Some of the people who have contacted us about planting new churches come to us having experienced a prior disappointment in an earlier church setting. They are seeking to put the prior disappointment and, often accompanying sadness and anger behind them in a manner that honors God and releases them to be productive, healthy members of a church planting launch team.

The emotions that they are experiencing are usually valid, but until they have submitted those emotions to God for His refining, they will carry too much negative "baggage" into a church planting experience. There is no substitute for personally joining a brother or sister in Christ in prayer to God, for healing of these emotions and release for the future.

However, because we have received many requests for counsel, direction and prayer, we prepared the following to assist those who may be in this particular situation. We pray that this will bless you and we encourage you to contact us if we can be of more assistance. We have an active prayer component of our Church Planting Ministry and we offer that to you for additional encouragement.

For some of you, Nehemiah's feelings upon hearing the news of the crumbling walls and general destruction of Jerusalem sound very familiar:

Nehemiah 1

The words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah:

1 In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, 2 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem.
3 They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."
4 .When I heard these things, I sat down and wept

Nehemiah's course of action in the midst of his deep sadness is a model for us:

For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

5 Then I said: "O LORD , God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. 7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
8 "Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'
10 "They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."

Nehemiah's response was not to ignore his situation or throw a "pity party" and he did not complain and blame everyone else for causing the walls to be destroyed. Rather, he experienced grief, he mourned, he fasted and he turned to God (see also, Psalm 121).

In prayer, Nehemiah approached the "great and awesome God" who keeps His promises and then Nehemiah confessed his own involvement in the degrading of Jerusalem by virtue of his being one of the people of Israel. He didn't play the "blame game." He "owned" the fact that being a child of Israel made him a party to the "shape" that Jerusalem was in. And then he was bold enough to ask God for a role in rebuilding the walls. If your "story" includes this sort of disappointment, until you have gone through this same process, it will be very hard for you to be a productive member of a church planting launch team.

If you feel like you have got these disappointments behind you and believe that God has called you to be a member of a church planting launch team, Nehemiah's strategy and preparation for rebuilding the walls provides additional counsel for you.

Nehemiah 2

11 I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few men. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on.
13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal [1] Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King's Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work.
17 Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God upon me and what the king had said to me.
They replied, "Let us start rebuilding." So they began this good work.

Nehemiah quietly surveyed the damaged walls and began to develop a vision for what work there was to do and how it best could be completed. Then he shared that vision with others and challenged them to join in with the rebuilding effort that God had already begun to bless. Of course, Nehemiah's project was not without opposition, but Nehemiah's perseverance, reflected in the rest of the story, demonstrates his confidence in God's provision for the task.

19 But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. "What is this you are doing?" they asked. "Are you rebelling against the king?"
20 I answered them by saying, "The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."

The same God who empowered Nehemiah for his role in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem is at work today empowering people to build His church and we hope as you consider whether you have a call to participate in starting a new church that this brief reflection on Nehemiah's witness is a blessing to you.