The most important issue in shaping an effectual gospel-centered church plant is the lead planter. Cool bands, hip buildings and powerful children's ministries may contribute but do not make the principal distinction. It is the understandable visionary leadership of the lead church planter.

He is sent by Jesus Christ to proclaim the good news.

Jesus is still calling church planters to proclaim the glorious gospel of repentance and redemption and restoration. He is looking for those truthful men who are centered on the gospel and not on the faddish methodologies of mob building. He is looking for those who are willing to surrender all for God's undertaking. (Cf.1 Cor. 1:17; Gen. 12:4)

He proclaims the Gospel by the power of the cross of Christ and not with worldly intelligence or techniques.

He preaches Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23) and with the power and wisdom of Christ (1 Cor. 1:24).  Our message is to be Christ crucified, risen and coming again. It is the only message church planters have for a lost world. reliance upon charming, creatively-overblown, human-centered speeches can misrepresent the gospel and cancel out the effects of the cross. (C.f. 1 Cor. 1:17-18; 2:1)

He is entirely reliant upon Christ and boasts only in His work on the cross.

A lead church planter is self-assured by temperament. He is planting a church because people are following his direction. It is essential to understand our Achilles' heel when estranged from Christ and not to reflect on our abilities. Our station before God is a gift given to us and sustained by Him. (1 Cor. 1:26-31)

He is filled with God's power and it is demonstrated in his preaching.

A cross dependant church planter reverts to the power of the Spirit and not on his own talent or cleverness or gifts, though they may be greater than others. (1 Cor. 2:4-5; 4:20)

A church planter thinks with the mind of Christ on all matters.

Every matter of the church plant should be filtered through the mind of Christ. This means that we make the most of God's wisdom and not man's (1 Cor. 2:6-16). We gain this by silent meditation, reflection and introspection. (1 Cor. 2:14-16)

He is a laborer for God's glory only and does not take recognition for the outgrowth of his sowing of seed.

Nothing can be carried out by us without Christ and without the help of other co-laborers in the harvest field. We can't make the sun to shine and we can't make it rain. Only God gives the growth and only He gets the credit. (1 Cor. 3:4-11)

A faithful and levelheaded church planter is a reliable bondservant of Jesus Christ.

We are willing slervants of Christ as we row in the lower deck of the ship rather than act as the captain. Others are to see (regard) our attitudes and our faithfulness to Christ who is leading His church. (1 Cor. 4:1-2)

He has a humbleness that is profound and sensible.

A church planter must truthfully and practically see himself as a recipient of God's mission, gifts, vision and abilities. Anything he possesses comes from God. Followers of God's mission must see this modeled in the church planter. Others must be drawn to the mission by our sacrifice for it. (1 Cor. 4:6-7; 10-13)

He is commendable in his conduct as a model to be followed by others .

Of all of the things essential in a church planter, this is the scariest. We are asking others to not only follow Christ and His mission, but we are asking others to mimic our lives also. We are called to be a spiritual example to others. We are called to live missional lives as a copy to others. We must also serve as an illustration in our moral lives, our financial lives, our sexual lives, our marital lives and our family lives. (1 Cor. 4:16-17; 11:1)

He is a spokesman for God, even when speaking into the hard-hitting subjects in life.

This can be viewed as a fatherly function. When our children sin we must act in response to their actions because we are the authority in that person's life. Even if we are uncomfortable in confronting, we must speak up, discipline, redeem and restore. (1 Cor. 5:1-4; 14:4)

The most important issue in shaping an effectual gospel-centered church plant is the lead planter. These distinctives will serve you well in your journey!