Goodbye Ideas For Mother Churches Sending Out A Daughter ...



Goodbye Ideas For Mother Churches Sending Out A Daughter Church

Baby Shower

Plan a baby shower for the last Sunday or weekend that the daughter church is going to be worshipping with the Mother. This could be done in the main service(s) of the weekend, be planned as a special evening service or an afternoon party at the park or church. The mother church leadership might pre-plan a few big gifts and possibly a special offering, or the planter might submit a “gift registry” list in advance of the shower and people or groups in the church could decide what they might want to give—whether it be unrestricted money, designated money gifts or gifts of equipment and supplies. Let the hospitality oriented people of the church run with ideas to make the day special for the planter and his/her team or congregation.

Commissioning/Sending Service

In a main service pray for and commission the planter and even possibly the leadership team or the whole new baby congregation. This might also include the formal presentation of the Charter Certificate from Open Bible Churches (plan ahead and have a Regional or District leader attend and assist with the presentation and commissioning).

Pastor and Planter Lunch Farewell

Have the senior pastor of the mother church take the senior pastor of the daughter church to lunch during his/her last week before being sent off. You might even want to include all of the pastoral and support staff if your church is a multiple staff church. Take time to reflect on the blessings God has granted on you and the mother church through the relationship and ministry together.

Planter Allowed To Personally Thank The Church Board

Allow the planter the opportunity to meet with the church board and personally thank them, share his/her plans or vision for the future and pray for one another.

Mother Church Leadership Initiate Contact In The Months Following Release

Help the transition to a sibling relationship from a mother daughter relationship by initiating friendly, supportive contact with the planter during the first year after departing the mother church. This can be done through meetings, lunches, calls, cards or gifts.

Feedback-Learning Opportunity

Schedule with the planter a specific time to meet with the leadership of the mother church to process any feedback from the experience so that the mother and daughter church can both learn. This might be done 6-12 months following the daughter’s departure, but a strong recommendation is that this feedback meeting be scheduled and committed to prior to the departure of the planter from the mother church. Depending on the size of the church and how the leadership functions, this feedback process might include pastoral staff, support staff, elders, department leaders who were affected by the daughtering process and key leaders from the church plant. Since our goal is for the mother to daughter again and do it more effectively, as well as the new church to become a mother church, the process feedback should be directed both ways—not just a critique of the mother.

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