Reviewing “Church Planting Thresholds: A Gospel-Centered Guide”

Clint Clifton
Lulu Publishing Services, 2016

(on Amazon)

Clint Clifton aptly describes himself with five words: “family man, church planter, entrepreneur.” I’d add two more: “experienced mentor.” You see, in this Christ-centered, easily read, and eminently practical book, Clifton does exactly the kind of things that best-in-class mentors do—and he does them well.

First, Clifton equips church planters for effective leadership by providing a ten-part framework for ministry. The book is organized around ten stages that any pastor must move through in order to successfully plant a church. The stages include verbs like:

• Confirm

• Enlist

• Assemble

• Befriend

• Repeat

The ten step framework is itself worth the read, but Clifton does more: he comes alongside. With each of the stages, he provides actionable in-your-face “thresholds”:  assessments, decisions, and outcomes that must be achieved in order to move on to the next threshold and/or the next stage. The very first threshold, for instance, is to complete “The Abandonment Worksheet”; it’s one of twenty or so such exercises, all brought together in the Appendices. In this case, the worksheet is designed to help planters identify their “pain thresholds” for church planting. Would you quit church planting:

• When you no longer enjoy the work?

• If after the first year you have less than 10 people?

• When you feel like a failure?

This is the sort of thing mentors do. They not only equip with frameworks for ministry, they also come alongside to ask hard questions. They help you locate your soul in relation to God’s calling.

I strongly urge any young pastor, especially those involved in a church plant, to read Church Planting Thresholds. You will be mentored, and mentorship like Clifton’s, even if through a book, makes a real difference.