You might be surprised to learn what this church planter — in the early days of planting a church in downtown Toronto — feels is the biggest obstacle he faces

What’s the biggest issue that a church planter faces? Is it money, busyness, a lack of support? These are real issues. But they’re not the main one.

I’m convinced that the biggest issue that church planters face is an internal one. It’s our tendency to depend on ourselves rather than on God. This results in tremendous stress in the church planter’s life and ministry.

I’ve spent 20 years pastoring an established church. The dynamics in that experience were completely different. There were structures in place to support ministry, things were already going.

I knew that starting a church from scratch would be different, but I don’t think I was prepared for the pressure I’d feel.

As you know, pioneer training at Wycliffe College is still in its infancy, and the Fresh Expressions mantra—“we’re making this up as go along”—is as true here as anywhere.  This spring George Sumner is planning to bring a group together to discuss how we can improve the present program. Here are some of the models [...]