We will go through several stages as a new church plant. Here is where we are and where we are going:
1. The Call Stage– This is the dream stage, formation stage, and conception part of birthing the new church. God must call us to this task. No doubt the call is upon us and others in NW Georgia. The call itself does not alleviate some fear and much challenge, but it does solidify longevity and solidarity to stay with the mission.
2. The Strategic Planning Stage– This is the time of praying, planning, fundraising, preparation, gathering of launch team, relationship building, and preparing to move to the field where God has called. This is a time of detailed gathering of all of the systems that will make the church wheels turn. This is the stage we are currently in at Origin. This one takes some time, listening to all of God’s words, and allowing Him to perform many miracles along the way. We are seeing God do some amazing things! We should arrive on our field of ministry sometime in June and we will hit the ground running hard. We are praying for prayer partners, families to move to the area and join our dream team, and for other churches in the area to lend us “launchers” that can serve as volunteers for six months while we grow. You will then return to your home church after the six-month term of service. If you attend another church it will not affect your faithfulness to your current church unless you meet on Sunday nights, and in that case you need to stay faithful to your current church.
3. The Launch Stage– Official public launch to the community. You cannot hurry this stage. You must be ready in every way. We do not yet have a launch date. When we do launch, we will do so on Sunday nights in the beginning while we grow. We will need 60 volunteers to staff a service and this same 60 will serve two Sunday worships per month. If we are fortunate enough to have 120 volunteers, we will meet all four Sundays out of the month, otherwise, we will only meet twice per month until we acquire the additional 60 volunteers. This keeps our volunteers from being over-worked. Our entire launch team will be involved in local churches in our community up until the time we launch. This gives our launch team and their families a solid connection while we prepare.
4. The Established Stage– The church becomes an established church and it is coming into its own maturity, identity, effectiveness, and is very influential in its community.
