Preparing the mother church to plant

So you're thinking about the idea of becoming a hub church, but what are the steps you need to take? Time to lean on another's experience…

Phil Campbell (Senior Minister at Mitchelton Presbyterian Church) has been leading the team at MPC in Brisbane since 1999. MPC is a vibrant growing church on Brisbane’s northside that’s built on values of loving community and clear, Christ centered bible teaching.

MPC has been involved in church plants, revitalisation and growing the mother church. In this audio file (jump into the audio at the 8:15 mark) Phil speaks about the importance of preparing the mother church ang gives 5 helpful tips, as follows:

1. Fix your own church first
a) Overcome Fertility Problems: If you're planning on planting and growing a church from your mother church, you'll need a fertile 'working model' first. You should ask: Is your church growing? Have you worked out why, or why not? Is your church welcoming? Gospel centered? Relationally functional? Understandable? Well taught?

b) Overcome Comfort Problems: Your church might be growing and vibrant – but if people are geared for comfort and familiarity, theyʼll prefer to stay as they are. It will be hard to recruit plant pioneers, and it will be hard for mother-members to let go. It takes work to create a culture of planting. Promote the gospel imperative.  

2. Define, capture and model a growth-DNA
When your church IS working well and you want to duplicate it, you need to capture the DNA. Each mother church will be different. Clearly articulate what your core values are, what's working and why, what's negotiable and what's not. State these so people know where you stand and where they stand. 

3. Developing the vision 
Developing the vision is the next step, and a key part of the Senior Pastorʼs role in preparing the mother church.

4. Identifying opportunities 
While identifying opportunities and workers <> follows the vision it helps to have some concrete scenarios in mind as you begin. You should: 1. Look for the right planter to add to your team. Allow 2 years lead time. 2. Look for target areas that need a gospel centred Bible teaching church. 3. Look for facilities. Finding the right venue is increasingly hard. 4. Look for a willing core group of people (ideally 30-40 adults) 

5. Planning and Planting – the reality 
In reality, you will need allow 18-24 months before the new church plant will launch. Use this lead time to plan and prepare well.

Hoping these challenges your own thoughts about multi-site planting!

–  Scott