Our Church Planting Journey - 3 months in!

I wanted to take some time to stop and reflect on the journey so far. Church planting really is an adventure and although wild and unexpected I am loving it! This past 3 months has been full of God-surprises. In this blog I wanted to share some of my learnings from the past few months. It gives me a chance to reflect but I also hope will be a blessing to you as you walk your journey of serving Jesus too. 

Mark 2 tells us the account of the paralyzed man who was lowered through the roof. I read the story afresh recently and was struck by how this home was packed full of people wanting to hear from Jesus. We see throughout the story salvation, healing, words of knowledge (As Jesus knows what the teachers of the law are thinking) and the story ends by saying “we have never seen anything like this!” I find myself praying that as we continue our church planting journey we too would say, ‘we have never seen anything like this!’ 

So, here are a few of my learnings from the last few months…..

“...being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.” Romans 4:21

I remember contemplating recently what the difference is between the type of people who do incredible things in life and those who don’t and I came to the conclusion that there is not much difference apart from the fact that they just get on and give it a go! I remember a few years ago being so aware that I don’t fit the mold of a church planter and questioning God about why some things in my life weren’t different. After the wrestle with God, I felt Him quite simply say, ‘just go for it!’ And so we stepped out in faith and ‘went for it!’ The reality is that I have found that as we have stepped out in faith and tried something God has done what only He does and has made things work. Whether that is in team, people attending, finance, places to meet or connections formed. I often feel I do very little apart from put a foot forward and God does the rest. The key thing is stepping forward. There’s something truly exciting about stepping forward and seeing what God might do! 

“Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Matthew 10:1

I started meeting with a team 18 months before we started church planting ‘on the ground.’ I wasn’t sure at the time of starting how long it would take us to ‘get going’ but I was determined to explain to people that this was part of ‘church planting’ not just ‘preparing’. Because we were planting from scratch, the team was formed of a variety of people, many of whom had a connection with me but not with each other. I realised they needed time to grow together as well as catch my heart for what we were about to do. We met every month for a meal, communion, worship and teaching which covered some of our culture points as a church. I wanted to ensure we had people inputting into us all so that we could grow together. On our first gathering at the end of September in 2025, I was reminded of why these 18 months were worth it. The team ‘got it’. They understood why we were doing what we did and just got on and made it happen. You can’t speed up development. You can’t force a child to walk until they are ready…you just help them along and allow it to happen naturally. I have found this to be the case with the team. God is not in a rush, so neither should I be! 

“...for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” Psalm 50:10

I am overwhelmed by God’s provision as we have stepped out in faith to church plant both personally in my finances and as a church. I had saved my tithe for quite some time so that when we started we had an amount to open the bank account. I am giving 2-3 days a week to church plant now and so totally having to trust God for a salary as this does not come out of the church finances. God has always ‘had my back’ and since September has majorly increased my personal income in surprising ways. When it comes to the church finances what we have seen is nothing short of miraculous. Money has come in from the most unusual places allowing us to do whatever we have needed to and preparing us for stepping out in faith further in the year to come. I’ve learnt over the last few years personally to set a faith budget and every time have seen God meet it and so we did the same with church planting and perhaps unsurprisingly God has met it.

“A farmer went out to sow his seed…” Mark 4:2

I was struck when reading this parable again that the only thing the farmer did was sow. What happened beyond that point was nothing to do with him. God makes things grow. I have found myself sat in church cultures where counting the numbers on a sunday is normal. At every conference people ask you how large your church is. Church planting certainly keeps you humble but it also forces you to look at what you are measuring. Are we measuring the seed we are sowing, how things are growing or the harvest coming in? All three things may have value in measuring but the reality is growing something takes time and God creates growth. We have to just be faithful with sowing. With our team, we were intentional about looking at how we measure what we are doing. We are trying to ask questions like ‘What new areas are we moving into?’ ‘Who in the community are we connecting with?’ ‘How can we see those who are part of our church growing spiritually?’ This means we don’t get to a gathering and feel disappointed because the numbers aren’t large but we realise the significance of having spoken to a person in the community who may never have had a friend who is a Christian before. We keep sowing and trusting God will bring the growth of salvation, freedom and healing! 

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:19

This verse has always been important to me as God gave it to me before I became a youth pastor. It held true and God certainly did do a new thing in that time. I am once again reminded of this as we church plant. Church planting from scratch gives you a fresh and clean canvas to explore doing things differently. What I am most used to in church planting is a larger church replicating itself in a new community. Nothing wrong with that, however I think sometimes we just do the same thing for the sake of doing the same thing. I wanted to ensure we were exploring new ways of doing church. In an increasingly lonely society despite being in London, we wanted to explore how we can ensure people find genuine connection with one another as well as ensuring discipleship was strong on the agenda - not just a ‘discipleship programme’ but a way of walking a journey of faith with one another. I have found myself constantly being asked the same questions by people and having to keep re-explaining how we are trying something different. I guess pioneering by nature means you are somewhat mis-understood so I’m trying to lean into this, learn how to clearly explain and be brave enough to look a bit different! 

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9

I’ve always been a planner however there is part of me that loves a bit of spontaneous fun! I plan hard for Christmas but love creating or being given surprises. Maybe somehow holding the two in tension works although it doesn’t often appear so. Church planting today does involve a level of organisation simply because there are requirements necessary to keep within the law. Starting a charity means you have to have certain things in place like good governance, trustees, financial planning, safeguarding etc. It has been a blessing having a longer lead up to ‘launching’ because it has enabled a lot of work in the background that I hope will set us up for the future. I am grateful for the people on our team helping me with this side of things as it can be overwhelming. On the flip side of this however, I have had to just follow God’s timing in everything and keep any plans I have come up with ‘loose’. When God opens a door we’ve just got to go for it! If I was rigid with my own timing I would miss out on the surprises of God. So, somehow I’m learning to hold the two areas in tension. 

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…” Ephesians 3:20

I’m constantly amazed by the miracles of God when it comes to church planting. I think I’ve realised that having grown up in a home of faith I may have become used to certain things happening and maybe even taken them for granted. I grew up in a church that had experienced the miraculous and God just kept showing up but I wonder if I got used to it? In church planting, you realise your utter reliance on God to make anything happen - whether that be connections with people, provision, salvation and pretty much anything. We can do hard work but in the end only God can make it happen. I am constantly saying to my team ‘this is God’s story not mine or ours.’ I am learning to see the miracles everywhere. I had reached out to a local primary school asking if we could provide ‘kindness hampers’ this Christmas. I was acutely aware that I am a random person reaching out and my email could just be ignored. But the right person received that email and responded. They are now advocating for our church in that school. In years gone past I probably wouldn’t have stopped and realised that God put the right person in the right place at the right time to connect with us but because this is our first connection in the school I am so much more aware of it! Maybe we have become too reliant on ourselves that we don’t see the miracles of God every day? I’m learning to see them, rejoice in them and share them with others as we walk this journey of faith! 

“....the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.” Romans 4:17

Everything I have ever done before in ministry was built on a history of faithful and faith-filled people. My parents led a church that was planted before they were alive and so they too were building upon a solid grounding. In other roles I do, I am often building on what has gone before or what someone once pioneered. Pioneering is different! Starting from scratch constantly reminds me that God can make nothing out of something and that that is how He likes to operate! Every time I walk into a coffee shop in Royal Docks or a community centre on the brand new housing estate as the first Christian presence there I am reminded I have little to offer but God has everything to offer. Seeing God miraculously bring things together is so much fun! There is a different kind of excitement and expectation felt by both myself and our team. I think more people should start things from scratch  - it forces you to trust Jesus in a new way and oh the fun you have creating!!!! 

I’m sure I could go on and on as I am learning so much, but for now these 8 things are the big points. What I do know is that every day, I am learning to trust God a bit more, be courageous enough to step out in faith time and time again knowing that as I have said, this is God’s story not mine. If you are on a church planting journey too, I am praying for you. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box, start something from scratch and just go for it! I’m praying for you!