Posted on February 19, 2010 - by Larry

7 reasons why I like working with young churches

I am headed to Atlanta to be with my good friend David Putman at ChurchPlanters.com Velocity conference. So I am on the road again.

I always love going to MountainLake church near Atlanta. If you are attending this conference be sure to look me up. I would love to see you.

This past week while leading our Upstream Jet Set tour across Europe I was able to think about some of the reasons why I like to work with young churches or church plants on the field. This does not mean I do not like working with other churches. I am just making some observations about why new churches can be great in missions. I think they make great partnerships for cross cultural church planting teams, working along side a national churches, or a church plant on the field.

So here is my list.

1. They are self starters. Since they are church plants they usually know how to get things started. They live in a constant state of start up mode. They know how to start something out of nothing.

2. They can live with ambiguity. This is life on the mission field. We rarely know what lies ahead on the field. This is how church planters roll. They are fluid.

3. They are explorers. They love to take a look into the unknown. Their exploring often leads to creative ideas for missional living.

4. They have lots of energy. They work very hard. They do whatever it takes to get the job done.

5. They are bold in their witness. I have noticed that most of these planters and young churches actively find ways to share their faith in natural ways.

6. They are practical. They have a keen sense of what works and they move towards that end.

7. They are risk takers. They do not like to fail but they are not afraid of failing or taking a chance.