Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches That Do Extraordinary Things
Overview
This volume tells the story of the revitalization of Guilford Baptist Church in northern Virginia. Weaving together Scripture and biblical principles with humor and personal anecdotes, author Michael McKinley asserts that a pastor’s faithful exposition of God’s Word, passion for sharing the Gospel, and care in the training of other godly leaders are more important than the size of his church.
McKinley honestly shares his own fears and rookie mistakes, along with encouraging stories of how God moved at Guilford Baptist. We are reminded that God uses weak and fearful pastors in plants and revitalizations; church planting is indeed for “wimps.” For pastors and seminarians considering a church plant and those already struggling in their own fledgling congregations, this book is a thoughtful and encouraging resource.
In the Logos edition, this volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
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- Presents a helpful resource for pastors and seminarians considering a church plant
- Weaves together Scripture and biblical principles with humor and personal anecdotes
- Reminds readers that God uses weak and fearful pastors in plants and revitalizations
- Church Planting—Slightly Preferable to Unemployment
- So, How Exactly Does One Plant a Church?
- One Thing Is Necessary
- Cleaning Out the Sheaves
- God Always Gets His Way
- How to Ruin Everything
- No Offense, but You’re Doing Everything Wrong
- Redefine Extraordinary
Top Highlights
“‘Young men tend to overestimate what they can accomplish in the short term and underestimate what they can accomplish in the long term.’” (Page 106)
“‘Do everything you can do to preach excellent sermons. Everything else will fall into place.’ I remember thinking, ‘That sounds right theologically, but will it actually work?’” (Page 51)
“Don’t invest all your efforts in bringing in more people before you have done the hard work of cultivating leaders.” (Page 104)
“The obsession with church size is killing many church planters.” (Page 107)
“If Christians are supposed to be different from the world, and if the church is meant to be a group of Christians committed to each other for the glory of God, it’s essential that we know who ‘we’ are. The members of the church are supposed to care for each other and pray for each other. How can they do that if they don’t know who ‘each other’ is? The leaders of the church are supposed to care for the church. How can they do that if they don’t know who ‘the church’ is?” (Page 58)
I love Mike McKinley’s writing. Church Planting Is For Wimps is an engaging book that weaves together personal story, theological reflection, practical suggestion, and great humor. This is a book that will be of great benefit to pastors who are thinking of giving up on their churches.
—J. D. Greear, lead pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, North Carolina
Mike knows a lot about the ups and downs of church planting, and he writes about it with all the honesty and humor necessary for laboring in God’s grace. There’s no airbrushing of difficulties. And there are no oppressive ‘be wonderful like me’ gimmicks. If you want to think, learn, and laugh all at once, read this book. Whether you’re a church planter, on a church-planting team, or an established pastor whose church wants to be more involved in church planting, you’ll find this book a refreshing, grace-filled, hopeful, and useful excursion into the sometimes dizzying world of church planting.
—Thabiti M. Anyabwile, senior pastor, First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman
- Title: Church Planting Is for Wimps: How God Uses Messed-up People to Plant Ordinary Churches that Do Extraordinary Things
- Author: Mike McKinley
- Series: 9Marks
- Publisher: Crossway
- Print Publication Date: 2010
- Logos Release Date: 2013
- Pages: 128
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Church development, New
- Resource ID: LLS:CHRCHPLNTNGSWMP
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-11T17:30:32Z
Mike McKinley has been pastor to Sterling Baptist Church, in Sterling, Virginia, since 2005. He has served on the pastoral staff of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and received his MDiv from Westminster Theological Seminary. Mike is married to Karen, and they have five children.