Behind the Scenes in Starting a Church
This is a longer than usual blog post... but one of my pals, Wayne Northup, is launching a church in New Orleans next Sunday and I CAN'T WAIT!!!
I don't think I'll ever forget the weeks leading up to the official launch of Great Lakes Church. It was a surreal experience. All of the planning, praying, stressing, mobilizing people and freakin' hard work FINALLY began paying off.
It still does.
It pays off with stories of how God brings hope, healing and forgiveness to those who need it most.
This will be the story of Saints Community Church (launching October 2nd).
I talked with Wayne this morning and asked him to give me some bullet point answers to specific questions. His answers will give you a behind the scenes look into what it takes to launch a church.
Why New Orleans?
- 15 years ago I visited the city of New Orleans and somehow the city got inside of me. I can't escape the gut feeling that this is what I'm supposed to do. I'm convinced if we can raise the level of hope in this city, it will raise the level of hope in the entire region.
What best prepared you for launching a church?
- Reading almost 50 books on church planting (one of the top books was Nelson Searcy's, "Launch").
- Surrounding myself with "coaches" who can speak into my life.
What have been your biggest challenges?
- Finding a facility to meet in. It was a nightmare trying to find a place with the right location, the right amount of seating, good parking, etc.
- Mobilizing the launch team to PERSONALLY invite people and not just hope people show up because of advertising.
What personal investments did you make to launch the church?
- Moved to New Orleans and immediately took a $1500 a month pay cut (forcing my family and I to live on a very tight budget).
- Incredibly long and challenging work hours.
- Leaving a city and environment where I was known and loved... to a city where I'm completely unknown.
There you have it. It's not a detailed look, but it's a quick look at the early days of a church. Let's be praying for Wayne, his wife Kristi, and their entire launch team (45 people!) as they begin watching the dream unfold.
If you want a detailed look of their journey, you can download Wayne & Kristi's book by clicking here.
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