exploring church planting
Are you exploring the idea of becoming a church planter? If so, you are on an amazing journey. You are opening yourself to the possibility of doing something that demands trusting God in a deep, profound way.
We always emphasize to those considering church planting that this journey hinges on a call from God. Apart from God, healthy church planting is never possible.
These pages are designed to guide you through an exploration of church planting. We will introduce you to our suggested approach in considering church planting in the Denver metro area.
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Step # 1... Seek GodUltimately, we realize that skills, talents, experience, and education help. Yet, the determining factor in effective church planting begins with the heart. That is why we ask all candidates the same question: Are you called by God to be a church planter?
Without God's defined sense of calling, it is dangerous to move forward. The spiritual journey is intense once a church planting team hits the ground in Denver. Without a strong sense of God's calling, leaders fail to thrive.
The heart of a church planter is our first priority. Here are some additional questions we want to explore with planters:
Ultimately, the heart of the leader is crucial. We want spiritual leaders to guide our church planting movement in Colorado. Apart from dependence on Christ, church planting in Colorado is a futile effort! |
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Step # 2... Why Colorado?Colorado is certainly a desirable place. The mountains are amazing. The quality of life is considered very high. Opportunities for recreation abound in this beautiful state. These, however, are poor reasons to plant a church in Denver or anywhere in our state.
We are looking for church planters that love people and feel the overwhelming burden of reaching our city with the Gospel. As much as Colorado is considered an ideal place to live, it is also a place of great struggle and disappointment. Experiences in the mountains only last so long, and the cost of living in Colorado makes sustainability very difficult for many.
People in Colorado are searching. They are also discovering that the things they thought would bring happiness are not satisfying them. Spiritually, people are
often inquisitive. They explore all types of spiritual paths and religions, looking for something to fill their emptiness. Christianity is often not the first place people look for hope. Many hold a negative, suspicious, and misinformed view of Christianity and the local church.
Church planting teams sometimes come to our area thinking their skills, experience, knowledge, and talents will be the key to providing a church that is superior and effective. This rarely happens.
Some come to our state thinking a certain church model is the key. They often assume that in a short time there will be a congregation of hundreds growing with a great and vibrant future. This rarely happens.
Colorado is a genuine post-Christian context. We are looking for church planters that are willing to endure much, follow God's leading, and discover the specific expression of church that God is calling them to lead. Our needs for new churches vary from place to place, and we are looking for planters that can sense God's creative guidance in seeing new churches realized in the Denver metro area.
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Step # 3... Understand our approach to church plantingColorado Baptists embrace God’s vision to see our entire state saturated with the Gospel.Understanding our approach to church planting is also crucial as your determine a potential partnership with the Mile High Baptist Association and Colorado Baptists.
Recognizing that in some counties there is only one evangelical congregation for ever 12,200 people, we see the need for a Spirit-powered multiplication of our churches.
The Five P’s... Prayer, People, Place, Partner, and Person The "Five P's" drive our approach to planting. Prayer comes first as we discern God’s guidance in planting new churches. Under God’s direction, we identify the People to be reached, as well as the geographic Place associated with target groups.
Believing that churches plant churches, we also require that church planters have at least one church Partner committed to standing with them through the process. Finally, we assess each church planter, making sure the appropriate Person is matched with the prospective planting venue.
What We Offer
Our Church Planting Team actively engages in the development and fulfillment of:
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Step # 4... What if I don't presently live in Denver?Some of our most effective planters have arrived from other locations in the United States. With that said, our best church planters do the hard work of becoming part of the Denver community before planting their church.
For those considering church planting in the Denver Metro Area, who are presently living outside Colorado, we encourage a missionary approach in the first year of living in Denver. This means that a church planter would come to our area and live with us for one year, prior to launching any church planting project.
Our intent is to do many things through this approach. 1.) This strategy allows planters the opportunity to simply live, work, and play in Colorado for one year. 2.) The planting candidate will also connect with one of our local churches for that year. As a part of that church, they would enjoy mentoring and the development of a local church network when the time comes to plant. Being sent from one of our local churches is required.
Living here and acclimating to Colorado culture takes time. We encourage planting candidates to come, work, and be part of a community. Funding is always a big issue when considering this approach. It is important to recognize that church planting funds would not be accessed in this first year. Instead, the planter candidate needs to determine how they will sustain themselves in year one. Employment and/or means of support raising are highly encouraged. The North American Mission Board's Mission Service Corp. program is an exciting way planters can make the year-one experience feasable and beneficial. If you have questions about this approach, feel free to contact Dr. Bob Ryan, the church planting missionary for the Denver area. |
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Step # 5... Research the Denver areaAn important ingredient in the journey is doing as much research as possible and evaluating one's own readiness to church plant.
As well, we encourage you to explore information about the Denver metro area. Below are some helpful links that serve as a starting point for research and understanding of our area.
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Step # 6... Enter our church planting assessment programWe guide our church planting candidates through an assessment program to determine whether or not they are a good fit for our Colorado context. This aspect of the church planting exploration should happen after the above steps have been navigated.
The assessment is helpful in many ways. First, it helps the planter determine their capacity to plant a church. As well, the assessment helps to identify areas of growth and development. Second, the assessment process helps us determine if the candidates can receive start-up funding. Our criteria for funding church planters is set by the North American Mission Board.
Our assessment includes a formal church planter assessment, which is done by a combination of missionary staff, church planting coaches and church planters. This assessment is done in person and in Colorado.
To begin your church planting journey, consider filling out a preliminary assessment to determine if you have the drive and genuine interest in church planting. Click here to begin start a preliminary assessment. When filling out this survey, please specify that results be sent to bobryan@milehighbaptist.org.
If you would like to enter our assessment process, begin by filling out the "getting to know you" assessment form. Click here to begin the process.
Other assessment tools used in our process include the following:
Once you have entered the assessment process, our church planting missionary team will guide you through next steps in the church planting assessment process.
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Step # 7... Make a site visitIn the process, and after initial assessment, it is crucial to spend time walking the streets of the place you envision planting. We encourage those interested in church planting to plan a trip to our area to visit and better understand our context. Ideally, many of our planters will emerge from Colorado. At the same time, we recognize that God can raise up planters from anywhere.
If you are not living in the Denver area, it is extremely helpful to come to our area, meet with us, and learn more about the needs we have identified in our area.
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