The single most important factor contributing to the success of a New Church Plant is Leadership.
New Mexico Annual Conference
of the United Methodist Church
SCHOOL FOR NEW CHURCH PLANTERS
The goal of this training is to provide a pool of pastors capable of being appointed to plant a new church. The program will involve a combination of sending pastors to national events and hosting events in the Annual Conference that bring in recognized experts in the area of New Church Development. The program will consist of 3 required training events per year including the School of Congregational Development. Five pastors will be named to begin the initial training at the national events. Locally hosted events would be expanded to include 20-30 pastors and laypersons. Senior pastors of larger churches would be one of the targets of the local training events as we seek to develop parent churches.
Candidates who enter the training program will have passed a Discernment Process aimed at selecting pastors with the appropriate gifts and skills for New Church Planting. These pastors should have a successful track record with at least one good appointment behind them. Criteria in this manual and in the recently released New Church Development Manual (pg. 129-135) can aid in selecting appropriate leadership. In general these characteristics should be evident:
They demonstrate initiative and the ability to manage their time without supervision and need little structure.
They have a history of starting new things. (business, programs, etc.)
They have a track record of recruiting people to serve on a team.
They have the ability to determine the most important tasks, which must be done, and the focus to accomplish them.
They are comfortable with chaos and starting from scratch.
They know their strengths and weaknesses and can build a team around themselves to build on the strengths and compensate for the weaknesses.
Their desire to plant a church flows from a desire to help people meet, know and serve Jesus; not because they can’t get along in an existing church or because they are looking for a career change.
They are not easily discouraged nor are they quick to give up.
They tend to be described by many of the following words: independent, entrepreneurial, maverick, driving, obsessive, hard-working, action-oriented, decisive, confident, self-starter, optimistic, and relational.
Getting Started
For the 2005-2006 Appointment year the training events will be:
One of the Church Multiplication Training Center’s Boot Camps. Multiple dates are available
"First 180 Days of a New Church Start" seminar offered by the Bishop Rueben Job Center for Leadership Development. Date TBA
School of Congregational Development, August 3-8, 2005 in Dallas, TX
Q: Does being trained as a New Church Pastor guarantee that I will be appointed to start a New Church?
A: No. Attending the training events makes you eligible for appointment as a new church pastor but does not guarantee your appointment. The training will benefit you in your current appointment and is paid for by the New Church Development Committee.
