Growing Our Own Church Planters: The Pipeline of Development
In January 2020, the ten districts of Converge stacked hands and committed to starting 312 churches by the end of 2026. Converge Heartland committed to starting seven of those 312 churches, growing our district by more than ten percent. To date, we have launched two of those seven -- Gospel Life Church in Wichita, KS, and Arrows Church in Papillion, NE.
At our 2022 annual meeting, we determined that if we plant five more churches (and hopefully many more), we will need to develop and deploy qualified men to do this work. In essence, we will need to grow our own church planters.
Converge Heartland has developed a pipeline to help bring Gospel transformation to every Heartland community. We broke our pipeline into phases to bring greater clarity in selecting the right guys for the job.
RECRUITMENT: While we can find church planting candidates in colleges and conferences, the local church is the best place to find qualified candidates. We are looking for men who are self-starters, hard workers, and entrepreneurial. They must love Jesus and His church, and they must have a desire to see lost people come to Christ. Does anyone come to mind? If so, please introduce us, because I would love to talk with them!
ALIGNMENT: After the initial contact with a potential planter, we immediately start to discern whether or not Converge Heartland is a good fit for them. We look for theological, philosophical, and missional alignment in this phase. We seek clarity through interviews, applications, and careful examination. This phase can take a while to ensure we leave no stone unturned before there is a significant investment in the candidate. Should we find alignment, the next step is The Church Planting Assessment Center.
ASSESSMENT: The Church Planting Assessment Center (CPAC) is held five times yearly in select cities throughout the country. A CPAC lasts four days with multiple presentations, group projects, and interviews. Each candidate will meet with a counselor to explore any issues that may hinder him. After the four-day intensive, the candidate will receive one of three outcomes: Recommend, Conditional Recommend, or Do not Recommend. If the candidate gets either of the first two, they can enter into a formal relationship with Converge Heartland and start the planting journey.
DEPLOYMENT: In this phase, the church planter enters into a formal coaching relationship and starts the long and challenging process of starting a church. It is here they will form a launch team, raise support, incorporate with their state, and move a group of people towards beginning a church in the city of their choosing. This phase can take anywhere from 12 to 36 months. They will enter the next phase after the launch of their church.
ESTABLISHMENT: After launch Sunday, each planter will receive coaching for another year as they establish roots. During this phase, we encourage the planter to connect with other Converge Heartland pastors in the LEAD Team and start contributing to the movement, so we can continue to start and strengthen churches together worldwide.
As you can see, the path to planting a church is not a leisurely stroll but a carefully planned course. We hope this process will give us the best chance to plant healthy and multiplying churches that impact their communities and leave a legacy of faithfulness to Christ.
If you want to know more about church planting or have any questions, I would be happy to help! Please send an email to steve@convergeheartland.org to connect.