When is the best time to invest in a thorough church planter assessment?
Actually, you can invest in the assessment process anytime you want. However, my experience is that doing it too late in the process is even less profitable than doing it too early.
It might be “late” if . . .
- You have come to realize a “church planter” is not being productive on the field after you have invested thousands of dollars to train them and put them at their location.
- You have already publicly commissioned a church planter and promised them your financial support.
- A church planter has a devoted group of followers who already see their closed, sterile, life-less band of believers as God’s only remnant on earth.
It might be a little "early" if . . .
- You just led a stranger to the Lord at the local coffee shop and they want to know “what’s next.”
- You just had an ugly confrontation with a person in your congregation and you have always heard that rebels make good church planters. Besides, it would be nice to NOT have them at your church on Sunday morning. (Note: the “rebel” part may be true, but rebels for Christ are also called to be godly.)
- Someone has not experienced spiritual transformation and they are weak in character, biblically uninformed, and untested in their leadership skills.
Perhaps the BEST time to pursue a church planter assessment is when . . .
- A reputable, Christ-centered person shows themselves to be a leader by taking initiative, especially with people outside the normal context.
- A Christian leader in training expresses interest in the mission of planting new churches and suspects God’s call to that endeavor.
- An experienced Christian leader is burdened with a call from God to plant a church and is looking for God’s opportunity.
Is it time to begin making arrangements for someone in your ministry environment to be assessed as a church planter?
We would love to help. Our Resident Assessment Center uses trained and experienced assessors with a passion for Christ and His Church. Our facilities offer an atmosphere that is comfortable and convenient as we focus on providing the best opportunity for an accurate and reliable assessment. Our assessment process invites, even urges, leaders to include their spouses because they are such an important part of the church planting work. At the conclusion of our evaluation we send you a thorough, written report for the appropriate parties that will not only clarify their potential for church planting, but give the church planter and their coaches suggestions for refinement.
To begin the process, go to the Application page and submit a completed form.
Ron Boehm
NACMI Assessment Coordinator
NACMIBoehm@multiplication-training.org