CULTIVATING A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT PATH 1 PARTNERSHIP MISSISSIPPI DISCOVERY WEEK

Path 1 is in the Business of “Selling” New Church Starts

If Church Planting were like building a watch…

We want to move beyond a collection of great parts, into an effective system

Plant Equip Multiply Find New Church Start Process

So, what does YOUR system need to look like to plant new churches?

Exploration Discovery Wins & Foundations Review Break Loose! Path 1 Annual Conference Contextualized Partnerships

We understand that conference staff persons are overwhelmed and under resourced!

Partnering with Path 1 provides adjunct staff to work along side conference staff.

YOU drive the vision and goals of this Path 1 partnership.

Path 1 seeks to work along side of you to reach more people, more young people, and more diverse people.

Camp Wesley Pines Event Regional Gatherings One on one conversations Focus Groups Review and Strategic Planning DISCOVERY WEEK OVERVIEW

Any questions?

What We Are Learning About the MS Conference

Demographic Analysis for identifying New Church Locations for the Mississippi Conference January 2009 Lewis Center for Church Leadership

increasing the number of new church starts improving the success of new church starts Church planting is critical to restoring growth to the United Methodist Church in the United States. The number of new starts in the Mississippi Conference has been modest The Lewis Center suggests…

But the success rate of these new church starts has been high. Across all conferences, it is typical for just under half of new church starts to remain small, with an average worship attendance (AWA) of 125 or less. This is true in Mississippi as well. However, the Mississippi Conference’s ability to start new churches that achieve 500+ AWA is much better than of other conferences.

These new church starts have helped offset losses in conference wide worship attendance. In last 10 years, for example, overall worship attendance went down 4.5 percent. Without the new churches, attendance would have declined by 10%. But as in most other conferences, the level of new church starts has been insufficient to produce net gains in attendance and membership.

Some Mississippi New Church Plants

There are distinct areas of growth forecast for Mississippi. The size of population growth numbers is not huge so decisions should be made carefully. In some areas of growth, alternatives to the traditional model of new church development may be appropriate: relocation of an existing church: second worship site by an existing congregation: redevelopment existing churches to reach a new population group. Conclusions and Recommendations

The Mississippi Conference has a track record of being able to reach African Americans at a rate higher than most conferences. So the number of areas where African American growth is projected is an encouraging sign for diversity growth in the conference. The Mississippi Conference desperately needs more mid-size and large churches with average worship attendance of or 350+ respectively.

We invite small membership churches to create “new places for new people” and learn to start new ministries in our faithful smaller churches. We will start churches with the reasonable expectation and stated goal of averaging 200 or more in worship within 5 years, reaching people currently not served by existing congregations. Therefore…

Four were planted prior to 2007 All but one are on-going Average attendance of 94 for 11 new starts compared to 65 for established 1,142 churches that’s a 69% increase! 13 NCS in Last Ten Years

Ten years ago, spending on new starts was around $333,000 a year. In 2009, spending on new church starts was $237,500. These figures do not include salary support.

Creating a culture of new church starts. Financial challenges Less than full time conference staff person in New Church Start position. Some resistant existing churches Hurricane Katrina Recent Economic Recession Some Challenges to Planting New Churches in Mississippi

Why should we start new churches when my church needs major work? Why fixate on total numbers anyway? We need quality. Why spend money on something new when money is now so tight? Getting fuzzy on WHY?

Renewed Commitment to the expressed will of the Annual Conference in Fall 2004 to Plant New Churches. Commitment to build on the 2005 Summit We have numerous potential Partner Churches We have a track record of church planting success Signs of Hope

What else do you want us to know about MS Conference and new church development? What might you add to what has been said? Please have one person record responses from your group Conversation

YOUR FEEDBACK

Regional Meetings…

 Identify high-potential planters  Build relationships with planters  Identify & encourage partner churches Plant Equip Multiply Find New Church Start Process

 Create an Appointment Plan  Encourage Basic Training  Help Select Coaches Plant Equip Multiply Find New Church Start Process

 Establish & Lead District Committees  Participate in Benchmarking Process  Consult with Planter and Assessment Team on Second Pastor Appointment Plant Equip Multiply Find New Church Start Process

 Encourage New Churches to Multiply within 10 Years  Encourage Healthy Churches to Multiply Their Good DNA Plant Equip Multiply Find New Church Start Process

Group 1: Find Group 2: Equip Group 3: Plant Group 4: Multiply What pieces are currently in place? What pieces are we missing? Divide In Groups of Four

YOUR FEEDBACK

A WORD ABOUT MULTIPLICATION CULTURE

At the 1939 New York World’s Fair… Checkerboard exhibit… 1…2…4…8… So by the 64 th square, how many…?

50 Feet Deep

20 churches out of 1,142 chose to multiply… And then each church, plus the church they planted, multiplies again within 7 years… But half (571) of the current MS churches go out of business in the next 50 years… WHAT IF….

IF 20 MS CHURCHES COMMITTED TO MULTIPLICATION 2,560 NEW CHURCHES! Total of 3,131 Churches A NET GAIN OF OVER 1900 How many churches would you have in 2060?

Any questions?

CULTIVATING A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT PATH 1 PARTNERSHIP MISSISSIPPI DISCOVERY WEEK