How to plant an indigenous church 2

After much prayer and finding out who will help you, it will be time to find a PLACE to meet. It would be best if you were careful to get a good location where the people can find you. Study the area to see where the other churches are and where the people live. It is wise, especially in a third-world country, to find a safe place because the people are often afraid to go out at night to certain areas. Rent a place big enough for what you want to do. You will need a place where at least 40 or 50 people can sit, a place with a bathroom, etc. Of course, you will need to think of how the people of your country think and not what you are accustomed to here in the states. If you can do so, you should put up a sign advertising the church and the services. Make it a good one. If you are in a country where you can not advertise a church, you may could use one of the portable signs that you can put up and down on service day.

Once you have your place, you will need to get chairs, a pulpit, and offering plates. I always try to have Testaments or Bibles present until the people can buy their own. I provide song sheets or hymn books, etc. I know what you are thinking. If it is an indigenous church, shouldn't it be self-supporting? Yes, it should and will be when you have been there long enough and done enough. Even in the states, when a man starts a church from scratch, he has to provide everything initially. Some folks do not believe in providing anything. However, you will surely lose a lot of time getting folks saved and teaching them the Bible when they don't have one and can't see one. You may find it difficult to buy land or a lot in a city once you have started because all the land is taken. In many places, there may not be any vacant lots. Try to rent where you will stay long enough to raise the money to build and buy because it will not be easy.