Church Pioneer - Planting a Church under the covering of Elim Fellowship:
With thousands of churches closing their doors every year, Elim Fellowship is making it a priority to fight this trend. To do this we are actively encouraging ministers to start new Churches, and we are working to keep existing chuches from closing.
The Vision
U. S. Ministries has a vision to see scores of new Elim churches birthed through the United States.
Many EF credential holders and EBI graduates are called to pastoral ministry, but there are no existing pastoral positions for them. There are also many communities in need of the life and light that an Elim church could bring.
U. S. Ministries wants to help each member of its family fulfill the call of God on their lives. It wants to help those with the courage to “go forth and plant” to be successful.
Seven Charcteristics of a Successful Church Planter
- have a clear call of God on their lives to pastor,
- have a clear vision of where-when-how to plant a church,
- have a practical plan for earning a living as the church grows,
- have a stable marriage or stable single life,
- have a commitment from at least one mature non-relative, who will join with them in the church plant as a part of the congregation for one year,
- have a personal relationship with a least one member of field leadership (Area Rep or Regional Director), and
- have a present history with a good church that endorses them.
Readiness to Plant a Church
Evaluation
Field leadership (Area Reps and Regional Directors) will be happy to meet with potential pioneers to talk about their vision and how to move forward.
Training
U. S. Ministries will invest in the training of credential holders who desire to plant churches.
Training tools may include W.I.N.G.S., the Church Planters Toolkit Assessment, and special gatherings that will be held periodically for those who wish to become pioneers.
Acceptance in Pioneer Program
Those recommended by field leadership and accepted into the program will be entitled to all of the benefits of “USM Church Pioneer.”
THE PIONEER PROGRAM
Church pioneers receive the following support from USM
Covering for Donors - Donors can receive tax deductible receipts by contributing to Elim Fellowship prior to the actual commencement of the church.
Incorporation - USM will help the pioneer work through the incorporation process.
Tax Exempt Status – USM will help the pioneer work to establish polices and bylaws that are consistent with tax exempt status with the IRS.
Affiliated Church – A church pioneer is expected to apply for and receive EF Affiliated Church status.
Internal Policies – USM will help the church to design child care policies, personal policies and policies for handling cash.
Tax Benefits – Church pioneers qualify as home missionaries prior to the commencement of the church.
Practical and Tangible – Each new church plant will receive assistance with items such as:
• money bags with keys
• recommendations for simple financial software
• free items from established churches (blessing shop concept)
Discipleship – is available to the church pioneer
• Pastoral skill workshops
• Scholarship to EF annual Leadership Conference
• Winston I. Nunes Growth Seminars (W.I.N.G.S.)
• EF leaders available to visit and minister at church
• Natural Church Development materials
• Special gatherings of church planters
Some of our Church Planters.
Doug and Becky Abbey
Nelson Baez
Dan and Debbie Colton
Chuck Freeman
James Heath
Steven Hepting
Steve Martino
Kent Murawski
Eugene and Carleen Race
Lou Saparito
Marco Villalobos
Gary Wilson
|
