Genesis 28: 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." 17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, [f] though the city used to be called Luz.
Here not there, There not here? If you are a numbers crunching kind of person, the difference between one place or another may be insignificant. You could plant a church anywhere and meet the needs of people of that city or town however that is not the attitude needed to plant a church.
Many today view church planting as a mathematical equation, add 10 people + 1 building + 8 crock pots + $$$$ = church planting success.
Jacob says, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven."
The place God shows you will be clear, you will know it when you see it. It will be a special place and God will get you there, one way of another, He will show you the city that is a Gateway to heaven.
I am certain that you have a list of places you would like to plant a church, Hawaii, Fiji, Jamaica, Malibu, Sydney, Venice the list could go on, all beautiful and wonderful places. The place God has placed in your heart will become more beautiful then any of these others.
I was absolutely sure I would never move to North Carolina, don’t get me wrong the beaches are amazing and I like to visit the mountains but I could never move to NC. I have lived on Long Island, NY for 40 yrs. and everyone from NY knows that if you move south and you are under the age of 60 you move to NC. In case you are wondering, if you are older then 60 you move to Florida, probably “the Villages”. I thought, “why would I want to move to a new place with the same people?”
In 2003 God began to press upon me to move, many other factors in my life began to support this “feeling”, however family was just starting to settle in to our home on Long Island we lived in a beautiful town near the Northshore, tons of wonderful friends and two great churches we loved and were close to. (Christian City Church, L.I. and Manhattan)
In June 2006 I took a quick trip to Raleigh, NC to check the place out, we moved into our new home in October the same year.
In February 2009 we planted C3 Church, Raleigh, God has a way of revealing a “place” to you.
I have shared this little story of my journey to illustrate that the plans God has for you are bigger and more outrageous than you can imagine, if your heart is set on following God then you will never be disappointed in the places he calls you to. It fact you will fall in love with them.
“The Place” is part of the call of God, it is a much a part of the planning and purpose as the anointing and person who does the planting. Set your heart to hear God heart concerning “The Place”.
No need to stress about the place God has called you, you will know it, its smell, its feel, the people, the atmosphere even the challenges. God has spent your whole life preparing you for that city and that city is waiting for you!
Have an amazing week,
Ps Stephen Alexander
www.c3ral.com
There is no better way to discover if you are called to plant a church or be part of a church plant then to actually jump in to an active plant. If you are thinking about planting a church, I want to extend an opportunity to you to join us for a week and see first hand what goes into this incredible undertaking. If you are a pastor or wanting to be part of a plant, email me or call. It’s an incredible life!
C3triangle@gmail.com
919-355-8305 (yes I will really answer)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Prepare for War...oops I mean Plant!
Luke 14: 28 - 30
28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Preparation is a key to success, when you think you have prepared enough, you are just getting started. In other words, it is going to take much more preparation then you think.
Instead of focusing on how much is enough, I think you will be far better off focusing on a few key area. I’m going to take you through just the minimum for today, not to say these are lesser areas of concern but to the contrary. These are the core areas to focus on in preparing to plant.
The number one area of focus will always be the most important area of your church and personal life. It is your prayer life, prayer is your lifeline to God. A powerful, healthy, thriving prayer life will get you through anything. Begin to cultivate your relationship with God through prayer with purpose and focus. You will learn to speak in the language that God speak and that language is called faith and hope. PRAY!
Jesus spent 30 years preparing to begin a public ministry that lasted 3 years, at the end of the three years his mission was accomplished. In the three years of ministry he went from gathering 12 individuals to releasing 11 disciples. 30 years of Jesus are private we know very little about this time of preparation, development and growth. We do know Jesus spent a great deal of time speaking to His heavenly father (prayer) he was educated in the Jewish faith and knew the scriptures. He also took on the craft of his earthly father, he was a carpenter.
30 / 3. 30 years to prepare for a 3 year ministry, most of your preparation will be in private, behind closed doors and away from anyone else. Take a minute (selah) and let those numbers sink in, 30/3. How long will your church last, grow, effect the community, bring salvation, change lives, longer then 3 years?
Preparation is an illusion, you can never prepare enough and you can never stop preparing for tomorrow, when we stop preparing for tomorrow, we die.
Here are a few areas to focus your attention on while you are preparing to plant.
Prayer:
Build a prayer life that is powerful and effective, this is war don’t fool yourself into thinking that blood will not be shed. Either you learn how to kill the devils in your world or they will kill you and your church. Prayer is your most powerful tool, use it liberally. Pray like a warrior!
Family:
Take a sober look at your family life, is your life in order. Is your family on board for a church plant? Your family is your first ministry call, you need them more then you can imagine. I could not and would not plant a church or even enter into a ministry if my family was not on board and in agreement. Get your house in order, then you can help others with their lives.
Money:
Start saving now, actually you are already behind if you are planning on planting in the next two years. You can not have to much money when it comes to planting a church. I can speak from personal experience, our number one challenge has been funding. You can not rely on tithes to support the church the first 2-3 years.
People have to catch the spirit of tithing and it takes time. You don’t want to beg people to give you money. You want people to catch the Spirit and Vision God has placed in you. Have them hear from God to support His work that You are obedient to. God has placed people throughout your life to support the work he has called you to do.
Cast the vision and people will come and will open not only their wallets but more importantly their hearts.
*This ties in with team as well, don’t pull anyone into your inner team that does not tithe and fully understand the principles of spiritual support. (more on that another day)
Team:
How big a team do you want, it is up to you. There is no absolute perfect number, it depends on your personality and the example you have had. What size team are you a part of now?
Does that work for you, lets start at the beginning of team building.
Team has two main functions:
First, the team is a church within the church these are the people you will build first and most closely. The closer you are to your team at this point the better. Pour your vision and plan into these people first!
Second, when people come to church, your team will represent the authority that you carry with them.
These are the people that will help you plan and plant church, your family first, then one or two other couples.
Don’t focus on a number, focus on the function each person will play. Who will lead worship, take up the offering, greet people, make coffee, take care of kids ect.
Choose your team wisely, when you consider someone as a team member, ask yourself this question. Do I want a church full of people like this person?
Team building is an endless exercise, the better you are at it, the better your church will function.
Have a fantastic week, I hope this helps you.
Ps. Stephen Alexander
Church Plant is a ministry of C3 Church (Christian City Church) Raleigh
28 “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 “Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Preparation is a key to success, when you think you have prepared enough, you are just getting started. In other words, it is going to take much more preparation then you think.
Instead of focusing on how much is enough, I think you will be far better off focusing on a few key area. I’m going to take you through just the minimum for today, not to say these are lesser areas of concern but to the contrary. These are the core areas to focus on in preparing to plant.
The number one area of focus will always be the most important area of your church and personal life. It is your prayer life, prayer is your lifeline to God. A powerful, healthy, thriving prayer life will get you through anything. Begin to cultivate your relationship with God through prayer with purpose and focus. You will learn to speak in the language that God speak and that language is called faith and hope. PRAY!
Jesus spent 30 years preparing to begin a public ministry that lasted 3 years, at the end of the three years his mission was accomplished. In the three years of ministry he went from gathering 12 individuals to releasing 11 disciples. 30 years of Jesus are private we know very little about this time of preparation, development and growth. We do know Jesus spent a great deal of time speaking to His heavenly father (prayer) he was educated in the Jewish faith and knew the scriptures. He also took on the craft of his earthly father, he was a carpenter.
30 / 3. 30 years to prepare for a 3 year ministry, most of your preparation will be in private, behind closed doors and away from anyone else. Take a minute (selah) and let those numbers sink in, 30/3. How long will your church last, grow, effect the community, bring salvation, change lives, longer then 3 years?
Preparation is an illusion, you can never prepare enough and you can never stop preparing for tomorrow, when we stop preparing for tomorrow, we die.
Here are a few areas to focus your attention on while you are preparing to plant.
Prayer:
Build a prayer life that is powerful and effective, this is war don’t fool yourself into thinking that blood will not be shed. Either you learn how to kill the devils in your world or they will kill you and your church. Prayer is your most powerful tool, use it liberally. Pray like a warrior!
Family:
Take a sober look at your family life, is your life in order. Is your family on board for a church plant? Your family is your first ministry call, you need them more then you can imagine. I could not and would not plant a church or even enter into a ministry if my family was not on board and in agreement. Get your house in order, then you can help others with their lives.
Money:
Start saving now, actually you are already behind if you are planning on planting in the next two years. You can not have to much money when it comes to planting a church. I can speak from personal experience, our number one challenge has been funding. You can not rely on tithes to support the church the first 2-3 years.
People have to catch the spirit of tithing and it takes time. You don’t want to beg people to give you money. You want people to catch the Spirit and Vision God has placed in you. Have them hear from God to support His work that You are obedient to. God has placed people throughout your life to support the work he has called you to do.
Cast the vision and people will come and will open not only their wallets but more importantly their hearts.
*This ties in with team as well, don’t pull anyone into your inner team that does not tithe and fully understand the principles of spiritual support. (more on that another day)
Team:
How big a team do you want, it is up to you. There is no absolute perfect number, it depends on your personality and the example you have had. What size team are you a part of now?
Does that work for you, lets start at the beginning of team building.
Team has two main functions:
First, the team is a church within the church these are the people you will build first and most closely. The closer you are to your team at this point the better. Pour your vision and plan into these people first!
Second, when people come to church, your team will represent the authority that you carry with them.
These are the people that will help you plan and plant church, your family first, then one or two other couples.
Don’t focus on a number, focus on the function each person will play. Who will lead worship, take up the offering, greet people, make coffee, take care of kids ect.
Choose your team wisely, when you consider someone as a team member, ask yourself this question. Do I want a church full of people like this person?
Team building is an endless exercise, the better you are at it, the better your church will function.
Have a fantastic week, I hope this helps you.
Ps. Stephen Alexander
Church Plant is a ministry of C3 Church (Christian City Church) Raleigh
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