EDITORIAL
Leading Mission | Andrew MacDonald
There is something deeply satisfying about watching anyone from a carpenter to a chef to a designer masterfully perform their craft. Witnessing their talent in action is inspiring as countless years of exhaustive effort honing their skills are encapsulated in a single moment.
While there are many ideas and strategies on effective church planting we can learn, we often lose sight of the ways it resembles a craft. A practical wisdom exists in church planting, earned through dedication and refinement, that often goes undervalued in how we talk about and approach church planting. If we think about church planting as a craft, here are three takeaways that can help deepen and sustain our calling.
1. Failure as Formative
As with any craft, failure is not intrinsically good or bad; its value is determined by how we respond and engage with it. If we approach failure with stubbornness, ignorance or pride, we only deepen destructive habits. Left unchecked, these bad habits can become entrenched, making it significantly harder to implement new ideas. Over time, they can calcify, hindering growth and learning.
However, failure can be a powerful tool for church planters who are humble and teachable enough to benefit from it. In fact, far more can be learned from failure than success. By reflecting on setbacks early in the process, we can adjust our strategies, clarify our mission and build resilience for future challenges. The journey of church planting is often challenging, but developing clarity and perseverance transforms setbacks into stepping stones toward success.
2. Community as Instructive
While church planting can often seem isolating, like other crafts we can draw both support and guidance from a guild. A community of other church planters both refines and shapes our practice, providing a network for learning, emulation and collaboration. Instead of starting from scratch, modern planters benefit from decades of thoughtful contributions made by those who have gone before them. The church planting community is not an abstract concept; it is a vibrant, welcoming resource—an invaluable refuge for those seeking to learn and grow in their craft.
3. Innovation as Essential
Church planters are like missionaries working in diverse cultures; they are resourceful, adaptable and creative. Faced with limited funding, inconsistent attendance and little spare time, church planters must be able to make the mechanisms of church life work under challenging circumstances. On the frontier of missional work, church planters enjoy unprecedented freedom to experiment with the practices and rhythms of church life.
Unlike other crafts, mastery in church planting centers on how well planters embrace innovation while staying anchored to the enduring truths of the Christian faith. This balance is challenging, requiring both expertise and faithfulness. Too often, the freedom to innovate can lead some planters to tinker with core doctrines, which can undermine their efforts. However, for leaders who innovate wisely—maintaining a mission-focused, theologically faithful approach—church planting becomes a powerful and prophetic force for the wider church.
When planters demonstrate faithful innovation, they reveal the potential of their craft to contribute to the broader church. From worship to discipleship to evangelism, church plants are the innovative engines that drive mission forward in unexpected ways. In this respect, church planters are an invaluable gift to the broader church, helping to foster new practices that remind us of our collective mission and call to the world.