I was torn whether I should include this question, because the call to follow Jesus is a call to lay down our own preferences and use our lives for his will.

Nevertheless, if you want to reach a rounded view of whether or not you should plant, it is an important question to think about. Paul seems comfortable to speak of the fact that he wants to plant in Spain (Romans 15:23) and he refers to his ‘ambition’ to preach the Gospel where Christ has not previously been named (Romans 15:20).

Knowing whether or not you want to do it cannot over-ride something that God is clearly saying, but such self-knowledge can provide you with helpful band-with for your process.

• If you do want to – This is ace and you should prayerfully consider the other questions in this article. Be careful in this process because your own desire to plant may be liable to skew your answers in that direction, so the wisdom of others is more necessary than ever for you. Depending on how ready you are, you may want to consider either planting a new church or going on a church planting team that is being led by somebody else.
• If you don’t want to – Do you sense that it may something that God is prompting you to do anyway? If so, then there will be a journey to go on to draw you into what God is speaking to you about (Jon Flavell spends some time talking about what this journey looked like for him in this Broadcast). If planting is something that you wouldn’t have chosen for yourself then you should be looking for a much greater clarity that this is from God to keep you going when times get tough.
• If you are happy either way – Perhaps you are just as content to go and to not go. The other questions in this article will be useful for you in determining what to do. If you do end up concluding that church planting is the right thing for you, then you should be looking to get some faith for a particular plant and to see some vision and excitement for what you have been called to.