The Recruitment Factor

The church planting veteran shares 11 insights for expanding the Kingdom through church planters

Tom Nebel

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I remember speaking at a denomination’s conference on improving church planting. They were a positive group with many good attributes and a genuine desire to make Jesus known. Their church planting numbers were weak, as were their recruiting numbers, so I addressed the question of where to find church planters. I was aware that, culturally speaking, this group was not as assertive as some. It seemed to me that they probably weren’t too good at recruiting one another to anything. I teased them, “I’d like someone to come on stage here and try to talk me into anything!” But on a serious note, I summed up my thinking this way: We often ask where to find new church planters, but we ought to be asking how we’re going to deliver them when we find them. Today, with the planting of new works on the minds of more and more people, that statement is truer than ever.

While our job as leaders is not to talk people into doing something they shouldn’t do, I want to talk about improving our recruiting abilities, because this really matters. This is about the Kingdom of God and eternity. Here are some lessons I’ve learned along the way:

• Remember spiritual dependence: The battle is not against flesh and blood. 
• Develop a recruiting team: [Create] a culture where participants “tithe their time to mission.” In your organization, recruiting should be a family matter, shared by everyone, and not left just to the director. Who can help you recruit? Who would represent you and your mission well? Current church planters? Retirees? Who would give time and diligence to playing a role? Prayerfully consider men and women who are eager to see the Kingdom expand, especially those who are doing the work already. A day long or an overnight retreat will create more energy and intentionality than you could muster on your own. What roles are needed, and how will standards be met? 
• Be responsive: Anyone can have a flashy website, but we all know what it’s like to fill out a contact form and be neglected. Implement the 24-hour rule. Any prospective planter who contacts your organization needs a human touch within 24 hours— even if it’s a personal email (not automated) that says someone will contact them more meaningfully very soon. You want your church to be responsive to people’s needs. 
• Present well: Yes, your organization or network should look good on the web, on paper and in person. Stay current. A neglected website betrays a neglected organization. Dated or antiquated information is not permissible. Avoid hype, but present well. 
• Incentivize your constituency: Keep the need for church planters constantly in front of your constituents. Who do they know who could be used by God to plant a new congregation? Everyone knows someone. I regularly sent out a “spotter form” to our district pastors, offering them a $25 bookstore gift card for sending me a live contact. With that simple incentive, we found many church planters. Look for creative ways to do something similar with your community.
• Recruit both husband and wife: Even if your movement only has male pastors, you’re foolish to neglect “half the church” in your recruiting. I bristle at language that says, “We need a guy … .” In contrast, I love it when we refer to the “men and women” in our movement. When I’m talking with a potential male church planter, I will do everything possible to include the wife. “Could we arrange a phone call or meeting when the three of us can be together?” “Would your wife enjoy a call or a meeting with one of the women of our church planting movement?” (That question is always met with an eager “Yes!”) 
• Invite recruits on vision outings or attraction events: A drive through a potential target area and meeting some people along the way, can really open peoples’ eyes to the harvest. An invitation to attend a regular gathering of church planters will also help legitimize and solidify interest. 
• Learn to speed read people: Familiarize yourselves with basic self-understanding tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and the StrengthsFinder, because this will help you understand others and serve them better. Even in the earliest conversations, we can pick up on the type of information that best helps the recruit. Some people need more detail and specifics than others, for instance. It’s easy enough to ask people, “Hey, do you know your Myers-Briggs type? And your top strengths? Or your DISC?” 
• Learn phrases: You and your team will develop your own recruiting vernacular, along with some phrases you’ll regularly use. I’ve got several. When people have legitimate questions, for instance, about how church planting impacts a young family, I will try to refer to someone who has done or is doing it. I often say, “In my experience … .” For those who are motivated by the vision, I find myself using words like “opportunity” and “impact.” The question, “Have you ever thought about planting a church?” is a good one. When potential planters are concerned about the risk of church planting, my response is usually, “Well, I guess it depends on how you measure risk. For some people, like me, it’s less risky than going into an established environment that has been plateaued for a long, long time.” And, when they say they’re trying to figure out how God is speaking to them, I’ve often used humor to relieve the tension by teasing, “Well, in my experience, God often speaks to church planters through me!” 
• Learn to write and draw upside-down: I’m serious about this. So often, recruiting appointments happen with participants across the table from each another. The power of pen and paper is especially true in recruiting. Drawing and writing have an amazing capacity to bring focus and to explain complex concepts.This is a learned skill, and I’ve used these hundreds of times in appointments. Most of the time someone says, “Boy, you write good upside down,” which always brings some usually needed levity into the conversation. 
• Don’t over recruit: Working too hard to recruit someone seldom works out. It’s too easy to over promise and under deliver, and it’s a setup for blame. Potential church planters need to hear about the difficulties, challenges and realities of planting a new church. Often those who have planted say, “It is more difficult, and rewarding than what we had imagined going into it.” The best version of recruiting is a work of the Spirit, with each side feeling the tug of His calling. When a promising recruit doesn’t join you, find space for God’s sovereignty, and trust that the Lord is doing His work His way. 

Exponential speakers Tom Nebel Steve Pike recently released Leading Church Multiplication: Locally, Regionally and Nationally. The book focuses on three areas: foundations for a church planting culture; essential planter support systems; and leader strategies, landmines, and booby traps. Nebel and Pike are also offering the exclusive webinar “Creating a Church Planting Culture” to anyone who purchases the book between now and Sept. 8. Learn more about the webinar here.

CATEGORY:: Church Planting, Featured | TAGS:: church plantng, recruitment, Steve Pike, Tom Nebel