Defining the Man:
Qualifications of a Church Planter
Date: July 30, 2009
Author: David Nicholas
Category: Church Planting
The church I planted and pastored for over 40 years became a church planting church. We were, by the grace or God, able to plant over 200 churches in various parts of the world. I have been in the church planting business for years and have called and funded many church planters. There wasn’t much interest in church planting when I began looking for men to plant churches back in the 1970s. In those days, many in the church at large thought that any pastor could plant a church, but we soon learned that the majority of pastors are not equipped to be church planters. Over the years I discovered that the successful church planter has a unique combination of natural and spiritual gifts. The following are some of the most important characteristics of a successful church planter.
1. The successful church planter has a working knowledge of God’s Word.
Our primary source of knowledge about God and his plan for man about Man and his need for God is found in the Bible, God’s Word. Those who represent God to the church and the world are to be life long learners of God’s truth from God’s Word. God’s truth is truth we can find no where else, and the successful church planter realizes that his insights into God’s plan through God’s Word gives him an incredible edge over what the world has to offer. Note that I spoke of a “working knowledge” of God’s Word, not just knowledge. It is not simply knowing the Bible and Bible doctrine but knowing how God’s truth works in a practical way in your own life and in the lives of others to transform and make a difference for good and for eternity.
2. Godly Character
The English word “character” comes from the Greek word “character” and is found only in Hebrews 1:3 in the New Testament. The author of Hebrews, in explaining to us who God the Son is, says, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint (Greek: character) of his nature…” (ESV). This Greek word was originally used of an engraving tool and then a die used to make copies. The copy was an exact replica of the original. So also, God the Son is exactly like God the Father. He has his “character.” The transliterated word “character” was eventually used to refer to living up to a standard or a model. For the Christian, godly character is defined by living up to the ethical and moral standard God has revealed to us in his Word. This begins with the Ten Commandments and covers every aspect of our thinking, speaking and behaving. There is a right way to think, speak and behave, just as there is a wrong way to think, speak and behave. God in his Word tells us over and over again what he expects of us in the way of godly character.
“1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” (Ephesians 5:1-5 ESV)
“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1Timothy 4:12 ESV)
A leader with great giftedness and ungodly character is a sad combination. The world is replete with such examples, but it also happens in the church. Christians are often willing to rationalize away or tolerate character defects so that their leader can continue using his strong gifts. Some of my best church planters are now out of the ministry because of sexual sins and one has developed a dubious reputation because he crossed the “character” line.
3. Communication skills
Very rarely have I seen a successful church planter who did not have a certain amount of giftedness in the area of communication. The growth or lack of growth of a church can usually be attributed to the communication skills, or lack thereof, of the pastor. Mega churches in this country have grown because of the speaking ability of the Senior Pastor. Good communicators have a combination of giftedness. They have an ability to understand God’s Word and how to make it practical for their listeners. They know how to craft a message that is logical, interesting and edifying. They also have developed a delivery that is winsome and appealing. The dedicated pastor will be a life-long learner, always endeavoring to grow in his speaking ability.
4. Evangelistic fervor
I did a survey of 1,000 sermons preached at evangelical churches in the U.S. and found that only 6% of the preachers mentioned the Bad News and the Good News in a meaningful and logical way. “Gospel preaching” is ignored or relegated to a sentence or two at the end of a sermon urging people to “believe in Jesus” or to “invite Jesus into their hearts.” But the listener has no idea who Jesus is or what he accomplished through his death and resurrection. Thus we have churches that are growing because of gifted communicators who preach self-help messages or feel-good messages but not the truth of what God did for us through Jesus. These churches grow as Christians shuffle from one church to another looking for the hottest preacher in the area. And some grow by doing whatever it takes to attract a larger crowd. But the Bad News and the Good News are missing.
Contrast that with the apostle Paul, the ultimate church planter, who wrote to the church in Corinth and reminded them of his mission in their city. He said,
“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1Corinthians 2:2 ESV).
Paul knew that the gospel was to be of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) in the life of the church because he understood that that was where the power of God resided. We get some understanding of Paul’s view of the importance of the Gospel from Romans 1:16.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 ESV)
Too many pastors today think that the power of God resides in their well-crafted sermons. Their churches may grow but they have few stories to tell of how God is taking people from death to life. Therefore, the church planter who is effective for God will be a Christ-centered, Gospel-centered church planter.
5. Leadership abilities
I have seen church planters who were good communicators but who could not put all the pieces together to build a viable church. They were able to get so far and then the church stopped growing or collapsed. These men lacked leadership gifts and could only take the group so far. I also see numerous churches that limp along year after year because the pastor does not have leadership gifts.
Leadership is the ability to come up with a vision, explain the vision to your people and have them jump on board and follow you and support you in attaining your vision. The vision may be the adding of another worship service, the purchase of a piece of property, the building of a new building, the starting of a new ministry, the relocation of your church, etc. You know you are a leader when you come up with new ideas, express them to your board and people, and see them follow you. Many pastors are maintainers, not builders or visionaries. They are good pastors or shepherds, but would not make successful church planters.
6. A good fit
This one is not a characteristic but more of a qualification. The church planter must fit the area where he is going to plant the church, geographically, economically, socially and educationally, or else be extremely adaptable. I remember a situation in which a man from the deep South was called to plant a church in an area of Florida that had been invaded by Yankees. This man sounded Southern, talked Southern and acted Southern. He was not the right man for the area to which he had been called. He figured this out and declined the call. I have seen men who were not comfortable around affluence and would have had a difficult time in that kind of environment. I have a degree in business and was in business for a few years before coming to know the Lord. My ministry over the years appealed to businessmen and I was able to lead many to Christ. Therefore, as a church planter you need to determine what kind of a fit you have with the people to whom and with whom you minister.
7. Giftedness and Personality
The church planter should have a growing knowledge of his giftedness and personality so that he knows who he is and how he comes across to others and is able to relate to others and minister to them.
Giftedness
God has given each one of his children natural and spiritual gifts or abilities. The church planter should have a growing awareness of his talents and abilities, both naturally and spiritually, so that he can make full use of who God created him to be. Confidence in the ministry comes from experiencing God working in and through your gifts to make a difference for time and eternity in the lives of others. I believe God gave me the gift of leadership when he saved me. As I look back on the first 27 years of my life when I did not know Christ, I see no evidence that I ever thought about being a leader or gave leadership to anything or anybody. I was a follower. But after God saved me and called me to plant a church I soon learned that I had leadership gifts because I came up with ideas and people bought into them and we moved ahead.
It is sad to talk to a person who has been a Christian for years and does not know what his spiritual gifts are. But it is sadder to talk to a pastor who has little knowledge of how God designed and created him in Christ Jesus. One of the areas we will discuss with potential church planters is their giftedness and how they have seen God work through their talents.
Personality
God does not directly address the subject of personality in the Bible but we can clearly see the differences in the personalities of the main players in God’s drama. Moses was a man of great passion and determination, Timothy was timid and reserved, Paul was aggressive and forceful and Peter was Peter. Each was distinct and each was used of God.
I have been helped tremendously through personality evaluations such as DISC and Myers-Briggs. At one time I thought all of us were alike, and my first encounter with DISC was an eye-opener. I learned that I was a Result-Oriented High D, and then I discovered that Result-Oriented High D’s can be a huge problem for other people. The ministry is a people business so I have had to work at making sure that God’s character qualities (The fruit of the Spirit) hold sway over my personality and rein in the areas that need to be tempered. And I am still working on it! And it has not been easy. But the Christian leader cannot simply say, “Oh, that’s the way I am,” and excuse himself for his sinfulness. In the same way, a timid person like Timothy could not hide behind his personality and use it as an excuse not to do evangelism. Paul had to prod him “to do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5) and to trust God to give him what he needed to share the Bad News and the Good News with people, even though this was the last thing Timothy wanted to do as far as his personality was concerned.
One of the areas we evaluate in our application process is that of the church planter’s personality. We do this because we want him to know who he is and how he relates to others and is perceived by others.
Summary
I have set forth seven areas of importance that need to be considered by the man who thinks he has been called to plant a church. If you are interested, let me invite you to make application to The Church Planting Network. We will work with you in assessing your readiness to plant a church.
Tags: Church Planter, Communication Skills, David Nicholas, Evangelism, Godly Character, Leadership, Personality, Preaching, Qualifications of a Church Planter, The Bible, The Gospel