Missions Rising July/August, 2017

July/Aug 2017 Volume 2 Issue 4

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Things I Learned from My Study Sabbatical!

By Tom Cheyney Executive Director of Missions

Before Lift Off: How a Church Planter Develops a Launch Team

By Tom Cheyney & Mark Weible Church Planting Director

www.MissionsRising.com www.GOBA.org

GOBA is an association of autonomous Southern Baptist churches, that exists to more effectively fulfill the Great Commission as described in Matthew 28:18-20.

MISSION: GOBA is Southern Baptist member churches working together to impact Central Florida and the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

VISION: GOBA is a family of healthy growing churches loving, serving and reaching Central Florida and the world by developing and multiplying disciples, leaders, and churches.

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This is done through Greater Orlando Adventures in Leadership (GOAL), and through other appropriate seminar and conference venues. Our participants are asked to invest a minimum of two years of personal ministry development and growth in leadership development through the Greater Orlando Baptist Association.

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FEATURES

Things I Learned from My Study Sabbatical!

July/Aug 2017 | Vol 2, No 4

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By Tom Cheyney

Before Lift Off: How a Church Planter Develops a Launch Team

By Tom Cheyney & Mark Weible

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MAGAZINE RESOURCES BOOKS, STUDY COURSES, RESOURCES, & E-BOOKS!

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GOBA CONTENT CHANNELS for Pastors, Church Revitalizers, Church Planers, and Ministry Leaders

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6 REMARKABLE TOOLS TO FORTIFY

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Renovate One-Day Training

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G.O.A.L Training

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Coaching 101 Training

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147th Annual Celebration & Festival

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THE PASTOR WITHIN YOU

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Welcome to the Missions Rising Magazine:

The Bi-monthly Resource Magazine from Central Florida for Pastors, Staff, and Church Leaders!

Volume 2, No. 4

Missions Rising is published bi-monthly by the Greater Orlando Baptist Association 1906 West Lee Road Orlando, FL 32810 Email: goba@goba.org

PUBLISHER Dr. Tom Cheyney Associate Publisher Mark Weible Associate Publisher Circulation & Marketing Tom King Executive Editor & Brand Manager Tom Cheyney Magazine Designer & Format Editor Gerald Brown Director of Advertizing Tom King Stock images from ISTOCK Photo or where otherwise noted.

The Missions Rising Magazine for the Greater Orlando Baptist Association is going quite well and I could not be more excited! Ever since I arrived some five years ago now, I wanted to replace the newsletter with a more resource focused magazine. In the beginning stages, we created what we called for the last three years the Re-Source Magazine which was a document not a magazine. It has taken time for our staff to stretch to the level of expertise to afford us the opportunity to develop such a premier magazine for an association. This bi-monthly magazine is free to anyone and is launched with the intent of providing Just-In-Time Resourcing for pastors, staff and church leaders.

Our goal every other month is to provide you with a large resource on a specific subject, that is useable for pastors and deacons to equip the staff and laity. Additionally, there will be an accompanying article about half the size of the main issue that will focus on a tool for the local church.

We encourage you to spread the word to your staff and church leaders about subscribing to this magazine. Simply go to: goba.org and look for the Missions Rising icon on the top header. As your mission partner and GOBA family, it is a great blessing to be able to provide you with such a cutting edge resource on a regular bases.

Stay connected, more is coming...

This issue is focused around:

Things I Learned from My Study Sabbatical!

Š Copyright 2016 Greater Orlando Baptist Association

Dr. Tom Cheyney is the Executive Director of Missions for the Greater Orlando Baptist Association and serves as the Executive Editor for the Missions Rising Magazine.

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BOOKS,

STUDY COURSES

, E-BOOKS!

RESOURCES,

&

Did you know that GOBA and Missions Rising offers pastors and church leaders an array of resources through our GOBA Bookstore?

You can order books online, download free eBooks, find helpful tools for leading the local church, and discover just-in-time resources to help you as a pastor or lay leader.

Church Revitalization 101: Seven Pillars of Church Revitalization and Renewal: $49.95 Value (FREE)

GOBA offers you study courses that can help you learn how to strengthen and grow your church!

The Church Revitalizer As Change Agent

Preaching Towards Church Revitalization

The Nuts & Bolts of Church Revitalization

Tom Cheyney

Tom Cheyney Larry Wynn

Tom Cheyney Terry Rials

Visit: GOBA.org/resources for the most up to date set of resources designed to help the local church.

38 Church Revitalization Models For The 21st Century Tom Cheyney

The Healthy Church: Practical Ways to Strengthen a Church’s Heart Bob Whitesel

Building A Healthy Multi-ethnic Church Mark DeYmaz

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GOBA RESOURCES & CONTENT CHANNELS

for Pastors, Church Revitalizers, Church Planters, and Ministry Leaders

Delivering Quality Thinking, Strategic Thinking, Leadership Practices and News

Go to Missions Rising.com for the latest news, podcasts, blogs, articles, just-in-time resources, and suggested books from the Greater Orlando Baptist Association and our content channel architects.

CHURCH PLANTING OrlandoChurchPlanting.com 6

GOAL OrlandoLeaders.com

RENOVATE CONFERENCE RenovateConference.org

GO

Greater Orlando B

GOBA

OBA

Baptist Association

A.org

REPRODUCING CHURCHES ReproducingChurches.com

RENOVATE ONE DAY RenovateConference.org/One-Day

RESOURCES RenovateConference.org/ bookstore 7

Things I Learned from My study Sabbatical Today is the official last day of my sabbatical. I am back after taking my first study sabbatical as your Executive Director of Missions for the Greater Orlando Baptist Association. May I first say a great big thank you for including this for your full-time staff of the association. The rumors have not been exaggerated. Taking a sabbatical is an amazing, rejuvenating and life-changing experience. Honestly, I thought I was being proactive by taking the sabbatical before I reached the point of burnout. I didn’t think I was overly weary. I knew I was tired, but I thought I just needed a little break. The truth is, I was working at an unsustainable pace and I kept telling myself it was just a season.

Unfortunately, that season went on and on and ran right into the next “season.” Spending time in new places, away from the daily grind can help you see one’s ministry and life in a completely new way. I had the privilege of traveling to connect with amazing people in ministry inside the state and out of the state. I learned more things about myself and about God. It has been beautiful and eye opening. I return now to the exciting ministry of leading the association, and want to share 10 lessons I learned from my sabbatical: Lesson Number One: I Really Love the Ministry the Lord Has Given Me! During my study sabbatical, I traveled to Branson, Missouri; Charlotte, North Carolina; Louisville, Kentucky; Palatka, Florida and conducted five day trips to interview pastors all over the four regions of my great state of Florida. Those

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training and interviewing events allowed me to see how much I enjoy leading on behalf of the association and training of pastors, new pastors and key lay leaders. I have to admit I really did miss preaching, training, coaching, and interacting with our pastors and laity. One thing the sabbatical taught me is that I must stop allowing those who plan poorly to guilt me into giving up free time that has been allocated for my wife Cheryl and my daughter Ashleigh. I had a few who wanted me to forgo my sabbatical plans so that their last-minute idea could be achieved. I need time to rest and relax with my family and there is nothing wrong with that. But I really do love what I do.

Lesson Number Two: It Was Good I had a Plan Because I Get Bored Easily I have always been pretty quick with my work.

I can write fairly quickly, develop training resources for pastors, planters, and church revitalizers; while getting other work things done. I am not sure why, I just can do it fairly quickly. Maybe quicker than most. Because I have a lot of structured time at work I do not have time to really be bored. There is always something for me to do and because we have a small staff a lot falls on my to do list. So, my days are very full and while I complain about how full it is sometimes, I enjoy being busy in the work of ministry. But during my study sabbatical with not as many smaller things to do I found myself getting bored easily. It was very good that I had a plan to get some significant things done during my leave or I would have been extremely bored. I will share the accomplishments at the end of this article. A lesson I learned is that the tyranny of the urgent often squelches out the more important things of ministry.

I worked a four-day week during my sabbatical which included worshiping in different kinds of churches. The other three days a week I rested, read, refocused, and re-evaluated the work of the association. I have always heard that you need to give yourself a long time to unplug when you do a sabbatical. I unplugged so fast I was a little concerned that I was losing brain capacity. I did take a long nap the first day—and I could count on my fingers the number of naps I have taken during the last thirty years.

I wouldn’t even have to use both hands.

I have been so used to putting forward a heavily structured schedule that I struggled the first week as to what to do and when to do it. I felt guilty when I was not being productive. I learned during the month that time to reflect is the most precious commodity I have in ministry. While I reflected on that statement I realized that I need to start to value the fact that when I veg out a bit. It is ok. It is fine to sit, pray, and think without having to crush such practice into smaller times due to issues demanding attention. There is plenty of time, but time is not guaranteed.

Lesson Number Four: You Will Discover a New Level of Inspiration on a Sabbatical You will find inspiration on a sabbatical.

Those things you stress over now are not that important. Once you are away from your work for a while, you will start to see clearly again. Eventually you will barely remember details of things that once seemed life-or-death important. You will start to understand that the truly important things in life exist outside of work, and you might begin to wonder how you ignored them for so

long. I left for the sabbatical hoping that I would be inspired to start working on some new projects by the time we returned. That happened in a big way. During the sabbatical, creativity seemed to flow like water.

The work will still be there when you return.

I came back to the office and it seemed as though nothing had changed. I could jump back into our work exactly as I left it if I wanted to. Instead, I intend to keep the parts we really love and replace the rest.

On Point with Dr. Tom Cheyney

Lesson Number Three: Time to Reflect, Is the Most Precious Commodity We Have

Lesson Number Five: Clarity for the Work of Ministry Often Requires Space I am sure that some people thought I took the sabbatical because I needed some time to relax. While that was probably true, it is not why I took the leave. I knew I had to go away and make space for something new to come in. I did not know what that was, but my brain was not going to figure it out. This was heart work, and the only way I would be able to hear the whisper of the soul was to get quiet. Clarity requires space. Many of us try to work harder and harder when things get stuck a little. What I learned is that is is best to pack up and go get still somewhere and let the answers come to me.

Lesson Number Six: Take the Time to Explore Someone Else’s World Part of my plan for my study sabbatical was to explore someone else’s ministry world. I spent three quarters of my time discovering what is working and what is not working in the rural churches around the country.

I learned so much about churches in rural settings and how they function. There are those rural churches who are revitalizing and thriving in the rural areas of our land.

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Things I Learned from My study Sabbatical There are also, regrettably those in the same setting that are in a serious state of decline leading towards death. I was able to explore the differences.

Lesson Number Seven: Saying “No” is a Powerful Word that Can Free You If you are in ministry very long you have trouble with saying no. What I discovered these past thirty days is that declining opportunities no matter how good is the better thing. No is a powerful word that can free you. When I’m asked if I can do something, a lot of times, I say yes without even thinking about what that yes will mean. What it will mean for me, for my family, or the person I said yes to? Reservations typically lead to regrets. I want to choose my yeses carefully.

Lesson Number Eight: Be More Available for Play I am a recovering workaholic. I do not need discipline to build new ministries or get things done. I need discipline to do the opposite and do nothing at all. On Friday, I will be playing tennis with a group of people my wife and I have been playing with for some time. Another thing I have learned is that one should not feel guilty for having a life and making time outside of ministry work. All of us need to take more time to play. Our ministries will not suffer if we take time off and learn to play more. In fact I beleive that all of our ministries will be enhanced.

Lesson Number Nine: The Lord Appears More When I am Quiet Enough to Listen God shows Himself more when I am quiet enough to listen. When I am quiet enough to notice, I see God’s hand in everything. When

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I slow down enough, I see Him in the blazing colors of the sunset, in the creativity of my amazing daughter, in the strong faithfulness of my wife, and in the gathering of His people.

He’s there. Just waiting for me to notice. If I’m moving too fast, I’ll miss it.

Lesson Number Ten: Dorothy was Right, there is No Place Like Home There is no place like home. Though I traveled many places I understood that there is no place like home. I had the opportunity to travel quite a bit over my sabbatical, yet, I longed for Orlando and home. Coming home has been the most beautiful thing about traveling every single time. After one’s sabbatical, it is important to reconnect with those you serve, as well as friends. The key is to stay open and recognize that the experiences you have in the field will be most valuable when you apply them to real life—whatever that means for you.

So What Was Accomplished as a Result of the Study Sabbatical?

So, taking a study sabbatical should produce something that one would not have the time to produce within the daily routine of ministry. That is certainly true for me. Some of the tangible things accomplished during my study sabbatical were: 1.Completed the last eight chapters of Slaying the Dragons of church Revitalization: Dealing with the Critical Issues that are Hurting Your Church! (Due out in late July) 2. Wrote a new training piece: Principles of Decision Making for Church Leaders

4. Began writing the Rural America book and completed six chapters.

5. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: Thirteen Characteristics of Rural Revitalization Pastors 6. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: Church Revitalization Realities in Rural America!

7. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: Common Aliments in the Rural American Church 8. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: Core Revitalization Issues in Rural America!

9. Developed Presentation: Drastic Times Call for Drastic Measures: Stop Gap Actions for Dying Churches 10. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: Resuscitating the Rural American Church 11. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: Survival Approaches in a Diminishing Rural Community!

12. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: Ten Trends for the Next Ten Years in Rural Church Revitalization

13. Developed Teaching Manuscript & Presentation: The Top Ten Mistakes Churches Make in Rural Revitalization Wrapping it up!

I believe Pastors and leaders of Christian ministries need to find ways to have more time to reflect which will hopefully include a sabbatical at some point. Taking the time away from the regular schedule helps you to avoid eventual burnout. It also sharpens your skills. These are the lessons off the top of my head. I enjoyed my sabbatical and if I am allowed, would love to do it again in the future. Until that time, I need to learn what I have studied, compile my research from the 100 Rural Church Leadership Interviews, appreciate what is front of me, and take even more risks in my life. The sabbatical was amazing and confronting in the same breath. After my study sabbatical, I have been able to clearly look back on that amazing opportunity as accomplishing what I had always dreamed of; one that allowed me to both conduct research and learn more about myself than I ever expected. It helped me appreciate both my ministry and life as well.

On Point with Dr. Tom Cheyney

3. Researched and interviewed 100+ rural churches across North America in preparation for the new book coming out later this year entitled: Church Revitalization in Rural America: Revitalization in America’s Heartland.

Thank you so very much for providing me the opportunity to have a study leave. I have decided that I will make every effort to encourage our churches to give their pastors a study sabbatical one every three years. I would be glad to talk with your leadership about the benefits and rewards of doing this for their pastors. I am rested, blessed, full of joy and appreciation for the opportunity, and ready to continue to lead the great Greater Orlando Baptist Association into the future. Our best days are ahead of us.

Continued on Page 14

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Things I Learned from My study Sabbatical Forever Grateful, Dr. Tom Cheyney, Col. 4;6 Executive Director of Missions Here is a short version of one of the presentations I developed duiring my study leave.

Principles of Decision Making for Church Leaders: Lessons Learned from the Trenches of Forty Years of Pastoral Ministry

By Dr. Tom Cheyney Great pastoral leaders have the ability to get more than the “best” out of their staff and laity.

They have the ability to summon from these individuals the greatest return on the churches investment in staff. It accomplishes more than appears possible! A good pastoral leader will surround himself with people who complement his skills. If you will honestly assess your abilities, you will know what to look for in other staff to supplement your gifting’s.

interesting and useful insights. But realize the ultimate goal is to inspire your people not to just voice problems but also to figure out how to solve problems which arise.

Not Everybody Will Like You! If you are doing a great job, not everybody is going to like you! Decision making as a leader cannot be a popularity contest. Mediocrity is when you as a leader try to get everyone to like you as you seek to not offend anyone. A good leader will at times tick off those who are desirous of a casual Christianity light on repentance. Stop placating everyone.

Trust is a Key to Decision Making

The Principles of Decision Making for Church Leaders:

Establish and practice the Big 5 trust attributes. These big five are: competence, character, courage, constancy to others (loyalty), and confidence. You follow someone worthy because you trust them. Pastors must not assume people trust them but work towards ways to demonstrate they can be trusted.

Relationships Matter in Ministry!

Stand Up, Stand Out, and Stand For!

Managing the “things” of ministry is easy.

Pastoral leaders seek to motivate people daily.

They energize people, and receiving 110 % out of a personal relationship. Relationships Matter in Ministry!

Stand Up, Stand Out, and Stand For! Display integrity in all you do. Practice what you preach. Live it out daily for others to see.

Set high standards for yourself. Practice selflessness. Display empathy to others. Arouse curiosity in others for what you are doing and where you are leading. Don’t be boring, because boring pastors drive away potential followers and stifle church members.

Embrace the “BIG” Ideas of Your Faithful Followers Embrace the “BIG” ideas of your faithful followers. Pastor leaders must work consciously to stay in touch with the best ideas of the people they lead. Leaders should constantly be on the lookout for great ideas. Ideas become a pipeline to the advancement of the work of ministry in the church. They unleash a flood of

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Pick the Right Peck of Pickle Peppers!

Listen, Rather Than Be Listened To! Listen, rather than be listened to! Good listening begets good listening. Pastors often grow small ears while their mouths get bigger. The more you say without hearing, the less likely you are to be heard. Pastors who shut up and listen not only learn a lot but carve out an environment where others are willing to listen to them.

Do Not Let the Big Picture Overwhelm the Details Do not let the Big Picture overwhelm the details. In pastoring the big picture stuff often tends to overwhelm the details. Pastors fumble this often and eventually they appear incompetent. If you are going to excel in the big things, you must develop the habit in the little matters and details. When the details are dropped great advancement stumbles right along with them.

Stop Being Snowed, Snookered, and Hoodwinked!

Stop being snowed, snookered, and hoodwinked! Pastors must become adept at detecting spin over substance. You need to probe, dig a little deeper, and keep a clear eye on the issues that come your way.

Complacency is a church-wide virus and if it is left unchecked it will immobilize your membership. Nip it in the bud.

Stop Turning a Blind Eye Towards the Changing Environment Stop turning a blind eye towards the changing environment. As pastors, much of who we are is wrapped up in what we do.

The result is that we become prisoners of the status quo we helped create. We become, and our churches become, creatures of habit. Habits focus usually on the past.

Effective pastors do not cling to familiar turfs. They keep an eye out for tomorrow so they can set as a new course for the church.

Stop investing in the status quo.

On Point with Dr. Tom Cheyney

Pick the right peck of pickle peppers! Pastors often pick staff members because they need a buddy. In order to accomplish great things, you must pick the right people to be with you on the team. If you pick the right person for the team good things will happen. If you pick the wrong person, bad things will happen. Be sure they align with your values and vision.

Start Connecting the Dots in Productive Positive Ways Start connecting the dots in productive positive ways. Good pastors ask questions such as “what if?” or “Why not?” They engender a climate of a let’s-try-it experimentation. Innovation in ministry is a key. Overcoming institutional inertia is a task the pastor must lead. You build direction and foundation for advancement. Learn some new skills, replace old mission statements with new ones. Look beyond yesterday and today.

Provide the Tools for the Journey Give people the tools to compete and advance in the new journey. Pastors must be team players and not lone-rangers. Provide your people with the necessary resources to achieve something. Push no harder or faster than the emerging consensus will allow.

Continued on Page 18

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Things I Learned from My study Sabbatical Everyone is Seeking a Magic Pill Stop looking for pre-packaged magic pill solutions. We have built a denomination with this method and it has come back to hurt us.

Today pastors are in search of the magic pill packaged solution. Start trying to develop a solution which is unique for you, your people, and your church. Learn how to change quickly if needed. Start thinking on your feet and let go of the magic box you got from the Christian bookstore.

Simplicity is Usually Best Move out of the murky waters and keep it simple. Simplicity is your friend as a leader unless you are lazy. Pastors must cut through the stuff we want to argue about in doing the work of ministry in our churches. Keep it simple. Climb out of the murky mess which has been created over decades. Be clear and present ideas which are easily grasped and held on to. Seek consensus towards the future not towards the past.

Let the mission drive you. Be unrelenting on mission.

Get Thoroughly Immersed in the Here and the Now Get thoroughly immersed in the here and the now! Effective pastors are immersed in the here and now and not in the past. They understand the situation at hand and work daily towards a new future. They are vigilant and willing to make strategic shift when necessary.

Their tactics and process are open to reconstruction if the need arises. If you ask former

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pastors they will tell you they fought the fight in the past rather than fighting it in the future.

Push the Envelope Towards Growth Stop following the rule for rules sake. Pastors who grow churches are able to push the envelope rather than coasting. They don’t do this daily but when required they are ready and not afraid. Hesitation is the mother of church closures. Pastors who grow churches skirt the edges. They lean out further than most. Interestingly, this is oftem done without asking anyone except the Lord. If you have to get permission all the time as the pastor you are not the pastor but the church errand boy.

Get it Done Develop a zeal to execute mentality. Get-urdone is a good practice for ministry. Execution matters in ministry. Plans do not happen without execution.

Embrace Your Membership Keep the morale up and your people focused.

Pastors need to be with their people. Get out of the office and embrace your people. Spend at least 50 % of your time on people if you want to grow a church. Ignore outdated systems which shackle you in the office rather than out with your people.

Develop Your Mavericks Develop your mavericks, which will achieve more. People of habit do not achieve other things. Mavericks do. Mavericks will speak out and challenge the status quo. Always tolerate these out of the box thinkers.

Tweak the titles and get balanced. Stop allowing for positional leadership to take precedence over positional influencers. Pastors and church members should respect authority, but not be cowed by it. Organizational charts are good for covering up walls but seldom are the things which bring real growth to a church.

Initiative is Better than Passivity Walk with your frontline volunteers. Smart pastors cultivate a spirit of initiative and leadership among the membership. Pastors know that those who work Sunday after Sunday in the trenches are closer to everything that is working and is not working.

The front line knows how to fix things so let them. Pastors need to stay involved and supportive of the front line.

Enthusiasm Transforms Followers into Doers Make enthusiasm a daily must. Pastors who view their churches positively and confidently tend to infuse their people with the same attitude. Optimism transforms doubters into followers. Optimism will be your stronger ally than reality. Optimism paves the way while reality leaves you stuck on the side of the road. Pastoral success is measured by your ability to maintain enthusiasm between failures. Be enthusiastically positive.

Become More Playful Learn to be more playful as you make work fun. Successful pastors know how to make the work of ministry fun. Pastors model fun at work and fun in the ministry have a greater chance to lead others towards

something new and exciting. Model working hard and playing hard. Create fun at church. Minimize the stress associated with so much of the work of ministry.

Do Your Work and Then Go Home Do your work and then go home! Pastors and minister’s schedules get out of balanced sometimes. There is no prize for working on vacations or sacrificing your family on the altar of a lazy laity at church.

Pastors should take their weekly days off.

They should use their vacation times up each year. Stop clocking hours for hours sake. Pastors should slow down and stop running at a breakneck pace. Do not allow your ministry to become the whole of your existence.

On Point with Dr. Tom Cheyney

Influence is Better Than Titles

If It was Easy, We Would Call It Softball!

If it was easy, we would call it softball! Leading a church is often lonely. Get ready for that at times. Develop friends outside of the church which will help balance you. Success in the work of the church often rest squarely on the pastor’s shoulders. Accept the responsibility you have been given. Lead by example. Know when to buckle down and when to leave the work for the next guy.

Until He Comes, Tom Col. 4:6

Dr. Tom Cheyney is the Exec-

utive Director of Missions for the Greater Orlando Baptist Association and serves as the Executive Editor for the Missions Rising Magazine. He is the Founder & Directional Leader of the Renovate National Church Revitalization Conference and provides various training events designed for the local church.

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MISSIONS RISING 6 REMARKABLE TOOLS TO FORTIFY THE PASTOR WITHIN YOU.

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may inquire to the costs involved and the commitments, which need to made as to the duration of the coaching cohort. There is an 18-month initial commitment required to join the network and an additional 18 months might be granted for further coaching towards church revitalization and renewal.

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These one-day training events are offered locally each month on the third Thursday and as arranged annually across North America. These events train pastors, staff, and laity in the necessary skill sets for the revitalization and renewal of the local church. Anyone is welcome at these monthly events and we promote them a month in advance allowing those who want to fly in to do so.

RENOVATEconference.org/OneDayTraining

GOAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING The Greater Orlando Adventures in Leadership is a 10-month per-year leadership training designed for

both laity and ministers alike. These monthly events are one day events laser focused towards a specific leadership issue.

OrlandoLeaders.com

REPRODUCING CHURCHES CHURCH PLANTING CENTERS These one-day training events are offered locally on the first Thursday of each month locally and as

arranged annually across North America. These events train church planters, church planting teams, and laity of the church plant in the necessary skill sets for the planting, reproducing, and multiplying of the local church. The local Central Florida events are offered for free while some of the national one-day events have a cost associated with the event.

ReproducingChurches.com/OneDay

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Before Lift Off: How a Church Planter Develops a Launch Team Before Lift Off: How a Church Planter Develops a Launch Team

By Tom Cheyney and Mark Weible Church planting is a team effort. No church planter should ever go it alone. The apostle Paul set the example of always working together with a team of people whenever he set out to plant churches.

You can see a partial list of Paul’s team members in II Timothy 4:10-19. Many of those who served with Paul also became church planters or leaders of churches themselves. Team members bring their own unique strengths and experience to the church planting endeavor while they gain church planting knowledge and experience. A launch team is a working group. Every person has specific tasks and responsibilities. One of the responsibilities of each launch team member is church multiplication through evangelistic outreach, disciple-making and leadership development. Each launch team member should be reaching and training new people who do what they do. Typically, the larger the launch team - the larger the church.

•By Task - determined by what they are assigned to do.

Selecting Team Members

•By Involvement – determined by their commitent

Who will serve on your launch team and how will they be organized? Every church plant is in a different context and has differing needs. The people that you choose to serve on your launch team should have some things in common:

Diversity

1. Their love for and commitment to Christ is evident to all.

2. They are self-less servants willing to sacrifice their personal preferences for the good of the mission.

3. They are missionally motivated. They are all-in for all of the right reasons.

4. They have bought into and can communicate the vision, values and mission of the church plant.

5. They are submissive to biblical authority.

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There are several ways that you can choose your launch team members based upon the specific needs of your church plant:

•By Position - determined by their title •By Personality – determined by who they are •By Expertise – determined by what they know •By Competence – determined by what they can do •By Experience – determined by what they have done •By Teachability – determined by their desire and ability to learn •By Willingness – determined by their desire to serve

Effective teams are built on diversity. A common mistake among leaders is to assemble teams of people who have a lot in common, but do not compliment each other well. I remember well a conversation that I had with a corporate executive whose job it was to pick up the pieces after a company had failed. I asked him what was the most common mistake of failed companies. His answer was that in most cases, the CEO had recruited to his strengths while ignoring his weakness. You need people on your launch team who are not like you.

They will help you to see your blind spots and to keep your team away from groupthink. In Romans 12:5, Paul reminds us that the church is the body of Christ, made up of various members each designed for different functions. The body is diverse, but it works together as a whole with Jesus as the head giving direction to each member. A healthy launch

Assessment An objective church planter assessment helps a church planter to understand his strengths and weaknesses. When a church planter becomes self-aware, he can see his own potential blind spots. This helps him to seek out people who are strong where he is weak. Author, Ken Vogues, has spent over 30 years of his life studying biblical leaders and comparing their external observable behaviors with the popular DISC profile.

Church planters and launch team members can now use the Biblical DISC assessment tool that Ken has developed to gain insight into the natural behavioral styles of themselves and their launch team members. This tool can help church planters to discover blind spots and weaknesses on their teams and to build more diverse teams.

The Biblical DISC assessment is available online at www.DISC.Church.

The Staff Team and the Launch Team A staff team’s primary role is to equip the launch team to provide the basic ministry of the church plant. The staff team may consist of two or more individuals committed to work together in the planting and leading of the new church. When a staff team is used to plant a church, it usually consists of a lead pastor, a worship leader, and/ or an executive pastor. This team may or may not share the preaching and teaching, but all are responsible for equipping and growing a church plant in a given context. Paul put it this way: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13).

A launch team’s primary role is to become the expression of Christ in the ministry context

through the sharing of a common vision, values, mission, and strategy. The launch team exercises their gifts in carrying out the Great Commandment and Great Commission in the planting of a church. Again, it is the role of the church planter or staff team to equip this group for the many responsibilities of planting the church.

This launch team may consist of people from a parenting church or the community. It will often consist of people at various spiritual levels.

Ministry Teams

Multiplying Churches with Mark Weible

team, like a healthy church, understands and celebrates the differences of each member.

A ministry team consists of launch team members organized around a specific task. Ministry teams usually consist of a leader and several other team members who meet regularly to plan and carry out a particular ministry of the church. Most church plants will require several different ministry teams. Each of these teams will consist of individuals who have gathered to accomplish a specific ministry task. Such tasks may include set up and break down for the service, leading in worship, providing child care, running audio/visual equipment, leading small groups, greeting, visitor follow-up, et cetera.

Characteristics of a Team Regardless of the type of team you are working with, there are some processes that are important to developing healthy teams. This process begins with creating a sense of togetherness.

Most people long to be part of something that is far greater than themselves. This longing can forge a bond of unity among team members.

This sense of togetherness takes place when every team member feels that they are making a unique contribution to the team. Different people with different spiritual gifts, experiences, relational styles, and ministry skills are needed for a church planting team to be complete.

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WaterStone Church

900 North Street Longwood, FL 32750 mywaterstone.church

Church Revitalization Training Meetings 3rd Thursday of Each Month

8:30am - 11:55am Remaining 2017 RENOVATE 1 Day Training Meetings:

August 20 September 21 October 19

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First Thursday of Each Month CHURCH PLANTER NETWORK Third Thursday of Each Month CHURCH REVITALIZATION TRAINING (RENOVATE ONE DAY) August 4 COACHING 101 Mark Weible

August 13 BI-VOCATIONAL PASTORS BREAKFAST Tom Cheyney

September 1 INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT Tom Cheyney & Mark Weible

November 1-3 RENOVATE National Church Revitalization Conference (Aloma Church)

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Before Lift Off: How a Church Planter Develops a Launch Team

Additionally, a sense of togetherness grows as people commit themselves to a team’s shared goals.

Jesus insisted that if a person wanted to follow Him, he or she must share His values and goals. He said, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Matt. 12:30).

Jesus made sure that anyone who wanted to be on His team was committed to His mission.

Second, an effective church planter builds a team by empowering others to lead. Leaders who lead leaders must share their power. The apostle Paul multiplied his ministry by multiplying leaders, not by gathering followers. He started with a few potential leaders, and he committed his life to helping them reach their leadership potential. Because he did, the first-century church experienced exponential growth like the world had never seen.

Third, a church planter builds a team through accountability. It is only after a team comes together and is fully empowered to accomplish its mission that accountability comes into play. The environment for good accountability is one that is forged over time through an open and honest trust relationship. Trust equals accountability; therefore, the higher the degree of trust, the higher the accountability. Accountability consists of team members’ strong desire not to drop the ball or let down the team and willingness for the team leader to see every team member succeed. Healthy teams are the context for accountability. When this happens the success of the team is ensured.

Fourth, church planting leaders are not a success until they have mentored successors to carry on the mission of the team. In every successful church plant and team ministry, the leader mentors others who will continue the mission long after the leader

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is gone. Mentoring is how leaders prepare the next generation of leaders for service. Without future leaders, there is no future for the church or ministry.

Jesus, the ultimate mentor, mentored His followers in at least three ways. First, He mentored His disciples by teaching them. He taught them through stories, parables, and object lessons how to live in the kingdom of God. Second, Jesus mentored His followers by revealing the power of God in their lives (Mark 6:32- 44). Jesus was building the faith of the disciples by His miracles. Third, Jesus mentored His disciples by modeling and teaching them a life of prayer (Luke 11:1-4).

How to Enlist Team Members 1. Pray. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field” (Matt. 9:37-38). Jesus instructed us to pray for workers. Nothing will substitute for prayer when it comes to building solid ministry teams. Pray for God to lead you to people of solid character who are committed to Christ, to God’s vision for you and the new church.

2. Look for ways that God may be answering your prayers. Keep both eyes open for the people God is bringing into your life every day. Remember that God often works through the network of relationships you are building. As you pray over specific individuals, ask them to introduce you to key people in their network who might share a burden to help start a church.

3. Equip and release people for service. Develop a leadership pipeline that allows you to provide

his team. It is not unusual for the most successful church planters to understand that it is their role to serve the team, not the team’s to serve them.

4. Encourage teams often and celebrate the victories, both great and small. Look for intentional ways to celebrate positive team behavior and victories. When setting goals look for opportunities to create small wins. Affirm people publicly and privately.

Multiplying Churches with Mark Weible

ongoing equipping. This equipping may take one of two forms: as-you-go equipping and intentional equipping. Early in a church plant you will need to spend regular time with your team preparing them for the task. However, over time, their equipping needs will change. Some church planters set aside a monthly time with ministry team leaders; others set aside time for a major equipping event two or three times a year.

Servant Leadership For a church planter to be most effective, he or she must develop a “whatever-it- takes, no-matter-who-gets-the-credit” attitude. People are quick to follow those who love them and are willing to lay down their life for them. A church planter must resist the temptation to drive people and instead, learn to serve them.

The apostle Paul, arguably the greatest church planter and ministry team leader in history, offered some tips on how to make ministry teams work over the long haul. In Colossians 3:12-14, he writes: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

This passage reminds us that unconditional surrender by the planter and his team produces undeniable transformation and an unstoppable church. Perhaps it would serve any church planter well to understand that as a servant leader he is responsible for (1) setting direction, (2) creating a healthy environment, and (3) serving

Rev. Mark Weible serves

the Greater Orlando Baptist Association as the Church Planting Director. He joined the GOBA team in 2002. Mark co-leads the GOAL Leadership training besides serving as our Web architect. Mark serves as the Directional Leader of ReproducingChurches.com.

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