I love meeting with people, but I’m seriously going to need a bigger belt.
The last several weeks have been stacked with breakfast meetings, and my calendar is filling up for the foreseeable future. Add this to my affinity for delicious food and one of two things is going to happen: Either I am going to get larger, or I am going to become a bit more disciplined in my breakfast choices. Don’t get me wrong – I’m definitely not complaining. We are only several weeks into this process and I already have a nice hearty list of potential launch team members with which to fill up my breakfast calendar. What church planter wouldn’t be thrilled?
Since I have the privilege of working with the First Baptist Church of West Palm Beach to launch Family Church Boynton Beach, their leadership has given me access to any and all church members who live in the vicinity of our plant. This is an incredible advantage – of this I am well aware. In fact, I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to start a church and corral a launch team in a place where there is no sending mother church. I’ve seen people do it that way – no doubt some of you reading this may do it that way – and it can certainly be done. However, the level of difficulty and patience required would be beyond what I could bear.
I am so grateful to be partnering with a church that is resolute on reaching Palm Beach County and South Florida with the Gospel. And when I say reaching, I literally mean reaching. Palm Beach County is scattered far and wide with neighborhood piled upon neighborhood, flopped over neighborhood, and leaning against neighborhood. First Baptist Church – seated on the eastern edge of the county – is stretching out to reach these communities and neighborhoods. Blessed with a church family that resides and carries influence all over Palm Beach County, First Baptist Church has begun leveraging this influence by planting churches in every part of the county. They have launched four new congregations since 2010 and, Lord-willing, are just getting started. I am grateful to be the next beneficiary of this conviction and commitment.
I’m obviously new to this, but there’s one thing I would already suggest: Don’t go at it alone. Do everything that you can to find an existing local church that is committed to planting new churches. Learn from them. Partner with them. Reach with them. Yes, at times it may seem like you are being held back, but that’s acceptable when you’re putting on muscle. You cannot put a value on the influence and force that a committed-to-the-Gospel-advancing mother church provides you.
I am so thankful that I have a sending church that has given me the opportunity to fill my calendar with as many pancake breakfasts as I can handle. Hopefully, they’ll let me use the gym now.
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