Do you like doing things that are hard? Or when something challenging comes your way, do you want to run away from it? Different things come to mind when I think about this—things like working out, having a tough conversation with a loved one, or stepping out of my comfort zone. The reality is that most of us don’t like doing hard things. There are various reasons we might have for this, but in my opinion, most of it revolves around fear—fear of failing, fear of what others might say, or simply just lacking the drive needed to accomplish what we may be stepping into.
Recently, I was helping my son with his 4-H project. He is currently raising two goats to show at our county fair. A lot of energy goes into raising his goats. He needs to make sure they are fed a well-balanced diet, have access to plenty of clean water, and a clean pen to live in. He also needs to train them to walk beside him with a halter and lead rope and make sure they stand in a specific way to show their skeletal structure and muscle mass. My son has done an amazing job at providing food, water, and a clean pen, but he has struggled with spending time training his goats for the show.
Let’s be honest: goats are stubborn, and it is not always easy to get them to walk and stand. When I was helping him, he was getting discouraged and talking about how hard it is. He wanted to give up and quit, but I kept pushing and encouraging him. After we put the goats away, we sat by the barn and talked about how we will always face hard things in life. Whether it is at school, playing a sport, or working at a job, we will never get away from challenging things.
As we were talking, I changed my verbiage and started to help him think of it as a challenge. I encouraged him to look at the progress he has made. I told him that if he keeps working hard, he will begin seeing the results he wants. I noticed that when he thought of it this way, he seemed to change his perspective. We talked about his dream of owning a Lamborghini someday and his dream of playing in the NFL. I encouraged him to think about his dreams (the end goals) and the work he needs to put in to see them happen. Though there will be challenges, if he sets manageable goals, he can accomplish them.
When I talk with people about church planting, one of the common things I hear is, “That’s really hard; I’m not sure we can do something like that,” or “We don’t want to lose people from our congregation! We just reached our target goal for members.” People often begin thinking about losing church members, the financial commitment to launch a new church, the need to leave their existing community, and so much more. Church planting is hard, it involves so much, and there is a huge risk in it. What if we fail? What if we don’t grow? What if we get it all wrong? You are creating a team from scratch, building something from the ground up, and trying to reach people who don’t realize their need for Jesus. In just a few sentences, I have probably talked most of you out of getting involved in planting a new church. But let’s look at it from a different angle.
We don’t want to plant churches just to plant churches; we want to see lives and neighborhoods transformed.
What if we look at it as a challenge? What if we think about the Kingdom impact that planting new churches would have? What if our first question is, “Are lives going to be transformed?” We don’t want to plant churches just to plant churches; we want to see lives and neighborhoods transformed. When we look at it this way, there should be an excitement that rises up within us. There should be a passion to see transformation take place through new church plants.
We must be willing to put in the hard work to see results. We need to be okay with people leaving our congregations to start new ones. It won’t happen by just sitting back and talking about it. If God is calling you to church planting, step into that calling. Don’t worry about the challenges that will come your way. Instead, live in the truth that God will be with you every step of the way. Hebrews 13:6 says, “Since God assured us, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,’ we can boldly quote, ‘God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?’” (MSG).
One Response
Reminds me of the words of Jesus, “Those who would save their lives will lose them…” which we could paraphrase as, “Those who would save their church members will lose them, but those who are willing to lose their church members for a church plant/outreach will find them!”