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Once the Pastor arrives and settles in, the first leadership task is to recruit the Launch Team. 

What is the "Launch Team"?

For purposes of this material, the term "Launch Team" is used to represent the Leadership team (lay leaders plus the Pastor) who will guide the new church prior to its chartering.  Once the church is chartered, the Launch Team will be terminated, and Leadership will become the responsibility of the church's Session. 

Your local Presbytery may use other names, e.g. "Task Force" or "Steering Committee" to describe this team.  Others may use the term "Launch Team."  Check with your Presbytery's New Church Development (NCD) committee to better understand local practices and terminology.

What are the Launch Team's responsibilities?

As you might imagine, the Launch Team's responsibilities are both broad and deep.  Overall, it shares responsibility, together with the Pastor, for the birth of the new church.  Specific responsibilities include the following:

1. Organizing itself into a structure relevant to the evolving needs of the community, the church and the Pastor.
2. Understanding the community which the church seeks to reach and preparing itself through training, assessment, prayer and research.
3. Defining Vision, Mission and Core Values.  These are the "DNA" of the church.
4. Planning and conducting the activities of the church in the community.
5. Establishing a "discipleship model" for the church; discipling its own members, together with the Pastor and the members and prospective members of the church.  See What Is A Discipleship Model?
6. Setting expectations and maintaining accountability with the church and the Pastor.

Refer to section G-6.0300 of the Book of Order to see what responsibilities are assigned to Elders in the PCUSA.  While the members of the Launch Team are not, in fact, elders in the church, they serve some of the same functions.

Who Should Be On The Launch Team?

Who Should Not Be On The Launch Team?

What Positions Should Be Included On The Launch Team?

Who Should Lead The Launch Team?

How Do We Set Expectations Of The Launch Team?

How Do We Help Prepare The Launch Team?

What Goals Should Be Set For The First And Second Years?

How Big Do We Need To Be Before:

What Should First And Second Year Plans Look Like?

What's The Best Way To Monitor Progress?

How Do We Obtain And Deal With Feedback?

How Do We Make Course Corrections?

How Formal Should Our Management Process Be?

How Do We Deal With Problems?

How Do We Develop More Leaders?

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