1. Parenting a New Church
Evangelical Covenant Church: Dave Olson and Larry Sherman

2. Why We
Plant
Churches

4. 38,556 More New Churches Needed in the US just to maintain Christian presence in our nation.

5. 2000 Percentage of Population at
9.1%
Tompkins
10.0%
Otsego
11.1%
Cortland
11.7%
Wayne
11.9%
Queens
12.0%
Livingston
12.1%
Sullivan
12.2%
Greene
12.4%
Saratoga
12.5%
Ulster
12.6%
Saint Lawrence
12.7%
Washington
13.0%
Seneca
13.2%
Suffolk
13.3%
Fulton
New York
13.5%
Putnam
Chenango
13.6%
Madison
Warren
13.7%
Nassau
14.1%
Rensselaer
14.4%
Oswego
14.6%
Jefferson
14.8%
Cayuga
14.9%
Rockland
15.0%
Orleans
Orange
Dutchess
15.3%
Richmond
15.4%
Steuben
15.5%
Tioga
15.6%
Ontario
15.7%
Westchester
16.0%
Herkimer
16.1%
Delaware
Schoharie
16.4%
Columbia
16.5%
Essex
16.8%
Kings
16.9%
Bronx
17.6%
Monroe
Chemung
Albany
18.8%
Onondaga
19.0%
Allegany
19.2%
Oneida
19.5%
Yates
19.6%
Broome
Schenectady
19.7%
Franklin
19.8%
Schuyler
19.9%
Wyoming
20.4%
Cattaraugus
20.6%
Montgomery
21.3%
Clinton
22.4%
Chautauqua
22.9%
Niagara
24.8%
Lewis
26.9%
Erie
27.4%
Genesee
28.2%
Hamilton
0.0% to 14.1%
14.1% to 17.6%
17.6% to 29.2%
New York Counties
2000 Percentage of Population at
Christian Churches
Beige = Higher
Rose = Medium
Blue = Lower

7. New Churches are needed to reach the 84
New Churches are needed to reach the 84.5% who are not in church on any given weekend.

8. New Churches are needed to reverse the decline of Christianity in NY.

9. Impacting More Lives
The Covenant has grown steadily for 14 consecutive years.

10. Attendance in New Churches has fueled the Covenant’s growth
many in new churches are new converts

11. Our Plants Grow Well ECC Plants grow at 25% per year in years 2 – 7.
Ave size after 5 yrs = 238
85% - 90% survival rate

13. Conversions Per 100 Attenders30
Why We Plant Churches
Conversions Per 100 Attenders 18
2003
GLC
2004-6
GLC
This graphic illustrates the results of repeated studies, which bear out the fact that church planting remains a highly effective means of evangelism today. Lyle Schaller, one of the most respected analysts of church life states that “church planting is the closest thing to a guaranteed method of outreach.”

14. Parented Churches Do Best
Parent: 1 church provides people and finances to help another church start.
Partner: 2 or more churches assist with the launch of a new church
Pioneer: no churches help – denomination sends in a planter who may or may not have a core
Community-Based: a planter who has extensive networks in the community.

16. What Happens To A Church When It Parents?

17. **The same qualities that would cause your church to want to plant a church are the same qualities that will cause your church to grow.
**The same qualities that would cause your church to not be interested in church planting are the same qualities that may keep your church from growing.

18. Qualities needed from a parent church:
.Vision
.Faith
.Giving Spirit
.Sacrificial Attitude
.Wisdom

19. In an evangelical denomination, 21 churches parented new church in the last 10 years.
Here were the results:
The parent churches grew by an average 24.89% in attendance (12814 to 16003) from the time of parenting until the present (this averaged 5.5 years).
When the new churches were included in the parent church's present attendance, the growth rate per church was 80.05%, or 14.49% per year.
Of the 21 parent churches, 3 declined in attendance, 17 increased and 1 stayed the same. In all three that declined, the daughter churches did very well, so much so that the growth rate for these parenting churches with their daughters was 65%, 81% and 194%!
4. The new churches averaged 236 after 5.5 years (very good for a new church). They received an average core group of 48 adults and children from the parent church.

20. How does a Church begin Thinking about Parenting a New Church?

21. How Was Your Church Was Started??
If your church is like most:
it was a risky venture;
a strong spiritual passion led the founders to do it;
it took a lot of sacrifice and work;
it may have been the most important spiritual milestone in their lives;

22. Every Church has a Beginning
Genesis 1
God causes life & growth
“Be fruitful & multiply … each according to its kind”
Health causes growth
Growth leads to reproduction
Reproduction causes species growth & challenges parents to further growth

23. Quote
“Every church contains the seed for other churches. The local church was meant to reproduce itself over and over again. As a healthy plant forms seeds that when planted bring forth other plants, so healthy churches form seeds that produce other churches. There is a price to be paid for the planting of that seed. But there is a far greater price to pay if the seed is not planted”
Keith Biely (1981) Missionary Alliance

24. The Bible Encourages It
“You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Most churches are good at “Jerusalem” and the “Ends of the Earth”
We must also expand the kingdom to “Judea” – people like us and “Samaria” – near-by people who are less like us.
We do this by church planting in communities nearby and with people groups who need the Lord.

25. What have been the spiritual results of your church since its founding?
People who Became Christians??
Children Taught about Jesus??
Marriages Saved??
Acts of Compassion??
God Worshipped??
Missionaries Sent Out??
Pastors raised up from your church??

26. If You Could Start a New Church,
and It Would Not Negatively
Affect the Ministry of Your Church,
Would You Do It?

27. What a Parent Church Does
Pray
People: 5-10% of Parent Church
Fishing Lisence
Mission-Minded people for core
Referrals of those who are seeking
We plant new chs to REACH People for Jesus
Participation in Outreach Events & Help with Previews & Preparatory Worship
“Parts is Parts” – Equipment
Phinances – a third to a half of the support for the new church.

28. GR Example – Other things they’re doing in Parenting a Latino Church
Meeting with Church Staff – mutual blessing, communication, prayer, planning
Liason for building usage
Facilities – as negotiated with FCC:
Office space
Space for 4-stage Launch & Outreach Events
Core Group Development: July – Oct
Preview (monthly worship) in phase 2, Nov – Jan
Preparatory (weekly worship) in phase 3: Feb…
Launch (weekly worship) at FCC or elsewhere starting April or Sept ‘07

29. A Process for Parenting

30. Checklist for a Parent Process
.Meet With Church Leaders - e.g. "How Your Church Was Started"
.Individual Life Transformation Stories - e.g. "God Knew I Would Never Go Unless"
."Church Planting Done Well" Stories - e.g. " _____________ "
."Gentle Leaning" - Often For 2 To 3 Years
."Spiritual" Peer Pressure
Address Legitimate Fears, Concerns, Hopes And Dreams

34. Prayer Proceeds and Permeates the Process:
Area Covenant Leaders Praying for Steven Faulk & M-6 Plant 10/05

35. South of M-6 & 131 Between Kenowa Byron Center
Identify the target area or target group.
Byron Center

37. Tomas Ivens – Esperanza Covenant Church, signing the Covenant Agreement. Parented by First Covenant.

38. One Last Word
“Every church ought to say to itself, ‘we are part of a chain… we owe our birth to somebody else. We want to continue this chain of blessing. We don’t want the family of God and the spiritual reproductive process of planting to end with us’ ”
Adapted from Win Arn