Before committing to plant, work through our church planting self-assessment to evaluate your calling and readiness honestly.

For practical guidance on building community partnerships, see our rural church community partnerships guide.

By Brent Lacy

Church planting is exciting. It is also expensive, exhausting, and prone to failure. Before your church commits to planting, here is an honest assessment of whether you are ready.

The statistics are sobering. Research from various church planting networks suggests that a significant percentage of new church plants do not survive past their third year. The reasons are predictable: insufficient funding, inadequate leadership, and unrealistic expectations. The good news is that all three of these are identifiable before you start.

The Three Things Every Planting Church Needs

1. Financial Stability (Not Wealth)

You do not need millions. But you need enough financial stability to support your existing ministry while also funding a new work. If your church is barely making it on its own budget, planting a church will not fix that math. It will make it worse.

Rule of thumb: Your church should be able to give 10 to 15% of its annual budget to the plant without cutting existing ministries. If that number is uncomfortable, you are not ready financially.

2. Leadership Depth

A church plant requires a team that does not yet exist. You need people willing to leave the mother church and help start something new. You need leaders who can serve in the plant while the planting pastor gets established.

If your church of 60 has only eight people who serve in any capacity, you do not have enough leadership depth to plant. Grow your leadership before you plant a church.

3. A Genuine Burden for the Unreached

Church planting based on church growth strategy will produce a church-growth church. Church planting based on a genuine burden for people who do not know Christ will produce a different kind of church.

Ask yourself honestly: are we planting because we want to grow, or because we want to reach people? Both are legitimate, but the second produces healthier churches.

What If You Are Not Ready?

Then do not plant. Not yet. Instead:

• Strengthen your current church. Our Church Health Assessment can help you identify areas to address.
• Grow your leadership. Use our Volunteer Management Guide to develop new leaders.
• Partner with an existing plant. Send money, people, and prayers to a church plant that is already underway.
• Pray for clarity. God’s timing is not always our timing.

There is no shame in waiting. There is only shame in rushing ahead of God’s leading and calling it faith.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to plant a church?

Costs vary widely by region and model. A simple, volunteer-led plant might cost $10,000 to $20,000 per year. A fully staffed plant with a paid pastor can cost $100,000 or more annually. The key is to be realistic about costs and have funding commitments in place before you start.

How long before a church plant is self-sustaining?

Plan on three to five years of financial support from the mother church or sponsoring organization. Some plants become self-sustaining faster. Some take longer. Build your budget around the longer timeline and be grateful if it happens sooner.

What if our church is small? Can we still plant?

Yes, but be honest about what you can offer. A church of 50 can plant a church, but it cannot plant alone. You will need outside support, whether from a denomination, a church planting network, or a partnership with a larger church.

Should we plant in our own community or somewhere else?

Both models work. Planting in your own community allows you to use existing relationships and knowledge. Planting in a new community allows you to reach people who have no connection to any church. The right answer depends on your church’s calling and capacity.

Sources

1. Barna Group, “New Metrics for Measuring What Matters”
2. Lifeway Research, “5 Signs Your Church Is Ready for a Reset”
3. Church Leadership, “There Is No Such Thing as Church Revitalization”
4. Exponential, “Church Revitalization: 7 Innovative Models”