I just finished up a six-month church planting training course through the LAUNCH Network. It’s one thing to fill out an application and get accepted by a church planting group or network. It’s another thing for the leadership of that team to go out of it’s way to provide priceless resources, hands-on training, and hard-core personal development of every leader in their program. LAUNCH has been one of the most ridiculously amazing experiences of my life and I don’t believe there is another church planting network or organization out there that cares as much about equipping leaders to succeed and lead strong.

Someone should copy that and put it on their website ;)

Anyway, the main project we worked over the last six months was what they called our church plant prospectus. It basically is our plan for launching a successful church plant. Considering our circumstance as a video campus turned church plant, we thought we had much of these already figured out from being a part of our mother church. As it turns out, reevaluating where we stand on this in the context of our community was extremely valuable. I’m going to share some of it with you over the next several weeks so you can see where Oak Leaf Church Canton is headed.

Below is how we worded our mission statement (the first line) and our vision:

Oak Leaf Church Canton exists to lead people from where they are to where God wants them to be. That means inspiring people to continually take steps towards the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, connecting people into genuine relationships that promote love and encouragement, and moving people from uncertainty to unmeasurable hope and happiness. For our city, we will pour time, money, and resources into any avenue that allows us to share the love of Jesus. For our community, we will raise up leaders to make an positive impact wherever they live, work, and play. For our cause, we will send out those who have been called to local and global missions as church planters or evangelists.

Within five years we will have planted five churches or campuses around the greater Canton area. Our outreach into the school system will eradicate budget shortfalls and put a backpack full of school supplies on every child’s back in Cherokee County. The local organizations that support feeding, caring for, and sheltering the homeless and less fortunate will never be short food, supplies, or resources. Events we sponsor or organize within the community will draw positive national attention and help reach ten of thousands of people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Our red leaf will be known across the county as a symbol of love, service, and generosity. We will do whatever it takes to grow and advance the Kingdom of God.