Pitfalls in Church Planting Click | View Series

Almost every lead pastor I know deals significantly with loneliness. I think the struggle is even more difficult for church planters. The move from staff person to lead pastor is huge, and the move from layperson to lead pastor is even greater. All of a sudden you find yourself at the top of an organization, and the people closest to you either work for you or spiritually depend on you. This puts you in a very strange social environment. Unless you go into the church planting process ready for this, it can really be an issue.

The Pressure

Recent statistics from the Schaeffer Institute show that up to 70 percent of pastors regularly fight depression. The same study asked 808 pastors about the quality of their marriage, and 77 percent of them said their marriage was “not good.” I believe most of these issues would be solved if pastors lived in the biblical community we urge our people to find.

What many pastors don’t realize is the social toll this new life will take on them and their family. Most pastors work alone, and this is especially true for church planters. "In 70 percent of the churches in America, the pastor is the only full-time staff person. In this environment the pastor is often expected to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient," stated Thom S. Rainer, founder of The Rainer Group, and recently elected president-candidate of LifeWay Christian Bookstores.

Make Community a Priority

Church planters and pastors must make biblical, life-giving community a real priority. Proverbs 18:1 says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” As pastors, we cannot buy the lie that we don’t need the community our people need. Our enemy, the Devil, loves it when church planters/pastors isolate themselves. We become easy prey when we try to stand alone. Our wives and children become easy prey when we try to make them stand alone. Build a strong community for your family.

To be continued.

Vintage Church:

In this book, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears discuss the essentials of what it means to be a biblical church. Find out more.