By Victor Ochieng
When Matt McCullough was first evaluated in the gospel ministry as a church planter, a good number of people often asked him if he thought of himself as an entrepreneur. That’s a question that no one would consider far-fetched, considering the roles a church planter plays.
But that can be a little off when considered in line with the dictionary definition of entrepreneur. An entrepreneur, according to The Oxford English Dictionary, is “a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.” At Harvard Business School, an entrepreneur is defined as an individual who pursues “an opportunity beyond resources controlled.”
The two definitions don’t quite fit in when talking in the context of church planting, but one can clearly see why someone would associate church planting with entrepreneurship, says McCullough, pastor of Trinity Church in Nashville, Tennessee.
Like entrepreneurship, church planting also involves starting something from nothing. Many church planters take the risk of starting a new church campus, sometimes in places with not so promising factors. But because of their insight and conviction that the place is a good location to share the Word, they go ahead and plant a church there.
As a church planter, you must always be available and willing to do whatever it takes to register success. It’s not about being in charge of a well-oiled team that’s ready to do everything at your orders. With church planting, you have to get your hands dirty. When you’re planting a church, there are no existing systems to rely on, everything has to be planned from scratch with a very clear vision.
The above can be linked to entrepreneurship.
However, planting a church requires more than just having entrepreneurial skills. Like McCullough says in his article on TheGospelCoalition.ORG, “You can lead a church plant and not be an entrepreneur. But you shouldn’t lead a church plant if you’re not a pastor.”
At the same time, we have to understand that church planting, if done according to Biblical teaching, is steered by the Holy Spirit.
The truth of the matter is that you can lead the church without being an entrepreneur. All you need is to be a pastor with the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God. With the Holy Ghost, you can be sure to move mountains even if you’re one of the least considered entrepreneurs.
A new church needs someone who’s able to shepherd the sheep. It needs someone who can guide them according to Biblical principles and set a good example for them. A pastor must be ready to go the extra mile to serve; must be willing to visit both the high and lowly people who desire to build their love for Christ. The only business that a pastor has to do is to win souls for Christ and be ready to be used by Christ to shepherd them towards His glorious Kingdom.
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