The challenge and beauty of church planting
From a video at a Confluence Church Conference
Carl Herrington, MDiv, is a self employed entrepreneur living In St. Louis, Missouri. He and his wife, Virginia now lead the south-east region of the Confluence Church family of churches. As such, they are deeply involved in church and church planting. At a recent conference, they shared in the challenge and beauty of church planting.
I (Carl) remember the first time one of my church leadership team sat down with me at a men's conference and said he felt like God had spoken to him about planting a church. I found it very difficult. You really don't want your closest friends, who you feel will contribute to what you're doing where you are, to leave you. You can try to encourage people to stay with you, but if you're on a mission, you have to release them to go.
I (Virginia) had three very close family friends who were leaving at the same time (to church plant). I'm going to keep this really real - I got very angry. But God in his goodness, spoke to me one day, " Virginia, the goal in this life is not relationships. The goal is my kingdom purposes and relationships and friendships are a blessing along this journey." I still grieved. There was a grieving and a sadness involved, but yet an excitement as well.
Carl - Our job as parents is to release our kids to leave and we can actually subconsciously teach them to depend on us in an unhealthy way that keeps them. I think the same thing applies to leaders being sent out.
Virginia - What God said is to keep our children as well as our spiritual children in open hands. The end thereof is so worth it. I was a woman who when church planting was talked about years ago, I just cringed because I did not want to church plant. But God calls us out of our comfort zone and I think sometimes leaders are held back because planting a church is not comfortable. There is pain. There is sacrifice, there is suffering, but it's worth it because of God's eternal purposes.
Carl - You know, it's not about what we're going to receive. It's about, 'has God called us'. It's not about things being comfortable - us being taken care of. It's about going.
Virginia - It's not an easy answer to say, 'I'm gonna move in our 60s'. It was a call to do church over there - to rise up. I started to live in the past, and it kept me from engaging in the plant. In my mind, I was finding myself living back in the home church. So I had to really release what God had done and that amazing season, and really embrace what the folks are doing today.
We need to set our eyes on Jesus. We're on this race of faith. One day, we're going to meet him face to face and I think living life with an eternal perspective enables us to go through the pain, to go through the suffering as we look into Jesus.
We are called to plant churches.
Watch their 3 minute video here.
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From a video at a Confluence Church Conference, 28/05/2024