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Community Survey Prayer Spring Branch Church Plant PNC Information
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This section covers the period of time leading up to the first day of employment for the Pastor. It assumes that a Pastor Nominating Committee is at work in parallel with other organizing activities. It also assumes that only a few individuals are involved, waiting for the Pastor to arrive and recruit the Launch Team. What must be done before the Pastor arrives? What must not be done? 1. Organize an interim leadership team. This team will take responsibility for all pre-Pastor activities. The team need not be large and it need have little or no structure. Its members will ordinarily be from the sponsoring church, e.g. the Barnabas Ministry Team. The intent would normally be for this team to be replaced by the new church's initial Task Force (called "Launch Team" here) as soon as the Pastor arrives and begins to recruit its members. What must not be done? You must not recruit the Launch Team before the Pastor arrives. The new Pastor must be free recruit his/her own team. Your help may be needed in that effort but it should be driven by the Pastor. 2. Continue the research that led to the selection of the target community. This may involve compiling additional hard data covering demographics, church preferences, etc. from pre-existing sources such as Percept. It may also include gathering more data on your own via "windshield surveys" and drive throughs of the community, even organizing focus groups of community leaders to learn more about the needs of the community. It is important to package all data in a form that will be easy for the new Pastor and Launch Team to digest. The value of a significant research effort can be wasted if the materials are not cohesive and "user friendly" to those who must digest and learn from them. What must not be done? You should not name the new church, or represent yourselves as "the church" when you meet with people in the target community. It should be clear in all data-gathering activities that you are acting on behalf of the yet-to-arrive Pastor and Launch Team. Otherwise there is a danger that the new church will be seen as a satellite of the sponsoring church. 3. Get the Pastor's position approved by the sponsoring church and by the Presbytery's Committee on Ministry. This will ordinarily require a vote of Session (assuming the new Pastor will initially go on staff at the sponsoring church) and also a vote of the Presbytery's Committee on Ministry. A brief job description will normally be required. What must not be done? You should not begin the search until the PNC is formed. 4. Get the community (area of location) approved by the sponsoring church's session and by the Presbytery's New Church Development Committee. You should be prepared to present summary demographics of the target community, together with information on the nearest PCUSA churches, e.g. the number of members from those churches in the target community. What must not be done? You should not pre-select the exact location of the church, nor should you choose location or facilities. 5. Serve as liaison with Presbytery's New Church Development Committee and with the Session of the sponsoring church. It is important to keep these groups up to date on your progress. In particular, unless your church or your Presbytery has significant history in new church planting, your planning and planting approach may seem unconventional and will require explanation and frequent reinforcement. What must not be done? You should be prepared to turn over the liaison duties to a member of the Launch Team, once that team is formed. 6. Develop an initial budget and begin fund-raising. The budget will be needed to get approval for the church and pastor. It does not have to be at a high level, but in enough detail to cover primary activities for the first year of operation. See example in the Leadership: Templates And Samples section. It will be the job of the Pastor and Launch Team to raise money. However, the interim leadership team may need to obtain Session approval for the Pastor's salary package before the PNC can be formed. In addition, the interim leadership team should explore the level of support to be provided by the sponsoring church. It might also be advantageous to begin work on grant applications to your Presbytery, Synod and General Assembly, as these are long lead time efforts. What must not be done? You should not submit grant applications until the Pastor and Launch Team have reviewed them. 7. Communicate with Presbyterian (and other) churches in the area. They will naturally be interested and will appreciate hearing about your plans from representatives of your church (the sponsoring church). Ask for their prayers and their help. Assure them that your intent is not to win away their members who live in the area of the new church. Offer to continue to keep them informed. What must not be done? Defer responding to any offers of help until the Pastor and Launch Team are ready to consider them. 8. Begin the search process for an Executive Assistant to the Pastor. This person will be extremely valuable to the Pastor and Launch Team. While the choice must obviously fall to the Pastor, his/her lack of knowledge of qualified candidates will make your references extremely important. Providing the incoming Pastor with a "short list" of pre-screened candidates will be a big time-saver. What must not be done? Do not hire someone without the approval of the new Pastor. 9. Organize prayer and other support for the Pastor and Launch Team. You will want to have an intercessory prayer team as soon as possible. This team will begin praying for the Holy Spirit to lead the PNC and once the Pastor is called, the team will begin to pray for the Pastor, his/her family and the church from which the Pastor has been called. In addition, it will be helpful to establish a family support group for the Pastor's family, easing the burdens of moving, helping with children, providing hospitality, etc. And finally, it will be important to establish a Bible Study/Small Group for the Pastor and the Launch Team. They will need to be fed during the months ahead and these three support activities are the best way to do it. What must not be done? Be careful about the extent of family support. Choosing housing, schools, child care services, etc., may be appreciated by some and not by others. It's always best to ask first. 10. Research potential Mercy Ministries opportunities. Your Pastor and perhaps many on the Launch Team will be new to your community and will need help understanding and evaluating potential opportunities for Mercy Ministries. The Interim Leadership Team can provide significant assistance and also save time by conducting research into the possibilities for Mercy Ministries. Ideally, the team will assess and evaluate numerous opportunities and narrow the list to a manageable number of "finalists" in the range of three to five. As a part of your research it may be helpful to conduct interviews or focus group meetings with leaders and/or residents of the community. The purpose of these interviews and meetings is to obtain a clearer picture of existing community needs and to understand better what is being done to meet those needs. What must not be done? Don't go too far. The decisions regarding the selection of a community outreach and service opportunity belong to the Pastor and the Launch Team. Your job is to narrow the range and educate people who may be unfamiliar with the needs of the community. It would be a mistake to make any commitments to another organization regarding any "partnering" in community outreach and service. How Can The Barnabas Ministry Help? What Presbytery Liaisons Are Required? Go back to Leadership Last Modified 5/1/05 12:30 PM | Hide Tools |