Relaunch or die?

Converge church planting leaders Lee Stephenson and Danny Parmelee discuss what to do when your church plant isn’t going the way you thought it would. How can you know if it’s time to relaunch or if it’s time to call it quits?

1:17 Danny says the culture of church planting and the common characteristics of church planters is to persevere at all costs
2:22 Lee talks about how his first church plant had three grand openings
3:20 Lee identifies three main areas that determine the success of a church plant
4:45 Danny says a relaunch needs to be more than just changing your name, logo and website
5:52 Danny says if you relaunch, it’s really important that you actually stop meeting for Sunday services
6:33 Lee says if you’re not willing to put in the energy and effort into an honest evaluation of why you are where you’re at before you relaunch, you’re basically putting "lipstick on a pig."
6:58 Lee recommends reaching out for help for honest, hard feedback from a coach or a more experienced church planter
7:35 Danny says church planters need to be open the fact that they may or may not be the problem
8:26 Danny says if you’re obedient to God’s call to plant a church, it is not a failure
9:28 Lee reminds us that God cares more about what we are becoming than what we are actually doing
10:02 Lee says what God is doing behind the scenes may be way bigger than I ever thought
11:46 Lee says the church plants that he’s seen relaunch successfully have reached out to somebody that was more experienced and got a coach
12:12 Lee talks about three key areas to look at: the planter’s leadership, the church’s financial sustainability and discipleship
13:50 Danny says there is no magic number or matrix that will help you decide if it’s time to relaunch or to call it quits.
15:14 Lee says the final thing that brings the most clarity is the culture piece. Are we the culture that we set out to become?
15:55 Danny ends the conversation by encouraging those who need to keep going. For others, this may be the end of this season of ministry, but it’s going to be OK.