Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts
by Jim Griffith and Bill Easum
Jim Griffith and Bill Easum draw from decades of personal experience in planting new churches and consulting with supervisors and planters in new church starts. They have condensed their vast experiences down to ten points that account for the great majority of failures among church planters. For each point, the authors provide examples of the particular mistake and ways to avoid it. They speak in special sections to coaches and supervisors, showing them how to work with church planters to avoid mistakes.
The ten mistakes point in most cases to plans made on the basis of past experiences or unrealistic models that do not fit either the particular church planter or the mission field where the church is planned. the church planter must take the initiative to do God's work as directed by the Holy Spirit, not copy a religious superstar's methods or approach the works as defined by outside sources.
Endorsements
"I've planted churches and coached hundreds of planters and I can tell you Jim and Bill know what they are talking about. The chapters on money and leadership development are alone worth the price of the book."
—Todd Hunter, president, Alpha USA
"Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts is the essential trail-guide to starting a church"
—Sally Morgenthaler, Shapevine.com, contributor to Emergent Manifesto of Hope
"Griffith and Easum have provided pivotal insights in the planting of Epicenter Church in Washington, D.C. Anyone considering planting a new church-both pastors and judicatory leaders-needs to read this book first. It is one of a very few must-reads in the field."
—Paul Nixon, author of I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church and pastor, EpicenterDC
"Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by New Church Starts is a down-to-earth guide that challenges not only church planters but also church members to focus on those who are not in church yet. It is this focus that makes churches grow healthily and expands the message of the Gospel."
—Nora Colmenares Martinez, Office of Church Development, North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church