What Kind Of A Church Are You Planting? – Part 1
Posted By Aaron Marcelli on November 1, 2010
In spreading the word about our plans to plant a church in Chattanooga, Tennessee –whether through twitter, this blog, or word of mouth – a question I have received from several folks is, “what kind of church are you planting?” At first, I thought it a rather simple and somewhat to be expected question. But then I thought, “How exactly do I answer that?”
What information is someone looking for when they ask what kind of church will we be? What information are they looking for? If I respond with telling them about my huge vision and the plans God has put on my heart and all they were looking for was the denomination we will be part of (if any), then I may come off as arrogant. If they were interested in knowing the foundational beliefs we will practice and I respond with what style of music we will have, then I sound shallow. So hopefully you see my dilemma in not knowing how to answer this question. But as best I can, I want to use this post and next to respond to anyone who may have asked or wondered ‘what kind of church are we planting.’
For the rest of this post, I may sound like a politician who is avoiding the question but don’t worry, I will get into some of the specifics of our plan in the next post. My intention here is just to say I don’t know. Honestly. Not to make it sound like we are going into this thing blindly, but I cannot at this time answer all the specifics about our churches governmental set up or if and how we will utilize small groups.
Part of the reason we hope to raise enough financial support to move to Chattanooga as full time church planters (meaning, not have to work for supplemental income) is because we want to become an active part of the city and culture. For that reason, we have already begun to visit a church or two per month in Chattanooga. We want to find out what works there and what doesn’t. I grew up independent Baptist, then worked at a southern Baptist church, and now am a member of a nondenominational church. So how smart would it be for me to move into the city of Chattanooga and just impose my religious background and system on those people? How effective do you think I would be?
That’s why when I’m asked about some specifics of our church plant, I have to say, “I don’t know.” Because I don’t. We will get to know the people, learn the local culture, and seek God for what and how we should do in order to appeal to and engage the people of downtown Chattanooga. Sure we have some specifics in mind and I will discuss those in the next post. But all we are really sure about at this point is that we want to reach people. And we will be whatever kind of church we need to be to see life change take place for those in the city of Chattanooga.
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Hi Aaron
Have you visited North Point? I know that the fellow I hoped you’d meet, Al Allison, fell through, but he is still pretty passionate about planting in the Soddy area.
I kind of hoped you guys could somehow form an alliance and give the process more of a locally supported ease….
Of course, this may not be your leading – I’m cool with that.
Talk soon