What Does a Church Planter Do Before He Has a Church?

Most church goers probably think they have a basic idea of what a preacher does: sermon preparation, hospital visits, studying, staff meetings, elders meetings, counseling, planning, and so on. But, I know many of you must be wondering, "What exactly does a church planter do before he has a church?" There's no sermon prep when there are no sermons. No hospital visits or counseling until you have members. No staff or elders meetings.

So what does a church planter do (besides writing blogs about what he does)?

Planting churches has become something of a science. There are books and seminars and organizations and even academic programs devoted to the subject. They have the process worked out so thoroughly that there is actually web-based project management software that spells out everything that needs to be done from the decision to plant a church through the launch of the first public worship service. The various tasks and projects—all 286 of them!—are organized into various categories with important milestones marked along the way, all with due dates assigned and recommended reading. I even have a coach who just works with me on the tasks laid out in the software.

These tasks include training, such as going to "boot camp" (we went to two of them in January) and to the national church planting conference last month, visiting other church plants, and lots of reading (I wish I was a speed reader!). They include weekly phone conversations with my church planting coach, bi-weekly calls with the project management coach, and monthly meetings with a management team (representatives of the churches and ministries supporting us). The tasks include big projects like developing the church planting model we will use, networking with community leaders, designing promotional materials for fundraising and recruiting, and forming a prayer team. They also include all sorts of smaller but necessary tasks, such as filing incorporation papers with the state, getting a post office box, and buying an all-in-one printer/fax/copier.

So far, according to the project dashboard, I've completed 170 of the tasks (59.4%) and I'm only overdue on 10 (3.5%) of them (not too bad since I just lost 2 weeks to a conference and a cruise—and besides, 2 of them aren't really my fault!). That means I only have 116 tasks to go…

A Letter to the Donelson Church of Christ

Rob and Judy on St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Dear Friends at Donelson,

I am sitting on the balcony of our cabin on the Emerald Princess, looking out over the beautiful, calm Caribbean Sea, and thinking about how grateful I am to all of you for the gift of this cruise. (Judy is grateful, too. She's sleeping in and enjoying the gentle motion of the ship.) This is our last day at sea, and unless we stowaway, we'll return home tomorrow.

The cruise has been wonderful in so many ways. The getaway has been refreshing and just what we needed as we prepare for the months ahead in the new work. The time together has been like a second honeymoon, an early celebration of our 30^th anniversary later this summer. The scenery has been inspiring as we have witnessed the incredible beauty of God's creation. We have been pampered, entertained, and overfed beyond what any human being deserves!

We've also encountered many reminders of why we are setting out on our new course of ministry—the stories we've heard from passengers and crew, the incredible economic disparity between the tourists who invade the islands on shopping excursions and the inhabitants who call the beauty and poverty of the islands "home," and the daily encounters with the lifestyles and conduct of those not following the way of the kingdom of God. I've tried to avoid anything that felt like work this week—but it is hard to be around so many people and not think about our call to become friends of those with whom Jesus became friends.

The cruise has been a marvelous experience, and we just want to say "thank you" again for this very generous gift.

But more than that, we want to say "thank you" for the past 7 years at Donelson. You have encouraged us and loved us and supported us, and we will always love you. We still consider you our church family even though we aren't with you very often right now. Serving this church has been a blessing. You have invited us into very special and sacred moments in your lives. At times I've been among the first to hold your newborn children and at other times I've been at the bedside of your parents as they took their last breath, and so much in between. And in turn, many of you celebrated our daughter's wedding with us and stood beside us when Judy's father passed away. Because you are our family, we want you to know that we look forward to continuing to share such moments of life with you. Our new home will only be 15 minutes away and you can call on us any time we can help in any way. And we know we can do the same. I may not be your preacher, but we will always be family.

I also want to say a special thank you to those who served daily with me as ministers and staff. It was a joy to serve alongside people who were not just coworkers, but friends. I already miss our lunches at Casa or Lenny's—sharing the laughter and frustrations and burdens and joys of ministry together. I hope our church family realizes how special you all are. And if some day I have a new team in our new work, I pray they will be as competent, as committed, and as easy to work with as you have been.

Judy has awakened to enjoy the sunshine with me. She read this and cried (I know that's no surprise! But the tears are mine as well, an expression of our deep love for you). Coming to Donelson was a return home for Judy, but it has become home for her in new and deeper ways. She loves you and misses you, as do I.

We are praying for you all that God will continue to lead Donelson to follow Jesus in the ways of the kingdom.

We'll see you soon.

Love,
Rob and Judy