wfn.org | [UMNS-ALL-NEWS] UMNS# 347-Florida church teaches church planters to fertilize soil

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Florida church teaches church planters to fertilize soil

>Aug. 19, 2008

NOTE: Photographs are available at http://umns.umc.org.

>By Linda Green*

ORLANDO, Fla. (UMNS)-For almost two years, a Florida congregation has
been helping people see church as their companion on a life journey.

LifeSong Church, a daughter campus of University Carillion United
Methodist Church, helps people participate in the fullness of life
through worship, discipleship, fellowship, service and evangelism.

Launched in 2006, LifeSong is located in a shopping center in East
Orlando where the population of young professionals with families is
projected to increase from 34,000 to 45,000 by 2010. It is the only
United Methodist presence in the area.

The Rev. Lyndol Loyd, the pastor, said LifeSong develops its ministries
around "lifestages" for children, teens and adults. The church's
membership reflects a neighborhood that is 54 percent white, 36 percent
Hispanic, 10 percent Asian and 5 percent African American.

The 350-member congregation served as a "teaching church" for a United
Methodist training event on congregational development in early August
in Orlando. It was one of eight churches chosen to illustrate a variety
of strengths in congregational development and ministry for 350
participants at the 2008 School of Congregational Development.

The pastor and staff of LifeSong provided the developers with a
blueprint for the emotional ups and downs of church planting.

"Anything good that has happened here is only because of what God has
done," Loyd said of his experience at LifeSong.

The congregation receives support from the University church and the
Florida Annual (regional) Conference and anticipates being
self-sufficient in five years. "It is like a parent-child relationship,"
Loyd said.

>Challenging ministry

Loyd encouraged developers to have an "incredible intensity of their
feelings" about their individual church plants because it will be
different from any ministerial experience they have had.

"It is extremely challenging," he said, warning against identifying the
church's growth and progress with their own well-being.

The theme for church planters should be Matthew 16:18 and building
congregations on the rock. "It is not your church," he said. "... When
you understand that it is God's church and it is in God's hands, it is
very freeing and very helpful and will keep you off the emotional
rollercoaster."

Loyd warned that not everyone will share the planter's vision and that
20 percent of the people who start with a new congregation will not be
there next year. "Church planting will test your faith like nothing
else," he said.

He also warned against comparing a church plant experience with someone
else's. "Comparison is the thief of joy," he said.

Rather, remember the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-9) and know that
no two church planters are given the same soil conditions. "Context is
everything to where you plant," he said. "You cannot look at somebody
else's church plant and use it as a gauge for your own." A developer can
learn principles from another but must make sure they are "adaptable to
your context because we all have a different field that we are planting
this church in," he said.

Loyd encouraged a reality check to determine if a developer is
emotionally ready to plant a church. "You have to have your stuff
together," he said. A developer also should go into the experience with
a balanced personal life that includes clear boundaries, a strong work
ethic and solid family relationships, as well understand the motivation
for planting.

"If you are thinking that you are going to be the next Willow Creek or
Saddleback, then I would advise you to get out now," Loyd said, citing
megachurches in Illinois and California. While God may grow a church
into something tremendous and amazing, "eight out of 10 church plants
fail," he said.

>Lessons learned

In a session called "10 things I've learned from church planting," Loyd
shared successes from the LifeSong plant, as well his pains experienced
with a church start in Arkansas.

"Some of the most valuable lessons that I can share with you have come
from my failures, mistakes and just bad decisions," he said. "This is
one way that God works redemptively."

First, relationships are everything, and church planters should learn
how to leverage and cultivate them before and after a church is
launched.

Second, "take spiritual warfare seriously" because the devil certainly
does.

"If you think that you are going to march into an area where there has
been no church presence and reach out to a bunch of people that have
been living far from God and have not been in a relationship with Jesus
Christ, then you better think again. ... It ticks the devil off when you
decide to start reaching out and making a difference in the lives of
people," he said.

To counter the devil, church planters need to pray and have others
praying for them. A strong personal devotional life should already be in
place. "You need to be spiritually ready for this challenge," he said.

"Scaffolding people" are the third building block for a new church.
These individuals are only there for a season and a specific purpose
during the planting process but will not be there for the subsequent
growth. "Be grateful for the things they did while they were with you,"
he said.

Fourth, Loyd encouraged developers to take care of their families
because people dissatisfied with the leader's action will target family
members. "A church plant can be a mistress. It is so consuming and takes
up so much of who you are. It is so much a personal reflection of who
you are in your calling that you can get yourself into it to the neglect
of your family," he said.

Since 87 percent of people who come to church do so at the invitation of
others, the fifth lesson is to encourage a climate of invitation among
members. "It is the most effective way to grow," he said.

Sixth, use "rent-a-members" effectively by allowing people from other
places to do something at the church plant for a couple of months. "Let
people serve," he said.

Loyd said one of his biggest mistakes was begging people to stay when
they wanted to leave. So the seventh lesson for church planting is to
let people go when they want to leave. "If they stay, it will not be
pretty," he said.

Eighth, take a "multi-pronged" approach when thinking about the launch
of a church. Developers must realize that there is more than one way "to
catch a mess of fish" and "to not put all your eggs in one basket."

A developer should recognize that not everyone is ready for leadership
and that people should not be placed in leadership positions
prematurely. "If someone is not spiritually mature, something ugly will
happen," he said.

Lastly, church planters must have a support group in place for
encouragement and accountability. "Do not let yourself become isolated,"
Loyd said.

*Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in
Nashville, Tenn.

News media contact: Linda Green, e-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org.

>********************

United Methodist News Service Photos and stories also available at: http://umns.umc.org

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