4
Feb
2012

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

2 Responses

  1. scott price

    Nicolas, first, I read a lot of your pieces on this site and am blessed by them. I mean that. This piece, however, is one that for some reason grieves my spirit. I think it might be because it is so practical and lacking in supernatural dependence and supernatural expectation. Praying seems like it is relegated to an “of course” presumption. Also, sharing the gospel with everyone you can would seem to be a good way to grow the church. It seems like the piece is focused on “networking” which is an anemic term to me and the concept often becomes one of just moving disaffected church people from one church to another. I am being blunt because I don’t have a lot of space to really present this issue in the most gracious way that I probably should. Thanks for the space to respond.

  2. Thomas

    Thank you for writing this up. It is a very practical piece of advice, often overlooked by those wanting to support the work of a church planting team. I understand it is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to getting involved in a plant, but emphasizing straightforward practical steps is vital during the tumultuous and often-overwhelming climate of planting. I’ve just discovered your blog and hope to find more practical ideas like this. Lord knows if we want a plant to take, we’ve got to water it daily and provide regular critical attention and care.
    Blessings,
    Thomas

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