NEXT Takeaway 2

Choose a target to aim at or ultimately hit nothing.

This is something 'overseas missionaries' have always understood. When you choose to leave home and go and take the truth of Jesus to the people of Japan you are actually choosing to not take the message to the people of Antarctica. It’s a decision prayerfully made to actually do something somewhere to reach someone instead of doing nothing nowhere and ultimately reaching no one!!

Choosing who you’re going to reach also means you’re also choosing who you’re not going to reach. And sadly it goes the other way, if you choose to try and reach everyone, you end up reaching no one effectively!
Let's put some handle bars on this:
Choosing to communicate with 20's and 30's means you're choosing stop and step out of your 'world' and enter theirs. You choose:
1. to talk a certain language
2. to enter a certain cuture with unique values that need to be understood
3. to engage with certain music and dress styles,
JUST TO NAME A FEW.
You either choose your target OR you ultimately choose to have none.
Sound simple? Just try to do it and email me what happens :)

Jesus drives this model. He did it - Philippians 2:1-8. And now He seeks to continue to take His message through us, as we walk with His Spirit empowering us to be His witnesses (Phil 2:12-13).

Our challenge as church planters is to be gutsy enough to praryerfully do this from day one and to stick with it, no matter how many people seek to remove or change the 'target.'

NEXT Planting Conference Takeaway 1

It seems as I watch and talk to fruitful church planters one of the repeating things I see is that they Know They've Got IT.
What I mean is they know their calling, they know their mission and they know their Commander in Chief is calling them to get out of the trench, follow Him and charge the line!
Now I'm not saying they don't doubt it from time to time, in fact they tell me they do from time to time, but when waves of doubt hit they get close to God, regroup and get refocused on the truth and their calling. And they definately aren't perfectly rounded leaders. In fact it seems they're often rough 'round the edges. But at the end of the day they know the price that they're called to pay, their families are 100% behind them, and they're willing to learn and grow in their leadership capacity.