In 1990, I was called to be a mission developer on the staff of the Ohio District of the LCMS. I was paid district scale, which was generous considering my level of education and that it had been 23 years since ordination. The days of that kind of church planting are gone.
Through a providential set of events, while teaching my D.Min course on Church Management, at 3:00 pm on Monday, January 15, 1990, I felt convicted that God was calling me to plant a new church in the southern suburbs of Cleveland. That call is very comforting when you go through all the ups and downs of church planting.
Since that start in 1990, I know of only one other successful district church plant. This is out of probably 12 attempts. Nobody has ever counted because, I suspect, they don’t want to see the number. From Royal Redeemer, where my work is based, we have had three successful church plants out of four attempts.
My definition of church-planting success is surviving five years and being financially self-sufficient. I have heard lots of young leaders brag about all the churches they planted. By far, most turn out to be small group Bible studies that soon disappear.
Here is what we have learned from our three Royal Redeemer efforts out of four attempts. It was ostensibly sponsored by a local group of nine congregations. I think all the other eight churches didn’t say no, and that was taken for a yes. We had only two of our core group come from those sponsoring churches. The original supportive churches gave me the names of their members living in the target suburbs. That was the old style of church planting. I don’t recall getting any of those to become members of Community of Hope. The ones going to church were happy where they were.
I preached and pastored there for six years, the last three half-time while I was at Royal Redeemer half-time. I don’t think church planting is a full-time job for an energetic ordained pastor. My successor was a young man newly recruited by Royal Redeemer to lead their new contemporary service. He and I basically traded positions when I went there as Administrative Pastor.
This new planter was able to dip into the Lutheran High School alumni network to get attendance up to about 100. That seems to be the minimum to take on real growth dynamics. Twenty years later, with average attendance at about 200, Community of Hope built and dedicated their new building in the center of a still-growing second-ring suburb. Helping them survive those twenty years was that they occupied a formerly deserted dormitory that the church remodeled. Six months after occupying the new building, attendance went up to 250.
The second successful plant (surviving at least five years and financially self-sufficient) started about 12 years ago and had two previous planters before the present one. They are now in a rented strip mall remodeled by a previous community church plant that did well. Their attendance has been about 60, including many with motorcycle leathers on. Their current pastor was president of the Christian Motorcycle Association in Cleveland.
The third successful plant was back toward the city. They just celebrated the fourth anniversary of their start. I had gotten to know their planter as I led a group from the church I planted on a Haiti mission. Brought up at Royal Redeemer, he had a life-changing experience in a different Lutheran church. As he discovered the impact of God’s grace, he wondered why no one had ever told him this before. I recognized in him a young man with a passion for outreach. We purchased a former deserted Denny’s restaurant that they refurbished into a meeting room that seats 100.
Here are three lessons about church planting: 1. Don’t decide to plant and then find a planter. Find the passionate planter first. 2. For all the correct theological reasons, a church is not a building but people. Nevertheless, people in the neighborhood won’t recognize a new church until they see a physical presence. 3. Help the plant get that presence. Royal Redeemer did so by buying this third church plant ministry a shuttered-up Denny’s restaurant they remodeled into a very comfortable meeting room, a nursery and a worship center.
Pastor Dave, I enjoyed and agree with your words. It was a pleasure to experience first-hand the demo and remodel of the former Denny’s you mentioned. I will always remember working with my son, you and the other volunteers and meeting Pastor Dave for the first time. Really felt the Lord’s presence there. And we still drop off donations of various items ( One are prison Bibles for their prison outreach) to the church.
You are right that the “church” is people but a physical building helps bring them into the “church”.
I am grateful for your efforts with church planting!
Thanks, Mike.
Thanks for your faithful work and insights.
Thanks for your encouragement George.
The question I have asked for years is what are the church plants that become viable congregations? You seem to answer the question from your experience. I was guessing about a third make it. But I really don’t know. Church plantings was a major strategy back in the 90’s to keep the Synod strong. I think I remember Ralph Bolmann hitting this point often.
Good to hear from you, Tom. Yes, church planting was a major emphasis in the LCMS in the 90s. My call to plant Community of Hope was in 1990. I would be surprised if even one third were successful with this old model. The exceptions would be in Texas, Michigan and Southern California, which had very well developed programs for still-growing suburbs and for planting ethnic churches.
thanks for sharing your experience with critical analysis. brutally honest and real.
David thank you for the post, I really enjoyed it. I agree with your definition of a successful church plant. I graduated the seminary in 2008 as a second career guy. I was called as a mission planter, to plant a church outside of Louisville Kentucky and was sponsored by well established mother church. We started by renting a non denomination church that closed. We survived past the 5 year mark and became financially self sufficient. I took a call about year 7 to another congregation. The church plant is a full fledged congregation with a pastor. Thank be to God.
Congratulations! Having a large mother church seems to be key in most cases. How many people went with you to plant the church? Getting to 100 in attendance seems to be key to spurring more growth. Was that your experience?
Dave, thanks for making us think and evaluate what we are doing. I share your concern regarding sustainability. One mistake we all made in the 80’s and 90’s was focusing on the number of church plants rather than the number of new people reached through them. I’m concerned that we not repeat that mistake. That being said, I realize it’s easier to ask the questions than to try and answer them. Keep up your thought-provoking comments.
John, good question. Those of us in the mainline churches have written confessions that we take seriously. That is our “substance.” People go to a church that feeds them. But it is hard for us to recommend a congregation that has a different substance in their beliefs.
I am working on a project that might interest you. Many mainline congregations are closing. What will they do with the property? I am recommending in my church body that a congregation give their facility to a growing church in their neighborhood. That’s what happened to my home congregation St. Matthew in center city Cleveland. It has housed a Hispanic Pentecostal congregation for 30 years. They do seem to be taking good care of the buildings. My old neighborhood and church turned out to be in the center of the Puerto Rican community in Cleveland.
While I respect your passion to plant churches, I question that reaching 100-200 in worship is success. Why not join a neighboring Christ- filled church and put all of the tithes be given to the poor.
How far do you want to commute on Sunday morning?