Church Plant Training Workbook for TGC Crown Heights (Brooklyn NY), Pastor Cory Morgan

1. Church Planting Training
4-Stage Launch +
Your First 12 Months
TGC Crown Heights
tgccrownheights.com
Sunday
Oct 28
2018

2. Our Larger Church Family
East Coast Conference • www.eastcoastconf.org
Our Mission: “Believing we are a movement of God,
the mission of the East Coast Conference is to
Multiply Churches, Orchestrate Ministries, Vitalize
Congregations, and Empower Leaders”
ECConf Staff • eastcoastconf.org/staff
1. Howard Burgoyne, Superintendent
2. Jason Condon, Director of Church Planting
(Associate Superintendent)
3. Barbara Ettinger, Director of Discipling &
Leadership (Associate Superintendent)
4. Kreig Gammelgard, Director of Congregational
Vitality (Associate Superintendent)
5. Sandi Lee, Office Manager
6. Deb Smith, Finance Manager
Regional Mission Field
• New England:
ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI
• NY Metro, Eastern NY,
NJ, Eastern PA
• DE, MD, VA, DC
Congregations (churches, campuses, parishes, plants, etc.):
• 103 Total Congregations (project 140 by 2025)
• Oldest: 254 years old, St Paul's Wolf’s CC, York, PA
• Newest (tie): Highrock Covenant Church - Haverhill
(MA) & Ecclesia Covenant Church (Pennington NJ)
• 35 Current“Church Plants”(see list below)
• overall trends: plant 5-7/yr, adopt 1-2/yr, close 1/yr
Current Church Planters (congregations under 10 years old):
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of2 14
OfficiallyUnderwaywithSigned
ChurchPlanterCovenantAgreement
1. MattWebel, Highrock Haverhill, MA,
highrockhaverhill.org (Oct 1, 2018)[HCN]
2. Ian Graham, Ecclesia Covenant Church,
Pennington NJ, ecclesianj.com (Oct 1, 2018)
3. Edwin Menon, Highrock Malden, MA,
highrockmalden.org (July 2018)[HCN]
4. Andy Ober, Highrock SouthWest Boston,
Roslindale & Hyde Park, MA,
highrockswboston.org (July 2018)[HCN]
5. Drew Jackson, Hope EastVillage, NY
hopeeastvillage.org (Jan 2018) [NCN]
6. Dave Capozzi, Brockton CC, MA,
brocktoncovenantchurch.com (June 2017)
7. Mike Park, HopeWestside, Manhattan, NY
hopewestside.org (June 2017) [NCN]
8. Craig Okpala, Hope Jersey City, Jersey City
NJ, hopejerseycity.org (June 2017) [NCN]
9. Drew Hyun, Hope Midtown, Manhattan, NY,
hopemidtown.org (April 2017) [NCN]
10. Andrew Mook, Sanctuary Eastside CC,
Providence RI, sanctuaryri.org (Jan ’17) [SCN]
11. Kevin Kokx, Nashua CC, NH,
nashuachurch.com (Dec 2016)
12. Kevin Brown, StillWaters CC, Newport News
VA, stillwaterschurch.org (May 2016)
13. Rick Jakubowski, Sanctuary North CC,
Providence RI, sanctuarynorth.org
(March 2016) [SCN]
14. Stephen Poore, Center Church ECC,
RichmondVA, centerchurchrva.com (Jan ’16)
15. Michael Han,Table Covenant Church,
FairfaxVA, tablecovchurch.org (Oct 2015)
16. FinneyVarughese, Hope Long Island CC, NY,
hopelongisland.org (Sept 2015) [NCN]
17. Phillip Beatty, Hartford City Cov. Church, CT,
hartfordcitychurch.com (July 2015)
18. Ezra Sohn, Disciples NYC CC, Queens NY,
disciplesnyc.com (March 2015)
19. Steven Martino, Movement CC, Staten
Island NY, www.themcc.nyc (Jan 2015)
20. Will & Becky Barnett (co-pastors/planters),
Highrock Acton CC, MA, highrockacton.org
(Dec 2014)[HCN]
21. Amanda Sadlier (DanSadlierplanted),
Hope Roosevelt Island CC, NY,
hoperooseveltisland.org (Dec 2014) [EN]
22. Drew Hyun, Hope Midtown CC, Manhattan
NY, hopechurchnyc.org (Fall 2014) [NCN]
23. Chris Bannon, The Commons ECC (April ’14),
Rochester NH, churchofthecommons.org
24. Grant & Miho Buchholtz (co-pastors/
planters), Tokyo Life CC, Japan
(special partnership, Fall 2014) [HCN]
25. KimberlyWright, Church of the
Resurrection ECC, NewYork NY,
resurrectionchurchnyc.com (July 2013)
26. Stephen Sharkey, Highrock Quincy CC, MA,
highrockquincy.org (May 2012) [HCN]
27. Aaron Engler, Highrock North Shore CC,
Salem, highrocknorthshore.org (Feb‘12) [HCN]
28. Kristian Hernandez (DrewHyunplanted),
Hope Church NYC CC, Astoria NY,
hopeastoria.org (Feb 2012) [NCN]
29. Andrew Mook & Sarah Cowan Johnson -
exec. team(AndrewMookplanted),
Sanctuary Providence CC, RI, sanctuaryri.org
(Jan 2012) [SCN]
30. Efrain Alicea, Elements Covenant Church,
Bronx NY, www.elementsbx.org (Aug 2011)
31. MonyroorTeng, Sudanese ECC, Manchester
NH, Dinka&Arabiclanguage,
sudanesechurch.com (July 2010)
32. Michael Carrion, Promised Land CC, Bronx
NY, facebook.com/PLCChurch (July 2010)
33. Derrick Jackson, Life Covenant Church,
Morganville NJ, lifecovenantchurch.org
(March 2009)
34. Frank Catalano, Evergreen Covenant
Church, Sanford ME,
evergreencovchurch.org (April 2008)
35. JoshThroneburg, Highrock Brookline CC,
MA, highrockbrookline.org (Jan 2008) [HCN]
JustAroundtheCorner-alreadyAssessed
and“Recommended”,finalizingprep
36. Omar Lilly, Church of the Heights //
Iglesia del Alto Manhattan,
churchoftheheights.com (Dec 1 or Jan 1)
37. Cory Morgan,Trinity Grace Church - Crown
Heights (name change in the works :)
tgccrownheights.com (Jan 1, 2019)
38. Dan Sadlier, Queens Covenant Church [EN]
Sunnyside NY, queenscov.org (Jan 1, 2019)
[emerging network with Hope Roosevelt
Island - coming out of New City Network]
Three “Church Networks”
1. [HCN] = Highrock Church Network,
Greater Boston, highrock.org
2. [NCN] = New City Network of Hope
Church NYC, hopechurchnyc.org
3. [SCN] = Sanctuary Church Network,
Providence RI, sanctuaryri.org

3. Evangelical Covenant Church
www.covchurch.org
Our Values: The “Four ALs”
Two historic questions early Covenanters asked:
• Biblical: “Where is it written?”
• Devotional: “How goes your walk?”
As they formed in the US, they chose
the name “Mission Friends”:
• Missional: “Are we pursuing Christ’s purposes?”
• Connectional: “Are we together in Christian community?”
Our Beliefs: Covenant Affirmations
www.covchurch.org/who-we-are/beliefs/affirmations
1. We affirm the centrality of the word of God
2. We affirm the necessity of the new birth
3. We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church
4. We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers
5. We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit
6. We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ
Our Mission: What We Do as the Covenant | Five Strategic Priorities
covchurch.org/what-we-do • video: Three Strand Strong / Mission & Ministry 2017 [vimeo.com/191034336]
1. Start and Strengthen Churches
2. Make and Deepen Disciples
3. Develop Leaders
4. Love Mercy, Do Justice
5. Serve Globally
Table Discussion
• Which of these “family characteristics” resonates most with you?
• Why is it important to be connected with a larger family of faith?
• What are the challenges of being connected to something bigger and not just being “independent”?
Staying Connected
Take advantage of the many opportunities for connection, encouragement, & development | Examples:
• Online: eastcoastconf.org, facebook.com/eastcoastconf, flickr.com/ecconf
• Newsletter & Enews: Quarterly East Coast Covenanter sent to your church, monthly Enews
• Congregations: Connect with area Covenant Churches (eastcoastconf.org/churches)
• Camp & Retreats: Pilgrim Pines for Family & Youth Camps, Retreats, pilgrimpines.org
• Cohorts & Events for Pastors, Church Planters, Youth Workers, Worship Leaders, etc.
See eastcoastconf.org/events for even more opportunities for pastors, leaders, & congregations
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of3 14
11 Regional Conferences Form Our Larger Mission

4. Overview & Review
Four-Stage
Launch Process
Your first twelve months planting!
Purpose of Four-Stage Launch:
• Build missional momentum and effectiveness
• While having “permission” to focus and pace yourselves accordingly
Overview of Four-Stage Launch:
Timing & Benchmarks: Each stage 3-4 months* with clear healthy, missional benchmarks
1. Stage 1 | Launch Team Development: gathering like-minded, diversely gifted,
missionally motivated people into a cohesive team
2. Stage 2 | Preview Worship/Ministry Development: reaching and gathering more people
to the new church, developing effective ministry systems, practicing what you’ll become
3. Stage 3 | Soft Launch/“Full” Weekly Worship: continuing to reach and gather,
refining the ministries, getting the systems right, acting “as if ”
4. Stage 4 | Hard Launch/“Grand Opening”: launching for accelerated growth and impact,
unfettered outreach & evangelism, robust ministry systems
* time-frames may compress or expand as needed and for different situations and applications,
but there should still be meaningful “stages” with appropriate time, efforts, and build up
Scenarios for Adaptation
1. New Church Plant: from scratch, not pre-existing
2. “2.0” Church Plant: pre-existing ministry, new to Covenant, ranges from soft relaunch to hard reset
3. New Campus: extending church’s pre-existing ministry to a brand-new location or venue
4. New Worship Service: multiplying worship services (new times, different rooms, new styles, etc)
5. Discipleship-Centric/Missional Multiplication: heavily adapted, leveraging the principles, applying
for the “launching” of various components and initiatives
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of4 14

5. Cautions & Common Mistakes
• New Church Plants (sometimes others):
• go too fast, skimp on key components
• downplay or ignore benchmarks
• do too many things at the same time
• New Worship Service (or Venue/Site):
• don’t revisit and apply best practices from
church planting (eg. developing a Launch
Team, staging the ramp-up & roll-out, etc.)
• double the work with out doubling workers
• “It’s just another worship service, how hard
could it be?” (famous last words :)
• “2.0” Church Plants (sometimes others):
• assume “regular attenders” = Launch Team
• don’t make the “hard asks”
• don’t revisit foundational principles
• Discipleship-Centric (sometimes others):
• downplay or disregard role of “gatherings”
and medium- to larger-group dynamics
• subdued or absent pursuit of faithful & fruitful
“sustainability” within the model
• confusing “organic” with lack of structure,
goals, and godly effort
Discussion
• what scenario (or blend) best represents your project? what are its advantages? disadvantages?
• what caution or mistake resonates most? (you made it, avoided it, don’t believe it, etc!)
• what do you dislike or doubt about the Four-Stage Launch concept and approach?
• what’s just one way it might be extremely helpful?
Key Metrics: each is a blend of qualitative & quantitative measures
1. Discipling Relationships: Those who are intentionally receiving discipleship, with the commitment to
disciple others when ready, for the ongoing reproduction of disciple-making disciples
2. Launch Team Members: Specifically asked to commit to the church plant launch, the reliable leaders
and workers, count on each other (balance of quality and quantity)
3. Worship Attendance: Through prayer, evangelism, invitation, events, marketing, follow-through, and
more, reach or surpass goals for each stage (emphasis on quantity, care for quality)
4. Key Ministries: Deploy Worship, Children, Hospitality, Follow-up & Connection, Small Groups,
Evangelism & Outreach (or others). Improve “letter grades” throughout each stage
(emphasis on quality, care for quantity/capacity)
Examples of Suggested Timeline & Benchmarks:
Sunday-Centric/Launch Large Model (Traditional/Majority Approach in ECC)
KEY: DR=DisciplingRelationships,LT=LaunchTeamMembers,WA=WorshipAttendance,KM=KeyMinistriesGrade
Discussion & Questions
•
•
•
•
STAGE: 1.LaunchTeam
Development
2. PreviewWorship/
Ministry Development
3.SoftLaunch/
“Full”WeeklyWorship
4. Hard Launch/
“Grand Opening”
Post-Launch1:
Depth&Stability
Post-Launch 2:
Outreach & Growth
Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
DR: 6 8 10 12 14 20 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
LT: 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 70 70 70 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
WA: N/A N/A N/A 80 100 120 90 110 125 150 130 130 130 135 140 145 160 150 145
KM: N/A N/A C+ B- B B B+ B+ B+ A- A- A- A- A- A A A A A
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of5 14

6. Stage 1: Launch Team Development
What is a Launch Team?
Simplest Definition:
The ones who show up and get it done.
• Highly committed hard workers and leaders who will pray, sweat,
laugh, cry, grow, and bleed together for the church planting mission to
which God has called them
• As the Pastor, you can rely on this growing team
• As the Launch Team, you can rely on each other
Purpose: build, assist, provide, become, create, protect
• Invite Others
• Evangelism
• Develop Key Ministries
Gathering
Where will these people come from?
• Pray, Pray & Pray some more! (Ask the Lord of the harvest…)
• Work, Work, & Work some more! (Faithful with the little things…)
• Support Churches (Parent, Partner, & Mission Friends)
• Strategic Networks (para-church, non-profits, professional organizations, and more)
• Find Opportunities: tap into, partner, and network with existing churches & organizations
• Create Opportunities: organize and execute well targeted gathering events (vision desserts, open house,
picnics/bbqs, service projects, etc.)
Team Mix:
• Roughly “1/3rd” Each:*
• Committed Christians (mature in faith, not too much baggage :)
• Dechurched Christians (been away from church for awhile, ready to come back)
• New Christians & Seekers (brand-new to faith and/or spiritually interested)
• Representative of your target & context (e.g. multi-ethnic, 18-30 yr-olds, etc.)
• Balanced Gifting (e.g. musical, kids, hospitality, tech, admin, etc.)
* particularly applicable to new church plant, but every application
needs healthy variety and representation - adjust accordingly
Training Best Practices
• Teach the Vision - “T-Shirt Test” / Tagline (succinctly communicate its essence)
• Key Ministries Teams – break the group into your 5 or 6 teams
• Pray and Practice - reduces fear, builds skills, increases success
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of6 14
“People are God’s method.
The church is looking for
better methods; God is
looking for better people.”
~ E.M. Bounds,
Power through Prayer, p. 13

7. Cautions
Launch Team Landmines
• “tasks not titles” - proven faithfulness and effectiveness
• “process not promises” - clear leadership development path (not promises of jobs/staffing/positions)
• faithfulness and fruitfulness need to be demonstrated
• Three “Highly” people to watch for and respond accordingly:
• Highly Controlling
• Highly Needy
• Highly Missional
• Extra Cautions for 2.0 Church Plants and New Initiatives: “regular attenders” ≠ “Launch Team”
you must make the “hard asks”; you must recruit, enlist, and infuse new Launch Team members into mix
Agenda Harmony: How do we keep this group together?
• critical to have clearly defined DNA, mission and vision that are Biblically based (cf. earlier session)
• planting pastor must be the champion, custodian, and defender of the mission, vision, and values
• out-counseling poor fits is a necessary leadership task
• self-selecting out is a mature response if the church plant is not a fit
Benchmarks
• initial minimum of 40 committed, gifted adults before signing Covenant Agreement
• 50% of Launch Team from new contacts
• continually adding, growing, and maturing to 50-75+ through entire 4-Stage Launch
• Church Planter is seen as the legitimate leader of the group
• increasing number of people contacted, coming, and connecting with the group with growing enthusiasm
and commitment
Launch Team Audit: TGC Crown Heights Initial Launch Team
Use poster paper if helpful...
• Evaluate:
• What is the current make-up of your Launch Team?
• What would God have you do to build a stronger Launch Team?
• Strategize: Create initial strategy for reaching 50-75 people total
• often a 3:1 ratio or more, so probably need to connect with 150 people at least
• Put real names and real networks on the list (as much as possible)
• Pray for your list
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of7 14

8. Stage 2: Preview Worship/Ministry Dev.
Question: What’s one big mistake Planters & Launch Teams often make early on?
Goals
• accelerating growth while continuing to build momentum
• more fully express what your church is becoming through public worship and expanded
attractional & incarnational ministries (“come & see” + “go show & tell” - need balance of both)
Benchmarks
• 75-125 at each monthly worship service (build momentum from “low” to “high”)
• 50 new people attending each preview service
• strong word-of-mouth: over half of guests from personal invitation and investment
• roughly double the size of the initial Launch Team
The ‘W’
Wisdom behind the ‘W’ Rhythm
• for most, gathered worship is the high-bandwidth
High Point of their experience of God and his
community at a new church
• but there’s a tension, especially early on, they also need
Greater Depth with Launch Team development, training,
and small- to medium-sized group experiences
• yet both “extremes” can overshoot many people you’re
called to reach, so also need some more accessible
Middle Ground to make friendly connections
Repeating Cycle:
• each type of gathering is “open” (preview worship, launch team meeting, connection event, etc)
• purposefully invite people to each type of gathering (may invite different people, different ways, for
each portions - don’t say “no” for people, let them self-select from the clear invites)
• at each type of event also invite people to the other upcoming events - always be casting vision,
calling to commitment, and inviting each time, adjusting appropriately to setting & audience
• Note: See Benchmarks from Suggested Launch Timeline
Temptations, Cautions, and Common Mistakes
• Rushing/Demanding Weekly Worship Services: succumbing to internal & external pressures and
expectations (real or imagined); “When will we be a real church?!”, “Can’t we just worship?!”
• Fake/Anemic ‘W’ Rhythm: do some of everything every time, nothing done with purposeful focus,
resulting in ineffective “mushy middle”; doing everything poorly at same time vs. one thing done well
• Short-Sighted/Short-Term Thinking vs. the long view over generations and eternity; are you planting
a centuries-long church or a worship service now? (especially when the “wait” is only weeks)
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of8 14
Wk 1:
Preview
Worship
Wk 2:
Launch
Team Mtg
Wk 3:
Connection
Event
Wk 5:
Preview
Worship
Wk 4:
Launch
Team Mtg
MONTH 1 MONTH 2 …

9. Example ‘W’ Rhythm
1. Worship #1: music, message, related key ministries, vision casting, a vital invite opportunity to the
following weeks (invite at each)
2. Launch Team Mtg #1: orientation, bible study, vision-casting
3. Connection Event #1: picnic, bbq, service project, bowling, etc.
4. Launch Team Mtg #2: prep key ministries teams for next Preview
5. Worship #2: restart cycle (like Week 1), only improved upon, more new people, etc. (rinse, repeat!)
Note: these principles can be applied to either condensed or stretched-out time-frames
Applications
• Brand-new Plants & Campuses: fairly straightforward, though variations are possible (e.g. Preview
Worship every other week, stretch out over summer lows, etc.)
• “2.0” Church Plants: had already been meeting weekly, usually bi-vocational pastor now full-time
• Soft Reset:
• “Turn it into a feature”: turn weekly meeting time into a key feature, leveraging the existing
structure and strengths… but still honor the principles!
• Be Purposeful: Build the rhythm and emphases into your weekly gathering, treat each gathering
very purposefully (not just continuing with the same approach, programming, etc.)
• others?:
• Hard Reset:
• Fresh Start: strategically “shut down” weekly public worship for a season (4-8 weeks or longer)
• Clear Opt-in Process for Launch Team members (with other open activities for everyone)
• others?:
• Discipleship-Centric: very adaptable to “launching” and rolling out various phases, key components,
and ministry initiatives
• Launch of Any New Ministry Area: principles really works across a wide variety of applications
(examples: launching youth ministry program, building up to annual outreach season, adding 2nd service)
Q&A and Discussion
• What struggles might you face with the ‘W’ rhythm, monthly worship concept,
and execution with your group or in your context?
• Done well, what benefit will it bring?
•
•
•
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of9 14

10. Before Moving On | Why Do We Exist as a Church?
Creating an Invite Culture for
Fruitful Outreach & Evangelism
• Why Do We Exist?: In all of the Stages and Strategy, cannot forget that God calls us to reach people:
to make and deepen disciples, develop leaders, love our neighbors, and bless our neighborhoods
• While this should already be present and developing in the earlier Stages, it especially kicks into higher
gears with “Stage 3: Soft Launch/Full Weekly Worship” and “Stage 4: Hard Launch/‘Grand Opening’”
• before moving on to those stages, let’s be reminded…
Why Even Care?
It's a Command:
• Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV) 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I
am with you always, to the very end of the age."
People are Seeking:
• Acts 17:26b-34 (NIV) 26b [He] marked out their appointed times in history and the
boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps
reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in
him we live and move and have our being.’As some of your own poets have said,‘We
are his offspring.‘
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine
being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with
justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by
raising him from the dead.”
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but
others said,“We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the
Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them
was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a
number of others.
Our Efforts Are “Required”…
and God Promises Great Fruitfulness:
• Luke 10:2 (NIV) He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
• we shouldn’t blame the "fields" and "fruit"
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of10 14

11. Statistics that Challenge, Inspire, & Motivate:
• 82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if invited1
• ~2/3rds of adults are willing to receive information about a local church from a
family member and 56% are willing to receive info from a friend or neighbor 2
• 41% would respond to an invitation from a friend or acquaintance, 25% from their
children or an adult family member 3
• 35% would be inspired to attend “if I knew there were people like me there.”3
• Younger adults (18–35) even more influenced by power of personal invitation.
~60% would consider returning to church if someone they knew invited them. 4
• Most people come to church because of a personal invitation.1
• 7 out of 10 unchurched people have never been invited to church their whole lives.1
• Only 2% of church members ever invite an unchurched person to church,
therefore 98% of church-goers never extend an invitation in a given year1
1. Dr. Thom Rainer, The Unchurched Next Door; 2. Philip Nation, LifeWay Research;
3. Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research; 4. LifeWay Research
Practical Concerns & Missional Stewardship
• Survive & Thrive: short-term and long-term survivability
and thrive-ability of a church and its God-given mission
• VIM | Vision, Intentionality, and Means:
together these are helpful measures of a“Healthy Missional Church”
• “Stable”churches most often slip on Vision and Intentionality
• “Critical-Moment”and“At-Risk” churches often struggle with all three to varying
degrees (but loss of“Means”it what usually creates urgency or crisis)
• New Church Plants, almost by definition, are“Healthy Missional”, but if they struggle
it’s usually with their Means - the necessary ministry muscle and resources to fulfill
the mission God has called them to
• “2.0”Church Plants often wrestle between“stable”and“healthy missional”, though
may be at“Critical-Moment”
• “Maturing”Church Plants are susceptible to mission drift and slipping on the very
things they first did so enthusiastically and effectively
• Creating a Movement: requires healthy, missional, church-planting churches
“But it can’t all be about numbers!”
• So true! ... and we should not ignore them either :)
(“numbers”aren’t sufficient, but they are essential)
• Question: What do the "numbers" represent?
• Illustration: "last 20/next 20 people"
Questions, Comments, Discussion
•
•
•
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of11 14

12. Stage 3: Soft Launch/FullWeeklyWorship
Natural continuation of Stage 2, with freedom still to tweak, improve, & over-haul as
needed (plus, people are far more forgiving when it’s labeled “Pre-Launch” :)
Goals:
• move from monthly to weekly rhythm of public worship services
• develop more strength and structure through vital ministry teams and effective systems
• strengthen and improve your Key Ministries
• strengthen gathering and growing prior to Hard Launch/“Grand Opening”
• develop leadership and volunteers
• finalize Grand Opening Launch Strategy
Benchmarks
• minimum of 80 in the now weekly worship services (“75 is the enemy!”),
then reach or surpass 120 in weekly worship services before Hard Launch/“Grand Opening”
(Note: easier to get people once a month vs. every week, so need to work harder with larger pool of people)
• improve quality of Key Ministries from B to B+/A-
• increasing number and percentages of people serving in ministry teams
• 50% of adults in “small groups”
Stage 4: Hard Launch/‘Grand Opening’
Culmination of the first three stages,
with TGC Crown Heights ready to go “fully public”
Goals:
• Launching Strong (Qualitative)
• Launching Large (Quantitative)
• Letting the Entire Community know we’re here!
• Help ensure Vitality, Sustainability, and
growing Missional Impact for future generations
Benchmarks
• Launch past 125 in Worship, stay above 125 throughout
• Key Ministries with letter grades in B+/A- range
• Great facility that can accommodate growth to 200+
• Seeing increasing #s coming to Christ and connecting
• Healthy Mix: 1/3 mission-minded, 1/3 formerly de-churched,
1/3 formerly un-churched (these are rough generalities, not hard-and-fast percentages. YMMV :)
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of12 14
Launching Large,
Launching Healthy
• Contextualize: What might
launching large look like for
TGC Crown Heights?
• Brainstorm: What might
you do to launch large
enough and healthy enough
to have greater missional
impact in your community
• Strategize: What specific
action steps are still needed
to launch large in your
context? Who will do what?

13. Helpful Congregational Growth Equation
Net Growth = [Visitor Flow × Retention Rate] – Backdoor Loss
Visitor Flow = how many first-timers experience the church
Retention Rate = percentage who become regulars at least for awhile
Backdoor Loss = how many eventually leave for any reason
• pay attention to each of those variables so you know what’s working & what needs improvement; this
applies to worship services, small groups, etc. - any “ministry” that should grow through people growth
• easy to focus on the wrong thing, so get beneath the “numbers”
• BIG Caveat: these are people, not soulless numbers; the “numbers” are merely a tool for fruitful
accountability and ministry insight. They are essential, but not sufficient to tell the whole story.
Scenario 1:
• [10 visitors/mo × 20% Retention] - [2 leave/mo]
= [2 stay/month - 2 leave/month] = 0 Net Growth
• Possible Interpretation: 20% is actually a fairly good
retention rate and 2/month departing isn’t bad either,
therefore increasing the number of visitors (through prayer,
invitation, evangelism training, hospitality, etc.) will likely
increase Net Growth
Scenario 2:
• [20 visitors/mo × 10% Retention] - [2 leave/mo]
= [2 stay/month - 2 leave/month] = 0 Net Growth
• Possible Interpretation: 10% isn’t great for retention, though
2/month departing isn’t bad. For some reason people aren’t
coming back and getting connected. Evaluating hospitality,
facility, spiritual vitality, quality of programming, etc. might
reveal ways to improve retention rate to increase Net Growth
Scenario 3:
• [10 visitors/mo × 50% Retention] - [5 leave/mo]
= [5 stay/month - 5 leave/month] = 0 Net Growth
• Possible Interpretation: Might be an urban area or college
town with very transitory population and lots of “churn” AND/
OR church is great at “first impressions” but lacks depth and
growth opportunities. Depending on issues, may need to really
increase visitor rate while also working on back door loss
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of13 14
Looking Ahead
Key Missional Milestones
in Your First Five Years
Stewardship & Sustainability
1. Year 1: 130 in worship
attendance, 33% progress to
financial self-sufficiency
2. Year 2: 160, 66% towards
financial self-sufficiency
3. Year 3: 190, 100% financially
self-sufficient by time
Appropriations end
4. Year 4: 220, 105%, preserving
or using surplus for parenting
or partnering in planting
5. Year 5: 250, 110%, using
surplus for parenting or
partnering in church planting
Movement Contribution:
Multiplication & Membership
• Years 4-5 Church Planting:
Parent or Partner with other
churches in the planting of
your first church plant
• Full Member Church:
With demonstrated missional
vitality, complete process to
become a full member
congregation in the ECC

14. Special Note on Adapting this Training:
Fully (Re)Launching TGC Crown Heights
• The materials in this handout are drawn from our standard Church Planting Launch Team Training for
when a brand new church is getting started - full of tried, tested, and hard-won insights, however…
• These principles and practices are highly adaptable and relevant to the“launching”of any ministry
program, worship service, new location,“2.0 Church Plant”, and more
• Therefore, we’re going to lean into those“start-up best practices”and adapt and apply creatively!
Additional Church Planting & Outreach Resources:
Church PlanterTraining Intensives: Workbook, Materials, and Resources
• Blog Post: www.jasoncondon.com/2018/06/cpti-05-2018.html
• Online Folder: goo.gl/NhfvSP
• Digital resources from our Church Planter Training Intensive held in Minneapolis MN, May 16-20, 2018,
plus gathered resources from several previous (and any future) Trainings
Variety of Church PlantingTrainings with other East Coast Conference Church Plants
• Blog Posts: www.jasoncondon.com/search/label/training (including this one :)
• Variety of handouts and digital resources from several trainings with other East Coast Conference
Church Plants, including“Launch Team Training Day”and“Creating an Invite Culture”
Outreach Support Materials:
“Outreach Print Materials: Tips & Tricks, Files & Resources”
• http://www.jasoncondon.com/2011/09/outreach-print-materials-tips-tricks.html
• When it comes to inviting friends, family, and neighbors, nothing beats personal invitation and word-of-
mouth. Yet you can significantly turbo-charge those efforts with supporting marketing pieces. Done well,
they can inspire your people to invite more, and can effectively intrigue those being invited. Using
multiple approaches that all reinforce the same event, theme, and look & feel adds even greater impact.
Additional Posted Outreach Materials
• http://www.jasoncondon.com/search/label/outreach
• some overlap with above, with a few additional items from Church Planter Cohort Gatherings
Additional Notes:
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | TGC Crown Heights Church Planting Training 2018-10-28 | pg. of14 14