Germantown Baptist Church
Friday, September 10, 2010
 
Please click here to view our "Church Planting Forms and Resources" page.
 

GBC Church Planter Guidelines and Support

Note: If a start is non-Southern Baptist, much of the following information will not apply.
An update of this is available here.
 
  1. Tennessee Baptist Convention (TBC)/N.A.M.B. may include:
    Pastoral support and and support for a team member year by year basis. (Call the Tennessee Baptist Convention at 1.800.558.2090.)
  2. Local Baptist association:
    Mid-South Baptist Association provides assistance. (Call Greg Spears at 901.373.6161.)
  3. GBC may provide to Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) starts in the U.S.
    • Donation to the church for pastoral support, contingent on evangelism reports (see: end of this document) and available GBC funds.
    • A one-time allotment for evangelism materials such as tracts and Bibles.
    • A scholarship for the church planter and his wife to go on a GBC mission trip. The church planter and his wife must serve as evangelists on the trip.
    • We are able to do incorporations at GBC for about $100 in certain jurisdictions. Please let us know if we can help you.
    • GBC will fund a certain amount each year for a church planter to attend an approved Seminary for evangelist and/or church planting classes.
    • We will send a church planter to an approved C.P.A. at our expense for the initial visit, to set up both the church and pastor for IRS compliance on quarterly taxes.
    • A  monthly donation for an Intern from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary or another approved local Baptist Bible College or seminary. The intern is the employee of the plant and not in any way a GBC employee. The church plant is responsible for local and federal taxes, social security and reporting.
    • If funding allows, special consideration for medical and family emergencies upon email ratification by majority of GBC missions team.
    • Prayer support from our 24-hour Prayer Ministry. Contact Paula Haynes via email.
    • GBC provides no funds for mailing, meals, rent, purchase of properties or refreshments for church planter or church plant. Church plant pastors are welcome to use their monthly donation toward pastor support for anything they chose, but we suggest you use if for health insurance for your family.
    • Access to mentoring from GBC staff and freedom to recruit members from our congregation.
    • Freedom to request in advance funding from the Missions and Ministry team for evangelistic projects. The team meets every month, use the Application For Financial Assistance for the Mission Project, available here.
    • Administrative directions on what you will need to start a church, including instructions on incorporation, by-laws, constitution, and various other administrative requirements.
       

II. Financial concerns with Non-Southern Baptist works

  1. We are able to help with evangelism materials with tracts and Bibles.
  2. Provide a scholarship on a GBC led mission trip for the pastor and his wife. The job description to qualify is the pastor and his wife must serve as evangelists.
  3. GBC will take care of the church incorporation for the states we are qualified.
  4. Evangelism materials, incorporation, mission trip scholarship, an intern from a Southern Baptist College or Seminary, and GBC written and printed Evangelistic Bible studies are available to all works.
  5. GBC will fund tuition at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary for a church planter for evangelism, church planting and growth courses.
  6. We send all planters to a C.P.A. at our expense to make sure the church and pastor is set up for IRS compliance on quarterly taxes.
     

III. Requirements to help us know how to help and begin/continue a partnership with all works:

 

IV. Paul Program.   Pastor's Gospel Sharing visits report (five adult males a week on average).

These are to be reports of one on one gospel sharing encounters outside of the church building/on campus events. An evangelistic visit occurs when the gospel is shared, regardless of response.  It is not a relationship building visit, those are action plans for the goal of sharing 5 times a week on average. This does not include invitations to church or events, but one on one Gospel Sharing encounters at which a decision is asked for.  For example, the question is asked, “Is this the desire of your heart?” Sharing the Gospel with fifty men at a rescue mission church service counts as one. Sharing the Gospel with five men individually at the same mission, one on one, counts as five. The reason out of church building/event encounters are asked for is it let’s the pastor set the pace for evangelism in ways the congregation can also participate and may adopt as their personal evangelism model. Names reported are added by initials only to a 24 hour a day prayer list. A pattern of no salvations helps us know what training may be needed. (The report to send in, the Pastor’s Gospel Sharing visits report, is shown below)
 

V. Timothy Report           2nd Timothy 2:2

  1. Names of two faithful men (FM1) and the date they received Christ (the date needs to be after a partnership with GBC starts).
  2. Weekly meeting schedule with you and FM1, explain evangelism and discipleship training schedule and material, and continue with evangelism reports.
  3. By the end of 6 months or so:
    • Names of two faithful men (FM2) that the original faithful men (FM1) reached with the Gospel for Christ.
    • Please show the weekly schedule between FM1 and FM2 for evangelism and mentoring training and material being used.
    • Along with evangelism reports, time spent mentoring FM1s as they mentor FM2s.
  4. Every 12 months the cycle repeats with the Timothy plant pastor finding two more faithful men.
  5. The Paul Gospel Sharing report is also being done.
     

VI.  Antioch Church Program

Churches in the GBC partner system that will sponsor a Church Start, under GBC Gospel Sharing guidelines as a minimum, GBC will fund the pastor support and intern support that GBC provides for one of GBC’s church start partners. GBC will fund 50% for pastor support and intern support for church plants number 2-4 and then 25% of what GBC provides for church plants number 5-7.
 
We recommend no more than five a year to partner with if you are the mentoring primary sponsor of church plants.  This allows the parent church to have the time to do a better job.
 
Pastor’s Gospel Sharing visit report (three adult males a week on average).
 
These are to be reports of one, face to face, gospel sharing encounters off of the church property. A Gospel Sharing evangelistic visit occurs when the gospel is shared, regardless of response.  It is not a relationship building visit, those are action plans for the goal of sharing the Gospel 3 times a week to males over 18 years of age.  This does not include invitations to church or events, but one on one Gospel Sharing encounters at which a decision is asked for.  For example, the question is asked after the gospel is shared, “Is this the desire of your heart?” The "yes" or "no" answer is reported. Sharing the Gospel with fifty men at a rescue mission church service counts as one.  Sharing with three men individually at the same mission, one on one, counts as three.  The reason out of church building/event encounters are asked for is it let’s the pastor set the pace for evangelism in ways the congregation may also adopt as their personal evangelism model. Names reported are added by initials only to a 24 hour a day prayer list. A pattern of no salvations helps us know what training may be needed as the Gospel has power, Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power..."
 
Please mail to Dennis Rasche at
9450 Poplar Ave, Germantown, Tenn. 38139
 
These may be emailed to Dennis Rasche to be put on the prayer list faster.
 
 
These forms and info are at www.gbconline.net, then to ministries, then to Church Planter
Guidelines.  http://www.gbconline.net/cpguidelines
 
Please click here to view our "Church Planting Forms and Resources" page.