missio

Gary Lamb is lead pastor of Ridge Stone Church, in Canton, Georgia. His blog, Mad Babble From A Church Planter is excellent, and really walks the reader through the church’s atmosphere and history. Ridge Stone has grown from about 6 families to about 500 people on an average weekend. He has sent to us three things he thinks every church planter should know.

• Find A Community That Fits You - CP’s should be the utmost authority on their community and they need to go to a community that fits who they naturally are. Don’t worry so much about the growth as you do as much as if the community fits you and you can love it. I could have went 7 miles south and we would have shut down because it is a totally different community that doesn’t fit me. Find a community that you and your team can live in and fit the demographics.

• Don’t Pastor Too Soon - The biggest mistake I see planters make is they get about 50 people and instead of remaining innovative and creative in the getting the word out to NEW people the start to pastor those 50 people and those people get all their time and attention. You need to remain with the mind of a church planter forever I think but at least for the first 2 years. That first 50 can take all your time if you allow them and keep you from being effective at reaching others. Be the vision caster, leader to leaders, and lead teacher. Teach your people to care for each other so you can be freed up to lead.

• Be YOURSELF - EVERY planter that comes out wants to be the next Andy Stanley, Erwin McManus, or whoever the hot guy is. Learn from everyone but be yourself. Early on I thought I was Ed Young Jr. but I learned very quickly that I wasn’t. Love me or hate me, I am who I am and that is all my people expect me to be. When I learned to be who God created me to be it was the most freeing thing to ever happen to me in ministry.

That’s excellent advice from the Georgia fan in Canton. Thanks Gary!
Tomorrow, we’ll hear from Kevin Cawley.