The early days of church planting can be exciting. They can be nerve-wracking. They are definitely exhausting.
Turning an evangelistic movement into an established church is not an easy task. If it happens, it’s evidence of God’s grace and sovereignty and the fact that Jesus is indeed building his church (Matt. 16:18).
The early days of planting differ for everyone. Some church-planting projects never result in what the planter envisions: a healthy local church. Some planters see many converts and quickly constitute as a local church. For others, the grind is slow and arduous; and after years of faithful ministry, they still receive help from gracious supporting churches.
On today’s podcast, we talk with two seasoned planters and pastors. These men began a church-planting movement, and now pastor large churches.
Tyler Jones and Joby Martin will talk to us about how to lead and maintain vision in the local church. What happens after your church is established and “self-sustaining”? How does the pastoral leader stay focused and fired up once the church is no longer a plant, but a vibrant congregation established in the community? What’s this transition like?
You can listen to this episode here.
Free eBook by Tim Keller: ‘The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness’
Imagine a life where you don’t feel inadequate, easily offended, desperate to prove yourself, or endlessly preoccupied with how you look to others. Imagine relishing, not resenting, the success of others. Living this way isn’t far-fetched. It’s actually guaranteed to believers, as they learn to receive God’s approval, rather than striving to earn it.
In Tim Keller’s short ebook, The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness: The Path To True Christian Joy, he explains how to overcome the toxic tendencies of our age一not by diluting biblical truth or denying our differences一but by rooting our identity in Christ.
TGC is offering this Keller resource for free, so you can discover the “blessed rest” that only self-forgetfulness brings.
