5 Things No One Tells You About Church Planting

Bethany DuVal • Mar 16, 2016

In the days leading up to the 50th Super Bowl, football experts across the U.S. made their predictions known to the media. But Zach Harrod was probably the only one making public predictions in Prague — and hoping it would help him plant a church.

Step into the ministry of church planting, and God is bound to surprise you with the directions He takes you. Around the world, missionaries have found themselves befriending acrobatic rock dancers, painting Bible stories in the park, working as baristas, using fish to grow tomatoes and, yes, making TV appearances as one of the few coaches for American football in Prague.

But no matter the strategy, many church plants look strikingly similar. So we sat down with a few TEAM missionaries to find out what church planting is and learn a few things you might be surprised to learn about it.

1. A Church Planter Never Gets to Stop Asking, “Where Does God Want Me to Serve?”

When most of us think of missionaries determining their ministry location , we think of what country they’ll serve in and leave it at that. In reality, the question of location is a constant in a church planter’s career.

david and kathy north team philippines

David and Kathy North have served as missionaries for over three decades, often in places they would have never expected. Photo courtesy of the Norths.

Kathy and David North have planted churches in the Philippines for 30 years, but their original plan was to work among Muslims in Indonesia.

“We would have never chosen the Philippines because we had heard the Philippines was a Christian nation,” Kathy said.

But TEAM asked the Norths to wait in the Philippines for their visas to Indonesia, and while they ministered there, they realized many Filipinos believed the Bible was true, but had no idea what it said. Since then, the Norths have worked with five church planting teams, which meant moving to new communities and learning new languages.

Most recently, Filipino church leaders asked them to put a focus on the Philippines’ professional sector , rather than the poor, because it’s easier for the gospel to trickle down than to filter up in that society. The simple shift affects everything from where they live to what language they speak at church.

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2. Planting a Church is Way More Than Handing Out Tracts and Leading Bible Studies.

Before you can invite people to church, you have to build relationships. But much like location, the strategy for this might be different with every church you plant. For experienced church planters, the need for flexibility (and humility) is no surprise .

“People come and they say, ‘I can do this, I’ve done this, I’ve have all this training,’” said Steve Niles, a missionary to France. But “it doesn’t always transpose from an American context to a foreign context.”

Even after 37 years in the same country , Steve and his wife, Donna, put a priority on doing research at the library and talking with local people to see what will be truly effective.

Their last city, Annecy, is known for its beauty and artistic community, so they began holding “artistic afternoons,” with painting, performances and other activities. The eventual result was a church with an orchestra, regular skits during the service and artistic visuals. Now, in Aix-les-Bains, they’re putting more focus on academics by tutoring children and holding English club for adults.

As they reach out to the upper class, the Norths’ team members have started a basketball league, joined the local school’s PTA and are looking at how they can make connections with the community college.

And in Prague, Harrord splits his time between working as an assistant pastor and coaching three American football teams. The latter has given him chances to make TV appearances and even share bits of his testimony on a national level.

“I feel like, as a missionary and a pastor, I need something that’s natural, that I am proficient at. … It sort of builds up some credibility and some capital,” Harrod said. “People know that I’m in it for the long haul, that I’m committed.”

3. Discipleship Begins Before Salvation.

zach harrod church planting team

A football career at an American university prepared Zach to coach the Prague Lions, where he leads the players on the field and off. Photo by TEAM.

“For me, discipleship begins the moment I meet somebody, whether they’re a believer or not,” Harrod said. “So all my guys [on the teams], whether they’re interested, not interested, whatever, they’ve been discipled since the moment they met me.”

At training camps, Harrod leads players in 10-15 minute “quiet times” of reflection, and he says that even the act of apologizing, in a culture where that’s seen as a sign of weakness, can create a teaching moment.

In France, a new believer, Guillaume, asked Steve what to do about his live-in girlfriend. He knew it was wrong, but he believed leaving her after living as a married couple would be like getting a divorce. So the team invited Guillaume’s girlfriend to join a discipleship group, and gradually, she realized her need for a Savior. The now “equally yoked” couple got married in August.

4. The Exit Plan Can Start as Early as Discipleship.

As church planters build relationships, doors are opened for what the Norths call the “collecting” phase: gathering people into a Bible study setting. And it’s at this point that planters also start training local Christians to take long-term control of the church.

It may seem premature to think about leaving just as things are getting started, but it’s important that new Christians have time to think about and prepare for eventually leading the church themselves.

steve donna nile church planting team

Steve and Donna Niles plant churches in France with the intention of raising up a national pastor to lead as soon as possible. Photo by TEAM.

At a previous church plant, Steve says, people sometimes looked to him as sort of “an apostle,” depending on him over their pastor. So from the beginning of their plant in Annecy, “we installed the fact that I am there to get them to the point of having a French pastor, and my job is not to stay and pastor the church.”

As local believers grow and learn their roles, the larger church body can be established. When the Norths see that a church can stand on its own, they hold an official ceremony to pass the baton from David to the new pastor — and then they leave, letting the church leaders do their jobs as God leads.

5. Church Planting is Both Miserable and Glorious.

We think of them as spiritual giants, but church planters face their challenges as human beings. In foreign countries, with a seemingly impossible task, they go through times of loneliness, discouragement, tension between teammates and even questioning their callings.

“I think it’s a lot harder than I think a lot of people would like it to be. … I’ve only remained by the grace of God,” Harrod said.

Just as all those trials finally pay off with a fully-functioning local church, it’s time to move on. Really, church planting is a commitment to constant transition in order to create long-lasting stability for others. But in the end, that is what makes their efforts worthwhile.

“We’re not just starting ministries that end, you know?” said David North. “But we’re establishing something that’s gonna keep going on, hopefully till the Lord returns.”

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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