[featured_image]How can the church release movements that will transform America?
Missional Strategy #2: Research
Missional Strategy #3: Recruiting missional leaders and church planters
There seems to be a limited supply of good leaders and church planters. This necessitates a commitment to raising leaders for the harvest from the harvest. However, that doesn’t mean that recruiting is unnecessary, either.
Tom Nebel observes, “There are many potential candidates, and they are not as hard to find as some people think. The major issue is not finding them, but handling them properly when they are found.”
As churches and denominations commit themselves to the process of multiplying churches, this will actually attract those who want to start new churches. Certainly websites and brochures can be helpful in casting vision, but recruiting through word-of-mouth will be most effective. Those who are actually starting missional communities and planting new churches will attract others who want to be part of a movement.
Bob Logan identifies the following Eight Qualities of an Attractive Planting Movement:
- Reputation: What is the reputation of your movement? Contemporary? Evangelistic? Growing? What are your distinctives? Theology? Tradition? Ministry?
- Vision: Do you have an attractive vision for church multiplication? Does your movement have attractive visionary leadership?
- Compassion for lost people: How do you emphasize outreach, compassion ministry and evangelism?
- Diversity: Are you prepared to reach the diversity of the harvest and therefore attract a diversity of church planters?
- Character: What is the quality and character of your leaders, pastors and people?
- Coaching: What kinds of ongoing coaching, training, and resources can you provide to the church planting team?
- Resources: Do you have reasonable financial resources and benefits to attract the planters you need?
- Success: Do you have a track record of successful ministry and church planting?
The best recruiters are the practitioners.
If you are looking for church planters, start by asking those who are doing it who they know that could be or should be doing it, too. Kevin Mannoia notes – “The first place to look for church planters is the lay membership in existing churches.”
Recruiting missional leaders from among those who are already engaged in missional activity, as well as raising leaders from the harvest, is necessary to empower movements.
