Church Planters Checklist

For each item in the checklist, place the number which most nearly reflects your level of competence. Use the following numbering scheme:

0 = cannot or have not done this task

1 = learning to do this task

2 = have done this task adequately

3 = can help others learn to do this task

4 = have helped others to do this task

STAGE ONE: Preparing to Reap - Team
Team
Develop a vision statement

Develop a Memo Of Understanding (MOU)

Develop a Strategy Paper

Get church approval and support

Develop an adequate prayer and financial base

Recruit a team

Enable team to embrace the vision and strategy for planting churches

Develop a team life which will spiritually sustain team members

Resolve conflicts arising within the home

Resolve conflicts arising within the team

STAGE ONE (cont): Language and Culture
Language and Culture

Survive

Develop godly conflict resolution skills in family and team (see Stage 3 Peacemaking)

Get comfortable with culture and language

Enjoy life in the country

Enable family to enjoy living in the country

Develop relationships with target persons

Develop friendships with target persons

Develop proven character through stress of adapting personally, as a family, and as a team to the new culture

STAGE ONE (cont): Evangelism
Evangelism
Bring redemptive elements into the relationship

See a sympathy for the gospel develop in the friend

Lead someone into following Jesus

Baptize the friend

STAGE TWO: Gathering
Prayerfully evaluate your friend as a perspective man/woman of peace identify one or more potential men/women of peace model Christ's life before this person

STAGE TWO (cont): Disciple a Seeker/Believer
Disciple a Seeker/Believer to

Learn Bible stories which will impact life practices

Respond to sin by repentance and developing new patterns of life (Proverbs, Ephesians 4-6)

Live out Christ's life in the extended family (eg. Matthew 5-7)

Develop godly patterns of spousal relationships (i.e loving/submitting) including resolving conflict, forgiveness and reconciliation

Develop godly patterns of child rearing

Share the good news with family & friends

Use a plan for personal Bible study

Begin to identify disciples gifts and calling in the Kingdom

Implement godly patterns of conflict resolution with you, the Church planter

Become familiar with God's plan for the extension of the Kingdom in Acts

Female Church Planters shepherd women in Titus 2:3-5 skills

STAGE TWO (cont): Gather Family and Friends
Gather family/friends to explore Good News together

Share God's plan for starting Kingdom communities with family/friends

Gather a group of believers who embrace God's plan for Kingdom communities

Understand the place of suffering in the Christian life (I Peter)

STAGE THREE: Establishing the Community (Church>
2 or 3 believers agree to follow Christ in community

The older believers have settled on an appropriate way to determine fellowship in the community (eg. community)

The community has become identifiable (eg. has covenanted)

The community is celebrating the Lord's Supper

The believers are doing the work of evangelism with their family, friends, acquaintances

The older believers understand the "one another" verses of the Bible defining community.

STAGE THREE (cont): Leadership Development
Leadership Development

Older believers have baptized new believers

Older believers are discipling new believers (see STAGE 2: GATHERING Disciple for specifics)

Older women teach newer women Titus 2 skills

Community meetings organized

Older believers trained to lead community meetings

Older believers are presiding at the Lord's Supper

Initial leaders emerging, functioning as shepherd (growth in godliness in their home sets the pace for community)

Differing gifts encouraged and developed for edification

STAGE THREE (cont): Peacemaking Skills
Peacemaking Skills exercised by the community forbearing and forgiving confronting, exhorting, reproving erring members shunning and disfellowshipping those persisting in sin

STAGE THREE (cont): Withdrawal
Withdrawal of most Church Planters
withdrawal of most of the church planters from meetings

Withdrawn church planters focus on starting new gatherings (Stage 1)

Remaining church planter(s) take(s) lower profile in meetings

STAGE FOUR: Reproducing the Community
Intense teaching on reproducing communities

Community embraces goal of reproducing

Members begin to look for new men/women of peace to start another community

Emerging leaders recognized (provisional leadership)

Older women recognized (eg. deacons)

Conflicts arising from leadership appointment resolved

Meetings of leaders begin with church planter present, team spirit develops

Leaders initiate shepherding which leads to church discipline cases

STAGE FOUR (cont): New Leaders Trained
New Leaders Trained the primary task of remaining church planter

Character developed in context of marriage

Team leadership concepts taught and implemented

Discerning the will of the Lord by leaders and community, taught and practiced

Leaders place in conflict and peacemaking within the community, taught and practiced (Peacemaking, STAGE 3)

Leaders looking for new people to develop as leaders

Leaders begin discipling new leaders (see Discipling, STAGE 2)

Church planter often absent from community meetings, leaders lead

Church planter absent from leadership meetings

STAGE FOUR (cont): Reproduction Begins
Reproduction Begins

New gathering started or owned by church (if started by other church planters)

Leaders begin to network with emerging leaders of new gathering taking some responsibility for their training

New community started

Communities concerned for each other, resources shared

Peacemaking skills among leaders practiced

STAGE FIVE: Exiting
EXITING

Vision developed for planting new churches in the local area

Vision includes recognizing, training and sending church planters to other cities & countries

Vision given by leaders to congregation

Leaders ordained (eg. as elders)

Leaders formally recognizing newer emerging leaders (eg. deacons)

Leaders of the two communities start meeting regularly

Elders take more responsibility to develop leaders in the new community

Responsibilities between church planters and elders defined for new community

Church planter commends old community to God and leaves community meetings but may visit on occasion

Church planter redefines relationship to leaders as coach, attending leadership meetings only when invited

Elders (possibly with church planter) lay hands on new elders in the newer community

Relationship between communities and leaders worked out and formalized (eg. covenant, understandings, etc)

Peacemaking skills between communities and leaders of different communities exercised

New churches started without a church planter

Church planters sent out either with first team or with other teams

New clusters of communities started

Indigenous church planting teams sent out