Covenant City is a new church plant in Richmond, BC. Seeing the Lord’s hand bringing the different people and pieces together has been incredibly exciting and faith-strengthening. It has also been an opportunity for honest reflection as members of our planting church, as well as other churches, ask the Lord if he is leading them to join the church plant.
A good place to start answering that question is with what we already know God has called us to. Even as we seek God’s direction for things that may not be specifically laid out in Scripture (such as what job to take, which house to buy, or which church to attend), we can take reference from the things that God has clearly and unambiguously called all of us to. In this article, I want to highlight three of those areas of calling.
1. The Call to Grow in a Church Community
Scripture calls all Christians to be part of a local church community where we meet together and stir up one another to love and good works. For some of us, being obedient to that call might mean staying in the church community we’re currently in, at least for now, because we are not ready to leave our current church community. For example, if you’re a new Christian finding your feet, it might be wise to stay in a church where you have spiritual mentors you can trust to walk with you in your first steps. Or perhaps, if you’re going through a challenging season, it might be wise to stay in a familiar environment that provides stability and care for you and your family.
For others of us, the particulars of the church plant (such as size, location, timing, community, doctrine, culture, and tone) might mean that joining the church plant would be more conducive for our growth in the gospel. We might be at a stage in our Christian walk where we are ready to leave our current church community. In fact, we might sense that the change and opportunities of a church plant might be what the Lord is calling us to and has even been equipping us for.
2. The Call to Be on Mission
All followers of Jesus are called to be on mission. There are no exceptions—every single one of us is called to go and make disciples of all nations. For some of us, this may mean leaving the place we call home for international missions. For the rest of us, this means being intentionally on mission wherever we are. This universal call to mission provides us with some helpful questions to ask ourselves when discerning whether to join the plant, such as:
- With my giftings and background, how does God want me to contribute to his mission?
- Does the church plant have a specific need that I can meet? Does it have a missional opportunity I have a heart for?
- Is my church currently at capacity? Would my leaving help create room for others?
- Do I feel a burden for the establishment of more healthy churches?
- Do I feel a burden for the location the church is going to be planted in?
3. The Call to Sacrificially Follow Jesus
Following Jesus is hard. Anyone who’s followed Jesus long enough will know that he often leads us down the harder and less comfortable path. This doesn’t mean that we should join the church plant simply because it is the harder option. However, it does mean that our comfort should not be our primary consideration when deciding whether to join the church plant.
Our primary consideration should be asking Jesus what he wants us to do. For some of us, we may discern that a particular church community would encourage our Christian growth or provide us with more opportunities for mission.
For others of us, further discernment may be required, and this discernment can come from various avenues, including Scripture, prayer, promptings from the Spirit, and counsel from others. As we seek the Lord’s face, there may be a verse from Scripture that stands out to us. There may be a desire in our hearts that we can’t shake. There may be an insight from a trusted counsellor that has struck a chord.
However, even after earnest seeking, some of us may still not have a clear direction from God. And that’s okay.
Sometimes, the Lord in his wisdom provides us with two equally good options and gives us the space to decide. In such situations, we can find ourselves in decision paralysis, worried that we’ll make the “wrong” choice.
This is where the assurance of our Saviour is particularly precious. As we seek God’s kingdom—following his leading with humble hearts and making our decisions in submission to his will—we can trust his assurance that he is faithful to walk with us and provide for our every need.
