“The most privileged and challenging role on earth.” That’s how Tom Bennardo describes a church planter’s role. Tom is a part of FEC’s church planting staff and serves as the director for the western United States. He, along with Scott Wagoner and Jay Nickless have seen interest in planting new churches grow over the last decade. However, not every person who enters into the church planting process has the skills, emotional health, and spiritual habits to be successful.

With their combined experience in church planting, Scott speaks for all three men saying, “Far too many people who have entered the church planting arena have crashed and burned due to being misplaced, mismatched or unsupported in their ministry. A church planting assessment, if done well, can be a phenomenal tool for helping guide people into the ministry they are best wired for.”

For Jay Nickless, the desire to create a more successful and supportive environment for church planters stretches back to 1988. That year, Jay Nickless planted his first church. The church’s successes and failures remind Jay that “feeling called” to plant churches is only the first step in the process. In the wake of his first church planting failure, Jay sought advice from a professor who had created a church planter’s assessment, Dr. Charles Ridley, Ph.D. That assessment helped to shape Jay’s understanding of a church planter’s wiring and preparation, apart from his calling from God.

Until now, anyone who was interested in planting an FEC church went through an assessment process hosted by an outside organization. In March (13-14), FEC hosted two candidates at The Summit (Fort Wayne) for the first-ever church planter’s assessment. Potential church planters who attended the two-day assessment explored their calling from God and giftedness for the task. Then, they received feedback in important areas. The FEC assessment evaluates a potential church planter for characteristics that help determine their effectiveness.

  • Spousal Cooperation & Singleness
  • Execution
  • Coachability
  • Experience with God
  • Grit and Perseverance
  • Team Building
  • Evangelism
  • Collaboration
  • Communication

The church planter’s assessment was carried out with the assistance of a team that included Marc Buwalda (Pine Hills Kendallville), Alex Ruhter (Wave Community), Briana Nickless (Pine Hills City Church), Jana Vastbinder (Pine Hills), and Chris Freeman (Pine Hills City Church).

Jay Nickless reflects that God’s call to plant churches is important, but many church planters embark without affirmation or confidence. He reflects about FEC’s future church planters and his goals for the Church Planter’s Assessment by saying, “When they have gone through the assessment and are affirmed, they have confidence in their calling and ability when difficulty comes.” Jay’s personal experience has taught him how important confidence is, in both calling and ability. Anyone interested in learning more about church planting can contact Scott Wagoner in the FEC office.