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Michael Lukaszewski, lead pastor of Oak Leaf Church and initiator of  Launch And Lead has been helping church planters for some time. Michael helps churches by sharing information. He puts out in other words. He puts out the knowledge he has gained so that others can learn from him and his team. He has been one of my long distance coaches for a long time.

Recently I asked him via a comment posted on Launch And Lead: “How can a church plant get the word out about their church when 1) advertising dollars are very tight and we can’t do postcard mailings, 2) when the community you live in has sign laws that prevent you from using yard signs.”

I thought others might be interested in Michael’s 7 Steps (below).

1. Make road signs and have people put them in their own yards.

2. Print simple flyers (you can get nice full-color ones online for cheap) and get a group of your people to put them on doors personally. The most expensive part of postcards is the postage.

3. Print up some t-shirts and ask your people to them around town on a certain day or give your people bumper stickers for their cars. Or have them write with shoe polish on their windows.

4. Print business card size invites to a series (less than $50) and teach your people how to use them. Personal invitations are the absolute best way to invite people to church. About 75% of our first time guests come because they are personally invited.

5. Go through your budget and cut some internal stuff and use it on getting people there. My guess is that you could cut somewhere. You may need to sacrifice something you think is necessary to free up some money to get people to church.

6. Hire The Change Group to help you generate more operational revenue.

7. Make sure your church service is amazing. Somehow, people show up at what is good.

QUESTION: How do you get the word out about your church?

I had an interesting conversation recently with someone who made the comment that some new church plants have “celebrities” that endorse their new church plants thus helping them raise funds. These solicited high profile people help them connect with other people of influence in order to accomplish their mission. Not a bad strategy, but I must confess that the term “celebrity” as it relates to church planting did give me pause. That is, until I realized that I too have my own rock stars of church planting.

I call them my coaches. These are the people that have agreed to take time out from their busy schedules to meet with me and allow me to pick their brains on a variety of topics. What sets a real coach apart is that they are willing to share knowledge, and knowledge is incredibly valuable to a church planter. Without these coaches, I am limited to my own experiences, knowledge, and view of things. Not a pretty site!

My coaches include church finance experts, Christian business people, and pastors of newer growing churches both locally and in other parts of the country (can you tell me who is missing from this list?).

But check this: There is a BIG difference between true church plant coaches, and people who simply dispense church plant information. Along the way I have received lots of information, but what is most valuable to me as a new planter is the coach who really cares about me as a player. How do you tell the difference?  A true coach does not ignore the player. They take every opportunity to coach. Why? Because they are truly care!

Advise dispensers are everywhere. They’ll give you just enough information to make them feel like they helped, and to get you off their back. They are famous for not replying, and for five words or less email responses. A coach on the other hand looks for opportunities to coach, to pour into a planter’s life in order to make them better. They are BIG picture minded and no matter how busy they are, they take the time to engage the player.

This side of heaven my church plant coaches will have no idea how much they have helped me and the people our church will reach. They are my church plant rock stars!

Question: Do you have any rock star coaches in your life?