Fourteen new church planters were commissioned Sunday, March 9, at Taylors First Baptist Church. In the first-ever commissioning service, planters and their core teams were able to share prayer requests and ministry goals with those in attendance. The commissioned planters represent a variety of church starts ranging from rural areas to booming coastal regions.
Rob BlackabyRob Blackaby, pastor at Trinity Baptist in Calgary, Canada, and lead planter for the new South Winds Church, addressed the planters and challenged them to finish well.
“My charge to you tonight is finish the race,” Blackaby said to those who are taking the first steps in church planting.
Speaking from experience, Blackaby cautioned that in church planting, there will be many opportunities to give up.
“Those who finish the race are those who say, time and time again, they are not opting out,” said Blackaby.
Speaking from 2 Chronicles 14, Blackaby highlighted the story of King Asa, who began well but let his focus wane. Blackaby asked participants two poignant questions: Where have you fixed your gaze, and where will you fix your gaze?
“King Asa simply shifted his gaze and did not finish well,” he said. “Far too many of us cannot even discern when our gaze has shifted.”
There is an element of church planting which places the lives of planters and their families under scrutiny. But Blackaby told planters their devotion is exactly what the world needs to see.
Praying for church planters.“Finish the race, because they are watching to see if we live what we say,” he said.
And in noting the large amounts of faith required to plant a church, Blackaby acknowledged the task is large and mostly difficult.
“People always ask me, ‘Does trusting God get any easier?’ What do you think?”
Participants also heard from Gary Morrison, a current church planter in Easley. Morrison and his family moved to South Carolina after 19 years in Mobile, Ala. Morrison, who grew up in Panama and is bilingual, recalled offering what he could to God’s service.
“My prayer was, ‘Lord, I don’t have much to give you – but I give you my Spanish,’?” said Morrison, who leads a mostly Hispanic church.
“You are not planting buildings but planting seeds in people’s hearts,” he said.
For more information on church planting, log on to www.scmultiply.org or call (800) 723-7242, ext. 5800.