Confirm a Church Planter’s Calling

The Importance of a Clear Call to Church Planting

The first lecture of my church planting class each semester is always an exegesis of 2Timothy 2:1-7.  That text has been my source of strength through the years in ministry.

Timothy was very discouraged in the ministry and on the verge of quitting. The Apostle Paul held nothing back as he told Timothy that he needed to stir up the gift of God that was in him and to consider again the available resources (power, love and discipline) that God’s Spirit made available to him. Timothy needed to accept the fact that suffering goes with the territory. He must remember the power of his God. He needed to realize that he had a duty to perform and trust His Savior in the performance of that duty to bring about His will and glory.  He needed to affirm his doctrine, not question it, and he needed to identity with those who were faithful, not with those who were unfaithful. And all of that he said to him in chapter 1.

And in Chapter 2 Paul reminded Timothy that the kingdom of God is counting on him because he was called by God to pastor.  Generations depend on every generation before them to faithfully guard the gospel that has been entrusted to us by faithfully and accurately teaching it to the next generation.  This is the ultimate goal and importance of church planting.

Since church planters will experience times of great discouragement, opposition, fear and doubts. At such times, the church planter must have a strong sense of the call of God on his life to plant the church. Sometimes that’s almost all the church planter has to fall back on.  That calling may be the only motivating factor that gets them through the toughest of times.  Sending churches must not fail to confirm that the church planter is adequately gifted and called by God to plant a church.

The Key Elements of a Call to Church Planting

The following aspects of a church planters life must be examined to determine whether or not he is called by God: (Reference: Adapted from Tim Keller, Allen Thompson, Church Planter Manual, 2002, pp. 61,62)

• Spirituality: Spiritual life, Family life
• Ability: Spiritual Gifts, Ministry Skills
• Affinity: Desires, Motives
• Opportunity: Need, Support

The Four Core Competencies Needed for Church Planting

#1.  Theological Competencies (Knowledge).  A potential church planter should be examined as to his understanding of God’s Word, his ability to apply God’s word to situations, and his experiencing of God’s word in his life. (Ref: Adapted from John Frame, Doctrine of the Knowledge of God)

#2. Personal Competencies (Character) in areas such as prayer, spiritual vitality, integrity, sense of calling, family life, conscientiousness, humility and boldness.

#3. Ministry Competencies (Ministry Gifts & Skills) in areas such as leadership, evangelism, management, preaching/teaching, philosophy and training.

#4. Relational Competencies such as flexibility, likability, stability, sensitivity, and winsomeness.

(Reference: J. Allen Thompson, Church Planter Competencies as Perceived by Church Planters and Assessment Center Leaders: a protestant North American study, Ph.D. dissertation, Trinity International University, Deerfield, Illinois, 1995.)

The Confirmation of a Call to Church Planting

Confirmation of one’s calling by God is manifested through prayer, fasting, ministry experience, and wise counsel from such people as one’s own spouse, family, or mature Christians.  Furthermore, confirmation will be manifested as a potential church planter completes and assessment evaluations by church authorities.