Blogs to help you create ministry champions starting with yourself

Having been part of denominational efforts to multiply churches, I can tell you that the missing ingredient in the efforts of most groups or churches is the strong leadership of champions for church planting. Let's begin this brief discussion with the example of church planting champions.

Church planting champions usually have the following characteristics:

• They are men and women of integrity and are considered above reproach (see 1 Tim. 3 and Titus 1).
• They love Jesus and seek His Kingdom through prayer and ministry.
• They love new churches and those who start them and regularly talk about them.
• They have and exercise faith – extraordinary faith.
• They hate the status quo and comfort zones because they hinder faith and Kingdom of God expansion.
• They think everybody should be church planting champions.
• They fearlessly engage in spiritual warfare knowing the battle belongs to the Lord.
• “Giants” of the land don’t scare them (see the story of David facing the giant, Goliath in
• They are often resisted, but do not give up because God is at work.
• They love to hang out with other spiritual champions.
• They are constantly learning more about church planting and multiplication.
• They seek out coaches and mentors who can help them with the ministry of multiplication.

Who do you know who are church planting champions? What characteristics have you seen in their lives and ministries?

In this blog you will find some important numbers that may improve your ministry as a pastor. Keep reading to find out more, and remember, be flexible, so don’t treat them as the Ten Commandments. This is simply a list of ten suggestions or recommendations from Charlie.

3 – Be a member of an accountability group of 3 trusted friends.

60 – If you are working at your desk, get up and stretch, walk around, clean your workspace, etc. for a few minutes after a maximum of 60 minutes.

10 – Stop working on your ministry at 10 o’clock in the evening. It’s time to shut off your brain and rest until tomorrow.

24 – Try to return your calls within 24 hours unless you are taking days off or a vacation or doing sermon preparation or taking a season of prayer.

7 – Get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a night, preferably 8, unless God has given you the ability to need a lot less sleep each night.

9 – End evening meetings no later than 9 pm. Working past 9 o’clock begins to decrease yours and others’ ability to be productive, effective, and efficient.

2 – Limit your screen time on your computer to a maximum of 2 hours before taking a long break or tackling a different project.

1 – Prioritize your  1 top project for the day and tackle that before moving on to others.

5 – Try to meet and talk with 5 new people a week, but focus the conversation on asking them questions and listening intently to their answers.

4 – In person, virtually, or by phone, visit with at least 4 different people from your congregation each week.

What other number and subject can you add this week to this list? What difference would applying this list to your work-week make in your ministry?

[Photo by Susan Holt Simpson on Unsplash]

What if your church had a DNA discovery tool?

Several years ago, one of my daughters gave me a subscription to a DNA discovery tool for Christmas. She was curious about me and our family origins, so this was a tool that would help us find out much more about where I come from, long, long ago. After running the test and receiving the results, I discovered some confirmations of what I already know. With the results we also discovered some surprises that I didn’t know.

I already know that my father’s side of the family has origins in England. What I discovered new from my DNA test results is that my ancestors also include people from Scandinavian populations. I’m definitely European in nature.

Then, my mind began to wander to my family origins to discover why I am the way I am today.

Did I inherit some things from some rough and tough Viking clan, things such as a desire to explore new places? (Maybe not – I’m not a Minnesota Vikings fan.) Does my competitive nature reflect ancient remnants of the need to fight and conquer? Is my love of the ocean genetically derived from a people who lived near great bodies of water and built boats in which to travel and harvest fish? I wonder, does our past, even long ago, help shape our present and our future?

After letting my brain wonder back hundreds of years to my cultural heritage, I began to wonder about churches. Is the local congregation shaped by the past? Does the church have something like DNA code that helps shape its culture, life and actions?

Stay with me as I pursue this idea by asking a few questions.

Think of the family of churches that form the origin of your church. What if your church today could take a DNA test and determine that your congregational church government goes back in time to the founding of the United States? As a result or by-product, is it possible that your church business meetings now look more like a representative democracy in action than an assembly of believers who are filled and led by the Spirit of God and the word of God? Is the goal to have a majority of people vote in favor of action, or is it to have the Lord of the church lead the congregation in deciding to move in a direction given by God? Is Robert’s Rules more important at church business meetings than the Bible?

Does your church have a predisposition toward an Elder-run church governance? Might that be related to church structures going back many years to churches that had a strong emphasis on following clergy, so that a few led the many who may have been uneducated or illiterate? Does that background help explain some things pastors do leading the church?

My experience in working with new churches has led me to the belief that many are prone to repeat the sins or problems they seem to have inherited from their “parents.” On some occasions, generations of churches have shared a heritage of emphasizing certain points of theology or ministry. Think of some denominations.

If you could do a DNA test on your church, what might you discover about its unique “DNA?” Is your church due for some “genetic re-engineering?” What are some tools that might help your leadership discover your church DNA, and what is the first characteristic or behavior that needs to change for a better and more effective ministry?

[Photo by digitale.de on Unsplash]