Planting Space

Churches must be very careful in setting up payroll for their employees. There are four primary types of church employees (ministers exempt from social security, ministers who are not exempt, non-ministerial staff, and independent contractors). Each type of employee is requires different pay calculations and different tax reporting. Church planters, as well as all [...]

Catalyst and the National New Church Conference are partnering together to offering a church planters Lab and special rate for Church planters.
This special Lab Track will feature Ed Stetzer, Dave Ferguson, and Darrin Patrick discussing topics specifically focused for Church Planters. A limited number of seats are available for this track. Register online [...]

Rick Warren had a great podcast a couple weeks ago titled, The Importance of Evangelism for Church Growth. It was a great listen. He and Pastor Ed Young Jr. talk about how they do evangelism. Lots of great practical stuff. My favorite quote:
When you grow a church by transfer growth you [...]

At Church Planting solutions we have used Nehemiah as an example of a great project manager many times. Today Rick Warren wrote 7 principles for every project. It’s a great read.
The principle of motivation
When you organize any project, help people “own” it. In Nehemiah, you see again and again men making repairs near [...]

Ben Arment of Reston Community Church just blogged two entries I think all church planters should read: If the restaurant is flopping, change the menu and RestonBaby.com Hits the Bigtime.
Short version: You need to find something that your community needs… then figure out how you can meet that need. It may take trying several [...]

A couple church planters I’m working with recently did gas-buy downs. Basically this means they paid the gas station to lower the price of gas for people. Both had positive feedback. Here are a few details:
How much per gallon did you buy down the gas?
Planter 1: .30 for regular; .34 [...]

In my position of working with church planters I have seen time and again God come through in huge ways to provide just what is needed at just the right time. I have also seen satan show up at just the wrong time. I come from a pretty traditional and conservative background. [...]

I just wanted to briefly share about one of the easiest outreach events I’ve ever been a part of. My wife and I live in a neighborhood that has monthly events. This past Sunday they had a concert in the park featuring a local swing band. I offered to help out. [...]

Your VOIP (voice over ip) provider can go out of business. Yesterday SunRocket, my telephone service provider “ceased operations“. I had SunRocket for almost 5 months so I came out ahead compared to what I would have paid Verizon (my local bell) for the same time period. My loss is in having [...]

One mistake I have seen church planters make is not fully understanding their insurance policy. This really hit home at New Life last week as we had a scare about exactly what is and what is not covered in regard to our moon bounce (bounce house). As more and more church plants and [...]