Season of Deep Listening

Planting new churches is a journey through multiple seasons. The first season is “Deep Listening,” where the planting team prayerfully explores the community, talking with individuals and groups to shed light on the big life issues and aspirations present in the neighborhood. Whenever planters assume they know these things without testing their suspicions, they risk seriously misreading a community.

Over my years as a coach to planters, I have occasionally run into people assigned to plant who eagerly begin to name the soon-to-be church, build a website, and lay out a vision, perhaps from many miles away. Inevitably, these planting projects struggle.

Most existing churches were planted in another era, when customs and sensibilities were different, often when different people groups represented the majority of the population. Over time, the church, designed for the era of its birth, ceases to grow, begins to age, and loses touch with the new neighbors. This scenario characterizes most existing United Methodist churches, many of which were thriving just fifteen years ago.

Existing churches regularly need to revisit the “Season of Deep Listening” to recalibrate their ministry practices to the new neighborhood. Otherwise, they will die.

If your church is interested in getting to know your neighbors again, Path 1 can help. The first module of the planter training Launchpad teaches community listening practices. Any church can do this. If you would like to explore regional training in the art of listening, please reach out to Paul Nixon, Path 1’s Director of Church Multiplication. He can customize the first Launchpad session as training for a single church or a district of churches.

You can reach Paul at [email protected].