When You Think Your Church Plant Will Fail

by Jason Robertson

Planting a church is one of the most difficult and exciting things I have ever done in my life. Six years into it I finally have complete confidence that it will survive. Of course, I have always had confidence (some may say that I am optimistic to a fault), but complete confidence is something that alluded me as we faced various spiritual attacks against the very foundation of our ministry.

In the first few years my confidence would wane when certain people would leave our church fellowship. They would leave for the dumbest reasons, and I would think to myself, “If someone would leave over something like that then there is no guarantee that there will be anybody here next Sunday. Is our church that fragile?” But in spite of it all, we pressed on with faith in our calling.

There is something I look for in potential church planters that is not necessarily listed explicitly as a qualification in the Scripture , but I do think that it is very implicit. I think courage is a must for church planting.

Paul told the timid Timothy to “be strong” like a soldier or an athlete or a farmer (2 Tim 2:1). Obviously soldiers are brave, having a focused discipline of completing the mission of his commander. Athletes must have confidence in their training, in their coaches, and in their abilities. If not, athletes will be tempted to cheat (2 Tim 2:5). And farmers… well farmers are some the biggest risk takers in all the world. They take out loans and buy seed, take a plow and till the ground, and cast their seed upon the dirt. It will be a long time before they will know if it was worth it. There will be many monotonous days of tending the fields; there will be varieties of storms and/or droughts; there will be bills piling up. But one day at the break of daylight, the farmer will enjoy the first-fruits of the harvest (2 Tim 2:6).

To Titus, Paul said, “Exhort and rebuke will all authority. And let no one disregard you.” That will take inner fortitude. John Mark did not have such courage. He went with Paul on his first missionary journey through the wild regions of Taurus Mountains. Traveling was extremely difficult, the nights were cold, and stories of dangerous bandits abounded. John Mark wimped out and went home. But men like Barnabas and Luke, men like Thomas and Philip, men like Peter and John the Apostle — these men were great in the kingdom of God because these men feared nothing.

Has anyone ever thought about the fact that “cowardly” is listed as a characteristic of the wicked? See Revelation 21:8.