Church Planting and The Power of Team

When we lived in Nashville we attended a church that was a recent plant. We met in a movie theatre and every week had to do the hard work of setting up and tearing down all the music and kids gear. During those years I was a traveling musician so when I was home on Sunday I got to observe how challenging it was to plant a church. Oftentimes I would turn to my wife and say “The last thing in the world I would ever want to do is plant a church.” God has a good sense of humor as I sit here in Madison, WI five years later with the sole purpose of planting The Vine Church.

Here is the difference between what I said back in Nashville and how I feel today. I would never (I should probably never say never) plant a church BY MYSELF but the difference for me in Madison is that we are planting AS A TEAM. I can’t imagine shouldering the multiple burdens that come fast and furious all by myself but there is great power in team.

As any good leader will tell you, it is lonely. But there is power in team. Every pastor has many bad days. If you are the only one leading the charge who is there to pick you up? I am so glad that we are starting our church with three guys right off the bat.

There is a reason that Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs. There is a reason that Paul longed for community and companionship with Timothy and Mark (2 Tim. 4:11). There is a reason that Paul commanded Titus to establish “elders” (see plural, Titus 1:5). God knows that there is great wisdom in being unified with other brothers as we lead the church in the mission he has given us.

I wonder how church planting would change if an organization like Acts 29 made it mandatory that a church planter had some type of team established BEFORE he was enabled to move forward as an Acts 29 church planter. Not that a pastor would have to have another equal in terms of leadership weight, but at least have one other man with whom to confide in, lean on, be accountable to, and help shoulder the burdens. I think there would be great wisdom in this. I have heard too many stories of solo pastors trying to plant churches that crash and burn because of some symptom of isolation.

All this to say, I am very excited about the team we have established for The Vine. Certainly are relationships will be tested but I would much rather be doing this as a team and having to work through the challenge of different styles and personalities in leadership than being alone and bearing the weight of the church all by myself.