Church Plant Proposal Outline
1
Church Plant Proposal Outline Cover Page Church Name “Church Plant Proposal” Name of Planter Target Location Of Plant Date Church Logo (if you have one – not essential at this point if you do not have one) Summary Page: Page 1 Mission Statement Target Group Core Values Projected Field Launch1 and Projected Grand Opening2 Type of Plant3 Proposal Detail ***Please number the pages in the proposal*** WHY START A NEW CHURCH? Statement of calling. State your vision – briefly. State the reasons for church planting. 1 “Field Launch” is defined as the date which you are in your target area and starting formal outreach and gathering activities in order to assemble your launch team. 2 Defined as the first major service that is heavily advertised in the community as being the “new church.” There may be a number of monthly preview services or even a couple months of weekly preview services prior to the Grand Opening. 3 “Pioneer Plant” is defined as the planter family and 1 other couple as field launch team, “Hive plant” is defined as the planter family and several other family units from a mother church starting a new work in the same town, county or metropolitan area within approximately 25 miles of the mother church (30 to 40 minutes), “Transplant” is defined as the planter family and several other family units from the mother church moving to plant a new daughter church more than 25 miles (30-40 minutes) away from the mother church, “Congregational birth” is defined as planting a new church within the existing mother church targeting a different ethnic, cultural or generational group (like a Hispanic congregation or a Gen X congregation, etc.).
2
Demonstrate the need for new churches in your target area. Please keep this section to no more than 2 or 3 pages. In demonstrating the need for new churches in your target area, please include only highlights from your demographics that specifically apply to this question. WHO IS MY MINISTRY FOCUS GROUP? Describe your ministry focus group. Describe the community needs. Include appropriate demographics. Describe the proposed location. Please keep this section to no more than three pages in the main body of the proposal. Any additional information may be put in the appendices. WHAT KIND OF CHURCH ARE WE TRYING TO PLANT? State your core values within the behavioral detail that you would include if you were to have a membership class. Please keep the core value detail to one page. State and expand your mission statement. In stating your mission statement, you’re giving us your 30 second version of what you would say to someone asking you, “what is your church about?” in your expanded mission statement, please give us what you would say to someone if you had three minutes to explain what your church is about? Please keep this section at one page with double spacing between paragraphs. Describe your churches ministry style. Include a visual demonstration of your ministry flowchart. The visual demonstration should easily fit on one page and show the general flow of people through your organization from evangelism to leadership releasing. You do not need to detail all of the classes, rather categorize class or ministry types so that your flowchart is simple and easy to follow. Following the visual ministry flowchart, please briefly address each of the main components of ministry flowchart. Within each component briefly address in a couple sentences how people will move into and out of a particular aspect of your ministry model. In addition, for any components that include curriculum or specific events please list in summary fashion 3 – 5 ideas and resources that will be used to implement that component. For example, if one component is servant evangelism activities, then list five specific types of serving evangelism activities that you think would be appropriate for your target audience. WITH WHOM WITH WILL YOU PLANT THIS CHURCH? Include a profile of any confirmed ministry partners. Indicate how many a team members are currently committed to the plant. Indicate how many intercessors you have recruited. List the roles in your church plant that you and your spouse (if applicable) will fill in the first two years. Make a brief summary list of the roles or specific talents that you must recruit in your team members that you or your current team are not able to do.
3
HOW AND WHEN WILL YOU PLANT THIS CHURCH? Include a detailed strategic plan. Include a detailed timeline for the first 18 – 36 months. Include financial benchmarks connected to this timeline (see below) Be sure to include goals for team development (how many, roles needed) Be sure to include specific goals for community contacts. How will you connect with the unchurched community? How many contacts do you hope to make? Include a detailed explanation of how you will gather your core group. HOW MUCH WILL COST AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO RAISE SUPPORT? Include a start-up budget. Include a cash-flow analysis. Define your funding strategy. In defining your funding strategy, please address bi-vocational employment issues, church based fund-raising including any itineration if any is planned, and include a summary of your personal fund-raising plans. In the appendix include a one-page personal fund-raising letter that is a model for what you intend to use, immediately followed by a list of all the names of people you intend to send the fund-raising letter to categorize by their relationship to you (family, work associates, friends, ministry acquaintances). Draft a benchmark-based funding proposal. In should be drafted in the following way: It should be in a table format starting with the date of your approval from assessment. It should list benchmarks at least every 2-3 months. It should include the following elements throughout the proposal: What you plan to do for leadership training What you will do for community connections, and how many you hope to make. i.e. “We will have a community barbecue and each team member will invite 10 people with the hope of reaching 100 new people.” Finances – How much you will raise and how you plan to raise it. Also, how much you are asking the Church Planting commission for. (Note: Funds are granted on a matching funds basis only. The commission will only give if the plant has raised at least as much as it is asking for.) Gathering numbers – How many do you hope to have in your team meetings and in your services? Administration (Bylaws, incorporation, charter, insurance, etc.) Please see the sample on the following page:
4
Date Benchmark Church Team Raised Open Bible Commission Match Total Funds Nov. 10 o Move to church plant community o Secure advisory team of seasoned and respected leaders/pastors 2500.00 2500.00 5000.00 Jan. 11 o Develop a Core Team of 15 o Secure at least 10 intercessors for the plant Mar 11 o Begin Launch Team development of 25 and establish Team leadership o Complete “Church Planting in the 21st Century” training o Begin incorporation process o Begin process to charter with Open Bible 4000.00 4000.00 May 11 o Leadership Team to develop relational groups of 10-15 with 3x month contact o Launch Team of 30. o Identify worship, children & assimilation leaders o Secure church insurance o Work with Coach to set budget 5000.00 5000.00 10000.00 July 11 o Leadership training for areas of worship, children’s ministry and assimilation. o Do community outreach event that meets needs of the community, with each team member inviting at least two others to help with the event. 6000.00 6000.00 12000.00 Oct. 11 o Train in small group dynamics o Have four groups of 10-15 meeting weekly. o Identify & train hospitality team. 9000.00 9000.00 Jan. 12 o Launch/Leadership Team of 60 meeting bi-weekly o 1 Outreach event hoping for 200 community connections o Establish 6 month outreach strategy for continual community connections. 12000.00 12000.00 Feb. 12 o Purchase essential equipment o Secure meeting place o Preview Service #1: 300 personal invites from our Launch Team – goal of 100 in the service. 6000.00 6000.00 12000.00 March 12 o Preview Service #2: 300 personal invites from our Launch Team – goal of 120 in the service. o 6 Small groups meeting weekly 6000.00 6000.00 April 12 o Launch Service – goal of 150 in service Total to Launch $50,500.00 $19,500.00 $70,000.00 June 12 o Average Attendance of 130 o Continue monthly leadership training. o Establish 6 month outreach strategy for continual community connections. 22500.00 5000.00 27500.00 Oct 12 o Community Outreach Event o Continued monthly Leadership development 24000.00 5000.00 29000.00 Total Post Launch $46,500.00 $10,000.00 $56,500.00 GRAND TOTAL: Nov. 10 – Oct.12 $97,000.00 $29,500.00 $126,500.00
5
HOW CAN ONE BE INVOLVED? Specific prayer needs Volunteer needs Potential contacts Equipment needs Financial needs APPENDIX Try to keep all of the above sections of the proposal as brief as possible and yet containing the information requested. Where possible put detail that may be of interest in the appendix and reference material in the appendix in the body of the proposal. Either reference by page number, or by See Appendix A, See Appendix B, etc. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Chris at 253-435-0172 or by email at chris.h@ccpuyallup.com (it is often quicker to get a response via email – if you call via phone and leave a message, indicate a couple of two hour time blocks in which you can be reached in the next couple of days. If you have email, please leave your email address and you will get a confirmation by email of a phone appointment time).