Have any AFF'ers started a church from zero?

[Digging4Truth]

Originally Posted by Darcie

Just looking for some friendly advice and encouragement.

My husband and I started a Spanish church here in Wilmington, NC a year and a half ago.

It's been a little bit of a roller coaster ride. I was just wondering if anyone had some advice or experiences they may want to share.

I have never started a church on my own but I have worked for years with a pastor who was a church starter. I ministered with him and helped to start churches over several states.

The thing I learned is to let growth be the plus.

Focus on where you are now. Focusing on where you want to be only makes us miss the happiness in what you have now.

Love what you are doing... Love the people you are doing it with... Enjoy being a smaller group. There are great advantages to the closer knit groups that will go away soon enough.

I say that for 2 reasons.

1. You and your husband will be happier and experience less discouragement that way.

2. When you free yourself to simply enjoy ministering to peoples lives... it shows... and that alone can bring greater growth. A group of people who feel pressure to grow, grow, grow... often don't. But ministry to people where they are has it's own built in growth potential.

Often people never move beyond where they are because the the pressure and disappointment that is caused by their desire for the future.

At the same time people who live, love and minister where they are now often feel less pressure & disappointment and find themselves in the middle of growth.

People don't care what you know until they know that you care. Often, even though our hearts are filled with love and caring for those in the field around us, our failure to enjoy these humble and beautiful beginnings shields that from other people.

Be happy with 2.... Be happy with 7... Be happy with 28... Be happy with 2672... Just... Be happy where you are and let the ministry inside you shine through without disappointment or pressure to be anything else.

Phl 4:11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, [therewith] to be content.

[luzsilver]

Originally Posted by Rico

I hear what both of you are saying and think you are both right.

I know, from my own experience, that, after I left this uc church, I was anything but ready to make the kind of committment it takes to be faithful to any church. The church I ended up in put me up front, playing the guitar and also in prison ministry, before I had healed from the hurt I was experiencing. The leadership there did the right thing, but it wasn't at the right time. So, I left there after a couple of years.

Then I found myself in prison ministry and up front playing the guitar again at the next church. I was in a better place, but still not ready to take on the responsibility that ministry requires. So, I left again, this time to end up at a HM church.

By this time I had realized I wouldn't go into ministry or play the guitar again until I was satisfied that I was ready for it. Things didn't go as planned there, so here I am again, without a church home.

Honestly, I'm just now getting to the point that I am willing to fully get behind the ministry of any church, let alone think about going back to playing the guitar up front or going into prisons. I'm thankful that I am finally willing to make a committment to a church, but know I still have a way to go before I will be ready for ministry of any kind.

The point is sometimes the people who "church hop" do so for reasons others don't understand or can't see. All they see is someone leaving this church for that church and immediately decide it's because that person just wants to manipulate, when nothing could be further from the truth.

rico i think you need some time for you and GOD MUSIC IS good but a prayer life is a must . you need to cultivate you spiritual life before ministering in church or prisons GOD BLESS YOU VERY MUCH i will pray for you , you are blessed to be able to play music for our Lord . I am wishing to play for God.

[jfrog]

I wonder how Darcie's church is doing now?

[dellmichaels]

Hello all!
I'm new to the site, as well as to the thread. We live in Monessen, PA. There is not an Apostolic church here. I've been preaching now for 12 years, had one unsuccessful pastorate that lasted 6 months in 2004. Learned a lot from it. Have simply tried to be a help in other churches since then. It's easy to look around here and see the need for a church. The question I have for all you that have started a church is this: How do you know that God wants you to start one? After all, just because there's a need doesn't mean that your the one God intends to fill it. And, if you start one and he didn't want you there, you could really mess up some people's lives. I believe that there are certain people that each one of us are specifically designed by God to meet. One man's ministry may not match every would be saint. So, if you'll all forgive my naivite', how do you know?

[Esaias]

Bumping the thread in case any home missions pastors would like to offer advice or tell their story.

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Bumping the thread in case any home missions pastors would like to offer advice or tell their story.

Nice, thanks! Very good, encouraging thread...

[n david]

Bumping again . . .

[Esaias]

Originally Posted by dellmichaels

Hello all!
I'm new to the site, as well as to the thread. We live in Monessen, PA. There is not an Apostolic church here. I've been preaching now for 12 years, had one unsuccessful pastorate that lasted 6 months in 2004. Learned a lot from it. Have simply tried to be a help in other churches since then. It's easy to look around here and see the need for a church. The question I have for all you that have started a church is this: How do you know that God wants you to start one? After all, just because there's a need doesn't mean that your the one God intends to fill it. And, if you start one and he didn't want you there, you could really mess up some people's lives. I believe that there are certain people that each one of us are specifically designed by God to meet. One man's ministry may not match every would be saint. So, if you'll all forgive my naivite', how do you know?

Matthew 9:37-38 KJV Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; (38) Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Right after telling them to pray for the Lord to send laborers into the harvest, Jesus commissions them to do just that - go into the harvest and work for the Lord.

Seems to me there is plenty of work to go around. So rather than waiting for that special someone to show up, seems it would be better to put your hand to the plow and don't look back.

I have learned that it isn't about 'starting a church', but about making disciples. If you can make disciples, they will BE the church.

[Amanah]

My former Pastor was an unusual man. He spent hours in fasting and intercessions. He was a great soul winner in the church he was a part of before he started one of his own. When he received a call from God to start his own church, his pastor gave him confirmation, prayed for him and sent him off. (independent churches)

He came to the city he was called to and began the church with street outreach and home bible studies, He taught others how to teach and reach, fast and pray.

They would go to the beach, Pastor would play his guitar to attract people, and talk to them about Jesus.

When the church grew, they rented the women's club. That is where I met them, when they had about 20 people. Pastor would always spend Sat in prayer fasting and praying and seeking God for a message for us. He wrote his own songs and sang them to us from the pulpit.

Our order of the service was this:
-pre service prayer (an hour before each service)
-worship & praise (God inhabits the praise of his people)
-Word (soul piercing, anointed preaching)
-response (you responded to the message by going to the altar to pray)

It was rare to have a service that people were not getting the Holy Ghost and/or getting baptized.

eventually, we bought a building, we took turns opening it for early morning prayer, we often had corporate fasts, and all night prayer meetings with signup sheets for when we could fast and when we could pray to make sure that prayer was covered.

We knocked doors, had bus ministry, street outreach in drug infested neighborhoods, and projects. We had to bring food to Sunday school because some of the kids picked up by the bus were hungry, they smelled bad, had lice in their hair, their parents were in prison.

we had visitation follow up, to thank people for coming and teach them a home bible study.

we were trained for outreach.

[consapente89]

Originally Posted by Amanah

My former Pastor was an unusual man. He spent hours in fasting and intercessions. He was a great soul winner in the church he was a part of before he started one of his own. When he received a call from God to start his own church, his pastor gave him confirmation, prayed for him and sent him off. (independent churches)

He came to the city he was called to and began the church with street outreach and home bible studies, He taught others how to teach and reach, fast and pray.

They would go to the beach, Pastor would play his guitar to attract people, and talk to them about Jesus.

When the church grew, they rented the women's club. That is where I met them, when they had about 20 people. Pastor would always spend Sat in prayer fasting and praying and seeking God for a message for us. He wrote his own songs and sang them to us from the pulpit.

Our order of the service was this:
-pre service prayer (an hour before each service)
-worship & praise (God inhabits the praise of his people)
-Word (soul piercing, anointed preaching)
-response (you responded to the message by going to the altar to pray)

It was rare to have a service that people were not getting the Holy Ghost and/or getting baptized.

eventually, we bought a building, we took turns opening it for early morning prayer, we often had corporate fasts, and all night prayer meetings with signup sheets for when we could fast and when we could pray to make sure that prayer was covered.

We knocked doors, had bus ministry, street outreach in drug infested neighborhoods, and projects. We had to bring food to Sunday school because some of the kids picked up by the bus were hungry, they smelled bad, had lice in their hair, their parents were in prison.

we had visitation follow up, to thank people for coming and teach them a home bible study.

we were trained for outreach.

This is great!