By Brad Dupray
John Wasem has been at the forefront of the church-planting movement for nearly all of his 30-plus years in ministry. As minister of outreach at East 91st Christian Church in Indianapolis in the early 1980s, he crafted a plan for the church to start 20 churches in 20 years””a goal the church has far exceeded.John planted Suncrest Christian Church in St. John, Indiana (East 91st Street church plant no. 7) in 1994 and since then has taught church planting at Lincoln (Illinois) Christian Seminary and Emmanuel School of Religion, Johnson City, Tennessee. John currently serves as the director of the Emmanuel Institutes including the Institute for Church Planting as well as director of planter care for Stadia East. John and his bride of 34 years, Leslie, have three children and one granddaughter.
How do you define a church plant?
A church plant is the biblical and natural by-product of a healthy New Testament church.
What makes for a successful church plant?
A church plant is successful when it reaches people who are far from Christ and reproduces itself.New churches are creative, relevant, intentional “beachheads” in a culture that needs to be transformed.
Is there too much emphasis on the number of people reached?
My impression is that there”s been a positive transition to more emphasis on healthy churches, than simply large churches””an emphasis on qualitative vs. quantitative assessment. New churches that are effective at transforming lives and multiplying ministry for the kingdom”ssake are truly successful.
Is there more church planting taking place, or are people just more aware of it now?
About 25 years ago church planting suddenly, became prominent on the “radar screen.”It has become higher profile because churches are starting to realize that to be a true New Testament church you must be committed to, involved in and successful at the reproduction of your ministry. That means the reproduction and multiplication of leaders, resources, and outreach expressions.
In addition, there seems to be a far greater entrepreneurial emphasis on Christian leadership than I remember experiencing in the beginning of my pastoral career. There”s less dependence on patterns and more focus on true kingdom creativity and responsiveness. Church planting is not formulistic any more.It was when I first became acquainted with it.
Is there a culture of church planting or is it just the culture of the church to start new churches?
I wish it was naturally the culture of a church to reproduce itself. The new church planting movement has opened the eyes of an increasing number of churches to see that the reproduction ministry is a God-ordained core value.
How does a church arrive at that culture?
It does so by making an intentional effort to understand its context as a church. To become acquainted with and participate in the lives of people that need Christ, that need hope. The missional emphasis that has become front and center for churches today is helping churches to be more responsive and credible. One of my mentors was Dr. Robert Fife. Dr. Fife frequently commented both in the classroom and informally, “to be effective ministers of the gospel we must earn the right to speak and to lead.”I believe that the church today gets what Dr. Fife meant when he spoke of incarnational ministry.
How are new churches different than established churches?
A new church, generally speaking, is going to be a much more agile, responsive, and pro-active organism. Many established churches have those same characteristics, but they must exert far more energy and intentionality to be entrepreneurial. The decision-making process in a new church tends to be flatter rather than hierarchical. Therefore, the speed of both strategizing and implementation seems to be greater. It”s not automatically the case, but in most new churches innovation is not only welcomed and applauded, but it”s viewed as expected and necessary.
Do new churches hold a monopoly on innovation?
The established church and the “cutting edge” do not have to be incompatible. Some of the most cutting-edge churches in our movement are established churches. Those churches owe a debt of thanks to newer and more innovative churches that are actively attuned to the people they are trying to reach with the gospel.
Is church planting a reaction to / against the institutional church?
Over the years whenever I”ve interacted with a person who was interested in church planting, early in that conversation my goal has been to try to ascertain motivation. If motivation is primarily a reaction to the established church, then I would be quite concerned about that individual”s readiness and maturity for the arduous journey of church planting. On the other hand, if the person communicates a heart that burns for following the way of God, and reaching people for God, then we need to keep talking, because that”s a person whose core values can fuel church planting.
How do you weed out potential planters who are angry at the institutional church?
One of the best developments in the church-planting arena has been the role of leadership assessment. Organizations like the Church Planting Assessment Center, which is part of our movement, have been studying how to effectively increase the probability that people chosen for church planting leadership will be well suited for the role. Part of the mission of quality assessment for church-planting is to identify core motivations of the potential planter. Assessment is much more than skill evaluation; it”s an examination of character, passion, and Spirit-influenced instincts.
Is there a danger of new churches chasing after false doctrine or easy doctrines in their passion to reach a wider audience?
There is definitely a danger, however, my own experience and observation tells me that the preconceived idea that a newer, growing church is selling out to pragmatism is normally a misnomer. It does happen, but very rarely.A church planter must guard against employing methodology just because it works. A church planter is a “theological translator.” He must do the hard work of translation so that the method employed is compatible with the gospel.Translating methodology and strategy into the life and expressions of the church in ways that glorify God is the job of the planter.
What made you think “church planting” early in your ministry years?
I was the new minister of outreach at East 91st Street Christian Church in 1980. The church had just broken 1,000 and was located on 10 acres with no expansion possibilities known at that time.The elders asked me, as the new minister of outreach, to address the crowded parking lot issue .One of the deacons came to me with the idea that we should meet to study and pray through the book of Acts as a way of addressing our church growth. That resulted in a new awareness of church planting for me.I became acquainted with church planting through humble Bible study with a group of men, once a week, in my office. That led me to the Fuller Institute where we attended the first church-planting seminar offered in 1982. The elders wanted a solution to the parking lot problem and ended up with a church-planting strategy!
Did Suncrest always feel like a new church to you?
Yes. When I left Suncrest after 11 years and handed off to my very gifted associate who took the helm, it was still a new church””and it”s still a new church today.
What makes it a new church?
An attitude of constant learning. Listening carefully to God. Seeking his wisdom on things that are in the category of an experiment or a pilot ministry. Never being content that the perfect formula for ministry effectiveness has been reached.
How did Suncrest change in your 11 years?
A new church definitely goes through a life cycle, just like a human being. We went from the birthing phase to the entrepreneurial phase to the sustaining phase. As opportunities for ministry increased, the leadership challenge became more complex. Change is continuing and will always be a welcome part of the culture of Suncrest. The current staff, eldership, and ministry leadership of that church along with a culture that views change as an inevitable blessing enables Suncrest to stay young, yet increasingly effective.
What would you do differently now than you did then?
If I knew then what I know now, I would have been far less impulsive with strategic decision making and would have been more intentional with regard to waiting upon, and listening to, the leadership of God. A new church project is so dynamic and fluid that it”s easy to get momentum and end up coming back to God after the fact. On occasion you need to repent and do the hard work of correcting some impulsive decisions. You get so caught up in the dynamic nature of a new church that you can, all of a sudden, realize you are way downstream, and not realize that you have moved ahead of God.
Can a church planter lead a new church without being a personal evangelist?
A church planter must set the pace and lead by example. A church planter is not a dictator who sits in the “lifeguard chair” and tells everyone when they can get in the pool or not to run. A church planter is a player-coach. So if you”re going to be most effective at motivating your congregation to be involved in, and effective at, lifestyle evangelism you must set that pace. The same standard applies to spiritual disciplines, personal godliness, spiritual growth, and servanthood.
What do you see as the future of church planting?
As I gaze on the immediate horizon, my sense is that over the next generation we will experience an unprecedented degree of partnership and collaboration among churches of all varieties in the efforts to fulfill the kingdom mandate to go and make disciples. I would say, among other things, technology has increased the connectivity of Christian leaders and it is an asset we would be foolish to ignore.
Besides sending money, what can established churches do to support church planting?
Existing churches can greatly enhance their own ministry and vitality by taking the initiative to build relational bridges with new churches. Those bridges are two-way bridges that can take the established church to the world of the new church and welcome the world of the new church into the exchange of ideas, leaders, services, and resources.
What would you say are the most important lessons for the church planter himself?
First, invest yourself in other people for the sake of developing emerging leaders, and second, determine that you will never, ever stop learning.
Brad Dupray is senior vice president, investor development, with Church Development Fund, Irvine, California.
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