With the beginning of spring just around the corner and the new growth that comes with it, I’d like to do a series of “Church Planting Q & A’s” here at the blog.

It also just so happens that my only scheduled Launch Conference for 2009 is coming up in just about a week  – next Tuesday, March 17 – in the Baltimore, Maryland area.  If you are a church planter or a leader of a church that is planting other churches, I hope you’ll register today and join us in the Charm City!

In celebration of spring time, the CLI Team and I will be answering a number of your church planting questions over the next couple of weeks.  Anyone involved in starting a new church knows that time is of the essence, so I’ll try to keep them short and sweet.  Today’s question is:

Q: When do you recommend church planters to have their first membership class after launching?  How far into the process?

A: We would not recommend doing a Membership Class before 8 months after launching. In some cases we’d recommend waiting at least a year (depending on size). But we would say don’t worry about doing the work to get together a Membership Class too early in the process.

The truth is, you need some time for your new church to begin to gain its identity so you can have something real to say at the class anyway. And you want your first membership class to be a good one!

P.S. If you are thinking of joining me for the Launch Conference keep in mind that space is limited, so if you are able to make it I recommend you register now.

Here’s the link:
https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p235&navicat=27