We don’t often say it out loud, but church planting is deeply vulnerable. We go in with dreams, hopes, vision statements - and then we meet reality.
In nearly two-thirds of the cases I’ve seen where church plants faltered or failed, the issue wasn’t moral failure or bad theology. It was that they didn’t get what they hoped for. People, place, and property - the practical stuff - simply didn’t materialise as planned.
One planter put it plainly: “After eight years we still do not have a building… we seem illegitimate. We don’t have a worship leader. I was playing guitar, singing, and preaching for years.” Another said they never managed to get kids work off the ground - so young families didn’t stay. “We limped along,” they said. And these aren't isolated cases.
How to say a good goodbye to your sending church
“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old …