Church Planting is Like Pregnancy

One of the tensions I constantly feel as a church planter is between moving too fast or too slow; fear of either launching the church before it's really ready or waiting too long and losing momentum.

As I was walking along 3rd Avenue yesterday, it occurred to me that starting a church is a lot like having a baby. That is to say, it takes time, it can't be rushed, and there's not much I can do about it except wait, watch and stay healthy, trusting that when the time comes, I'll know.

That being said, I am very thankful to have experienced church planters around me, "midwives" of sorts, people who have been through this before, who know what the various stages of the process look like, people I can call when something unexpected happens, who can let me know if the "pregnancy" is progressing well or not.

Thankfully, all of my advisors are quite encouraged by the progress we've made so far. But, like many expectant parents, I'm ready to have the "baby" now! Of course, having a kid is a lot more work than pregnancy...