Church Plants
We plant gospel-centered, compassionate churches in overlooked areas
Central Falls Church Plant
Boston Church Plant
Springfield Church Plant
NEU’s Church Planting Process
Phase 1
Explore
In some cases we may start with a church planter who wants to pastor in a particular location. But the norm is for us to begin with a location, then find a planter and build a team around him. The exploration phase involves a lot of face-to-face conversations, listening and learning, walking streets and praying, and discerning what neighborhoods need churches the most. We want to know what good things are already happening here, who is serving these communities, and what the pain points are. We also want to meet with anyone who is currently thinking about planting churches there, or who has tried to do so in the past.
Phase 2
Prepare
What a church planer needs will vary from person to person. Some will need seminary education. Others will already have it. Some will need significant cultural training. Others will come from an inner city neighborhood. But all will receive robust training in ecclesiology (what a church is) and in the unique challenges of pastoring in the context of inner city poverty. The preparation phase transitions into the planting phase when the pastor has successfully passed his assessment.
Phase 3
Plant
The transition from preparation to planting may not be a distinct line, but it is clearly a time of new focus on bringing the church to life. In addition to preparing the people spiritually, the planting team and our NEU staff will work together to find a location, set up financial structures, raise additional start-up funds, build a website, and advertise the new church.
Phase 4
Sustain
NEU Church Planting does not “launch and leave” churches. We take a background, but consistent, role in helping to sustain the church and its leadership. This involves the care of all members of the church team, ongoing help with fundraising, and recruiting more leaders when needed. By a healthy church we mean the “nine marks of a healthy church”: expository preaching, biblical theology, a biblical understanding of the gospel and of conversion, evangelism, membership and discipline, active and biblical discipleship, and a biblical understanding and practice of leadership.
How We Care For Church Planters
It’s often easier to enlist laborers into ministry than it is to care for them long-term. Many have found themselves recruited into service with promises of care, only to find themselves alone and adrift in the whirlpool of ministry challenges.
NEU tries not to over promise on our care for staff, but we do take it seriously. We do not wait for our plant team members to have a crisis before we offer help. We begin meeting with our staff as soon as they join NEU, and we continue meeting regularly, whether there are problems or not.
Our aim is not just to plant healthy churches, but also to nurture healthy team members.
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