Church PLANT Manual

Session 4: Bringing It All Together • 107

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. . . . Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

D. To adapt is to fight zealously to complete your mission: adaptation demands heavenly armor. 1. You are exposed : strap your armor on, Eph. 6:13. 2. Your enemy is determined : don’t be ignorant of his schemes, 2 Cor. 2:11. 3. Your innovation is demanded : you must adapt or lose (or die!), Gal. 5:1. Your question: How does our church plant team identify and make provision for the opposition you will face ahead? No matter how much we pray and prepare, we will never be able to know all the changes, obstacles, and challenges ahead. Therefore, we ought to always take our next steps boldly, and yet be ready for the contingencies we’ll face in the future. A. Defuse drama by anticipating and accepting it. 1. Don’t fall apart in the midst of difficulty, innovate!, Eph. 3:20-21. 2. Welcome trial as an opportunity to re-calibrate your situation: nothing is too hard for the Lord, Jer. 32:17. II. The Certainty of Change: Nothing in Your Ministry Theater Will Remain Stable or Constant.