2 Essential Qualities of a Church Planter

Continuing the story (but skipping a bunch of posts I meant to write)...I made a new friend at the expository preaching conference we put on in the Philippines, Alfred Hermosilla (pictured above). Alfred is a church planter who has himself planted scores of churches throughout the Philippines and who has trained and sent out men to plant many, many churches throughout the Philippines and southeast Asia. Two years ago, Alfred even sent a church planter to Switzerland (homeland of the Buzzard name).Over a meal of rice and fish, I asked Alfred what he looks for in assessing whether a guy might be called to plant a church. Among the many qualities he looks for, Alfred said there are two qualities that a church planter must have:

1. A father's heart.
2. Perseverance.

Alfred said a man must have the heart of God the Father, a heart that's broken to see sinners come home. He must have the heart of a father of a family, passionately dedicated to the well being, protection, nurture, maturity, and joy of his family.Alfred said a man must have perseverance, because planting a church is hard. He must be a self-motivator, resilient, and able to push on through great difficulty and spiritual warfare.I'm thankful for what Alfred taught me, for I soon begin the adventure of planting a new church. And, I'm thankful Alfred is on Facebook, he can keep teaching me.