Crisis and Resilience among Church Planters in Europe

Abstract

Church planting – the creation of new Christian communities for missionary reasons – is becoming increasingly accepted among the larger churches and denominations in Europe. As church plants in the secular parts of Europe are usually under-resourced, and remain small, the normalization of this entrepreneurial approach of church and mission raises the question of its sustainability. Part of the answer to this question lies in the resilience of church planters; that is, those who lead these enterprises. In this paper we present the results of a qualitative study of European church planters, with a view to their coping with what often appears to be a mixture of high expectations, unclear structures, and a difficult “market.” This research shows the particular nature of crises in the life of a church planter, while identifying sources of resilience. Its results are relevant both for the assessment of church planting projects, and for the training and coaching of church planters.

Personality Traits of Church Planters and Other Church Leaders in Europe (II)

“…Volland 2015:3). Within a church context, church planting naturally qualifies as entrepreneurial activity, as it focuses on the creation of new faith communities, while exploring new opportunities for mission, often in under-resourced contexts (Paas, Schoemaker 2018). In our previous study we quoted a qualitative study that seems to confirm that church planters see themselves first and foremost as entrepreneurs, while regular pastors consider themselves more as teachers (Vos 2012).…”

“…This sits well with the results of the Dutch research among Protestant pastors, quoted above, which indicates a high job satisfaction among pastors, even in a context of ecclesial decline: 85% would become a pastor again, if they were given the choice (Protestantse Kerk 2014:7). Recent research among European church planters also suggests high levels of satisfaction, even if they often suffer from much more uncertain job conditions and unrealistically high expectations than regular pastors (Paas, Schoemaker-Kooy 2018).…”

“…Paas, Schoemaker-Kooy 2018). Recent qualitative research among European church planters confirms that having a coherent, well-integrated worldview helps them to a great extent to cope with stress in sometimes very insecure circumstances, but also that some of them do experience changes in their worldview, and sometimes serious doubt (Paas, Schoemaker-Kooy 2018).…”

“…Furthermore, for churches to be effective in the recruitment, assessment, training, and counselling of future entrepreneurial leaders, more research needs to be done (cf. Paas, Schoemaker-Kooy 2018).…”