A called-by-God church planter is a truly focused individual. He knows that he needs specific things in order to do what God has called him to do in the city to which He has been sent.

Building
One of the things that he needs is a building. I remember driving through my city almost every day with my eyes peeled for my dream building. I looked at schools, science centers, community centers, art galleries, coffee houses and old church buildings. Heck, I even looked at a VFW (Veterans of Foreign War) building/bar complete with a medium sized tank from World War One directly in front of the entrance. I remember getting totally stoked about a potential building only to have my hopes dashed time and time again. On more than one occasion, I had vivid dreams about a certain meeting space, which is weird for me because I don't normally remember any of my dreams. Finding a place to gather is a big deal and every church planter should concern himself with this search.

Money
Another important element in a successful plant is money. Most church planters resist the idea of pursuing it. Many church planters think it is unspiritual to focus on it, but sooner or later every church planter realizes that it is going to take money, and a lot of it to do what God is calling him to do. I remember going to my first church planter training conference and hearing that a church planter needed to be a fund raiser. My initial thought was that if this were the case, I couldn't plant, because I hated to ask people for money. But like every church planter eventually does, I realized that I had to get over this and that God's vision was worth me getting over my fund raising phobia. Money is an important and pressing issue. In fact, after talking with over a hundred church planters in the last year, I have heard the same story over and over again: "I need to raise more money. Do you know where I can get some?" There are money sources that I point people with this question towards. Denominations, Church planting networks like Acts 29, established churches and generous individuals are all good sources. A called by God church planter will find the money needed to plant just like Jesus and the Apostle Paul did.

You have to have a place to meet, preferably one without a weapon of mass destruction on the premises. You will always need money because in this world, it is the answer for everything, just as the writer of Ecclesiastes stated. But I would submit that there is something you need more than money and a building. To plant a prevailing, reproducing church you must have people, and more importantly, you must have the right kind of people.

People
There are many ways to start a church. You can just start holding public meetings. You can begin to meet non Christians and wait for them to come to faith and use them as leaders. You can hive off a group of people from a mother church and use them to start your church. However you choose to start, though, you have to start with people to serve as the core of your new church. The truth is that you need all kinds of people to begin public worship. You will need people to lead small groups, run sound, play guitar, set up, tear down and love kids in the children's ministry. For the planter, it is often overwhelming to realize how many people it actually takes to begin a local church. But successful planters know that it isn't only about the quantity of people you have, it is the quality of the people that will help the most.
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Most of the time when someone starts a church they use Christians as core group members. Without going into great detail, let me describe who you don't want to be in your core group. You do not want flaky Christians who attend another church and 3 other "Christian" meetings during the week. Also, you do not want ultra needy Christians who can't stand on their own and will need you, the planter, to keep them healthy. You do want men and women who are not looking for you to fix every problem in their life. You do want men and men who see themselves as missionaries and are looking for a community that will equip them to reach out to their friends with the love of Christ.

Men
As chauvinistic as it sounds in today's egalitarian climate, you really do need a few good men to help you plant a church. God will send some godly women whom you will love as mothers and sisters and they will be used by God in unbelievable ways to extend the kingdom through your local church. I am not minimizing the role of a woman in church, or women in general. In our church women lead worship, teach bible studies, serve as deacons, etc. What I am simply doing is to highlight the reality of the "just as". Just as the men go, so goes the family. Just as the men go, so goes the society. And, just as men go, so goes the church. You don't have to have a PhD in Sociology to realize that our world is jacked up because men don't do what they should and do what they shouldn't. Men are the problem in our broken world. And, if you work hard and smart, men can be a big part of the answer for a church trying to reach a broken world.

How do you get and develop good men? First, you have to be a good man yourself. You will not attract what you are not. The Scripture is full of encouragement and challenge to become the man God wants you to be. In short, be a Biblically qualified elder and you will do well. Most men who come to your church either did not have a good relationship with their dad or did not have a dad at all. They will look to you for a model of what it means to be a godly man. So, as Paul told Timothy, watch your life and doctrine closely so you can deliver such men. Not only do you need to be a model for them, you need to train them. The first meeting we ever had in our church plant was a men's discipleship meeting. We studied 1 Timothy 3 and I pleaded with the men who were present to aspire to be elders in our new church. The point is that you have to call men up. You have to plead with them and challenge them to be better than they are. But, you must not just tell them to live better, you must train them to live better. This involves many meetings: one on one, small groups and medium-sized groups. Make sure that you are spending time with emerging male leaders and that you are equipping them to teach, lead and counsel.

It is important to add, though, that while discipleship groups are good, one-on-one mentoring relationships are good, etc. these are simply not enough to produce the type of men that you will need to build a prevailing, gospel driven church. You must see the pulpit as the main vehicle to reach and train men. Many pastors preach sermons that are too effeminate to draw men. You know this is true because the majority of churches have a much lesser percentage of men than women. When you preach, preach strong! Call men to Christ, call them to lay down their idols of entertainment and work. When you preach, use illustrations that men relate to. Integrate things like sports, music, and films that appeal to men into your sermons. Preach like men are in your church and they will come.