The EFCA has developed four primary support systems for church planting. In the Great Lakes District we call this our ACTS approach to church planting.
1) Assessment
2) Coaching
3) Training
4) Strategic Partnerships
Assessment focuses on the question - Am I a church planter? To help you answer this question we have developed an assessment system that focuses on these areas: Call to Church Planting, Character of a church planter, Chemistry with the EFCA and target community, and 10 Competencies of a Church Planter.
Coaching focuses on the question - How will I lead this new church? To help you navigate through the church planting process every church planter has a coach. The coach is responsible for helping a church planter achieve some basic milestones: (1) Fund the mission, (2) Recruit a ministry team leader, (3) Recruit a missional core of 10 families, (4) mobilize a launch team of 40 people, (5) launch a healthy, multi-cell church plant, (6) plant a daughter church, and (7) break through growth barriers.
Training focuses on the question - How do I plant this new church? Boot Camp is an intensive five-day training experience that covers the major startup issues church planters face in their first year in starting a new church. Planters get the most benefit from Boot Camp when they come as a team with their spouse, coach and lay leaders.
Strategic Partnerships focuses on the question - Who will help me plant this new church? Our desire is that every church planter will have a strong mother or partner church. These partner churches will help by sending a church planter out with a missional church planting team, financial resources, prayer support, short-term teams to help, and relational support for the church planter and his family.