Effectively starting a new church out of the culture requires a unique combination of gifts and abilities. Not everyone has the God-given capacity for this unique ministry. (That’s ok – success is doing what God made you to do.) I also believe more people can effectively start a church than do. Think of it this way. How many people do you know who have run a marathon? How does that compare to the number of people you know that could run a marathon? What’s the difference between the two? The difference is training. The problem is not many people are willing to train for a marathon or train to start churches – because training is hard.

• Training is active. You don’t train for church planting by reading books, watching videos or attending classes. They are all extremely valuable in providing essential information for church planting, but are unable to develop the habits and skills that are the real “muscles” of planting. Training means getting out in the real world, with real people and a real purpose.
• Training requires discipline. Running occasionally won’t prepare you for the ordeal of enduring a 26 mile marathon. Running consistently will. Consistency requires discipline. Training for anything, church planting included, will require setting aside diversions and distractions in order to give yourself fully to the purpose you’ve chosen.
• Training should be comprehensive. Success in most activities requires a variety of skills. This is especially true for church planters who are often asked to be leader, teacher, counselor and friend sometimes all at once. Thus good training needs to consider all of the habits and skill needed to be effective and provide practice in each.
• Training is maximized by good coaching. Try finding a high performing athlete who doesn’t have at least one coach. High capacity people know that their training efforts will be magnified by connecting with a coach who can bring clarity and focus to their efforts.

How can you become an effective church planter? Start training.

Learn more about Gateway Leaders innovate church planter training at www.churchplantercultivate.com