“What do you look for in a potential new church planter?” This question has been asked of me many times. We know that it is Jesus who equips and raises up leaders for the church and the Kingdom. The whole process begins and ends in prayer. Prayer is the undergirding of the discernment process and the discovery of who has gifts for this specialized ministry. We know from observation that certain behaviors and gifts are common among those who can gather people from among the lost, grow them into leaders and mobilize new communities of faith.

The list of characteristics below was developed through the work of Dr. Charles Ridley in cooperation with several denominations. He did an extensive analysis field study of successful pastors. From this research he developed a Church Planter Performance Profile (CPPP). Of 48 behaviors identified 13 are found to be critically important. An essential truth related to these behaviors is, “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior,” or “by their fruits you shall know them.”

The ideal church planter is one who possesses the following qualities:

• Visionizing capacity,
• Intrinsically motivated,
• Creates ownership of ministry,
• Relates to the unchurched,
• Spousal cooperation,
• Effectively builds relationships,
• Committed to church growth,
• Responsive to community,
• Utilizes giftedness of others,
• Flexible and adaptable, and
• Builds group cohesiveness,
• Resilience.
• Exercises faith,

There are some additional and related behaviors that are described in somewhat different language: entrepreneur, encourager, people gatherer, resource gatherer, motivational Bible teacher, media marketer, leader, prayer warrior, organizer, pioneer and person of integrity.

No one will score perfect “10s” in every category. There is no one person who has all the right mix of gifts and behaviors. God chooses very unlikely and imperfect people to accomplish God’s purposes.