Church in the Making: What Makes or Breaks a New Church Before it Starts

Nearly eighty percent of all new churches fail, leaving countless discouraged church planters wondering why. Ben Arment answers their question with Church in the Making by identifying and expanding on three God ordained conditions that make for a successful church plant even before the doors open:

Good Ground – just as Jesus based his ministry on the openness of people’s hearts, we must gauge the spiritual receptivity of our community before planting a church. If the people are not yet open to the Gospel, the first step is to cultivate their hearts.

Rolling Rocks – momentum is also key to the success of new churches. If God truly builds his church, then our job is not to start from scratch, but rather to identify where he is already bringing people, funds, and other resources together for his purposes.

Deep Roots – wherever there’s a church in the making, God provides a group of leaders who can align people and resources in order to achieve and sustain the church’s mission. Lone planters have a much less hope of succeeding, let alone surviving.

Ben Arment recently resigned as Experience & Innovation Director of the Catalyst next generation leader conferences based in Atlanta, Georgia, to launch a live event and film project production company in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He also founded The Whiteboard Sessions, a one-day leadership conference. Ben and his wife are former church planters and have two sons.