Have any AFF'ers started a church from zero?

[Rico]

Originally Posted by Truly Blessed

We have been involved in planting churches from scratch. I would like to say first of all that Pastor Poster has shared from his own experience some of the advice I would have given. It is apparent he has gained valuable wisdom. I can see him writing a book that would be a great source of encouragement to church planters.

One of the mistakes many HM's make is to focus too much on a building with the concept of the church being the building and then spending much money and energy to get people into the building. It's important to stay focused on "the field is the world" and then become creative in how you can meet the needs represented in the world God has called you into.

Church is a "people" business. So, we concentrated on doing whatever put us in personal contact with people. I have always said that no matter what size the community may be that you are called to, you must reach people "one by one" and "one on one."

Love people, not for what they may represent to the growth of your church, but because they need to be loved into the kingdom of God. At the same time, be prepared to be hurt deeply, for some of the people you will show the greatest love to will become your greatest disappointment. We have to love a lot to gain a little it seems.

Home Missionaries are the true heroes in my opinion. We so often put the Foreign Missionary on a pedestal, but most of them live a higher standard of living than they did at home. The Home Missionary meanwhile often has given up much to struggle to plant a church while working a full time job and without all the perks enjoyed by foreign missionaries.

In the end it's the call of God that makes the difference!

This is a good post, TB.