Five Things Church Planters Wished Their Supervisors Knew
Over the past several years, I have worked with church planters in a variety of capacities. After wondering for sometime what were the most critical issues facing North American church planters, I decided to conduct an informal study. I surveyed 190 individuals who were involved in church planting at a variety of levels. Of the nearly forty U. S. states, four Canadian provinces, and thirteen different denominations and parachurch organizations represented, numerous issues were mentioned. This article addresses and responds to the five issues most commonly listed.
After reflecting on these responses, I realized that many church planters would like for their supervisors to be familiar with what is on their hearts, but may be uncomfortable making this revelation. The western concept of superior/inferior interpersonal interactions has taught us that inferiors do not open themselves up too much to their superiors and superiors do not empathize too much with their inferiors. This article reveals what church planters are hesitant to reveal and what supervisors are reluctant to ask.
