I found this tonight while cleaning out a file cabinet.
From James White, given as a hand out during a church plant conference.
- Write a mission statement for your church.
- Write a twelve-month plan of action leading up to the first public service.
- Write a twelve-month plan of action for the first year of the church.
- Write a doctrinal statement .
- Write your constitution and by-laws.
- Determine your target audience.
- Determine first staff hire.
- Find someone to lead worship/singing.
- Find musicians.
- Find a point person to oversee children’s ministry.
- Find a place to meet.
- Find necessary funding.
- Buy/ rent / find a sound system.
- Buy/ rent / find a podium.
- Buy/ rent / find plants and other atmospheric enhancements for weekend service.
- Buy/ rent / find children’s ministry materials (toys supplies etc.) .
- Decide on an office.
- Design all printed materials (stationery weekend program etc. ) .
- Design an accounting system for receipts and gifts.
- Have your own salary established with integrity.
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I hope you’re suggesting that this was the criteria for church planting ala 1950′s… not in our post modern culture today. Lina
I still think the list has a lot of merit, depending on the target audience.
There is still a lot of practical things in this list that even a post modern church plant would need to have developed before launching. Things like mission statements will help you raise funds.
In the church plant I’m currently working on, some of these things are being developed as we clarify our calling and vision. I don’t want to launch a church prematurely if we’ve not yet clearly discerned what we are being called to do.
Chris