Am I Called to Plant a New Church?

“He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive in Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-13 (The Message)

Like any opportunity for ministry, there should be a season for discerning God’s call in one’s life for church planting.  Starting a new church is a specialized kind of ministry that requires deep personal and communal discernment along with an assessment of one’s capabilities, personality traits and dispositions. \

The task of the Office of Church Vitality is not to question a person’s call to ministry but come alongside them to help them discern if God might be calling them to church planting ministry.  Some steps you are encouraged to take in your discernment include:

1. First of all, spend time in prayer and in conversation with your family. Ask God to guide you in your discernment. Church planting, like all of ministry, is a God-calling-thing. Not everyone has the calling, disposition or behavioral characteristics required for this kind of ministry.

2. Visit Path1.org.  Click on the “Find” tab at the top of the page. Under the drop down menu click on “Planter Assessments” under “Find: Effective Leaders”. At the top of the page, “Want to Find Your Calling in Church Planting?” click on the “assessments for discerning” hyperlink in the first sentence. You will find two assessments to take online: Initial Planter Assessment and Spiritual Gifts Assessment. After you take these assessments the results will be sent to you via email. These may help you decide whether or not you’d like to step onto the Pathway of Planting.  

(Please consult with a vitality strategist since Path1 website has changed)