UNY New Faith Communities
 
 

So, you think you want to plant a new faith community in
Upper New York?
 


Read Below on
Beginning the Journey
of Planting a New Faith Community
!  


STEP 1:

There are some personal characteristics found in most every person who is happy and effective as the Lead Planter of a new faith community. Some people may be called and best suited to be part of a Planting Team, rather than a lead planter.  Here are some characteristics of Lead Planters:

  • A deep faith in God, and a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ.
  • An ability to introduce others to Jesus, and help them build their own foundation of faith in God and discipleship.
  • Comfortable and happy meeting new people every day
  • Visionary person, who can effectively cast a vision for something new to long-time friends and perfect strangers
  • Entrepreneurial leadership… a history of starting things from scratch that involve gathering people around a vision, and empowering them to build something new:  a business, a ministry, a club, a group, an event!
  • Natural team builder:   Places the right people on teams that match their gifts, and then empowers the teams to do their thing!
  • Driven by a singular vision, and not easily distracted
  • Cares greatly about the people outside the church, and longs for relationships with people in the neighborhood
  • Curious, and always seeking to learn new things… a learning leader!
  • Willing to take risks, and not see set-back as “failure” but rather as learning experiences
  • Ability to develop and implement a strategic plan
  • Flexible… able to let go of one theory easily when it proves unfruitful, and quickly shift to try some other idea and plan
  • Coach-ability!  Humble enough to take direction from someone with more experience and wisdom.

 

STEP 2:

If you can say that many of the above phrases describe you (or, someone else you know), then it might be time to take a second step.  A great next step would be taking an on-line survey provided by Path 1. Click on the link below, watch the video, and then click on the English or Spanish version of the quiz… answer the questions as honestly as possible, and send it off.  Here is the link to that survey:

http://www.path1.org/discerning.php


STEP 3:

After you take the quiz, within an hour or so, you will receive a one or two page report from Path 1, summarizing in what ways you seem to be a good candidate for being the lead planter of a new faith community!   If you seem to be a good match in at least half of the categories, please forward the results to Rev. David Masland, Director of New Faith Communities at this e-mail address:   dmasland@unyumc.org.  If you score low in some of the categories, do not get discouraged… you may still make a good planter.  This is simply information we all need to take into account as we seek to understand the shape of God’s call in your life. It may simply mean that you need to find a co-planter who is strong where you are weak!

STEP 4:

After you send the report to Dave Masland, someone from the New Faith Communities “Recruitment and Assessment Team” will be in touch with you to help you on the next steps of discernment toward planting something new!  You may be asked to take a more in-depth questionnaire that will come with a small fee.  You will likely be invited to have coffee or tea and talk with Dave Masland and members of the Recruitment and Assessment Team.  You may be invited to a retreat where you can meet and talk with those who are effective planters, so you can ask them questions, and we all can work together to discern whether planting a new faith community is right for your future!

Until then, the MOST important thing you can do is pray!  Ask God to show you what you are gifted and called to do!   And if you find yourself up in the night, dreaming of new ways to create new places for new people, be sure you write down your thoughts.


If you feel called to plant some kind of new place for new people OR have an idea for a new way to reach new people in your community, 
WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT

Please contact Rev. David Masland or Karen Campoleito (in the conference office)
and let us know.


CONTACT INFO

Rev. David Masland: dmasland@unyumc.org

Karen Campoleito: 315.424.7878