21 Things I Learned the Hard Way....(church planter-home missions)

I wish so much someone would have handed a list like this to me before we ventured into the "Home Missions" church planting period of our lives. But now that I lived through it, I feel it is important for me to provide a list for others who may want to learn from my mistakes. Note: My husband and I entered this venture as a team, we both were divinely called of God at a conference in 1992 at Because of the Times, but it was not until 1996 that we were given permission to begin on our own. We both worked (or were in FT college) during these years, we started with no one but our two children aged 12 and 5 (our youngest was born three years after we began) We were thankfully granted $100 a month from our home district. We were not under the sponsorship of the full CFC program. My writing may seem a bit negative, but as many rough memories as I have, I have WONDERFUL memories and our children have been called by God into the ministry and have accepted the call. Here's the list: 1. If people reject your attempts to reach them for Jesus, don't cry your eyes out; it is not YOU they are rejecting. This is not about you, some people even rejected Jesus...keep your head up and keep on reaching out with the Word. Know who called you to do this work, HE will sustain you. 2. People are not looking for talent, they are looking for salt, be as salty* as you can be...pray and get your confidence from God. Don't use maniputaion, guilt or coersion of any kind to get people to come to Bible Studies or service. God will speak to their hearts. 3. When someone is going to be baptized, don't encourage them to have ALL their relatives there. Being buried with Christ is a very personal and spiritial experience and it is not meant to be a social event. If they do want to come, that's great, but often the focus may shift to them instead of the baptism. 4. Don't bribe people to come to church; whatever you use to get people to church will have to be continued and that is unreasonable. Be salty*, be on fire; that will draw them for the right reasons. "Ye are the salt of the earth". 5. Don't sacrifice all your family and relaxation time for the church. Your family will get bitter and in the end it won't make the church stronger. You can get burnt out. I remember vividly rushing home from a much needed break only to find that only ONE lady showed up for our ladies meeting. I was so needing that time away. 6. Don't try and become the "all and in all" to the new converts; they will become dependant on you instead of Jesus and His Word. You may feel obligated to have extra serivces in order to keep them out of trouble. DON"T! 7. Never use your home for a homeless shelter. Keep your home as an oasis from the outside world. Believe me, I KNOW what I am talking about in this regard. We did open the church for people to stay in at times. 8. There is nothing as powerful as anointed teaching and preaching. Make the focus of your church the WORD and it will draw people to God. 9. The people that take the most energy and time will hurt you the most and slap you in the back. If you bail someone out of jail, you most likely will not see that person again in a short time. Don't hand out cash unless it is absolutely necessary. Give groceries cards or hotel nights if necessary, not cash! 10. Children are precious and your sincere love and care for them will NEVER be fruitless. Try not to overstimulate them or give them too many prizes or treats. Small prizes are great, and the best prizes are when you give them your attention and appropriate affection. The wildest children are often the ones who listen closest to your words...you would just never know it. Many kids come to Sunday School truly hungry, so provide a healthy snack for them. 11. Call people before you pick them up, you will save yourself a lot of frustration and dissappointment if you make sure they ARE ready before driving far to get them for service. 12. Focus on getting new people to ONE service a week to begin with. The same service. They will develop a habit, then add other meetings. 13. When you do finally get a vacation, don't call home for your messages. I totally ruined a vacation once when I called home and listened to my messages. A certain lady who always had so much drama in her family "dumped" on me all her cares and I worried about all that for days instead of relaxing. 14. God will provide for your finances. In all the years of home missions only one month did we have to pay the rent for our church building ourselves. It may have been at the last minute, but the money came in. 15. Don't borrow money for the church. Just ask for the Lord to provide and He will, and if he doesn't, be patient. This is not about our pride, ASUZA street was in an old warehouse/barn type building. It's the power and presence of God that people need.... "silver and gold have I none, but such as I have", remember those words? 16. Never ask someone to teach Sunday school or do children's work unless you are absolutley sure they are qualified. I had a lady teach once that I thought I could trust and she put her hands around the throat of one of our active kids. I came back in just in time to avert a huge problem. 17. Be supportive at all times to each other (if you are a married couple). It is easy to take our frustrations out on each other. Take your heartaches to the Lord...he will calm you and renew your strength. Show extra love to your spouse and children. And always make sure you get your children to district events for them with other kids...it will be a sacrifice, but your kids need fellowship where they can just relax and have fun. (Our daughter began teaching SS at age 12-we had no other teachers). And make sure you make it to district or national conferences...you will really need it. 18. Delegate as many jobs as possible to others. People like to help the church grow, it's healthy and it's the right thing to do. Never put someone in charge of leadership that has not been tested though. And when you ask someone to shovel the snow and turn on the heat but they show up late or not at all, just be patient, don't get bitter. Training takes time. 19. Give a call to your (Pastor-mentor) now and then, even if they don't call you, call them or email them. We need each other. Take direction and advice. Don't get hurt by harsh comments that are made by others. The enemy wants us to feel alientated and alone. Be strong; keep communication open with others. 20. Always make sure children and youth have proper supervision. Years of hard work can be lost by a few moments of carelessness. 21. When you have a victorious service, brace yourself for a spiritual attack...just expect it and stay prayed up...don't get haughty...stay calm in Jesus' peace. And when you have an attack, don't assume that you are washed up and worthless...just hang in there. Victory is on the way. We give our joys and sorrows to the Lord. We just never put down our sword, never! And rememeber that it is such an honor to be called by God to do a work for Him. Whether you have great success or small success, you are working for the best BOSS ever, and nothing goes unnoticed by our Saviour. He sees it all. *to be salty (to me) means to be full of the the Holy Ghost and power-to be on fire for God.

Your Resume' - to get hired- working for God

So many of us have had to develop a resume' or a portfolio for various job-related or educational-related reasons. We compile a list of our trainings and our skills; our employment history etc. I wonder, if God was "hiring" to work for HIM, if I would be qualified? Here are a few things on an average resume': name,address,phone,objective,certifications,experience,relevant interests,education. Jesus told the men on the seashore simply, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19. FOLLOW him....that's all he requires...I'm pretty sure He provides on-the-job training. It doesn't matter your name, where you live, your objective, certifications, experience, relevant interests nor education; He will take you on and train you, IF you "follow after HIM".