No two church-plant situations are exactly alike. Some are driven upfront by a qualified pastor who is actively putting together a core group. Others are driven by an established church that is seeking to extend its influence and the reach of the gospel via church-planting. And still others—the primary focus of this series of articles—are driven by concerned Christians in a geographic area in need of a biblical church. In the last two scenarios, what are key qualities in a founding pastor?

A number of years ago when I attended a church-planting seminar, the speaker gave a blunt and direct assessment of a possible church-plant scenario. He warned, “Remember that church plants attract the weirdos who come out of the shadows when they smell a chance to have power in a church.” He went on to warn with less humor that some may be interested in a church plant because they see it as an opportunity to bring their particular brand of “THIS is how to do church” to a group of people and have influence over others. So, to alleviate fear of this possibility, let me propose what a quality core group looks like.

There are many facets to being part of a church plant. There are variables such as the core group, the founding pastor, finances, meeting space, philosophy of ministry, and theology, just to name a few. But if you find yourself in a situation in which you may be observing the need for a new church in your area, there is only one starting point: prayer.

Like any other venture begun from the ground up, a new church has several vital elements. In my years in pastoral ministry, my experience has been that new church plants which are missing even one of these elements either suffers or ultimately fails. This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but it is a necessary list. These are absolutely necessary elements. They may not all happen at once, but each element should be a primary goal for the developing church.

When my father was a child, growing up in a pastor’s home, the culture in the church circles of which he was a part envisioned two levels of Christians. There were the Christians who just did normal things and then there were the Christians who did spectacular things. The common designation for those in the second category was, “He is on fire for the Lord.” And in those circles, to be “on fire for the Lord” meant either being a pastor or a missionary.