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Over the past several months, I have been speaking with the leaders of Community Bible Church of Olathe (CBCO) about the possibility of becoming their “Plant Pastor.” The purpose of the role is simply to help them multiply as all churches should. Last week, it became official: I am now the Plant Pastor for CBCO.
A Little History
When I first came to Kansas City, I was very purposeful. I was sent commissioned by CityChurch Lawrence (CCL) to pursue whatever opportunities God provided in order to participate in what I and others call “The Way of Christ and His Apostles” (i.e., the Great Commission). So, I started looking for a position—in addition to Calvary University (CU)—that would accomplish two major objectives.
First, I wanted to find a connection that would allow me to participate in the Great Commission in a significant way. To be clear, I believe the Great Commission is modeled in Acts as the planting, strengthening and multiplying of local churches everywhere. So, the position I was looking for needed to allow me to participate in one or all of those activities.
Second, the position needed to help me support my family. CU is a great adventure, but only pays about half what we actually need. As I phased out of CCL, I also phased out of the financial support they had been providing me.
So, I was willing to do any of the following: 1) take whatever position I could find (that would fit my CU schedule) and start a church from scratch (including developing multiple income streams). 2) Become the senior pastor of a church that wanted to participate in church multiplication. 3) Take a staff position at an existing church that would allow me to participate in church multiplication.
Start From Scratch
When we first moved to KC last year, my intent was to start a church in our home. I applied for a position at a Christian non-profit (working with people experiencing poverty and homelessness), that was a good fit (i.e., flexible, paid well and would lend itself to church planting). In fact, the director clearly liked me and was thrilled about my connection with CU which might serve other purposes. I thought for sure I would be offered that position, but I wasn’t. No explanation.
Also, I thought I had connected with a core group of people who were interested in helping plant a house church. I was wrong. They were definitely interested, but not one of the three families I met with and discussed the possibilities with was in a position to plant a church right now.
Senior Pastor Position
At the same time, I have been searching my sources for either a senior pastor or staff position. Almost exactly a year ago, I was asked to fill the pulpit two Sundays at a small, struggling Bible church and that quickly became an interim pastor position. As I interacted with the elders of that church, everyone was excited. They liked my family and my ideas and even though I knew it would be a long, difficult process to lead that church to health and multiplication, I believed this was the open door I had been praying for. But it wasn’t. The elders suddenly decided they wanted to go in a different direction. No explanation.
Staff Position
Early in 2023, I came across the position at CBCO. I was intrigued, but I honestly didn’t think it was going to work out for a couple reasons. First, the church is part of the United States Mennonite Brethren denomination. Second, as I read the job description, I assumed they would want to plant in a more traditional way—raise a bunch of money, rent a gymnasium somewhere and start holding services—and wouldn’t like my less common ideas. But, I applied anyway just out of curiosity. I’m so glad I did.
Over the next few weeks, I want to share some of the conversation I’ve had with CBCO in leading to our partnership. But for now, here’s a brief telling of the story.
I applied and was invited for an interview. The search committee told me they expected a younger guy, and asked why an “older” and more experienced guy like myself would apply for this position. My answer was long, but basically included two key ideas. 1) I believe Acts 13:1-3 models the idea that the most equipped—as opposed to the most zealous—should be sent out in mission. I’m not the most equipped leader in church history, but I’m more equipped than most guys coming right out of seminary. 2) I was hopeful that CBCO would be interested in becoming an “Antioch Church”—similar to Acts 13—a church that was strong in discipleship and leadership development, while prayerfully pursuing any opportunity to participate in church multiplication, including microchurch, macrochurch and metachurch.
I have found CBCO to be a God-send. I have been through about six or seven rounds of interviews and at every stage, they have welcomed me and my ideas. They are also open to letting me try to do this work while continuing on at CU. So, while I’m going to need to be very disciplined in my time-management, I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.
I have written several things in this process and recorded a couple videos as well. I want to share those with you in the coming weeks to give you a better sense of where all this is headed.
