Church PLANT Manual

Session 4: Bringing It All Together • 105

Seminar 12 Adapt to Win 1

Throughout this resource much has been offered to underscore the value of the careful, thoughtful, and prayerful planning needed for church planting. As anyone who has ever planned anything can attest, plans are great until they are not. We recognize that you will face many unforeseen challenges, obstacles, and barriers along with some surprisingly joyful circumstances as you plant that will require adjustments to your plan. A key virtue of all church planters and their teams is flexibility. We know that inevitably you will need to adapt your plans as you move forward. Your team will need to operate in the spirit of adaptation and make many course corrections as you carry out the vision the Lord has given you. The following outline is offered to help your team prepare for the road ahead. How your team responds to difficulties and adapts to challenges will determine your success. In order to adapt to win, we must recognize the axioms of adaptation: I. The Inevitability of Trouble: Things Mess Up This world is a fallen world, and is subject to satanic oppression, attack, and subversion. A. All your church planting is undertaken behind enemy lines. 1. The world is the external enemy, distracting you from your calling and mission, 1 John 2:15-17.

1 Adapted from a seminar by Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis in Ripe for Harvest , pp. 443-449.