Who Should You Include–and Exclude–From the Launch Team?
Blog Series: Building a Launch Team (part 3)
Doug Foltz
As you build your launch team, how do you know who to include and exclude from your launch team? You may be saying to yourself, What do you mean ‘exclude’? I thought we wanted big launch teams. Yes, you do want a big launch team, but without a few important filters you won’t have a launch team. Instead, you’ll have a group of disconnected people with their own agendas as to what the church should be.
Filter #1 Beliefs
While I don’t think you need to publish a thesis of doctrinal beliefs, you do need to hit the highlights. Where does the church stand on baptism? What role can women have in the church? Do you practice gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues? New churches seem to attract people with doctrinal agendas. I suggest developing a clear and concise summary of your beliefs and walking new people through them. They don’t have to agree with every single one of them, but they do need to support them. For example, if people believe in the gift of tongues and your church doesn’t, you want them to understand that they must practice this belief at home and not in the corporate gathering. They must also understand that recruiting people to their doctrinal beliefs is not part of being on a launch team. If they can’t agree to your beliefs, help them find a different team.
Filter #2 Values
I worked with a church planter who regularly turned away Christians from his team because he had a value of community service. He knew that typically, people first want a worship service, then Bible studies and later they might make time occasionally for service. So this planter flipped the model. In the early days of this church, anyone wanting to be on the team had to serve. Many would immediately ask, “Well, when are we going to start worship services?” He’d politely say that they would have worship services later, but to be a part of the church now, they had to serve. Many chose not to join.
While I don’t recommend this approach for every planter, the point is clear. If you really care about your values, you will build a team that also cares about them. If you just take warm bodies, you may still have a big church, but I guarantee you won’t like it.
Filter #3 Willingness to play in the game.
Launch teams filled with bench players don’t do well.
Early on, develop a list of every ministry team and each role that needs to be filled for that team to thrive. All launch team members must be willing to take on at least one role, usually two or three.A word about non-Christians. I think every launch team should have non-Christians on it. While it may be difficult to see how they pass through the beliefs filter, remember that they simply don’t have an agenda against that set of beliefs. They should be open to your church’s beliefs even if they can’t affirm them in their life yet. Many will gladly latch on to your values and play on the team. Do not make being a Christian one of your filters.
So how do you work the filters? Early on in the life of your church plant, I suggest that you meet one-on-one with each person. Later, you may want to have group meetings where you go through these areas. By the way, I suggest doing this after launch as well. I’d also suggest a launch team covenant. Clearly spell out expectations and the time commitment for being on the team and ask them to sign it.
Below are some questions planters have asked about who should be on the team and my response to each one.
Q: If someone says they have prayed and fasted and are excited to be part of the team, do we take them–even if we have doubts about their readiness and maturity?
A: I’m assuming that you’re praying and fasting about your team members as well. Remember, Jesus prayed for His launch team (Luke 6). So who do you trust more? Your own insight from prayer or theirs? I personally wouldn’t worry about their readiness or maturity. Let everyone play despite their maturity. You just don’t put them in a leadership role, yet. Provide an apprentice/mentor and let them learn. I’d also say that most church planters aren’t ready to plant, let alone lay team members. If you need to tell someone “no,” do it gently.
Q: If I as the church planter want someone to go with me, and they, too, want to go with me, but my sending church doesn’t want them to go–what do we do?
A: That’s a tough one. How much support is the sending church giving to your plant? You need to play within the agreed upon rules with the sending church. I’ve found that it’s best to define those rules up front before vision casting and recruitment begin. You can’t force someone to go to church at a particular place. So if someone really wants to go, they will. I would talk to the leadership of the sending church and let them know that person’s wishes. Let them know that you support their decision, but have been approached by this person and would like their blessing.
Q: Is there something more concrete we can use to determine who should go with us, such as what percent of the sending church should we take?
A: Ralph Moore in his book, How to Multiply Your Church, talked about how in the early days his church would send 20 percent of the church to start a new one. His wife quickly identified the problem. Those who were excited about church planting were the most committed, high-caliber leaders. They were cannibalizing the sending church. Ralph met with a group of leaders from church planting churches that suggested sending 20 to 30. My advice is be careful. Only take those who pass through the filters. Otherwise, you will have 20 to 30 people who want to create a church clone and will wonder why you don’t have a junior high golf ministry and why you keep asking them to serve.
A self-described “church planting junkie,” Doug Foltz serves as director of planter care for Stadia as the director of planter care, where he helps church planters clarify and implement their vision. He stands alongside church planters, leveraging his 15-plus years of church planting experience with more than 50 new churches. In 2004, Foltz moved to Charlotte, N.C., to help plant LifePointe Christian Church. Currently, he lives in a rural town in Illinois and speaks nationwide about church planting. Doug blogs at plantingchurches.org.
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