Today (4/15/2012) I visited Portico Church in Arlington, VA. I had my taxes done so life is good. Portico started in 2010 as a daughter church of Portico Church in Charlottesville, VA. Mark Campbell is the pastor.
The vision of Portico Church is to plant 20 churches in the Washington area in 20 years. Their first plant will start in 2013 led by Justin Pearson. Justin spent years leading the small group ministry of Frontline and now is interning at Portico. Justin has a distinct advantage over many church planters.
1. He has a sponsoring church in the area that has a vision for planting and sending their own people to do the planting.
2. He has had assessment, training and coaching through a national network. In his case it is Acts 29 Network. The national networks have some of the best training and coaching for church planters.
3. He's had great modeling in leadership through Portico and Frontline.
Lyle Schaller was a prolific writer of books about church growth in the 70's. At age 83 I heard him speak at a conference where he said, "after 30 years of writing and coaching churches I've concluded that the main reason churches grow is because of the vision and passion of the senior pastor."
The vision of pastor Mark Campbell is an example of what God wants to build into a leader. Pray for Mark and Justin as they seek to reach people for Christ and build vibrant Christian communities.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
3 ways youngs leaders must leverage their growing influence
Rick Duncan
As a young influencer, King David, ancient Israel's leader, experienced much success. In the first days of his rule as a 30 something year old, David led Israel to victories over their long-standing enemies, Edom, Moab, the Ammonites, the Philistines, and the Amalekites. "The enemies brought tribute to David and served him... And the LORD gave victory to David wherever he went" (2 Samuel 8:12b, 14b). The victories gave David more resources than he had ever had. The man who was once a teenage shepherd tending his daddy's sheep was now blessed with influence beyond his wildest dreams. Wealth was now at his disposal. What would he choose to do with all these resources? Young leaders must never forget that leadership success is a test. God wants to know what the young leader will do with his or her growing influence. Never forget that influence is a trust and influence is a test. From David's life, we can learn 3 ways a young leader should use newly acquired resources and influence.
1. Provide for the worship of God. Neighboring kings brought tribute to David. "Joram brought with him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze.These also King David dedicated to the LORD, together with the silver and gold that he dedicated from all the nations he subdued" (2 Samuel 8:11). Godly young leaders must lead the organization to invest in Kingdom of God issues. How can you lead your organization to dedicate resources to build the kingdom of God?
2. Pursue justice for your people. "David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and equity to all his people" (2 Samuel 8:15). Poor previous leadership and enemy invasions had meant that the people suffered injustice. David didn't think about himself first. He set into place policies and practices that brought equity to his people. How can you lead your organization to institute policies and practices to take care of the marginalized?
3. Pick a person or a project and personally invest heavily there. David didn't forget his friendship with Jonathan, Saul's son. He found someone in need from Jonathan's family to bless. "And the king said, 'Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?' Ziba said to the king, 'There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet'" (2 Samuel 9:3). David brought this crippled son into his own house and family and provided for him the rest of his days. This story of David's kindness in particular solidified the people in their admiration and trust of his leadership. How will you personally show a particular kindness that will inspire and encourage your people? Young leaders must remember their success must be leveraged for others. You've been blessed to be a blessing. How will you bless others? Start today!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The State of Church Planting in the Washington DC / Baltimore Corridor - January 2011
2005-2010
Completed by Ron Johnson
Executive Director: Accelerate
January 28, 2011
2
Why this Research?
A group of like-minded church planting leaders and ministries in the Washington – Baltimore metro
area is seeking to collaboratively support church planting. The group seeks to champion the cause of
church planting while minimizing organizational structures and overhead. These leaders are seeking
to continue the work God is already doing through each of them while also looking for ways to work
collaboratively to enhance the effectiveness of church planting in the geographic area.
The group is coming together as the Accelerate Alliance. The Accelerate mission is to:
•
Attract, inspire and equip Kingdom-minded leaders and
•
Connect them so they can•
Collaborate with their time, talent and treasure to
•
Accelerate the creation of healthy, reproducing faith communities resulting in transformed lives
and transformed communities
The first step in discerning the approach and strategy of Accelerate was to research and discover
what God is already doing in church planting in the Washington DC / Baltimore metropolitan areas. A
primary goal of the initial research was to discover how best to accelerate church planting in the area.
The vision for Accelerate was conceived and birthed by New Life Christian Church who has funded
the initial work on Accelerate via Ron Johnson’s (the Director) time. Accelerate is a pilot initiative
closely aligned with New Life and with Exponential (a non-profit national ministry that exists to
champion church planting and who runs the Exponential Conference).
Healthy church plants start with spiritually, physically, and emotionally healthy church planters. We
anticipate that the best path to accelerating planting in our area is through serving church planters.
These findings will help guide us to determine how we best fulfill our mission and therefore advance
the Kingdom.
Survey / Research Approach
Research was conducted to identify as many of the new churches planted in the last 5 years in the
Washington DC / Baltimore metro area as possible. Denominational and network leaders were called,
searches on the internet were conducted, school systems were asked for names of churches meeting
in schools, and church planters were asked what other church planters they knew. 81 phone
interviews were conducted with church planters, pastors of church planting churches and
denominational leaders. There were 25 appointments with church planters. 15 church services were
also attended to get a feel for the ministries of the new churches.
As part of the research questions were asked to discern the tensions and needs of church planters.
A team of church planting influencers from denominations, networks, church planting churches, and
church planters met to review what was being learned and offer input toward meeting the needs of
church planters.
3
Executive Summary
Church planting churches, national and local networks, and denominations have planted at least 274
churches in the last five years in the Washington Baltimore metropolitan area. 92 of these churches
(34%) are in non-English languages.
1. Church planting churches
•
15 church planting churches have been identified (churches that have helped plant three ormore churches in the last five years)
•
Church planting churches provide the most training, support and ongoing coaching forchurch planters
•
Planters who have attended an internship / residency program at a church plantingchurches are often better equipped to plant
2. National and local networks
•
12 national and local networks have been identified
•
Networks are strong in assessment and training. However until they establish local hub
church training centers and coaches, their coaching will be sporadic
•
Network started churches are still a small number as the national networks have not yet
established churches as hubs in the Washington DC / Baltimore corridor
3. Denominations/associations
•
Most denominations are providing opportunities for assessment, training and coaching
although it varies greatly in amount
•
Denominations would benefit from having church planting churches that would develop
internship/residency programs and partnering with national networks
4. Church planters
•
The tensions and needs expressed by church planters can be seen as external (what we
do) and internal (who we are). The external needs most expressed were the need for team
support from sponsoring churches, funding, training, and learning effective ways to reach
the community
•
The internal needs most expressed were the need for relationships with peers for
encouragement, support and accountability; and coaching relationships with an
experienced church planter who they can learn from, bounce ideas off of and from whom
they can experience a sense of permission giving
5.
Common Best Practices for Equipping Church Planters - There are at least nine common best
practices for equipping church planters:
•
Assessment
•
Church planting training
•
Internship, residency, or church planting experience
•
Sponsoring churches involved in helping the plant
•
Administrative and strategic support
•
Coaching/mentoring relationship
4
•
Peer-to-peer relationships
•
Ongoing training opportunities
•
Exposure to available resources
6. Coaching/mentoring relationships and peer-to-peer relationships are key weaknesses.
•
In most denominational or network situations a planter is to find a coach or one will be
assigned. Most coaching is sporadic and coaches are often not trained. Attention to
chemistry, availability, experience, and flexibility of coaches is important
•
Peer-to-peer relationships are often left to the planter to initiate. Most planters have a
number of other planter friends but meeting is usually sporadic and often lacks direction.
Planters often desire relationships across denominational boundaries
Acknowledgements
This was an exhaustive search involving nearly
½ year of a person’s effort. However some limitations
were recognized:
•
It is difficult finding and connecting with many churches under five years old. For example,
over half of the churches meeting in schools in one county did not have an EIN number with
the government, a web site, a yellow pages listing, or a white pages listing
•
It is difficult identifying non-English language / nationality churches because of the language
barrier and they often do not use traditional advertising. Some of the non-English / nationality
churches are use to maintaining a low profile in their own countries, so they take the same
posture in the US
•
Many new churches remain under the care and financial oversight of a sponsoring church so
records of them are more difficult to find
•
New independent churches with bi-vocational pastors are often hard to identify
•
The scope of the survey does not identify smaller faith communities like house churches that
are not meeting in public places or can’t be found publically
•
These numbers represent surviving churches and don’t reflect others that did not make it to
five years
5
New Church Plants Identified
Church planting has continued to expand over the last five years.
•
274 churches were identified that have started in the last 5 years
•
It is estimated that as many as 70 churches or a quarter of the total of the new churches have
not been identified. These churches are usually independent, non-English speaking, small
denominations, or house churches, etc…
The Following Questions Relate to the 274 Identified Churches.
Who are Planting Churches?
Denominations/associations lead the way over all other efforts combined in the planting of churches.
222 churches were planted by denominations/associations 81%
31 by national and local networks 11%
54 by church planting churches (have planted 3 or more churches) 20%
47 are independent plants 17%
The total adds up to over 274 and over 100% because of co-sponsoring between church planting
churches, networks, and denominations.
6
What Denominations/Associations are Planting Churches?
22 denominations/associations were identified for planting churches. Southern Baptists are starting
49% of the new churches.
133 by Southern Baptist 49%
17 by Assemblies of God 6%
14 by Church of God Cleveland 5%
10 by Church of the Nazarene 4%
9 by Christian Church 3%
6 by Foursquare 2%
6 by Anglican 2%
27 by other denominations/associations 10%
52 not by denominations 19%
7
What Networks are Planting Churches?
National networks are just getting established in the area. Although few in number, the pastors
generally have more training, are better funded, and experience a higher survivability rate.
8 by Baltimore/Washington Christian Church network **
5 by Ecclesia *
3 by Stadia
3 by Orchard
2 by Acts 29
2 by ARC *
2 by Liberty
2 by New Thing
2 by Redeemer City to City *
2 by SENT **
1 by Kairos
1 by Virginia Evangelizing Fellowship
0 by Calvary
0 by Launch
0 by Mosaic *
0 by Vision 360
* National Network with a local representative
**Local Network
8
Who are the Church Planting Churches
(churches planting 3 or more
churches in our metro areas in the last 5 years)
?
Although other churches were church planting churches 10, 15, or 20 years ago, most of these
became church planting churches in the last 5 years. These church planting churches have been
identified.
5 Capital Baptist Church, Annandale, VA
5 Mountain Christian, Jappa, MD** ***
5 New Life Christian, Chantilly, VA** ***
4 National Community Church, DC*
4 New Life Wesleyan Church, Waldorf, MD
4 Northwest Baptist Church, Reisterstown, MD
3 Capitol Hill Baptist Church, DC***
3 Church of the Resurrection, DC***
3 Grace Fellowship Church, Timonium, MD**
3 McLean Bible Church, VA*
3 Frontline of McLean Bible Church, VA*
3 by The Gathering of McLean Bible Church, VA*
3 Pathways Church, Bel Air, MD
3 The Falls Church, Falls Church, VA***
3 Word of Life Int. Church, Ashburn, MD
*Churches who are planting exclusively through multi-site locations.
**Churches planting through multi-site locations and new churches
***Churches with internship/residency programs for new church planting pastors
“For God did Not Give Us a Spirit of Timidity, But a Spirit of
Power, of Love and of Self-Discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7
9
How many Churches were Planted in Non-English
Languages?
It is often noted that this region has more national groups of 25,000 or more represented than any
other region of the country. Reaching people here in their first language often results in their relatives
and friends being reached for Christ in their country of origin.
The growing diversity of population presents a challenge for church planting to target populations who
are separated by language and/or culture. It also presents an opportunity to bring richness of diversity
and cultures into the church.
92 non-English language churches 34%
Who are Planting Churches in Non-English Languages?
Denominations have taken the lead on resourcing groups wanting to begin churches in their first
language.
92 by denominations
0 by national networks
0 by church planting churches
? are independent
National network churches are all English speaking and predominately Caucasian. They are all
suburban except Redeemer City to City. Church planting churches are all English speaking and
predominately Caucasian. All are suburban except National Community Church and Church of the
Resurrection.
10
What Denominations are Planting Non-English Language
Churches?
Denominations are increasing their efforts to reach other language populations. Southern Baptists
have put the most effort in resourcing churches beginning in non-English languages.
Most pastors of non-English church plants are bi-vocational.
72 by Southern Baptists
6 by Church of the Nazarene
4 by Church of God Cleveland
4 by Christian and Missionary Alliance
3 by Assemblies of God
2 by Presbyterian Church of America
1 by Evangelical Free Church
“We hear Them Declaring the Wonders of God in Our Own Languages!”
Acts 2:11
11
How many of the New Churches are Multi-Site Locations?
A growing number of churches are operating from more than one location. We are defining multi-site
as churches that plan to keep all of their locations as one church. New multi-site locations have a lot
of the same advantages from connection to a mother church that traditional daughter church plants
have.
•
29 multi-site locations started 10%
Who are Starting Multi-Site Church Locations?
Multi-site church locations are being started by denominational and independent churches.
•
15 by denominational/associational churches
•
14 by independent churches
What Churches have Started Multi-Site Locations in the Last
Five Years?
The new multi-site church locations represent approximately 25% of the total attendance of church
plants in the last 5 years.
This report does not address the discussion of whether new church plants or new multi-site plants are
the most effective in evangelism.
4 by National Community Church, DC
3 by McLean Bible Church, VA
3 by Frontline of McLean Bible Church, VA
3 by The Gathering of McLean Bible Church, VA
2 by Grace Fellowship Church, Timonium, MD
2 by Columbia Baptist Church, Falls Church, VA
2 by New Life Christian Church, Chantilly, VA
1 by Bel Air UMC, Bel Air, MD
1 by Bethel World Outreach Ministries Int., Silver Spring, MD
1 by Central Christian, White Marsh, Baltimore, MD
1 by Church of the Redeemer, Gaithersburg, MD
1 by Galilee Baptist Church, Suitland, MD
1 by Hope Christian Church, Beltsville, MD
1 by Leonardtown Baptist Church, MD
1 by Lord of Life Lutheran, Fairfax, VA
1 by Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, MD
1 by North Arundel Church, Glen Burnie, MD
12
What are the Types of New Churches?
Most churches are started with a core group supported by a denomination. Churches sponsoring
daughter churches is a smaller but growing number. These percentages are estimates based on
observation. Daughter churches and new multi-site church locations have a higher survivability.
•
More than 55% are churches started from a core with or without a pastor
•
Less than 20% are daughter churches of existing churches
•
Less than 10% are churches started by a pastor alone
•
Less than 10% are new multi-site church locations
•
Less than 1% are restarts in older church buildings
Funding Models Observed
Many denominations are moving toward smaller funding of a church plant and expecting the planter to
be bi-vocational and/or raise the additional funding themselves. A study completed by the Baptist
Convention of Maryland Delaware indicated an overall 73% survivability after five years. However
there was only a 5% variation in survivability after five years in comparing churches that received no
funding from the denomination vs. churches that received up to $135,000 over three years. It was
noted that the greater funded churches had greater “thriveability” as they launched with larger
numbers.
•
Totally funded by a combination of support from denominations, local churches, sponsoring
churches or friends of planters
•
Partially funded by a combination of support from denominations, local churches, sponsoring
churches or friends of planters with the planter being bi-vocational
13
Observations of Demographic Populations that are Growing
the Most?
The diversity of the population continues to grow as people move here from all over the country and
the world. Although different populations are often concentrated in areas, the population of the
Washington DC / Baltimore corridor is one of the most integrated of cities in the country. The “church”
often lags behind the culture in its response to demographic shifts.
These points are made by observation and talking to other church/denominational leaders. The 2010
census data detail is not yet published and the 2000 census would not reflect a lot of this change.
These demographic populations are growing the most.
•
Outer suburbs – although the economy slowdown greatly slowed down this trend
•
Hispanic population both in inner cities and older suburbs
•
Suburban African America population in Maryland
•
One denominational leader pointed to a growing African population in the city replacing the
African Americans moving to the suburbs (this does not show up in a census study)
•
First generation immigrants in older suburbs and inner city whose first language is not English
•
1.5 and 2nd generation children of immigrants everywhere who straddle culture but who
experience life primarily in English
•
Urban centers with many high rise apartments especially near subway stops that are filled with
young adults who are predominantly Caucasian, but also Asian and African American
•
Although the inner city poor population is not growing, it is becoming increasingly isolated from
the church as thriving inner-city African American churches move to the suburbs to follow their
constituents who are becoming middle class
14
External (doing) Tensions and Needs Expressed by Church
Planters
Church planters wish they would have more volunteer involvement of sponsoring churches and not
just money. However funding remains a challenge to church planters. This is especially true in urban
and inner city church planting where costs are higher and responses to the gospel are generally
slower.
Training varies between church planters but generally planters feel like there is always more to learn
especially in areas of leadership development. Finding creative and effective ways to reach specific
communities is a challenge to church planters.
•
Team support/involvement from sponsoring churches*
•
Funding*
•
Training*
•
Effectiveness to reach the community*
•
Building the right team
•
Thinking collaboratively
•
Learn best practices
•
How to prioritize
Ministering to the cultureLeadership development
Maximizing technology
*Most predominant responses
Internal (being) Tensions and Needs Expressed by Church
Planters
Most church planters have friends who are planting churches but do not have a regular organized
meeting for support and encouragement.
Church planting churches provide the most coaching/mentoring. Denominations offer varying degrees
of coaching. Network started churches are often the only ones in the area so coaching is sometimes
sporadic and usually by phone.
Relationships with peers*
Mentor/Coach*
Prayer support
How to balance life
Encouragement
Soul care and spiritual development
Isolation
Disappointment
Bi-vocational challengesRest
15
*Most predominant responses
“It Was He Who Gave some … to Prepare God’s People for
Works of Service, So that the Body of Christ May be Built Up…”
Ephesians 4:11, 12
Conclusions/Observations
Church Planters
A growing number of church planters are sensing God’s call to plant churches
Over 34% of the new churches are in a non-English language
Over 50% of church planters are bi-vocational
Most church planters have gone through a form of assessment and training
Most church planters previously were part of a team and now that they are beginning a church
often feel isolated
Planters value peer-to-peer fellowships with other planters for encouragement, support and
accountability, but generally do not experience it on a consistent basis
Ongoing coaching/mentoring of planters varies from excellent to none
Planters value having a coach/mentor to learn from, ask questions to, bounce ideas off of and
for a sense of permission giving. Availability of the coach/mentor is important
Many denominational planters have an assigned coach or are to find one. Availability and
training of coaches/mentors varies greatly
Church Planting Churches
Most of the church planting churches are new to church planting in the last 5 years
Some church planting churches partner with national networks for assessment and training
Church planting churches provide the most support and ongoing coaching for church planters
Church planting churches often provide initial core members, more resources, and sometimes
people involvement from the mother church
Planters who have attended an internship / residency program at a church planting church are
often better equipped to plantChurch planting churches are best positioned to reproduce multiple churches.
Partnering with national networks for training and denominations for connections increases their resources and potential impact
Networks
Network started churches are still a small number as the national networks have not yet
established churches as hubs in the Washington DC / Baltimore corridor
Networks are strong in assessment and training. However until they establish local hub
churches and coaches, their coaching will be sporadic and mostly by phone
With one exception, networks are all planting in the suburbs with Caucasian attendees.
Redeemer City to City is planting in the cities primarily with Caucasian and some Asian attendees
Networks would benefit by partnering with church planting churches to develop a hub training
center for them with internship/residency program
16
Denominations
Most denominations are providing opportunities for assessment and training although it varies
in amount. Coaching is often limited to availability and training of potential coaches
Denominations would benefit from having church planting churches that would develop
internship/residency programs
Collaborative Effort in Church Planting
There is not a recognized collaborative effort between churches, networks and denominations
concerning church planting in the Washington DC / Baltimore corridor
There is not a collaborative voice or trumpet call to increase the pool of strong, qualified
planting candidates
It is not easy for a potential church planter to find out what is happening with church planting
and what the needs and opportunities are so they can pray and sense God’s direction
There is not a central voice for church planting or a central communication tool to aid in
recruiting church planters or providing information on resources for church planters
“All this is For Your Benefit, so that the Grace that is Reaching
More and More People May Cause Thanksgiving to Overflow
to the Glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:15
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