Launching 100 Large New Churches

It is not easy to launch a large church designed to become a K-church.  It takes skilled leadership, careful planning, great coaching, a motivated launch team of 50+ people, relationships with lots of unchurched people prior to launch, funding and most importantly, the favor and blessing of God.  On the USA/Canada Region, we are getting better at launching large, healthy churches than every before.  Many people wrongly believe that the Church of the Nazarene in the USA/Canada Region has little or none of these kinds of churches.  This is NOT the case.  Our HICP Development Team is FILLED with dedicated, talented, servant leaders totally committed to multiplying large, high-impact church plants designed to become K-churches.  In the FAQ section of this website, you will find many answers to commonly asked questions about the High Impact Church Planting Project for the USA/Canada Region.  

There are questions about our strategy, our development history, our leadership team, our leadership residency, coaching, recruitment, assessment, partner churches, partner districts and more.  We deeply believe these new 100 large church plants already exist in the mind of God.  Just like the Apostle Paul, "we cannot be disobedient to the vision from heaven" (Acts 26:19).  God already knows who the high-impact church planting leaders are and where these high-impact churches will be located.  "He has determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that people would seek him and reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:26-27).   

Some people may question whether or not launching large churches is a right strategy because they say these kinds of churches cost too much money.  Our response is, we have NO plans to use existing USA/Canada resources for launching and sustaining this movement of 100 new churches.  Not a dime of HICP operations is paid for by World Evangelism Fund or USA/Canada Region monies.  We anticipate that every church planting dollar the HICP Project raises will be new money, given by donors who have embraced the vision of investing in a high impact church planting project within our Region and/or their city or town.  Nothing we do will deplete current church resources.  We ALWAYS aim to have churches planting churches, NEVER districts planting churches.  As Mark Bane describes it, we want to add ALL sizes of church plants, "rabbit, tiger and elephant" size churches!  Our special focus is "elephant church" plants within the USA/Canada Region.  

Our HICP leaders are VERY creative in raising "elephant church money!"  We have identified 12 potential sources of money for launching these new, large churches.  Here are some examples:

1. Planter Spouse Income - This is not required, but it is a great help!

2. Family Wealth - Equity stored up in a home or family business

3. Family and Friends One-Time Gift - Usually used for specific expenses

4. Family and Friends Monthly Support - Usually for 12-36 months until the training is over, the planter is placed, the new church is launched and achieves the four-fold church planting objective: 1) self-supporting, 2) self-propagating, 3) self-governing, and 4) self-reproducing.

5. "Parent" Church Support - Our goal is for strong parent churches to assume near-full financial support.

6. "Sponsor" Churches Support - Two or more churches that team together to help financially.

7.  New Gifts in Kind - When equipment, computers, used car, office space, etc. is given

8. Launch Team Tithe & Offerings - Open a bank account as soon as possible if you know where the plant or multi-site will be and allow people to begin to tithe their income to the new church project

9. Local Church Deputation Offerings - Where the planter can tell his/her story and an offering is taken

10. Faith Promise Budget - A great way to help fulfill our mission next door!

11. Sunday School Classes & Small Groups - They can team up to help sponsor a planter and the new church!

12. Nazarene District Gift - This is not the first, but the last source we name.  There is no way a District should or could cover the costs of multiple churches when fueling a movement but they may be able to sometimes help with a gift.  The HICP Project has begun working with a growing network of Nazarene District Superintendents committed to partnering with a local church in launching a High Impact Church Plant on their District.

There will be training and residency costs associated with these plants. Launch costs include planter support when gathering the launch team, marketing, equipment, web development, support staff and operational costs from the point of launch to the church achieving self-support status, including a built-in commitment to tithe.  A church culture that develops God’s heart is the key. We acknowledge that each church will be different, each planter’s family is different, each community and situation is different.  For fund-raising purposes, we estimate these large launch church planters will need to budget launch and growth costs for the first 12-36 months.  We have learned that some communities are much more receptive and suited to these launches than others.  Large launch teams being in place prior to launch is required!  We anticipate these church plants can and will be self-sustaining, including full mission giving within 24-36 months following launch.  

Scholarships

As we move forward, there is a GREAT opportunity for you to invest by providing a Leadership Residency program scholarship.  Several leaders in need of the Residency do not yet have the financial resources to begin participating.  We have a host of dedicated business entrepreneurs who have not yet been given the vision or opportunity for the role they can play in the high impact church planting movement.  The scholarship you provide will help us impact a larger group of leaders not currently benefiting from high impact church training.  

Expanding the District Donor Base

As a movement, we also believe we have the responsibility to help the district superintendent share the vision for the HICP Project within their district.  In so doing, our plan is to inspire a number of new donors to give, especially when they begin to see “fruit” from the collective work we are engaged in. Our goal is to help the DS build a donor development system which will benefit every HICP Partner District. We have learned that “big thinking attracts big thinkers, big donors and big achievement for God and His church!”  What ought to be throughout our Region, can be!  

Donations to the High Impact Church Planting Project have already begun.  If you believe in this vision you are reading about and would like to become a donor, please contact one of our HICP leaders, contact your Partner District Superintendent or make a donation to the HICP General Fund.