A Cheap and Easy Way to Support a Church Plant

Perhaps you’ve wanted to support a church plant, but don’t have anymore time or money to give. Consider the following incredibly cheap and easy way to support a Gospel-centered church plant!:

People often ask me, “How did you gather people into the church plant?” There’s obviously not a single answer to that question. Sometimes, it is not always clear how the gathering has occurred. Honestly, there are many days that I ask myself the same question. The saying of the apostle Paul constantly rings true: “One man plants, another waters, but the Lord gives the increase.” The Lord has brought a variety of people from a variety of ecclesiastical (and non-ecclesiastical) backgrounds,  in a variety of ways, to New Covenant. He is the one who is works in their hearts by His Spirit through His word. Still the saying is true, “One plants!” So what are some effective means of being attractional and missional in church planting?

Certainly praying for the Lord to send people is the most foundational thing that must be done in order to gather into the church plant. In addition, getting out into the community to know business owners, employees and locals is necessary. Spending time in places were people meet (i.e. the YMCA, restaurants, community events, etc.) to spread the word about the church plant is extremely important. Encouraging the people who begin to come to the church plant to invite neighbors, friends and co-workers is a key element. Personal and congregational hospitality is also foundational (as is clearly seen from this book). That being said, getting word out about the church plant via internet and local advertisement has been one of the greatest avenues to reach people. In our highly technological age, it is likely that “someone will visit your website before visiting your church.”1 So the questions becomes, “How will people find your website and visit it prior to visiting your church?” SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is vital. This post is not meant to be a guide for how to optimize a website; rather, it is a call for you to help a church plant do so. The following are some FREE and EASY ways for you to help a church plant:

1) Visit the church plant’s Google Place page.

2) Sign in to your Google account (or create a Google account so that you can sign in). Leave a review of the church that says something about the pastor, people, worship, preaching, values or vision of the church. You don’t have to have visited the church to do so. If you know something about the minister, ministry, have listened to sermons and know the vision and doctrinal commitments you can write something honest about the work.

3) Rate the site using the star system.

4) Email a link to the church’s website to people you know who live near the church plant. This will help generate traffic to the site, spread the word about this plant, and encourage those nearby to visit and send visitors there.

5) Post a link to the church’s website on your Facebook page and on Twitter.

I know of one church plant in particular that would be exceedingly appreciative of your help in this way! It would only take you 10 minutes to help a church plant gain some accessibility in their community! You would be sharing in the mission of God if you would be willing to do this simple thing. Its that cheap and that easy!

1. http://www.brnow.org/News/September-2011/Webmaster-shares-on-questions-with-technology.aspx