2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 (KJV) “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
Rick Warren spoke to a group of church planters and told them that building a church is more important than drawing a crowd.
“You must be very careful how you build. Some build with gold, silver, precious stones even wood, hay and straw but the day will come when fire will reveal the quality of your work and if what you build survives, you will receive a reward,” Warren said on Thursday of the three-day conference.
“The success of your ministry isn’t about size or speed, regardless of those ‘large church lists.’ God isn’t going to judge you based on those things because those are human measurements.”
Warren said that church planters are too preoccupied with church trends or what is “currently in or hip.”
“I could show you how to get a crowd but a crowd isn’t a church,” Warren said. “Most church planters spend an entire year planning the first service and none planning the second.”
Warren said more than anything church planters need a pure heart and clear purpose.
