Day two data dump

Okay, we're all feeling a bit punchy after another drink from the fire hose today. Even the leaders of our training call this a big data dump. It's a lot of information. But it's been good.

Today we spent time focusing on developing those strong roots that will support our church plant. A huge realization for us was that we don't need to be ashamed of taking the time needed to develop a solid team of people to make sure that we launch well. It's very tempting to want to jump right into putting on a worship service. We heard story after story of church planters who took four, five, six months or more to get their core launch group developed and ready to go public.

We looked at the importance of truly understanding our community and its needs. We looked at having people with a variety of spiritual gifts. We looked at the kinds of people attracted to new churches. We looked at problems that can arise early on. We looked at criteria and benchmarks will help us determine when to take next steps. And on and on.

We also took time to get away from the big group and talk and pray together just as our team. This was huge. With so much information, we were starting to feel like we were swimming into deep waters, waters that were threatening to overwhelm us. It was a lot to take in. So it was good to step away, take a breath, pray, and encourage one another.

So now--time to get some rest and hit it again tomorrow.