I never expected to end up in the city. I’m the son of farmers and truck drivers from Central Pennsylvania. In 2006, I was challenged by Heidi Baker’s testimony to “go where only the Gospel could make a difference.” I felt the Lord guide us into East Baltimore, one of the most challenged neighborhoods in our region.

We’re launching a new series here on DOMACAST where we’re focusing on the mission and ministry of church planting and church health. This work in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic is led by what’s called the Great Commission Committee—or the GCC. Tom Herrick, Canon for Church Planting for the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic—as well as the Executive Director of the Titus Institude—is chair of the GCC. We asked Tom to be our first guest in this series we call “Into the Harvest.”

We're kicking off a special series over the next several months in the Mid-Atlantic Messenger where we'll be focusing on the mission and ministry of church planting and church health in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. This work is led by the Great Commission Committee (GCC) of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. To launch the series we asked Tom Herrick, Canon for Church Planting for the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic and chair of the GCC, to give us some background on the formation of the Great Commission Committee, its mission and goals as well as introducing us to the members of the GCC team. We will be hearing more from the GCC team over the next few months as they share their testimonies, mission stories, and lessons they've learned in their own ministry as part of the Into the Harvest Series in the Mid-Atlantic Messenger.

Editor's Note: This is the conclusion of a two-part series.

As I coach ministers across this country and across the traditional spectrum, I hear again and again the complaint that these pastors have been ill-prepared to face the realities that day-to-day ministering. And this inadequacy often appears when the newly minted minister first sits down in the church board meeting (whether it be elder, session, vestry, council, or what have you). Often the fearful thought emerges, I’m the leader. What do I do now? What’s important? What’s not? This is intensified the moment conflict begins to develop. And panic often ensues when that conflict devolves on the pastor.

One of the hardest concepts to grasp for those who wish to grow is that fact that growth will bring about pain, pain from the loss of important things valued by the pastor and the congregation. What losses are you talking about? you might ask. Growth looks like a good thing, right?.

"How come my church has reached a numerical number, and we are unable to increase that number?" This is a central question we have found with small churches everywhere. Studies have shown that numbers plateau rather predictably – 200, 500, 1000, etc. The most important plateau, and the one that is the biggest barrier, is the 200 plateau.

God has been challenging us to think bigger. This isn’t surprising when you see the trajectory the diocese has been on for the past few years. God has carefully been putting the pieces in place to support this kind of growth for some time.

This summer, seven churches in the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic formed a learning community to explore what it means to become a multiplying church.

Every congregation develops structures to facilitate the things they need to do on a consistent basis. We normally refer to these as our “ministries,” and depend on them to create order as we carry on the functions that are important to us. Like any other organization, the church needs these structures to give shape and consistency to its life together. Whether that structure is to provide leadership, coordinate activities, or provide processes to accomplish the things that need to be done, creating structures is a natural part of living life together.