Our History

In 2011 the Florida Church Planting Network held its first meeting. We now have over 30 Member Churches from four Florida Presbyteries. We are supporting church plants that are:

  • Founded on prayer
  • Gospel Centered
  • Reaching the lost
  • Transforming the found
  • Seeking the well-being of the community

We operate in four presbyteries:

  • North Florida – Jacksonville to St. Augustine
  • Central Florida – Daytona to Palm Bay; Orlando to Crystal River
  • Southwest Florida – Lakeland to St. Petersburg and Tampa
  • Suncoast – Bradenton to Marco island

What We Do

We are a supporting organization. We support Presbyteries and “Mother Churches” as they plant churches. We pray, provide a community of churches and men who want to plant churches, look to implement best practices, and provide ways to increase the planter’s chances for success. Specifically, we:

  • Use our network of pastors to recruit church planters
  • Provide guidance on how to plant a church
  • Support the Readiness Seminars for church planters held by MNA at RTS Orlando
  • Pay the prospective planter’s fee to attend the “MNA Church Planter Assessment”
  • Contribute $10,000 a year for 2 years ($20,000) for apprenticeships for Planters with skills who lack experience
  • Pay for and provide tutoring on how to use, MissionInSite, the premier demographic tool for church planting
  • Pay for approved coaching for Planters and Apprentices over a five-year period ($15,000)
  • Provide material and curriculum that compliment the coaching
  • Pay moving expenses (up to $7,500)
  • Support plants (typically $100,000 over three years)
  • Provide a connection to Spanish River Church, that financially supports church plants
  • Pay for “Taking Donors Seriously,” a 12-week, online course that teaches principles and techniques of approaching and developing long term donors, like the people in their congregation
  • Develop Parakaleo chapters. Parakaleo is the ministry that supports the wives of PCA pastors and Planters
  • Pay for the church planter’s wife to participate in the Parakaleo Conference
  • Require a reasonable amount of accountability from the Planter
  • Studies have shown that analyzing the plant location, assessing the Planter’s skills and readiness, providing training for fund raising, offering solid coaching, providing adequate funding, and caring for the spouse of a Church Planter, all increase the likelihood of a successful plant.

How We Operate

Our Member Churches run the Network. At an Annual Meeting, at the beginning of the year, they approve the strategy, the budget, and they elect certain members of the Executive Team. The Executive Team elected members are Chairman, Vice- Chairman, four at large members, and the Executive Director. The ex officio members are the chairmen of each Presbytery MNA Committee (North, Central, Southwest, and Suncoast). The Executive Team meets quarterly to receive reports, approve applications of support from Apprentices and Planters, pray for out Planters and Apprentices, and provide guidance to the Executive Director. The Executive Director is a non-voting member, who is paid by the Network to implement the will of the Member Churches and the Executive Team. He runs the Network on a daily basis.