Well, the Vision Team of our church has asked Jen and me to make an announcement on Sunday letting the congregation know that we are being led to start a new church. We had all agreed that it would be okay and even a good thing to let the congregation know before we knew where we were going to go. I was really sold on that idea because I thought it would give the church a great opportunity to “join in” with us as we prayed over where God would have us go.
However, I spoke with Gary Rohrmayer (the Director of Church Planting for the [Midwest Baptist Conference][1]) and he clearly said that he would recommend against that. He said that when making an announcement like this, some people will be hurt, and any ambiguity that is left will only serve to prolong the hurt. Announcements like this need to be as clear as possible so that the congregation knows that God really is in it.
He also challenged me to think about why I haven’t yet been able to decide upon a location. He said that perhaps this challenge to reveal our plans to the congregation were a way of pushing us to make a decision. He said that perhaps I needed to just step out in faith and claim that God is leading us to _.
I think it might be Lafayette, and I’m not sure why I don’t want to take the plunge and make that commitment.
Regardless, I really want to be a church planter who listens to his coach, and that means I can’t reveal anything to the congregation until I know where we are going. Or it means that I need to make a decision by this Sunday.
It ruins my idealism of having a whole church unify together to support me and my wife as we seek God in this. But Gary reminded me that some people might be mature enough to do that, but the majority of the people in the congregation won’t be.
Can I decide by Sunday?