I don’t know about you, but I’m not that excited with all the buzzwords and phrases floating around the church leadership circles these days. Not sure how extensive your list is, but I think we can all agree that we’ve used the word “pivot” too much!

One of the lesser-known phrases that I’ve heard in the past year is that coming out of the pandemic, “all church leaders will need to think like church planters”. (I think even Tim Keller made reference to that recently...and he’s Tim Keller…so….) But what does that mean? What makes “thinking like a church planter” beneficial to leading into the future? It’s possible your church maybe ninety years or older and that may prove difficult in tracking down the founding pastor to ask exactly what they had in mind when planting that church. Instead, let me suggest what “Thinking Like a Planter” might look like. 

Here are 4 Ways Church Planters think:

1. Church planters think younger. 

Dr. Warren Bird from Leadership Network reported in 2017 that “The majority of attenders in churches or multisite campuses started in the last 5 years are 35 years of age or younger. (62% are millennials or younger.) To attract younger people, leaders need to think younger. What can you do to encourage young people back into disciple-making communities when they’ve spent over a year out of them? I’m not sure young people will come flooding back to church just because we open the doors. Major focus and attention must be given to thinking as they think.

2. Church Planters Think About Their Why.

I’ve asked many church planters over the years why they wanted to start a new church. The answer is the same: to reach people far from God in their communities, towns and cities. It’s that why that keeps them going. When planters are discouraged, I often ask them to picture the faces of all those that have met Jesus through the church plant. Then, I ask them to imagine the faces of the many more who will connect with Jesus in the future. Simon Sinek, in his book, Start with Why writes, “All organizations start with why, but only the great ones keep their why clear year after year.” What’s your Why? Rally around that and you’ll find your way forward.

3. Church Planters Think About Flexibility.

They need flexibility in their thinking for so many areas. Locations change, core teams change, budgets change, worship leaders change, and of course, people change – both in good and bad ways. Church planters must hold strategy and structures loosely because of all this disruption. Adapting quickly with innovative thinking is the order of the day. They must experiment and evaluate constantly. Now is the time to be flexible in your thinking so you can more readily meet the needs of your community…just like you’ve done in the pandemic. Keep doing that! 

4. Church Planters Think About Multiplication.

I don’t think I’ve met a true entrepreneurial planter who doesn’t want to change the world. They think about planting many other churches before they even have one established. Multiplication is baked right into their thinking. I love big thinkers even in small beginnings! If we are serious about reaching all Canadians with an access point to the Gospel, all church leaders must have this mindset. 

I feel like this pandemic has already trained leaders to think like planters. My encouragement then would be to resist the gravitational pull to return to our old thinking patterns. Because I really believe that God wants to do a new thing and He’s inviting you to lead forward with Him!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Guest Author, Paul Fraser

Paul Fraser is currently serving as the National Church Multiplication Coordinator for the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Paul desires to see many new disciple-making communities being planted across our nation and become access points to the Gospel. His passion is simple, to see as many people come to Jesus as possible!