Many pastors, although well-intentioned, will plant churches for the wrong reasons. Here are six of the most dangerous and damaging reasons:
1. Because you want to be your own boss.
I have never met a leader who was a good leader that didn’t start out as a great follower first. They learned from someone, served under someone and helped make a vision that God gave someone else successful. Church planters that don’t start as a great follower/servant first rarely make it.
2. You like to preach.
You like to preach. You’re good at preaching. That’s great. But it doesn’t mean you should plant a church. If all you can do is preach, then it might be best if you serve the local church by preaching on a regular basis while you fulfill another ministry position. I’ve met many pastors who wish they had someone in their church who could share the load of message prep and preaching. There’s a place for you.
3. You think you can do it better.
Let me clarify and say that it’s OK to think you can do it better. But it’s how you act on it that makes the difference. For example, if you’re serving in a local church, dislike how things are done, think you can do it better and you let everyone know that, you’re doing it wrong. Just because you think you can do it better doesn’t mean you should.
4. You want to plant a church that sucks less.
Starting a church that sucks less than other churches is never a good reason to plant a church if it’s the primary reason you plant. If you look around and say, “We can plant a church here that is better than all the other churches,” then you’re planting for the wrong reasons, and will most likely fail.
5. You want a full-time ministry job.
Instead of planting a church, do something else. Start a hot-dog stand and share the gospel with people. Truth is, it probably won’t go full-time for a while. So don’t think you’ll start making 60k day one, or maybe ever.
6. You lead a successful ministry.
Doing youth ministry well? Good! Have a growing small group? Awesome! A few adults tell you that you should start a church? So what. Just because you teach a Sunday School class of 40 adults does not mean you could start a successful church. It does mean you can make gospel impact teaching Sunday School, leading a youth ministry or small group. At the end of the day, gospel impact is what matters most.
Maybe you lead a teenager who will plant a church that plants churches. Or you disciple someone who will plant a church. It must start somewhere. And if you want to plant churches, actually planting may not be the deal for you, but it could be discipling the ones that do.
