Jay Hardwick: http://JayHardwick.com
Church Planter: In Columbia, SC
Personal Notes: (Great friend, awesome brother in Christ, and someone I really look up to even though he is younger than me. I'm seriously learning a lot from this guy!)

What advice would you give to a guy that has been called into church planting, but sometimes feels that he has no idea what he is doing?

Jay's Answer:

If you sometimes have no idea what you are doing, then welcome to the club!  In fact, most days I have no clue what I am doing.

Our default actions are most all the same when we feel like we don't know what we are doing: pray, read a book, seek out a planter who has done well, study a church that is a few steps ahead, attend a conference, etc.  These are all helpful activities and I have done all of them.

But the one action that I too easily ignore is probably the action that is nearest to the heart of God.  And, I have learned, it might be the action that helps me know what to do more than anything else.

Spend consistent, intentional, and uninterrupted time in the harvest.

I have certainly found plenty of general answers by spending time with other leaders, reading books, and attending conferences.  But nothing helps me understand my culture better than spending time with the people who make up that culture.  And, nothing fires me up more than putting new names and faces in my prayers for God to move in our city.

The challenge is that spending time in the harvest is not urgent, so it is easily ignored or put off until later.  The problem with waiting is that the DNA of our churches will reflect the priorities of the lead planter's family...and those priorities are being built from day one.  When you put off spending consistent, intentional, uninterrupted time in the harvest in order to plow away at the urgent, you run the risk of creating a DNA that will allow the same behavior from those who will join you.

The good news is that the harvest is not hard to find.  What relational networks are you already tapped into? Your neighborhood might be one.  You favorite coffee shop might be one.  Your kids sports teams might be one.  What can you do to be more intentional about those networks? Throw a block party at your house. Get to know the baristas names and stories. Coach your kids teams.  Spending time in the harvest doesn't mean slamming four point gospel tracks down people's throats.  Spending time in the harvest means building relationships, building trust, listening to people's stories, and genuinely caring for people.  All the while, you're praying like crazy, "God, what does church look like amongst these people?"

Our goal as church planters should be to plant unique, missionary churches that reach deep into the harvest.  Books, conferences, and conversations are helpful, but they only go so far.  The lessons learned in those activities must be paired with what we learn from consistent, intentional, uninterrupted time in the harvest.  When that happens, I am convinced that we'll see movements unleashed!