Best Practices in Church Planter

AssessmentJohn Shepherd

Church Planting in US Today More churches are being planted each

year(approx. 4000) than are being closed (approx. 3500).

Big increase over approx. 1500/yr reported a decade ago.

Stetzer and Bird, Viral Churches, 1.

Stetzer and Travis, Church Planting Overview: State of Church Planting in the USA , 3.

Why Such a Big Deal?

Making progress

Adding new churches

Baptisms Per Member

Under 3 yrs: 10 baptisms/100 mbrs

3-15 yrs: 5 baptisms/100 mbrs

Older than 15 yrs: 3 baptisms/100 mbrs

Viral Churches, 26.

“Church planting has become the ‘it’ thing right now and the new

evangelism.”

Viral Churches, 1.

Challenges to Church Planting Today

Attracting more people who want to plant

Tough economy

Barna Study on GivingJan 2010

48% of Americans had reduced giving to nonprofits in last 3 mos.

30% had dropped their level of giving to church.

Nearly 25% of church donors had cut giving by 20% or more.

75% of Americans believe economic recovery is 2 or more yrs away.

Some Good News on Giving

According to a survey conducted in Jan. 2011, for the first time in four years Americans say they are likely to increase their charitable giving in 2011.

Number of households who plan to increase giving this year rose 29%.

Dunham+Company New Year’s Philanthropy Survey

Assessments are more important than ever before!

12 CP Organizations in Study Acts 29 Alliance NW Bapt. Missionary Assoc. Church of Nazarene EFCA Forest Lakes District (EFCA) Foursquare General Bapt. Illinois Bapt. Assoc. NAMB PCA Vision Ministries Canada

Overview of Current Patterns of CP Assessments

Patterns in What We Are Assessing?

Patterns in How We Are Assessing?

What We Are Assessing

All 12 organizations are assessing:

• Planter’s Call—Why?

• Planter’s Character—Who?

• Planter’s Competencies—What?

• Planter’s Context—Where?

How We Are Assessing

Primary Methods of Indirect Observation:

Behavioral Interview

Assessment Center

Self-Assessment

Behavioral Interview

Background:Based on research by Charles

Ridley, 1984Ch. Planter Performance Profile-

13 Qualities of Effective Planters 3 Limitations of CPPP

4 Phases of Ridley’s Process

Pre-screen applicantsInterviewEvaluate interview dataWrite report

Principles behind Behavioral Interviewing

Past behavior is best predictor of future behavior.

Behavior performance is more important than work experience.

Focus on a group of behaviors, not just single behavior.

Reliance on indirect observation of behavior.

Strengths

Inexpensive Easily reproducible Adaptable to local context Focuses on past behavior Increases candidate’s self-awareness

Weaknesses Ridley did not define “effective church

planter” Puts “all eggs in one basket” Highly dependent on quality of

assessors CPPP was developed in 1984 Is CPPP applicable to all planters,

regardless of gender, race, education, CP model, etc.?

Why spend so much time talking about Charles Ridley?

75% of organizations in this study use his behavioral profile either as is or in a modified version!

100% of organizations in this study use behavioral interviewing!

Assessment Center

History:WWII: First used by military in

the US.1954: AT&T first American

business to use AC.1983: Thomas Graham (COMD)

first used AC in selecting church planters.

Elements of Assessment Centers

ACs have multiple:CandidatesAssessorsExercises, simulations, testsCriteria or competenciesDays (typically 3-4)

Strengths

Multiple means of assessment Multiple assessors Ability to use AC as developmental

process for church planter Situational exercises may give

realistic preview of job to candidate

Weaknesses

Expensive

High levels of skill, time & energy needed by assessors

Hard for lay & bivocational planters to participate

5 of 12 organizations (42%) in this study use ACs in their

CP selection process.

Self-Assessment

Created by Jim Griffith of Griffith Coaching Network in 1996.

He’s assessed over 1900 CP candidates, trained 7000 planters, worked with over 30 organizations.

Elements of Self-Assessment

Pre-screening/Application

Assessment Instruments

DiSC, Team Profile, Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode, CP Assess. Workbook

Debrief Interview (75 min, 15 Core Competencies)

Strengths

Inexpensive Candidate is vital partner in decision-

making process Encourages candidates to make

conclusions first and then collaborate with supervisor

Time-saver for CP leaders Easily adaptable for different CP contexts Interview is shorter & feels less adversarial

than Ridley’s

Weaknesses

Designed for well educated candidates-- How will it impact lay & bivo planters?

Less emphasis on behavioral interviews

100% of the organizations in this study have

incorporated elements of Self-Assessment into their

process.

Direct Observation

Best method—Observe faithfulness & fruitfulness over time

Fastest growing method

Used primarily by local churches:Multi-siteChurch plantsOrganic

Top 5 CP Realities Church planting is hard!

The two ongoing emotions church planters feel are disappointment & discouragement.

The key to a healthy church plant is a healthy church planter.

Too many hurting planters are reaching hurting people.

Church planting is primarily a spiritual endeavor.

What We Are Assessing

• Planter’s Call—Why?

• Planter’s Character—Who?

• Planter’s Competencies—What?

• Planter’s Context—Where?

• Planter’s Capacity—How Much?

Capacity—How Much?

Capacity is “the ability to perform or endure under stress for a period of time.”

Focus on the emotional, relational & spiritual health of a planter.

It is our responsibility to help planters start and stay healthy.

Capacity ResourcesAssessment:Emotional—EQ-i, Professional Counselor

Relational—Prepare-Enrich

Spiritual—Interview & Written Description of Call, Prayer Life

Ongoing: Coaching!

Top 5 Things @ Capacity Help planters start healthy by assessing

their capacity.

Help them stay healthy thru coaching.

Give permission to take a day off and vacations.

Encourage the hearts of planters/spouses.

Provide “annual check-up” with a counselor.

Questions

Describe your assessment process. What is working well? What can be improved?

How are you assessing the capacity of your planters?Emotional—PastRelational—Family & friendsSpiritual—Power & presence of God