Multiply Project helps churches call, equip, and send church planters from within their congregation. Yes, that means there is a church planter in your church. You’re thinking, “You don’t know my church. We can’t find enough people to spend an hour with kids on Sunday morning. How could someone possibly be willing to plant a church?” Have you asked?
God sometimes calls people in extraordinary ways. Moses saw a burning bush. Saul saw a light so bright it blinded him. Compare that to Jesus’ invitation to his disciples, “Come, follow me.” That’s how it began. No burning bush. No bright lights from heaven. Just a simple invitation.
I wonder, has anyone ever invited you to start a church? That’s how church planting started for me. I was having lunch with a mentor. I was a typical frustrated young leader. I told him I thought I could be doing more. Our church could be doing more. God could be doing more. He listened patiently and then invited me to start a church.
On the flip side, have you ever invited someone to start a church? I do it often. Most recently over coffee with a friend. Not everyone says yes. Truthfully, most don’t. That’s ok. My role is to invite. Convincing is up to God.
Here are three keys to inviting people in your church to plant churches. First, you must talk about it publicly. When does an idea in your church become a reality? When it comes up in a meeting? When a decision is made to do it? or when you talk about it on Sunday? If you don’t cast a vision in your church’s primary gathering for people from within your church being sent to start churches, people won’t believe it’s possible.
Then you must also invite people individually. We call it an “I see in you” conversation. It’s an invitation with an explanation. There is something powerful and incredibly affirming when you hear someone describe the skills, talents, gifts, and abilities they’ve seen in you. They’ll thank you even if they don’t say yes to church planting
Most of all, you must do this constantly. Once isn’t enough. Once a year isn’t enough. Once every time they are around you until they are sick of hearing it and tell you – that’s enough. That’s when you know they’ve heard.
Somewhere in there, someone will say yes. It all starts with an invitation.