Rookies in Nascar have a yellow stripe on their bumpers.  Yellow in Nascar is symbolic of caution.  It tells the other drivers, “Watch out!  Rookie driver.”  The majority of church planters are rookies.  I find that most church planters only start one church.  Like rookie drivers, they are inexperienced and can have trouble navigating unfamiliar territory.  For rookie drivers, a good crew chief and a good spotter are essential.  The crew chief coaches the driver through the race.  The spotter gets a bird’s eye view and tells the driver what’s coming up so that they can avoid wrecks.  A project manager functions much like the spotter.  They have been around church planting for a long time and can help the church planter navigate through the tough spots.  They can also alert the driver to what’s coming up and any red flags along the way.  OK enough Nascar analogy.

The Project Manger helps the church planter create a plan that will accomplish the vision for the new church.  Because the project manager has been a part of planting several churches, they have a unique insight into the planning process and what it takes to plant a healthy church.  Then the project manager oversees the plan and lets the church planter know what key tasks need to be worked on when.  For example, every church planter knows they need to purchase equipment.  But few know when to purchase it and where to get the best deals.  The role of the project manager is to understand that if the church is starting in September and the first preview service is at the end of August then equipment needs to be purchased in June, assembled at tested at the beginning of August.  To do that a facility must be chosen in May and an equipment list developed.  To do that the church planter must network in the community and do demographics to determine the best meeting locations.  The project manager also is responsible to find the right solutions at the best prices from trusted vendors.

Remember the mission of a project manager: Keeping church planters focused on people.

When starting a new church, there are several things a church planter must do that are one time only tasks.  A good example is filing all the legal paperwork (Articles of Incorporation, EIN, 501c3, etc.)  Because the church planter isn’t an expert in these tasks and has had no formal training it takes them a long time to figure out resulting in less time spent on evangelism and discipleship, which results in a smaller impact.  Our project managers are experts in the one time only tasks for starting new churches.  Our mission is simple: Keep church planters focused on people.  That’s why our blog might not be the most exciting, controversial, though provoking blog out there.  But hopefully you find the posts will save your time and money allowing you to spend more time with people.