a very effective way to keep the church planter, their family, and their work in front of your congregation. Small groups, Sunday School classes, and planned times in corporate worship are just a few places you can use church planter profiles to help your church catch the partnership vision. Visit the NAMB website to find out about SEND Cities and click here for SEND New Orleans Church Planter Profiles.
Hosting a Global Impact Conference at your church.
Having a church planter come and share at a GIC is a powerful way to communicate and challenge your church to participate in local and global missions. Having a church planter in front of your church brings a face, story, and personality to your partnership. I have seen first hand that meeting and hearing from a church planter is a catalyst for many who are disengaged or on the sidelines to become active participants in the church planting partnership.
Pastor Appreciation Month.
Unlike many established churches with a rich tradition of pastor appreciation, church plants reaching un-churched and de-churched people rarely have a background in pastor appreciation. Pastor Appreciation can come and go, because no one knows what it is about, much less what to do. Use this October as an opportunity to appreciate a church plant pastor; not only will you bless the church planter and his family, you will model faithful pastor appreciation to the new work. Click on the link for some great resources and ideas for pastor/planter appreciation.
