A Simple Solution to Find More Church Planters

I have heard some variation of this concern from church leaders throughout the Western world…

“We just don’t have enough church planters!”

In the last 6 months, I have met with hundreds and hundres of church leaders in Australia, Europe and the United States. I have spoken with leaders from almost every denomination and network and the number one concern I hear over and over is this: “Our pipeline of potential church planters has dried up.”

As leaders try to figure out the reason for the drought of potential church planters they explain…

“Gen Z won’t settle for low paying church planting jobs.”

“Young adults have been burned by the church and they want nothing to do with church planting.”

“We recruited all the youth pastors to be church planters and that well has dried up.”

The problem in the Western church is clear - there is a serious lack of church planters!

So, what is the solution?

“The problem in the Western church is clear – there is serious a lack of church planters!”  

This problem got me thinking about a conversation I had with Lyle Schaller more than 15 years ago. Lyle was the dean of church consultants, and I was a church planter. My problem was not a lack of church planters, but a lack of financial resources. The church we planted, COMMUNITY, was focused on reaching people far from God but at the same time struggling to meet our budget.

So, I explained to my mentor, Schaller, that since we were reaching unchurched people, it was harder for us to raise the needed funds compared to most churches. I explained to him that many of our attenders were deep in debt and that generosity was a foreign concept.

Lyle smiled. No, he didn’t smile. He smirked. He smirked at me and said, “You know who gets the money, Dave?” It was a rhetorical question. I let the pause linger. Then he answered his own question by saying, “Whoever asks for the money!”

 I was thinking he didn’t get it, so I explained again that we were reaching unchurched people who didn’t have a habit of tithing. Again, I got the smirk and he said, “Dave you can make up whatever excuse you want, but it is this simple, whoever asks for the money gets the money.”

 I have a hunch that if I was explaining to him the lack of church planters, he would smirk at me and say, “Dave, you know who gets the church planters?” And then answer his own question, “Whoever asks for church planters!

I think a big reason we don’t have enough church planters is this simple. We don’t ask people to plant churches!

“I think a big reason we don’t have enough church planters is this simple. We don’t ask people to plant churches!”

Every time Exponential hosts a conference we make sure that the fifth and final session is designed to challenge and ask people to commit to planting a new church. We ask people to come forward if they are ready to make that commitment to plant a church. As people respond we have leaders there to pray for them, anoint them and commission them to go with our blessing. I would estimate that every time we make this “ask” we see 15-20% of the people respond. Some are coming for prayer and others to hear from God about next steps, but hundreds make a commitment to plant a church right then.

 Over the years people like Ryan Kwon, Joby Martin, Derwin Gray and hundreds more have made commitments in that moment to plant new churches. You know why? In part, simply because we asked!

“….every time we make this ‘ask’ we see 15-20% of the people respond.”

 We no longer use summer camp to challenge students to full time ministry.

 We no longer ask people in our churches to commit to vocational ministry or church planting.

 Let’s admit, that there are not many places or spaces where we clearly challenge and ask people to plant new churches!

The first church we planted at COMMUNITY was 1,000 miles away in Colorado and we had 35 lay people move from Chicago to Denver to help plant that new church. They sold their homes and got new jobs to be a part of that church plant. Others transferred colleges to be in the Denver area so they could help plant this church. What caused these 35 people to take that kind of action? We asked them!

We need to start asking people who show up on Sunday to plant new churches! We need to ask our middle schoolers and high schoolers to consider church planting as a calling. We should ask at camps; in our student gatherings; in our small groups and in our worship services! We have to start asking!

Why don’t we have enough church planters?

 I think the answer is simple.

 We don’t ask!