I’m not a church planter.

I came to the church I presently serve when it was 4 1/2 years old. It is now 21 years old. While I did contemplate planting a church prior to coming, the young age of the church was motivation enough for me to join the team as Teaching Pastor. I knew I could still be someone who could influence the direction of the church in a strategically foundational way — something which for me was a deep thirst whose slaking was non-negotiable.

To keep the story short, let me just say that’s exactly what happened (and by God’s grace continues to happen).

Over the next few posts I’d like to share some lessons learned about being a part of a church plant. I don’t promise anything earth-shattering or even insightful. These are ideas and thoughts that helped me and my team. With that being said, please know I’m not sure how many of these lessons are mine and how many belong to others on our team. Time and teamwork have wonderfully blurred the lines. No matter where they originated (as if anything is original) they are beliefs, ideas and insights that have shaped our church, honed the leadership quotient of our team — one which I believe rivals any around — and continue to guide us in many respects.

As I have the opportunity to counsel (and be counseled) by those who, like me, have been given the great honor and responsibility to shepherd relatively new congregations, these lessons continue to resurface in my conversations. So I thought I’d put them down . . . for better or worse.

Stay tuned…