Ben Ho
Church planter of Centenary Evangelical Church in Brisbane
Phase #1: Understanding the context
This phase is about pulling together the information needed to work out whether you are the right person to plant in this context to reach these people. This involves hearing from you – whether orally through mini-interviews or in written form – about your life, ministry, as well as the possible plant and who you’re trying to reach, as well as hearing from those around you who can speak about your character, convictions and competencies. This process usually takes 3 months to complete, as we want to make sure if this plant moves forward, you’ve asked the hard questions before you begin what is a challenging journey. If you want to dip your toe in the water and get started, head over and do the online Church Planting Questionnaire (about 15 mins) and then we’ll chat.
Phase #2: Assessment interview
Once we’ve gathered the information we’ll need around you and the possible church plant, we’ll organise a sit-down interview with you (and if married, your spouse) and some experienced church planters. This interview will reflect on the information gathered in Phase #1 to help identify a wise path forward for you in relation to planting.
Phase #3: Report and recommendations
Once the interview is complete, we’ll build an report for you, with recommendations as to your next steps, and connecting you with a network to help you make them.
Thomas Kite
“I was very reluctant to do the very long questionnaire. I was quite overwhelmed by how many questions there were. But the forced self-reflection was actually just what I needed.”
“Sometimes you and your circle become a bit of an echo chamber. It’s great to have an outside perspective to press into things and make you think differently.”
“The process felt like a huge amount of trouble and inconvenience to my life, but it helped me be aware of how my weaknesses could affect my family and the church plant.”
“It was so thorough. The things they said I needed to work on were spot on.”
“The questionnaire enabled the assessors to really understand my strengths, weaknesses, temptations and blind spots.”
“Getting assessed is a lot of work. But it’s worth it. The assessors are very sincere and generous in their efforts to understand you.”
“Assessment pushes you to know who you are and what you bring to the table. Then someone pushes back and asks questions. It’s uncomfortable, but helpful.”
“It’s a humbling experience, especially as we thought about the demands church planting places on families. Assessment has helped me understand that I need to invest more into the home.”
“It helps you to examine what’s in your heart and your desires for gospel outreach. It gives you multiple lenses on your own character - your weaknesses and strengths.”
“The process isn’t telling you exactly who you need to be. It’s about using the way God has made you and shaped you, and using those strengths for his kingdom.”
“It’s a rigorous process. There are a lot of heart-searching questions. It can be quite confronting, but it’s done in a pastoral way.”
“The time and effort is costly, especially if you’re already in full-time ministry. But the benefits far outweigh the costs and time that you put into it.”
“Even if you don’t get a green light to go ahead with church planting, the benefits of doing it still outweighs the cost of time. You’ll get clarity on what would be best for you.”
"It gives you an opportunity to self-evaluate. Is this really what I want to do now that I’ve understood more about myself?"
“I learned I needed to focus on team-based ministry. I’m not the kind of person who can just go out on their own. I really love how assessment brought that out.”
Find out which church planting model might suit you. Get the results emailed to you instantly.
Read this article featuring four people who have gone through the assessment process.
Listen to 25 short episodes on the Church Planting Australia podcast. Find answers to all your questions about the who, where and how of planting healthy, growing and evangelistic churches across Australia.
Listen to this episode from The One Thing podcast on the assessment process.
We’ve developed the Church Planter Questionnaire to provide clear feedback on your suitability for church planting and ministry and your strengths.
This is the first step in the assessment process. After you’ve completed it we’ll organise a conversation between you and one of our Reach Australia church planting team to discuss the results and your suitability for church planting.
After assessment, if your outcome is recommended or recommended with conditions, here’s what you get:
The ideal time is about 12-24 months from your anticipated launch date. We encourage all our planters to spend the time preparing well before starting a new church. A long lead time gives you the option to work on areas of growth, build a launch team and begin praying for and evangelising your community.
You may also be at Bible College and keen to explore whether church planting is something you should pursue when you look for employment. A church planting assessment can help you make good and clear decisions about whether planting is something you should be looking to do in the future.
If you are unsure whether you are a church planter, do not have a clear conviction, lack giftedness, are uncertain of what you are to do, do not have a timeline in place, but are still contemplating whether church planting is for you, the Church Planter Questionnaire would be a good place to start. You’ll chat with someone from the Reach Australia Team once this has been completed. It might be that it’s not the right time for you to complete the full assessment.
It takes between 15-20 hours to complete the required documentation for the assessment process. That’s because we care about potential planters and want to make sure they are well prepared for the hard yards ahead. There are several documents to fill in for both the potential planters and their spouses. We also collect references from a wide range of people that our potential planters and their wives have done life and ministry with. Applicants will also be required to submit a sermon for evaluation and prepare a detailed church planting plan. Once all the documentation is collected there’s a 2 hour assessment interview. Planting couples will be assessed by three experienced people in ministry, including one couple.
It’s worth persevering if you intend on breaking new ground in Australia. This process will you do the work on the ground, whatever stage your plant is up to.
You may also be at Bible College and keen to explore whether church planting is something you should pursue when you look for employment. A church planting assessment will help you make decisions about whether planting is something you should be looking to do in the future.
If you are unsure whether you are a church planter, do not have a clear conviction, lack giftedness, are uncertain of what you are to do, do not have a timeline in place, but are still contemplating whether church planting is for you, the Church Planter Questionnaire would be a good place to start. You’ll chat with someone from the Reach Australia Team once this has been completed. It might be that it’s not the right time for you to complete the full assessment.
It’s free. Generous Christians who want to see our nation won for Christ partner with Reach Australia to cover 100% of the assessment costs.