Discovering a Meeting Place for Your New Church Plant That Works

I am amazed just how often I get a call from a church planter asking me about making him a list of potential meeting places for their new church to meet! Usually, their request comes prefaced with some sort of declaration that the one they had lined up fell through and now they need a place to meet and they need it fast! A few years ago, I was coaching a church planter in the northeast and I suggested to him during the year prior to launching that he not only needed a Plan A for a meeting place but he should also have a backup plan as well. He was a good planter and had developed a backup plan. About three weeks before his launch he lost the first place they had reserved and moved to their second selection quickly and except for the need to do an additional phone and print follow-up, everything went off with little trouble. In one of the church plants that I have been a part of since I have lived in the southeast, we had a wonderful school picked out and had what we thought was a rock solid commitment and contract to use a high school. Less than 30 days before launch we were informed they were not going to allow us to use the building. Providentially, we had always had a backup plan and while it cost us a little more and we had to do some quick last minute advertising and calling of our prospects, we launched in a warehouse with a little less than one hundred people (87) and never looked back. What has always brought me a smile is that the school in less than a month had begun renting it to another church plant from another denomination. Today both new churches are doing well but God’s hand of protection spared us from getting into a facility that was just too small for our growth. Our wise pastor moved quickly to secure our second option and it allowed us to grow to well over 800 people in attendance before we ever moved out of the launch facility and on to our own property and facilities. There was a time when a church planter had few choices in deciding on the facility they would rent. Today is a whole, new ball game!

So with the idea of securing a meeting place for your new church may I suggest some places that church planters have found useful over the years? Your call to talk over the options is still welcomed, but here are some ideas that might lead you to discovering that perfect place for you and your new plant to meet....

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