Church Plant Proposal Outline

Cover Page

 Church Name
 “Church Plant Proposal”
 Name of Planter
 Target Location Of Plant
 Date
 Church Logo (if you have one – not essential at this point if you do not have one)

Summary Page: Page 1

 Mission Statement
 Target Group
 Core Values
 Projected Field Launch1 and Projected Grand Opening2
 Type of Plant3

Proposal Detail

***Please number the pages in the proposal***

WHY START A NEW CHURCH?

 Statement of calling.
 State your vision – briefly.
 State the reasons for church planting.
1
“Field Launch” is defined as the date which you are in your target area and starting formal outreach and gathering activities in
order to assemble your launch team.
2 Defined as the first major service that is heavily advertised in the community as being the “new church.” There may be a
number of monthly preview services or even a couple months of weekly preview services prior to the Grand Opening.
3
“Pioneer Plant” is defined as the planter family and 1 other couple as field launch team, “Hive plant” is defined as the planter
family and several other family units from a mother church starting a new work in the same town, county or metropolitan area
within approximately 25 miles of the mother church (30 to 40 minutes), “Transplant” is defined as the planter family and several
other family units from the mother church moving to plant a new daughter church more than 25 miles (30-40 minutes) away from
the mother church, “Congregational birth” is defined as planting a new church within the existing mother church targeting a
different ethnic, cultural or generational group (like a Hispanic congregation or a Gen X congregation, etc.).
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  Demonstrate the need for new churches in your target area.
Please keep this section to no more than 2 or 3 pages. In demonstrating the need for new churches
in your target area, please include only highlights from your demographics that specifically apply to
this question.

WHO IS MY MINISTRY FOCUS GROUP?

 Describe your ministry focus group.

 Describe the community needs.
 Include appropriate demographics.
 Describe the proposed location.
Please keep this section to no more than three pages in the main body of the proposal. Any
additional information may be put in the appendices.

WHAT KIND OF CHURCH ARE WE TRYING TO PLANT?

 State your core values within the behavioral detail that you would include if you were to have a
membership class. Please keep the core value detail to one page.
 State and expand your mission statement. In stating your mission statement, you’re giving us
your 30 second version of what you would say to someone asking you, “what is your church
about?” in your expanded mission statement, please give us what you would say to someone if
you had three minutes to explain what your church is about? Please keep this section at one
page with double spacing between paragraphs.
 Describe your churches ministry style.
 Include a visual demonstration of your ministry flowchart. The visual demonstration should
easily fit on one page and show the general flow of people through your organization from
evangelism to leadership releasing. You do not need to detail all of the classes, rather categorize
class or ministry types so that your flowchart is simple and easy to follow.
 Following the visual ministry flowchart, please briefly address each of the main components of
ministry flowchart. Within each component briefly address in a couple sentences how people
will move into and out of a particular aspect of your ministry model. In addition, for any
components that include curriculum or specific events please list in summary fashion 3 – 5 ideas
and resources that will be used to implement that component. For example, if one component is
servant evangelism activities, then list five specific types of serving evangelism activities that you
think would be appropriate for your target audience.

WITH WHOM WITH WILL YOU PLANT THIS CHURCH?

 Include a profile of any confirmed ministry partners.

 Indicate how many a team members are currently committed to the plant.
 Indicate how many intercessors you have recruited.
 List the roles in your church plant that you and your spouse (if applicable) will fill in the first two
years.
 Make a brief summary list of the roles or specific talents that you must recruit in your team
members that you or your current team are not able to do.

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HOW AND WHEN WILL YOU PLANT THIS CHURCH?

 Include a detailed strategic plan.

 Include a detailed timeline for the first 18 – 36 months.
 Include financial benchmarks connected to this timeline (see below)
 Be sure to include goals for team development (how many, roles needed)
 Be sure to include specific goals for community contacts. How will you connect with the
unchurched community? How many contacts do you hope to make?
 Include a detailed explanation of how you will gather your core group.

HOW MUCH WILL COST AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO RAISE SUPPORT?

 Include a start-up budget.

 Include a cash-flow analysis.
 Define your funding strategy. In defining your funding strategy, please address bi-vocational
employment issues, church based fund-raising including any itineration if any is planned, and
include a summary of your personal fund-raising plans. In the appendix include a one-page
personal fund-raising letter that is a model for what you intend to use, immediately followed by a
list of all the names of people you intend to send the fund-raising letter to categorize by their
relationship to you (family, work associates, friends, ministry acquaintances).
 Draft a benchmark-based funding proposal. In should be drafted in the following way:
 It should be in a table format starting with the date of your approval from assessment.
 It should list benchmarks at least every 2-3 months.
 It should include the following elements throughout the proposal:
 What you plan to do for leadership training
 What you will do for community connections, and how many you hope to make.
i.e. “We will have a community barbecue and each team member will invite 10
people with the hope of reaching 100 new people.”
 Finances – How much you will raise and how you plan to raise it. Also, how much
you are asking the Church Planting commission for. (Note: Funds are granted on a
matching funds basis only. The commission will only give if the plant has raised at
least as much as it is asking for.)
 Gathering numbers – How many do you hope to have in your team meetings and
in your services?
 Administration (Bylaws, incorporation, charter, insurance, etc.)

Please see the sample on the following page:

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 Church Open Bible
Team Commission
Date Benchmark Raised Match Total Funds
o Move to church plant community
Nov. 10 o Secure advisory team of seasoned and respected 2500.00 2500.00 5000.00
leaders/pastors
Jan. 11 o Develop a Core Team of 15
o Secure at least 10 intercessors for the plant
o Begin Launch Team development of 25 and
establish Team leadership
o Complete “Church Planting in the 21st Century”
Mar 11 4000.00 4000.00
training
o Begin incorporation process
o Begin process to charter with Open Bible
o Leadership Team to develop relational groups of
10-15 with 3x month contact
o Launch Team of 30.
May 11 5000.00 5000.00 10000.00
o Identify worship, children & assimilation leaders
o Secure church insurance
o Work with Coach to set budget
o Leadership training for areas of worship, children’s
ministry and assimilation.
July 11 o Do community outreach event that meets needs of 6000.00 6000.00 12000.00
the community, with each team member inviting at
least two others to help with the event.
o Train in small group dynamics
Oct. 11 o Have four groups of 10-15 meeting weekly. 9000.00 9000.00
o Identify & train hospitality team.
o Launch/Leadership Team of 60 meeting bi-weekly
o 1 Outreach event hoping for 200 community
Jan. 12 connections 12000.00 12000.00
o Establish 6 month outreach strategy for continual
community connections.
o Purchase essential equipment
o Secure meeting place
Feb. 12 6000.00 6000.00 12000.00
o Preview Service #1: 300 personal invites from our
Launch Team – goal of 100 in the service.
o Preview Service #2: 300 personal invites from our
March
Launch Team – goal of 120 in the service. 6000.00 6000.00
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o 6 Small groups meeting weekly
April 12 o Launch Service – goal of 150 in service
Total to Launch $50,500.00 $19,500.00 $70,000.00

o Average Attendance of 130

o Continue monthly leadership training.
June 12 22500.00 5000.00 27500.00
o Establish 6 month outreach strategy for continual
community connections.
o Community Outreach Event
Oct 12 24000.00 5000.00 29000.00
o Continued monthly Leadership development
Total Post Launch $46,500.00 $10,000.00 $56,500.00
GRAND TOTAL: Nov. 10 – Oct.12 $97,000.00 $29,500.00 $126,500.00
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HOW CAN ONE BE INVOLVED?

 Specific prayer needs

 Volunteer needs
 Potential contacts
 Equipment needs
 Financial needs

APPENDIX

Try to keep all of the above sections of the proposal as brief as possible and yet containing the
information requested. Where possible put detail that may be of interest in the appendix and
reference material in the appendix in the body of the proposal. Either reference by page number, or
by See Appendix A, See Appendix B, etc.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact Chris at 253-435-0172 or by email at
[email protected] (it is often quicker to get a response via email – if you call via phone
and leave a message, indicate a couple of two hour time blocks in which you can be reached
in the next couple of days. If you have email, please leave your email address and you will
get a confirmation by email of a phone appointment time).