I’m sitting in a classroom with a group of church planters listening to church plant guru, Kevin York. He really knows his stuff. I’m learning things I wish I knew twenty-five years ago. Would have saved me a lot of pain.

Here are some thoughts from the Every Nation Church Planter’s Boot Camp:

Prerequisites – PERSONAL FOUNDATIONS
Don’t even attempt to start a church without having spiritual disciplines, personal integrity, living faith, balanced priorities, solid theology, and a healthy marriage.

Growing from 0 to 100 requires PEOPLE SKILLS
Jump-starting a new church plant is about people, not programs and facilities. If you don’t like people, better find another career.

Growing from 100 to 250 requires MINISTRY SKILLS
Preaching and public ministry skills are the keys to this phase of growth. Larger crowds demand a higher level of communication, discipleship, and preaching skills. Communications skills can be learned, so if you are not a good communicator and you want to grow larger than 100, start learning.

Growing from 250 to 2000 requires LEADERSHIP SKILLS
To lead a really large church, you will have to develop greater leadership skills including high-level vision casting, team building, organizational management, strategic planning, and delegation.

Growing from 2000 and beyond requires TRUST
It is possible to grow a church to 2000 and still be a hands-on controlling leader. But leading a church beyond 2000 requires trust, delegation, and an empowering leadership style (according to my really smart friend, Ed Stetzer).