I asked my friend, Patrick Bradley, to list the top five mistakes he has watched church planters make. In Patrick’s role with Stadia he has worked with dozens of church planters. Here’s what he had to say . . .
Top 5 Mistakes Church Planters Make
- Naming the church too soon: you have a cool name in your head but you haven’t really done all the missionary homework in your community. Many planters who do this end up changing the name after they’ve lived in their new context for a while.
- Cutting supporters out: you cannot stop communicating with your financial & prayer supporters. Of course you’re busy! Set it in stone on your calendar or you’ll be the next one who sends the “Sorry it’s been so long since you’ve heard from me…” email.
- Buying a $679 address book: you need church management software for more than just keeping track of people’s contact info. It can seriously multiply your time and effectiveness if you’d use it to even half its capacity. Find a data champion to help you and don’t let it go underutilized.
- Letting your buddy do your website: somehow this always dissolves into strained relationships and overdue websites. I can’t think of a single instance where this didn’t play out. Read more on my blog.
- Slipping into scarcity mentality: money never comes in the way you dream it will. You’re broke; welcome to church planting. But there are certain corners you just can’t cut. Definitely do not cut these two – marketing and rolling carts for equipment.