Have you ever considered planting a church? God might be calling you!
We need Spirit-directed church planters in our age today like never before. Ed Stetzer reports that, "Churches in the first decade of the twenty-first century are closing at a phenomenal rate. Eighty to 85 percent of American churches are on the downside of their life cycle. Win Arn reports thirty-five hundred to four thousand churches close each year." (Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches, 13).
The most effective disciple making ministry you can be a part of within America is church planting—hands down! You might have the giftedness required to be a church planter! If you have ever wondered about church planting in America, we would love to talk with, pray with, and encourage you. The beginning point of your journey is the assessment phase.
Are you called as a church planter? We believe that there are two aspects to answer this question. First, do you have an internal conviction that you are called to plant a church? Second, is this calling affirmed by fruitfulness in ministry and the wider body of Christ? Our primary objective during the assessment process is to answer these two basic questions.
In assessing a candidate we look at four areas.
Calling: Does this candidate have an internal calling affirmed by others?
Character: Does this candidate demonstrate the character qualities and Christian maturity of an elder?
Chemistry: Does the candidate fit the EFCA family, the temperament of a church planter, and the community he desires to plant in?
Competency: Does this person have the basic leadership and ministry competencies to plant a church?
The EFCA Start Churches assessment process has two components. The first is a series of inventories and questionnaires. The inventories are industry standards that give different snapshots of a person.
The second component is a half day interview conducted by a trained, experienced assessment team of pastors and lay people who desire to serve you and the local church with an objective, godly assessment of your church planting potential.