Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch

by Nelson Searcy, Kerrick Thomas, Jennifer Dykes Henson

Overview

Starting a church from scratch? Start here! Launch offers specific strategies for beginning a church with no members, no money, and no staff. Readers get clear, practical how-to strategies for quickly raising funds, creating a team, planning services, effective evangelism, and rapidly developing a growing membership. Specific advice is included for reaching that often difficult-to-target demographic, the 20- to 40-year-old. Now thoroughly revised and expanded to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of church planting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801072895
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/28/2017
Edition description:	Revised and Expanded Edition
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Nelson Searcy is the founding and lead pastor of The Journey Church. He is the author of more than seventy-five church growth resources and twelve books, including The Generosity Ladder, Maximize, Connect, and Ignite. Before founding The Journey, he served as the director of the Purpose Driven Community at Saddleback Church. He is also the founder of ChurchLeaderInsights.com and the Renegade Pastors Network.

Kerrick Thomas is a teaching pastor at The Journey Church and regularly co-leads training events with Nelson Searcy. Prior to his move to New York to plant The Journey, he received a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Jennifer Dykes Henson is a writer, wife, and mom to two young girls. She has coauthored several bestselling books, including The Generosity Ladder and Tongue Pierced. Previously, Jennifer worked with Dr. Charles Stanley as the marketing communications manager for In Touch Ministries. She lives with her family in Atlanta, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Revised and Expanded Edition 9

Preface to the First Edition 11

Acknowledgments 13

Introduction 15

Section 1 Foundation 21

1 Starting the journey … from Scratch 23

2 The Call to Start a Church 37

3 Developing a Strategy 51

4 Raising Funds 73

Section 2 Formation 101

5 Building a Staff 103

6 Planning Your First Service 123

7 Gathering a Launch Team 151

Section 3 Implementation 173

8 Reaching People 175

9 Building Systems 195

10 From Scratch to Stability to Success 217

Postscript 237

Appendix A Average Monthly Attendance for The journey's First Twelve Months 239

Appendix B Sample Partners Meeting Agenda 241

Appendix C Recommended Leadership Resources 243

Notes 247