Planter Development

Introduction | Vision & Strategy | Self-Assessment | Planter Development
Planting Opportunities | Current Plants

How the Eastern District Discovers and Develops Church Planters

Most of our District planters have either grown from within an existing church or have a sense that God is calling them to minister in our district area and make initial contact with our church development team (e-mail office@edaefca.org or pjohnson@edaefca.org). Once initial contact is made, a relationship develops as the potential planter follows a system we call ACTS.

A = Assessment — In order to help a prospective church-planter determine if they should plant and where, we use a system of assessment that includes the following steps:

• Take the Self-Assessment.
• Resume collection — please send us a recent resume.
• Phone and e-mail interviews to determine fit with the EFCA that may lead to a request that a church planter application to be filled out.
• Online pre-assessment — go to www.efcastartchurches.org/step-one-self-assessment and complete steps 3, 4, 7, 10 and 11 listed there. These are either free or can be purchased for a modest fee. Send us the results. If you have completed any of these within the last two years there is no need to repurchase them for this exercise. Just send in the results.
• Spiritual gifts analysis — if you know your gift-mix, send us those results. If you are not sure, you can take an analysis using step nine on www.efcastartchurches.org/step-one-self-assessment and send us the results
• Ministry philosophy — send us a paragraph or two about your philosophy of ministry as it relates to church planting, evangelism, discipleship and leadership development.
• Assessment interview — once the above steps are taken, a team of two or three assessors will conduct a 3- to 4-hour assessment interview with the planter and their spouse. This interview will ask behavioral questions about past experiences in work and ministry. Out of this interview a score is generated and recommendations given concerning the planter.

C = Coaching — We will seek to match each planter with a coach (usually an approved pastor or seasoned planter) to walk with them throughout the planting process. E-mail pjohnson@edaefca.org to request the Eastern District Church Planting Reading List. A quarterly report will be sent to the District office to help us know how best to encourage and pray for you (e-mail pjohnson@edaefca.org to request the quarterly church plant report form).

T = Training — An integral part of the EFCA church planting ministry includes Church Planter Bootcamp Training. This is offered as a five-day process throughout the year at various locations. See www.efcastartchurches.org/boot-camp to determine the next available bootcamps. As a part of Bootcamp Training, you will develop a Church-Planting MAP (Ministry Action Plan). There are other opportunities for church planting training that we will let planters know about from time to time.

S = Support — We offer support for our church-planters through area church partnerships and mother/daughter partnerships. When available in the Eastern District EFCA Foundation, there may be funding available to assist planters and plants with training or ministry for the first two years.

The Eastern District does not encourage independent planters trying to plant a church in an autonomous vacuum from other churches. Therefore, once approved as a planter with the Eastern District, we will work with the planter as they work to raise support in a variety of ways, including: seeking out a mother church who desires to plant a church and will call the planter to be their planting pastor; giving introduction to other EFCA congregations in the cluster area of the plant target and encourage them to partner with the planter in spiritual, emotional, physical and even economic partnership; and offering a letter of introduction that the planter can use with those friends and family who are considering financial support. We encourage our church planters to either attend a Body-Builders training event conducted by Navigators or to work through Bob Dillion's book People Raising to learn how to raise financial support. Early on, if not in a mother/daughter situation, it is possible that a planter can use the Eastern District office as a short-term base for donation collection. However, we strongly encourage the planter and plant to get their legal affairs in order quickly, including incorporating as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation, to establish their own treasurer and financial secretary, and then to set up a checking account. Once the church plant has established these, they may receive their own donations and keep their own records for tax-giving. Email laura.brice@efca.org to request legal forms for 501 (c)(3) incorporation and to speak to her office about the process for becoming legally incorporated. For assistance in writing an EFCA compatible Constitution and Bylaws, contact the Eastern District office at office@edaefca.org for a sample Constitution and Bylaws.

In some cases, planters may need to be bi-vocational. While we do not encourage that as a first resort, because of the time commitment away from ministry, we do understand that in some cases taking on a second job is a reality. However, we do teach that the best practice is to quickly raise-up and teach your core group sound stewardship and giving principles as a means for quickly building your base of support so that you can be full-time in ministry as quickly as possible.

Eventually, as the core group grows to at least 20 adults, the planter will be encouraged to apply to become an official Eastern District plant (contact the District office at office@edaefca.org or pjohnson@edaefca.org and ask for a Church Plant application). At that time, legal issues can be worked on and the core group can launch the plant.

Throughout the planting experience there will be opportunities to prepare the leadership for working within the EFCA or for the pastor to be trained for credentialing. This can occur though the EFCA Gateway theological training. Finally, when the new church becomes self-propagating, self-governing and self-supporting, the church plant leadership can apply to become a full status church with the EFCA (contact the Eastern District office at office@edaefca.org to request the Full Status Church application and Requirements for Full Status Church document). It is the hope that every plant will not only become a full status church, but will then be led to reproduce themselves by planting their own EFCA church.