Church Planting Intro

This is the first of several weekly blog posts on the subject of Church planting.
If we have never met, my name is Stephen Alexander I am 45 yrs old, father of four, husband of one. One year ago my family and I planted C3 Church (Christian City Church) in Raleigh, NC USA.

This is not meant to be, by any stretch of the imagination an absolute guide on how to plant a church, rather a combination of my experience and a few lessons learned on this never ending journey I have embarked on with a few very brave (or crazy) people.

A little more background for you to better understand where I am coming from. It was over 15 yrs ago that I first heard God call me into ministry in relationship to being a pastor and planting a church. It was absolutely clear and without question a word from God. It was also breathtaking and void of any other detail. One Sunday my Pastor, Ps. Mark Kelsey was preaching and he said, “One day some of you will plant a church”.
That was it.

For me those words were the beginning of the greatest adventure of my life. When Ps. Mark spoke those words it was like a train drove off the stage and crashed into my heart. It was all I needed to hear and far more then I could ever anticipate. It changed my life and I would not have it any other way.

Most everything I have experienced in my walk with God has had some kind of a lesson in “Gods Timing”. The timing of God is something I will focus on another day HOWEVER it is a key part of everything I will be speaking about.

I will go through a number of factors that I believe are indicators as to determine if you are ready to plant a church. 5 is the magic number in my book, in no particular order, here they are.
Are You in the right place, at the right time, You have the Vision of God (plan) for the city, You are anointed for the task, Has God ordained YOU to the call.

Here is the most important part of this whole message today and for the entire discussion for that matter.
The number one most important question everyone needs to ask before venturing off to plant a church or be part of a team is. “AM I CALLED BY GOD”? The letter “I” is way to small for the weight it carries in this sentence. The timing, vision, location even your gifting are all second place in this race. So if you are sitting at your computer reading this and are planning on planting a church, the one thing you have to be able to say without question is, “I AM A CHURCH PLANTER”.

Church planters like great leaders are not born, they are discipled and nurtured in a strong loving spiritual environment.

Ephesians 4:11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Church planters are not just Pastors-.
You may be holding the door for people on Sunday or directing traffic in the parking lot, you may be a deacon or an usher; you can be working in kid’s church or with youth. You can be a musician or a sound engineer. You could be doing anything at all. You could be a church planter, one thing is for sure, If You are called to plant a church, nothing is going to stop you.

The call to plant a church is not a casual thing it is birthed in heaven and planted in your heart by God. It will not be successful if you are not completely committed to it. It is not like birthing a child it is more like birthing quintuplets.

It is the greatest adventure of your life!

Next week we will focus on the preparation of planting. “The year leading up to the plant”. I’ll give you one little hint to get you started. “Pray”.

If you are in the Raleigh area and would like to be part of a church plant first hand, send me an email or just stop by. Our meeting location and info is located on our website. www.c3ral.com.

Finally, prayerfully consider supporting C3Raleigh. We are committed to reaching the city of Raleigh with the timeless gospel of Jesus Christ and His love for the people of this City. Everyone can help!

Have a great week
Ps Stephen Alexander