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      Embrace

      A Church Plant that Broke All the Rules

      Copyright © 2013 Rosario Picardo. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.

      Resource Publications

      An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers

      199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      ISBN 13: 978-1-62564-067-3

      EISBN 13: 978-1-63087-149-9

      Manufactured in the U.S.A.

      All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

      Foreword

      by Dr. Charles Gutenson

      So, you want to be a church planter, eh? Are you sure? As with so many things, church planting looks glamorous when observed from the outside looking in….at a successful church plant. But, from the inside looking out, not always so much. I recall a sermon delivered by then Dean of the Chapel, Jerry Mercer, at Asbury Theological Seminary. The text for the day was Ecclesiasticus (yes, otherwise known as the Wisdom of Sirach, one of the Apocryphal books), which reads:

      My child, if you aspire to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for an ordeal.

      Serving the Lord is a right and good and wonderful thing, as is church planting, but both require preparing ourselves for an ordeal—an ordeal of self-sacrifice, surrender, and embrace of the very same priorities modeled by Jesus, ones that often seem strange in the 21st century.

      Perhaps one of the biggest favors Rosario Picardo does for us in Embrace: A Church Plant that Broke all the Rules is to help us see both the challenge and the opportunity that church planting offers. He reminds us that we need to be cautious going in, because while all the “conventional wisdom” is invaluable, every church plant is different and the “conventional wisdom” has to be adjusted to fit the particular context. He shows us that persistence and the willingness to go back to the drawing board are essential. And, perhaps best of all, he helps us to see both the incredible joy and the inevitable heartbreaks that are part and parcel of the church planter’s life—particularly the inner city church planter.

      In a delightful mix of personal testimony, theological reflection, and glimpses into his own ups and downs, Picardo provides an invaluable service to contemporary church planters and those who serve alongside them. As you will likely pick up from the reading, he is a 30 something bundle of energy who just doesn’t know how to quit. In the end, that infectious spirit comes through as the ideal supplement to his words of insight and wisdom. So, you want to be a church planter? Well, you would do well to review the lessons of this book, and then discern how they might be applied in your own context. Notice the subtitle: A Church Plant that Broke all the Rules, which serves as a subtle reminder that the “rules” of church planting are there more as guidelines than as absolutes, more as pointers than as destinations. Our prayer for you is that, in your own discernment process, the Holy Spirit will bring you the right teammates and guide your steps as a faith community. Church planting can be great fun…but, always be ready for the ordeal!

      1

      The Journey of a First-Time Church Planter

      This is so cool, I thought to myself. I can’t believe a church would hold a service in a vineyard! As I was visiting a growing suburban area of Atlanta, I came across a United Methodist Church plant’s preview service on Christmas Eve, which gave me a taste of what their weekly services would look like in the future. The place was packed with about four hundred people. There was plenty of excitement and energy in the air. The young pastor was formerly an associate at a larger church and had been sent out with a launch group to start the new endeavor. Before they even launched on Sunday mornings the church plant had staff in place, all the equipment they needed, the momentum to get the ball rolling, and a growing suburban setting with the financing from a supporting, established church to back them.

      I heard the church continued to expand and was already talking about purchasing land only three short years later. We hear stories like this and get excited. And why not? While this isn’t the typical story for a church planter, stories like these are often presented as the norm. But I have to admit this was not my church planting experience. As I was watching new churches launch, like this one on Christmas Eve and others, I began to feel insecure and fearful. I had thoughts like I could never start a church like so-and-so, and I could never have that many people, and the list goes on and on. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. I talk with planters frequently who struggle with similar thoughts. Ministry is tough no matter one’s context, but it is especially difficult when starting a new faith community. It is typical to have self-doubt, feel alone, and be tempted to isolate yourself when you feel like a failure.

      Often books on church planting are about growth gimmicks, models, and an overall sense of how great someone was at starting a new faith community. A cookie-cutter methodology gets passed along as a one-size-fits-all method without considering context and the way the individuals involved are uniquely gifted and wired by God. The Christian culture has romanticized church planting to the point that it has done a disservice to aspiring planters. It becomes way too easy to forget that not all plants make it. I think this sets up younger people, especially, with the assumption that all church planting efforts are successful. Many young church planters enter the fray like I did. They like the idea of planting, have a grand vision, and big dreams about the church’s success, but when the work starts they quickly realize that their expectations were misguided. If you are a church planter, potential planter, or current church leader, I want to level with you about my experience. I hope you find this book informative, inspirational, and transformative as you approach your own challenges in starting a new faith community or being a part of a launch team. The planting season of a new work is incredibly difficult, and often comes with huge expectations and little reward. Planting a new faith community requires patience and endurance, especially when battling the many unrealistic expectations that surround the task.

      These unrealistic expectations may come from denominational leaders or even from oneself. I have to admit that I’m my own worst critic. My self-doubt was exacerbated by the apparent expectation that every new church needs to be a megachurch that is immediately self-sustaining financially and building its own facilities. Honestly, when I launched Embrace Church I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. I didn’t receive training or many resources. I didn’t have an auditorium full of people or even a house full of them, but I had a compelling vision that I felt God had given me. It was that vision that would not let me quit even during the numerous times when I wanted to give up. It is my personal experiences in the field that have given me a special heart and burden for those who are brave enough to answer the call and start new faith communities in hope of reaching people who need it most.

      Before I dive into the nuts and bolts of church planting along with my rollercoaster journey, I need to help you get a glimpse of who I am. Years before I had ever thought about church planting, while I was in recruit training for the Marines at historic Parris Island, South Carolina, I discovered the fire of evangelism inside me. I quickly became

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