Tell Your Story More!

Your story should define your calling. It should express your passion. It should articulate your dream. You must understand that stories touch the hearts of people. When you touch the heart, people will join with you to make this new church a reality.

To succeed as a church planter, your new church must have at its foundation a story that drives and directs it day by day. And that story begins with God's story and your story! A compelling story will answer the "Why?" questions and cause others to want to become a part of that story.

Have you written your story? It's never too late. You should be able to do this in one page when you launch your new church. Have you communicated your story? You should be writing letters, articles, blogs, twits, facebooking, etc. every week. Before you launch your church you should have 10 face to face appointments every week sharing your story with someone new! After you launch, be sure you have at least 2 or 3 of these appointments each week.

You are not ready to plant a church until you have written and begun articulating your story. If you've already launched, keep building your story and keep sharing it! Make sure your leaders can tell the story too!

Tell Your Story

Every church planter needs to write and communicate his/her story!

People are drawn to passion and they are moved by stories. Every church planter has a story and they should be communicating that story with passion. To get focused and clear on it, you MUST write it down.

What is your story? Your story should answer the questions:

• Why are you planting a church instead of doing something else?
• Why are you planting in the location that you're planting?
• What has led you to this place?
• What do you hope for/dream of?

Start writing! Start publishing it. Blog it. Tweeter it. Facebook it. Communicate it everywhere - large groups, small groups, one-on-one, everywhere! Tell your story! It's the foundation of your brand!

What Are You Seeing?

There has been a dramatic increase in energy and activity around church planting in the U.S. over the past 5-10 years, which is a good thing. The number of churches being planted in the U.S. has more than doubled in that time, which is also a good thing. Many people are talking about church planting today who would not have entertained the conversation 10 years ago, and there is an abundance of resources available today that were not available a decade ago, which is a VERY good thing! There is a lot to be greatful for as it relates to church planting in the U.S. today.

However, I do have a growing concern. It is appearing to me that an increasing number of new churches are closing. This may or may not be a bad thing. It does cause me to pause and ask the question "What are we doing?"

My hope is that the churches we work with will be sustainable beyond 2-3 years! My hope is that the churches we plant will thrive for at least one generation, and hopefully many more. The biggest challenge I see planters facing is the challenge to achieve the necessary critical mass for sustainability. This is a major focus of our coaching and consulting work. Let me know what you are seeing!

What Are We Teaching Our Kids?

I just got this link from Seth Godin's blog. As you watch this, think about how we are discipling our children. Click here.

Happy New Year!

As I have been reflecting back on 2008 and thinking about where God may be leading us in 2009, a few things are becoming clearer to me than ever before. Our mission at NCI is to empower pastors and church leaders to dramatically increase their missional impact in the world!

Our NCI team is made up of dedicated practitioners, trainers, consultants, and coaches. Our guys - Tom, Paul, Roy, Hal, Phil, Bob (alias MissionAl), Ken, Wally, and our Houston based Hispanic leaders, Moises, Jorge, Jesus, and Maggie, are some of the most wonderful people in the Kingdom! It is a privilege for me to get to interact and co-labor with them.

Our focus is church multiplication and church mobilization. Our dream is to mobilize the church to transform the world.

Thank you to all of our supporters and ministry partners! We are looking forward to a great year this year! Wishing you a very blessed and happy New Year!