ARE YOU READY TO LAUNCH YOUR FIRST PUBLIC WORSHIP SERVICE

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ARE YOU READY TO LAUNCH YOUR FIRST PUBLIC WORSHIP
SERVICE??????

• Twenty-one questions for your leadership team,
  core group, and parent church to ask before
  launching when you are planning to have 200 in
  your first service

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• 1. Do you have an ongoing intercessory team
  praying for the church planter and family?
• 2. Do you have an established ongoing praying
  ministry in the core group and a strategy to
  develop a praying church?

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• 3. Do you have a well-established and
  communicated vision?
• a. Is there vision casting and communicating to
  convey a clearly defined vision?
• b. Has the core developed a consensus about what
  that preferred future looks like?
• 4. Do you have a well-established and
  communicated set of core values?

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• 5. Do you have a clearly defined mission
  statement?
• 6. Do you have a trained and equipped
  leadership team?
• a. Leadership Team
• 1. Pastor
• 2. Team Leaders
• 3. Team Leader Apprentice/Interns

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• 7. Do you have specific ministry teams?
• a. Worship Team
• 1. Pastor
• 2. Worship Leader
• 3. Instrumentalists
• 4. Ensembles
• 5. Praise Team
• 6. Drama Teams
• 7. Technical and Media Support

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• b. Evangelism Team- Do you have an evangelistic
  strategy in place to reach targeted group?
• 1. Have you completed Demographic/Psychographic
  Studies?
• 2. Have you done an Opinion Poll of the target
  area?
• 3. Have you developed a Prospect list from
  Pre-Evangelism Events?
• 4. Do you have a Strategy to follow up on first
  time guests within 72 hours?

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• c. Childrens Team
• 1. Do you have preschool and child care policies
  in place?
• 2. Do you have trained personnel?
• 3. Do you have immaculate preschool facilities?

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• d. Assimilation and Discipleship Team
• 1. Decision Counselor Ministry
• a. Personnel
• b. Materials
• 2. New Membership Seminar/Ministry
• a. Personnel
• b. Materials
• 3. New Believers Seminar/Ministry

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• e. Ministry and Mission Team
• Pastoral Care
• Mission Involvement
• Mission Education
• Acts of Kindness
• Greeters
• Ushers
• f. Bible Study Team
• Age-Graded Bible Groups
• Special Interest Group

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• 8. Do you have a growing, maturing, core group
  that understands its role and contribution?
• a. Has the core group developed fellowship and
  unity of purpose?
• b. Is the core group committed to lose intimacy
  and identity after launch?
• c. Does the core group have 75 to 100 committed
  and prepared people?

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• 9. Is church planter/founding pastor on field?
• 10. Does church planter have sufficient support
  of the first two years?
• 11. Does the Church Planter have an assigned
  mentor?
• 12. Has the Church Planter completed Basic
  Training?

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• 13. Does the new congregation have a secured
  lease or purchase of site with guarantee of
  meeting place for six months with a minimum
  capacity of 250?

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• 14. Does the congregation have a well-defined
  relationship with parent/sponsoring church or
  churches, local association, the Georgia Baptist
  Convention, and the Southern Baptist Convention?
  Are there written covenants defining
  responsibilities? What about other agencies?
• a. Who will supervise the planter?
• b. Who is principle employer?
• c. How will new congregation relate to the
  parent/sponsoring church or churches?
• d. How will the new congregation relate to the
  associationgt
• e. How will the new congregation relate to the
  state convention?

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• 15. Has the Church Planter met all community
  leaders (political, educational, social etc.) to
  create awareness of new church and discern
  community ministry needs and opportunity for
  cooperation? Have they been formally invited to
  the first service?
• 16. Has the congregation planned pre-launch
  rehearsal services?

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• 17. Has the church incorporated?
• 18. Has the church attained liability insurance?
• 19. Will the church have adequate start-up
  funding and budget prior to the launch date?
• a. Funding for special guests
• b. Funding for special media
• 1. Direct Mail and follow-up
• 2. Telephoning
• 3. Billboard
• 4. Newspaper ads
• 5. TV and Radio

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• 20. Does the new church have a strong
  assimilation process to move members to maturity
  and ministry?
• 21. Do you clearly sense that the time is right
  and God is leading in this pivotal milestone?
  You will never have your first public service
  again. Are you pressured to prematurely start by
  internal or external forces? Is the momentum
  right?

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• Remember the clear consequences of premature
  birth
• Premature Death
• Slow Growth
• Limited Growth
• Lessened Strength
• Long Term Disability
• Difficulty in reproducing and multiplying