10 Mistakes Made by New Church Starts

OK, so I've read back over my blog posts, and they seem a little long and not-too-frequent. So, my new goal is to shrink down the size of the posts and make them more frequent.

The past couple days, I've been reading a book loaned to me by Neal McGlohon called "Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts," by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum. It doesn't look all that great on the outside (kinda like alot of those 'for dummies' books), but it's been awesome so far! Griffith and Easum have both planted multiple churches and are now church planting coaches, so you can trust their experience and knowledge.

Most church planting and leadership books are kinda long and have tons of good info, but they are tough to digest and apply quickly. This book isn't like that at all. It's got the 10 mistakes, tips to avoid them, and even some advice for church planting coaches to offer their planters. Cool touch.

Anyway, I thought I'd review this book by listing the first 5 mistakes (see, shorter posts!) and one descriptive sentence for each mistake. If you have questions, just holla or buy the book!

1. Neglecting the Great Commandment in Pursuit of the Great Commission. "Are you a church planter trying to love God, or a lover of God trying to plant a church?"

2. Failing to take opposition seriously. "If you want to plant a church, you will face, and must be prepared for, spiritual warfare." (emphasis added by the authors)

3. A love affair with one's fantasy statement blinds the planter to the mission field. "God doesn't baptize the details or the strategy, only the goal; God honors only those planters who love the people more than their fantasy church!"

4. Premature launch. Launching a church's weekly public services is like having a baby--it shouldn't be rushed out of the womb until it can survive on its own.

5. Evangelism ceases after the launch. "How often do you provide events to which your people can invite their friends to 'come and see'?"

The last 5 most common mistakes are coming up in the next post.