The famous question I get: “How do you even start a church?”
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
“Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
Psalm 9:10
We have one job to do in life. SEEK HIM above anything else. We are not alone in what we are doing. As we seek the Lord daily, doing our best to walk in His will, He will lead us and guide us through this church planting process. I know we will face challenges, and it may not happen in the timing we want or how we want it to look, but praise be to God that we don’t have to worry about any of that! We can find refuge and strength in our Lord (Psalm 46:1).
But I want to be honest with you. We really don’t know what we are doing. We've never done this before. How does one start a church from the ground up? I mean, there are some clear instructions of church planting in God’s word and there are TONS of how-to books with different models and methods out there. But sometimes it’s difficult to figure out, practically, what WE are supposed to do in this specific situation for our specific calling, vision, and church. However, we hold true to the promises of God’s word. We walk in faith, and believe that He will do what He planned to do. We just need to live according to His Word.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28
This is one of the verses that Nick and I try to live by. So when we get confused or discouraged, we come back to these verses above and remember that God is on the throne. He has placed us here, and He will finish the work He started. Like I stated in a previous post, we can’t get in the way of God’s work. In the end, what He wants to happen and how He wants it to happen, WILL happen.
“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6
Time and time again, the Lord uses imperfect, broken, inexperienced, shy, fearful, or uneducated people to do miraculous things. We are thankful that He has chosen us for this journey. The doubts, fears, and unknowns can be intimidating, but we just have to come back to trusting Him.
So our church planting model is to PRAY, read and study God’s truths, and then pray some more. We have also received counsel and wisdom from Hope Chapel pastors, ideas from church planting books, and through Nick’s research for his dissertation. These have all helped guide us when making decisions.
We felt the best way to start was with small group Bible studies. Our church vision is to not be the largest church in the Pacific Northwest, but rather, to be a church that plants more churches in the Pacific Northwest.
We also knew that we had to prayerfully work hard to meet people and build relationships. One of the key components of discipleship is building relationships. Nick plays basketball 3 times a week to meet men of all ages. Dale has started volunteering with Clark County and City of Vancouver Food banks each week to meet more people, build relationships, and learn about how food banks operate up here. Stephanie has joined a new workout class at the local community center to meet other women. I am always praying to meet more mama friends at the local pool, parks, library story times, etc. Nick also had the idea to start walking our neighborhood, introducing ourselves to our neighbors and giving them a flyer to invite them to our house church. We brought Zion a couple times, but we learned it was easier to let him nap at home with the grandparents while we went out and walked around in the rain and snow.
In mid-February, we started a House Church (a mini church service in our home), a men’s Bible study, and a women’s Bible study. Week one we had three people come visit: a man and his son, and a woman who lives in our neighborhood.
They have been very supportive and seem interested in our vision as a new church. They came back the second week and our neighbor brought her brother. We also have another neighbor who called Nick and wants to come next week. We have another woman who has joined our Bible study and a gentleman who will be joining Nick and Dale each week for men’s Bible study.
We are continually reminded that God is the one who grows His church, not us. And we are so excited to see what He does each week.
“...and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
Matthew 16:18b
“praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Act 2:47
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
I think the title of this one should be Church Planting - Part One, because I know as time goes on, we will learn and grow. We will have much more insight on how to answer the famous question and encourage others who feel called to start a new church.
Jess T.
Prayer Requests
That we would seek the Lord above all else and keep Him at the forefront of our hearts and minds whenever planning or discussing church related topics
That God would grow His Church
That we would stay humble and grateful for this opportunity
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