Church Planting and Revitalization
Church Planting Pathway
Purpose
To form biblically grounded, spiritually resilient, and missionally wise church planters who can move from their sense of calling to a faithful and enduring ministry. This pathway prioritizes conviction over techniques, character over charisma, healthy reproduction over numbers, and faithfulness over results.
Formation Rhythms
Spiritual Formation
- Scripture Memorization: One passage per week focused on mission, endurance, shepherding, humility, and faith under pressure.
- Spiritual Journal: Weekly reflection on Scripture engagement, clarity of calling, leadership pressures, team dynamics, and dependence on Christ. Journals are reviewed for depth, honesty, and theological clarity.
Shepherding & Accountability
- Spiritual Coaching (every 8 weeks). Coaching focuses on confirmation of call, family health, leadership judgment, and readiness for leadership.
- Ministry Observation (every 8 weeks). Participants may observe a church plant, a revitalization context, or a sending church leadership meeting.
Required Study
- Core Text: Foundations for Fruitful Church Planting: Essentials Before You Launch by Ken Davis
- Weekly Podcast: New Churches by Send Network
- Podcast Journal: Entries should include one insight, one caution, one question raised by the episode.
Required Reading
What Jesus Started, Pioneering Movements, and Movements that Change the World by Steve Addison. Also, MultiChurch by Brad House and Gregg Allison, and Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever and H. B. Charles.
Formation Projects
- Project 1: Calling and Cost Discernment (Due end of week 16.) 3-4 pages addressing sense of call, external affirmation, family implications, fears and ambitions, and financial cost.
- Project 2: Rule of Life and Endurance Plan (Due end of week 24.) 3-4 pages and include spiritual disciplines, rest rhythms, family priorities, accountability structures, and warning signs of burnout.
- Project 3: Church Planting Master Plan (Due end of week 28.) 8-10 pages including vision and mission, target community, planting model, disciple-making pathway, leadership development, funding strategy, and timeline and milestones.
- Project 4: Philosophy of Church Planting (Due end of week 32.) 8-10 pages articulating theology of mission, ecclesiology, disciple-making philosophy, leadership multiplication, conflict and discipline, and long-term multiplication vision.
Scope & Sequence
Church Planting: Calling and Conviction
- Week 1: The Biblical Basis for Church Planting
- Week 2: Discerning a Call to Church Planting
- Week 3: Defining Church Planting Models
- Week 4: Understanding Cultural Context
- Week 5: Vision and Mission
- Week 6: Prayer as Strategy
- Week 7: Building a Launch Team
- Week 8: Counting the Cost
Church Planting: Foundations that Last
- Week 9: Biblical Ecclesiology
- Week 10: Core Theological Foundations
- Week 11: Disciple-Making and Leadership Development
- Week 12: Governance and Legal Foundations
- Week 13: Financial Philosophy and Planning
- Week 14: Preaching and Teaching Strategy
- Week 15: Community Engagement and Evangelism
- Week 16: Preparing for Growth and Multiplication
Church Planting: From Plan to Practice
- Week 17: Developing a Church Planting Master Plan
- Week 18: Location and Venue Discernment
- Week 19: Launch Sunday Planning
- Week 20: Establishing Ministries
- Week 21: Digital Presence and Communication
- Week 22: Measuring Success Biblically
- Week 23: Navigating Conflict in a Young Church
- Week 24: Long-Term Vision and Multiplication
Faithfulness Under Fire
- Week 25: The Planter’s Character
- Week 26: Rhythms, Rest, and Burnout
- Week 27: Team Dynamics Under Pressure
- Week 28: Multiplying Leaders
- Week 29: Post-Launch Realities
- Week 30: Measuring Spiritual Fruit
- Week 31: Discipline and Shepherding Hard Cases
- Week 32: Endurance, Hope, and the Long View
Revitalization Pathway
Purpose
To form shepherd-leaders who can patiently, humbly, and faithfully lead declining or stagnant churches toward gospel renewal and outward multiplication. This pathway emphasizes character, judgment, endurance, and theological clarity under pressure, rather than quick fixes or techniques.
Formation Rhythms
Spiritual Formation
- Scripture Memorization: One passage per week focused on shaping pastoral instincts, humility, courage, endurance, and hope.
- Spiritual Journal: Weekly reflection on Scripture engagement, clarity of calling, leadership pressures, revitalization challenges, discouragements and hopes, and dependence on Christ. Journals are reviewed for depth, honesty, and theological clarity.
Shepherding & Accountability
- Spiritual Coaching (every 8 weeks). Coaching focuses on confirmation of call, family health, leadership judgment, and readiness for leadership.
- Ministry Observation (every 8 weeks). Participants may observe an elder meeting, member’s meeting, leadership transition, conflict conversation, etc. They will submit a short debrief addressing what they observed, what they would emulate, and what they would approach differently.
Required Study
- Core Text: Leading Church Revitalization by Mark Hallock
- Weekly Podcast: Revitalize and Replant by North American Mission Board
- Podcast Journal: Entries should include one insight, one caution, one question raised by the episode.
Required Reading
Church Planting Is for Wimps by Mike McKinley, Revitalize by Andrew M. Davis, Reclaiming Glory by Mark Clifton, From Embers to a Flame by Reeder and Swavely, and Autopsy of a Deceased Church by Thom S. Rainer.
Formation Projects
- Project 1: Calling and Cost Discernment (Due end of week 16.) 3-4 pages addressing sense of call, external affirmation, family implications, fears and ambitions, and financial cost.
- Project 2: Leadership and Change (Due end of week 24.) 5-7 pages including biblical convictions about leadership, how trust is built, how change should be paced, what should not be changed quickly, how Scripture shapes decision-making.
- Project 3: Rule of Life and Endurance Plan (Due end of week 28.) 3-4 pages and include spiritual disciplines, rest rhythms, family priorities, accountability structures, and warning signs of burnout.
- Project 4: Philosophy of Church Revitalization (Due end of week 32.) 8-10 pages articulating theology of the church, shepherding convictions, change philosophy, leadership development, conflict and criticism, and multiplication and vision.
Scope & Sequence
Revitalization: Essential Heart Postures
- Week 1: What Is Church Revitalization, Why Is It Needed, and Understanding God’s Heart for Revitalization
- Week 2: Counting the Cost of Revitalization, Its Joy, and Am I Ready
- Week 3: Humility: The Foundation of Leadership
- Week 4: Patience: The Wisdom of Leadership
- Week 5: Love: The Heart of Leadership
- Week 6: Faith: The Fuel of Leadership
- Week 7: Passion: The Contagion of Leadership
- Week 8: Joy: The Overflow of Leadership
Revitalization: Pastoral Priorities
- Week 9: The Nature, Calling, and Work of the Shepherd
- Week 10: Creating a Clear Shepherding Strategy
- Week 11: The Importance of Building Trust and Credibility
- Week 12: The Power of Persistent Prayer and the Urgency of Expository Preaching
- Week 13: The Wisdom of Word-Driven Leadership
- Week 14: Developing and Deploying Leaders
- Week 15: Raising Up Pastors and Deacons
- Week 16: Making Membership Meaningful
Revitalization: Ministry Practices
- Week 17: Developing a Ministry Strategy
- Week 18: Leading Gospel-Centered Sunday Mornings
- Week 19: Creating Transformational Community
- Week 20: Reimagining Sunday School
- Week 21: Reaching Your Community
- Week 22: Mobilizing Your Congregation for Evangelism
- Week 23: Ministering to Children and Teenagers
- Week 24: Maximizing the Use of Your Church Building
Joyful Perseverance
- Week 25: Cultivating a Heart for Long-Haul Ministry
- Week 26: Putting Your Marriage and Family First (Part 1)
- Week 27: Putting Your Marriage and Family First (Part 2)
- Week 28: Facing Criticism in a Godly Manner
- Week 29: Handling Conflict Biblically (Part 1)
- Week 30: Handling Conflict Biblically (Part 2)
- Week 31: Managing Your Schedule
- Week 32: Rooting Your Life and Ministry in the Gospel
