Work hard
Starting something from scratch is impossible. It is so tempting to choose something easier or to become a gathering point for disgruntled Christians. It is so hard and lonely and small and disappointing to have your dreams crash up against the miserable ordinariness of reality.

So on the one hand, you need to kep the vision alive. On the other hand, you just need to be prepared to work hard.

All ministry is hard work, but pioneer church planting especially so. Of course you need to beware of overwork and assuming that you are the all-powerful god who can give birth to a church. The point still stands: this kind of ministry requires perseverance.

You need to work hard at making contacts, work hard at praying, work hard at meeting one to one with your team, work hard at meeting up with new contacts, work hard at raising support, work hard at evaluating your strategy.

Linked to hard work is patience. The church may be born, but it may take two years longer than you hoped in your strategic planning document. Sometimes it can be like playing chicken with the devil: who's gonna swerve first?

Keep the Vision Alive
During those early months and years, it may be very hard, discouarging and hard to tell whether what you have done will survive or not. You are the one who is carrying around the vision for the new church, you are the one who is driving it forward, so you need to find ways, by God's grace, to keep it alive:

1. Set aside a day for prayer once a month.
2. Keep teaching the Bible. Find some context to keep opening the Bible. This is where the motivation for you ministry is coming from, don't dethrone it for the sake of strategy.
   
3. Keep reading books about church planting to keep yourself sharp.
4. Have some friends and mentors who are keenly interested in the project. Their enthusiasm for the project may prove more constant than yours.
5. Make sure you continue to repeat the vision to your team. The more they grasp it, the more momentum you will have.

You can find the previous posts here.

Start making connections with people in some of the following ways:

1. Cold contact
This could be of a more survey-type: I'm wanting to start a church in the area what do you think? Can you tell me a bit about yourself? About the area? Is there anyone else you could suggest I speak with? It could be more direct: I'd like to share the Christian faith with you, do you have some time?

Be prepared for: A lot of knock-backs, a lot of good conversations that go nowhere. 

2. Diaconal ministry
Find some practical way to serve the community. This could be through a new initiative, or through an existing organisation. It can be a simple as offering people food, a listening ear or whatever. It could be offering english conversation practice or more professional services.

Be prepared for: A lot of messed up people. Blurred lines whether people are Christians or not or what their motives are for coming.

3. Build relationships
The whole dwell amongst them, go to their "third places", speak their cliches, breath their BO.

Be prepared for: A long haul. 

4. Start a program
Scripture in the local school, an evangelistic Bible study, a church service. Just advertise every way you know how and hope that people come.

Be prepared for: A lot of advertising. A lot. I think a successful advertising campaign gets a return of 1:1000. So if you want a Bible study of 8 people, be prepared to print and hand out 8000 fliers.

Find your supporters. The good thing about not getting a full-time pay to begin your church plant is that there is a lot of pressure on you to gather a team of prayer supporters. These are an important part of the team, they are the ones who will pray the church into existence, the ones who will be following your progress and supporting you from the grandstand.

A couple of other advantages come from gathering your prayer/financial supporters:

1. You are forced to explain what you are aiming to do over and over again as you try to gather supporters. This helps you clarify your vision.
2. Some of your supporters may point you to new opportunities, ideas, people, resources.
3. Some of your supporters may want to join you in the launch team.

(None of these are especially original ideas. But I think they're worth posting.)

Walk around the city/campus/suburb you are going to try to win. Just soak it up. Be curious. Be attentive. 

Authors often suggest that wannabe writers should always keep a little notepad to jot down thoughts, scraps of overheard conversation and so on. I reckon a pioneer church planter should be like that. Or have a dictaphone like a coroner.

Chit chat to people. Stickybeak. Catch the bus. Ride a bike. Wander around at different times of day. Find shortcuts.

And pray man, pray like a pentecostal driving out demons.