The Nine Things You Need to Know To Start a Church
1) You don’t need to worry about money…but you won’t ever think you have “enough”.
2) You will not only believe in the power of prayer…you’ll depend on it.
3) A Clear Mission goes a lot further than a Cool Logo.
4) The craving for Comfort will be stronger than crack.
5) You will be on the adventure of a lifetime with people you haven’t even met yet.
6) You’ll be raising money for as long as you lead this church, you might as well get used to it and you might as well get good at it.
7) Don’t ever out clever things like the Bible, Prayer, and the Gospel.
8) The longer you go without an incredible team exercising their spiritual gifts, the shorter you’ll last.
9) You simply don’t have all that it takes to do this, but you are far more ready than you realize.
You are ALREADY a Church Planter
Elijah told me that he was better than his baby sister Gigi yesterday because he was older and smarter – his words not mine! Yes – we know that we have a true first born in our home. But what was so fascinating to me about his statement was how even at his young age he has caught on to the fact that we all want to draw circles around certain privileges in life. Because Elijah is 2.5 years older he wants to know what he can do that Gigi can’t. He wants to stay up later, have an extra cookie, or get an extra toy!
We tend to do the same thing in the church.
- Because someone has been in church longer than they must know more and can be in a leadership role.
- Because someone gives more than they can have more say in how the funds are spent.
- Because someone serves more they must be a more devoted follower and more spiritually mature.
We have lots of arbitrary benchmarks in the church and if we are honest we have circles that we let people in and circles that keep others out. Now – please hear my heart in this – I am a firm believer that the fruit in a person’s life is what should be a primary indicator of the best role for them to play in the body of Christ. I am not suggesting that a new believer should be an elder or lead pastor the day after their conversion, but I am concerned about how we have elevated certain roles in the body that I believe Jesus has invited all of us to participate in – one of these roles is building / planting the church. We are ALL called to extend the grace of God through the local church – we are ALL called to BE church planters.
If you are a follower of Jesus – then you are invited to build His Church. In essence you are a church planter! Maybe one of the tangible ways you can do it today is to help build this church – SOUL CITY CHURCH! We love how God is weaving so many people and stories into the fabric of Soul City Church. This is truly becoming the picture of the body of Christ building another body of believers – TOGETHER! So maybe you will never go to Soul City church – but you can be a builder of it! Take a look at this video and maybe God is inviting you at this year end – to make a new START!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! THANKS FOR PLANTING SOUL CITY CHURCH WITH US!
You can Start Soul City Church for just $25 by visiting YearEndStart.com
WWYD if YOU Started a Church Tomorrow?
There seems to be no lack of opinion when it comes to what the Church Is / what is Should be / what it Could be / what it must Never be. Everyone’s got an opinion, conviction, dream, or idea. This is your chance to share yours!
What THREE things (and only three) would make your Imaginary Church a truly Remarkable Church?
- ______________________________
- ______________________________
- ______________________________
We’d love to get as many different and diverse thoughts, opinions, and convictions as possible. So share your thoughts, and dreams. Invite your friends to share theirs. Who knows, you may just learn something about yourself, about others, and about God’s heart and dream for the church.
The Rules:
- Keep it brief.
- Keep it kind.
- Keep it inspired.
- Keep it inspiring.
- Keep it to yourself, and you may end up keeping someone from hearing the thunderous whisper of God.
We’re serious. We’d love to hear from you…like all of you…including you.
3 Easy Ways To Start A Church From The Comforts Of Your Own Home!
Let’s face it – building a brand new Church from scratch takes a divine sort of insanity. It is a faith filled, knee knocking, miracle requiring endeavor. You’d be crazy to want to do it. Trust us…we know.
That’s why we would like to offer you the opportunity of Starting a Church without ever having to leave the comforts of your own Home…or stable paycheck! Here are THREE EASY WAYS for you do to just that.
- 1) Commit to PRAYING once a day through the month of December for Soul City Church and for the City of Chicago. Seriously. We’re asking you to pray BIG PRAYERS to a BIG GOD who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. If you would like to explore how to be a part of our Prayer Advocacy Group you can click HERE
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- 2) Direct a portion of your TITHE or YEAR END GIVING towards the Start of Soul City Church. This is one of those Unique opportunities that your financial faithfulness and generosity can quite literally make a HUGE and tangible difference. You can make a COURAGEOUS One Time Investment by clicking HERE. Or you can make a CONSISTENT Investment by going HERE.
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- 3) Invite Jarrett & Jeanne to SPEAK at your Church, Weekend Service or Retreat. Inviting them to speak at your Church can meet a very real need for Their Family as well as meeting a very real need for Your Church. I believe they call this a Win Win. To inquire about a potential speaking opportunity for Jarrett or Jeanne click HERE.
There you have it. THREE EASY WAYS that you can be a part of the Start of Soul City Church. We would absolutely love to have you join with us in whatever capacity you can. We are grateful for anyone and everyone that comes alongside of this unique and powerful vision.
thanks.
We are not starting a Church…
…we’re EXTENDING it.
The language of Church Planting / Church Starting is ubiquitous. I use it all the time. You’ve probably used it or heard someone else use it as well. It’s the language that has settled on top of a movement that is 2000 years in making and has been part of the Blueprint of our Existence on this planet throughout all of Eternity.
We are not STARTING a Church…
- We’re Continuing God’s original idea. HIS idea…not ours.
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- We’re acting out of OBEDIENCE. I wish this was just some cool idea we had, but the truth is, this is what God has asked us to do for HIM in this season.
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- We’re JOINING up with God and Others. We’re not the FIRST PEOPLE to bring this revolutionary idea to our city. Many have gone before us, are working alongside us, and will continue on long after we’re gone. (thanks Steven Furtick for this reminder)
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- We’re a part of a RADICAL MOVEMENT of God. Not just building buildings. Not just managing programs. Not just doing a job.
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- We’re LIVING out the way of Jesus in our city and inviting others to do the same. The Church is the MEANS to life with Jesus, not the POINT.
I need to be reminded of this everyday. Perhaps you needed to be reminded of that today as well.
a Blueprint for a New Church
Something is happening in Atlanta. There is a movement of churches starting that are committed to living out the Kingdom of God in the city. We couldn’t be more excited to be in partnership with these churches and to be friends with the incredible teams that are starting them.
One of the churches that we’ve been praying for and cheering on is Blueprint Church. They have such a radical and well developed vision for transforming the city of Atlanta with the love of Christ. They just held their “Kick Off” service this past weekend to an unbelievable turnout. We are excited to see what God is going to do next through Blueprint.
If you live in the ATL or have friends in the city, you should consider checking out and supporting Blueprint Church. Here’s a Video Snapshot of what they’re all about…
Rebuild The City from Blueprint Church on Vimeo.
Find out how you can get involved at Blueprintchurch.org
