The Need for Church Planting

Planting new churches continues to be crucial to the spread of the Gospel. Studies show that church plants are the most effective at evangelism and sharing the Gospel with not-yet Christians. A new church plant will reach 10 people for Christ for each 100 church members compared to only 3 people per 100 members in an established church that is at least 15 years old.[1]

 

Dozens of denominational studies have confirmed that the average new church gains most of its new members (60–80%) from the ranks of people who are not attending any worshiping body, while churches over ten to fifteen years of age gain 80–90 percent of new members by transfer from other congregations.[2]

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Success Factors of Church Plants

Many factors are involved in successful and thriving church plants. Dr. Ed Stetzer and Dr. Warren Bird demonstrate that preparation and coaching of church planters has a great impact on the vitality and longevity of church plants.

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The most important conclusions of the Leadership Network study report that around 68 percent of church plants still exist after having been started, and that the assessment, preparation, and coaching processes for the pastoral leader have a dramatic impact on both the well being of the planter and the vitality and survivability of the new church.[3]

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Thus, coaching church planters is a critical part of successful church plants. The work of North American Mission Board (SBC) and Dino Senesi’s Sending Well[4] demonstrate the fruit of coaching church planters. The church needs to multiply the number of coaches to meet the needs of church planting.

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“Everything we do is built on the belief that no planter should plant alone. We are bound by a biblical ethic to love, support, and equip those families God sends. We abide with them through the wins and losses of church planting. Together, as partners in the gospel, we say to church planters: We want you to succeed at what the King has assigned you to do.”[5]  

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The Birth of Second Chair

Second Chair has been birthed to address the next step beyond coaching church planters. I was once in a church planters’ coaching triad that met once a month. I was in the role of coach, though I lacked experience in church planting. As we continued to meet, the two planters expressed a desire paraphrased like this: “If only I could have you come alongside of me, 10-15 hours a week and help implement the needed processes and structures of our church plant. That would really help us.”

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What were these church planters saying? Though they had many of the relational and evangelism gifts and vision to plant a church, they were getting bogged down by things outside their gifting. The idea of formulating and managing budgets, leadership development, and generating processes and policies were taking away from their primary role as disciple-maker and pastor.

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In the short term, Second Chair is designed to come alongside church planters, on the ground, so to speak, and work together to plant the church. During this time, a key outcome is to multiply my role within that church. That is, identify and train up someone from the launch team to fill my role. Then, and only then, can I move on to a new church plant. Serving two church plants at a time, at perhaps different stages of their life cycles, will give me experiences informing me of how I can best help each individual planter. This will give me an on-the-ground view of what is needed for the longer-term vision of Second Chair: The recruiting and development of people to grow a Second Chair Network.

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The longer-term vision seeks to multiply second chair church planters to ensure that not only will every church planter have a coach, but will have access to a qualified and trained second chair leader to help them plant the church.

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The Model of Second Chair

As I work through this model of coming alongside church planters, I have been helped by the process of developing a Vision Frame concept by Will Mancini.[6]

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Vision

By 2025, we envision church planting where no planter plants alone. Our growing network of like-minded Second Chair Church Planting Leaders are changing the way churches are planted. We come alongside church planters, not just to coach, but to be a player-coach, abiding with them through the ups and downs of church planting. Together, as partners in the gospel, we say to church planters: We want you to succeed at what the King has assigned you to do. (Adapted from Sending Well, see above)

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To achieve this vision, our mission is to strengthen church plants and expand the Gospel by filling the second chair. Our convictions of humility, diligence, flexible servanthood, and accountability guide this mission and vision. Our map for achieving this is to support the church planter, structure the trellis on which the church plant grows, and multiply leaders to fill second chair roles.

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A Menu of Possibilities

As I have been raising my own support for Second Chair, the most prevalent question is, “What would you do to support the church planter?” I have come up with a list that I refer to as the menu of possibilities. Think of this list like a menu at a restaurant. You do not order everything on the menu. After all, it is just one meal. Likewise, as a church planter looks at the mountain we call church planting, I help him think through what areas he most needs help with. One planter may have me focus on leadership development, identifying and developing leaders. Another may have me specialize in the process areas, budgets, finances, policies, and structures. There is no one right answer and it might change as the church plant launches and grows.

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That is why one of my ministry values is flexible servanthood. I will need to flex to accommodate the needs of the church plant. The menu of possibilities is a list of areas I have competence in and work experience, areas that come naturally to me in my gift mix. As with any pastoral role I must be ready to preach, pray, and proclaim. I am a second chair leader to the church planter.

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Because it is critical that I serve the church planter, I value humility. This means, like Christ in Philippians 2, I need to set aside my agenda and serve the vision of the church planter. I am not the church planter, but humbly put aside my ideas (until asked for) to serve the planter and lead from the second chair. I cannot grasp any authority which my heart thinks I have, but gladly help in any way possible.

 

Changing the Way We Plant Churches

More than once as I’ve been sharing the vision of Second Chair, church planters have remarked on the idea of Second Chair changing the way we plant churches in some settings. Some denominations automatically send a team of pastors to plant a church. Most denominations do not have the financial resources to do this. The Second Chair model may be a way to allow more churches to be planted and give rise to more church planters being available to plant. Let me explain.

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The assessment process for potential church planters is rigorous and the gifts, abilities, and passion for church planting is critical for success. But there are times when the potential planter may be lacking in one of the key competencies. Other than this, he would make an excellent church planter. Yes, he could be placed in another ministry to gain experience and competency in this area of weakness. But what if… what if, he could be paired with an experienced second chair leader with a strength to offset the church planter’s weakness. In this way, the church planter would have a partner on the ground and someone with whom he can learn from to strengthen this weakness.

 

Raising up a Network of Second Chair Church Planters

With these possibilities in mind, the long-term vision of Second Chair Church Planting is to build a network of men and women with a love for church planting to fill the second chair. Imagine a national or world-wide group of people with second chair competencies, trained up in church planting, and able to come alongside church planters for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.

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I envision two primary sources for this pool of second chair leaders. First, as godly men and women leave their primary careers and follow God’s lead into ministry, Second Chair could give them an outlet to share their experience, especially in organizational development and leadership. Coming under the Second Chair umbrella would allow them to get training and be connected to church plants. Another source are pastors and ministry leaders who want to branch out into a non-traditional development area. I can envision an executive pastor joining Second Chair to support church planters as he/she pursues more cutting-edge ministry. The possibilities are endless.

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I know of a young ordained pastor with the Covenant Church who has done exactly this. She was on staff of a regional district and attending a church plant in an underserved area of the city. As she observed her church planting pastor under the burden of church planting ministry, she left the district position to serve him as his second chair leader, doing the very things I envision under the menu of possibilities.

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Conclusion - Second Chair Church Planting

I look forward to this ministry of Second Chair Church Planting as it works with church plants, coaching church planters remotely, and supporting coaches of church planters. As the Lord gives me strength, vision, and fruit, I look forward to the Gospel going forth through church planting as we fill the second chair role, for the glory of Jesus Christ.

 

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[1] Steven M. Pike, Five Reasons Why Church Planting is the Best Methodology of Evangelism, Church Multiplication Network, Springfield, Missouri

[2] As quoted by Dr. Timothy Keller, Why Plant Churches?, Copyright © 2002 by Timothy Keller, © 2009 by Redeemer City to City.  Lyle Schaller, quoted in D. McGavran and G. Hunter, Church Growth: Strategies That Work (Nashville: Abingdon, 1980), 100. See also C. Kirk Hadaway, New Churches and Church Growth in the Southern Baptist Convention (Nashville: Broadman, 1987).

[3] E. Stetzer and W. Bird, The State of Church Planting in the United States: Research Overview and Qualitative Study of Primary Church Plant Entities, 2007

[4] D. Senesi, Sending Well, 2017

[5] Ibid, p. 227

[6] Will Mancini, Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement, Leadership Network, John Wiley & Sons, c. 2010 and Warren Bird and Will Mancini, God Dreams: 12 Vision Templates for Finding and Focusing Your Church's Future, B & H Publishing Group, c. 2016

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