Holding space for people is part of the pastor’s job. But how do we, as pastors, hold space for others while taking care of ourselves? At what cost do pastors do this work? What happens to the pastor when we hold space (to focus on the healing of others) for those in times of hardship and pain? I wish I …
When I moved to California to plant a church I knew that I needed to have some kind of goal. I didn’t want that goal to be one that measured how fast we would grow numerically because I felt like that would put unhealthy pressure to grow at any cost and, potentially, hijack the vision for the church. But I …
A couple years ago I remember reading a job description for a new church planter. A mega church was embarking on their first planting foray. My eyes widened at the qualifications list. The only person who could meet the criteria was a man (had to be a man) more qualified than Jesus. I didn’t apply. It’s common in church culture for the best …
At the V3 Church Planting Movement we get the question all the time “Why do we need to plant more churches?” It is a valid question. Certainly in most cities we can see a church edifice every couple miles and in some cities every few blocks. It might appear we don’t need any new churches. Additionally, the church currently does …
By Josh Hayden, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Ashland, Virginia Sometimes a resource is so helpful it transcends the category it was created for and ends up changing the entire conversation. Church as Movement is a resource that does just that—it broadens the scope of church planting to a growing movement that focuses on discipleship, the mission of God, …
A few years back I had two separate events occur in the same month that started an inner storm in me. First, I had a parishioner, dear to me and dear to others, decide to leave. The circumstances around her departure have left me scratching my head ever since. She kindly shared with me, “Dan, I don’t feel safe in this …
The other day, while driving to some meetings a couple hours away, I was thrown back to my high school days when an early Pearl Jam song came on the radio. As I listened to the once billboard-charting tune “Jeremy,” I heard the pain of a generation ringing through the intricately woven lyrics. Later, after a quick Google search, I …
We begin 2017 by racing into a new decade that is likely to change at warp speed. As a consequence, leaders in our churches need to learn from the business world how to prepare for change and anticipate a host of new challenges before they arrive so that we all have lead time to create new and innovative responses. One …
Our friends at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary have created a place-based missional learning experience any serious church planter can benefit from: The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization. The Graduate Certificate in Church Planting and Revitalization forms pioneer leaders attentive to God and God’s world. Participants will learn to listen to the Holy Spirit and their communities, they will practice leading teams in …
It’s that time of year when we revisit the resources from the V3 blog that garnered lots of responses from readers/missional practitioners. You all shared the movement in powerful ways this year, and we thank you so much! Church planters and place-based missiologists used these posts to experience the movemental power of the Kingdom in their neighborhoods, church plants, businesses, and …