If you're thinking about planting and would like to know more, please join us this fall for this year's SGA Planter's Academy! The hybrid format includes two in-person meetings in Macon, independent learning, and zoom meetings. We will have cohorts especially for clergy and laity so no matter who you are, we have a group for you! Details can be found here on our downloadable brochure.
Think you want to plant a new church? Here’s how to begin!
1. Check your mindsets. Starting something new requires a new mindset. Just like Jesus talked about the importance of not putting new wine in old wineskins, we can’t try to do something new while in the old wineskins of our thinking.
Passion and zeal: You need to have a strong desire to see people come to know Christ and to grow in their faith. The desire to see people come to Christ must be bigger than the desire for you to have a comfortable or preferable place to worship.
Leadership ability: You need to be willing to take the lead and not wait to be led. This is about you leading the way for others, not waiting on them to lead the way for you.
Faithfulness: You need to be committed and faithful. Church planting can be a challenging and unpredictable endeavor, so need to be committed to God and willing to persevere through struggles.
Flexibility: You need to be adaptable and willing to adjust to changes in strategy or circumstance. The way you’ve always done things isn’t going to work the same here.
Humility: You must be humble and willing to learn from others.
Entrepreneurial: You need to be able to think creatively and take risks in order to reach new people and cultivate a healthy church community.
Visionary: You need to be able to foster a culture built on a clear and compelling vision for the church that will inspire others to join you in mission.
Gospel-centered: You need to have an understanding of the Gospel and be able to communicate it effectively to others.
Community-oriented: You need to be able to connect with people and build relationships.
Servant-hearted: You need to be focused on serving others and meeting the needs of your community, rather than your own personal ambitions.
2. Determine where you are gifted to serve! Take the assessment. Send your results to Anne Bosarge at abosarge@sgaumc.com.
Spiritual Gifts Inventory: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/spiritual-gifts-inventory/en (Click “Print and Download Results” at the end of your test and click “Save as PDF” from the drop-down PDF menu.)
APEST Inventory: Choose the 45 question option. After completing the assessment click “e-mail my results”. https://fivefoldministry.com
Grit Scale: Take the quick quiz and write down your score. Include that in your e-mail. https://angeladuckworth.com/grit-scale/
Innovation Assessment: Take the assessment and on the results page, click on “download PDF.” https://www.trendhunter.com/innovation-assessment?ref=4051d2fc1f17cea4832e25678a15be88
5 Leadership Voices- Take the assessment and on the final page, send Anne the voice order listed. https://5voices.com
3. Set up a coaching call with a Developer. Be ready to discuss your assessment results, where you see God working in your life, and how He might be calling and preparing you to do something new. E-mail Anne Bosarge at abosarge@sgaumc.com to set up your time to connect.