being a 1-star planter in a 5-star world Contributors: Steve Anderson Al Barrera Dan Freng Mark Hallock Kevin Hasenack Jeff Jung Jim Misloski Fabian Perea Evan Skelton Matt Whitt General Editors: Jenna Hallock, Mark Hallock, & Evan Skelton The Underdog Church-Planter: Being a 1-Star Planter in a 5-Star World Copyright © 2016 Calvary Resources All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Cover Design: Evan Skelton Interior Design: Evan Skelton The Calvary Resources logo is a trademark of the Calvary Family of Churches. First Printing, 2016 Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise noted, all Bible references are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. While the contributors have made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, internet address, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the contributors assume any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. Requests for information should be addressed to: Calvary Resources, 4881 S. Acoma St., Englewood, CO 80110 www.thecalvary.org [email protected] Paperback ISBN 978-1537686653 Acknowledgments 4 Contributors 5 Foreword 7 PART ONE: Foundations for the Underdog Church-Planter 9 CHAPTER 1 God Loves to Use Underdogs…And He Always Has (Al Barrera) 11 CHAPTER 2 A Theology for the Underdog Church-Planter (Evan Skelton) 23 CHAPTER 3 A Look at the First Underdog Church-Planters (Matt Whitt) 37 PART TWO: Priorities of the Underdog Church-Planter 47 CHAPTER 4 Dependent Disciple (Jeff Jung) 49 CHAPTER 5 Loving Husband and Father (Fabian Perea) 59 CHAPTER 6 Persistent Prayer (Mark Hallock) 69 PART THREE: Practices of the Underdog Church-Planter 79 CHAPTER 7 Humble Leader (Jim Misloski) 81 CHAPTER 8 Joyful Shepherd (Steve Anderson) 89 CHAPTER 9 Courageous Missionary (Dan Freng) 99 CHAPTER 10 Faithful Preacher (Mark Hallock) 109 CHAPTER 11 Persevering Pastor (Kevin Hasenack) 123 Notes 131 We want to thank each of our wonderful, Calvary Church congregations. What a joy it is to serve you as together we seek to make Jesus non-ignorable. Thanks to each of our wives and children who have supported us, not simply in this writing process, but through our shared mission to make Jesus famous to the glory of God through church planting. Special thanks to Jenna Hallock for helping us to edit these chapters and make them better than they ever could have been on their own. Finally, all thanks and praise be to the God who chooses to use all types of underdogs for His purposes in and through local churches all over the world. Soli Deo Gloria. 4 Steve Anderson serves as an Associate Pastor at Calvary Englewood in Englewood, Colorado. Originally from the East Coast, Steve headed west to Colorado to attend seminary and has now served in ministry here for over 10 years. Steve earned his BS from Gordon College and his MDiv from Denver Seminary. Steve’s main ministry is to his wife Sarah, and their sons, Wadely and William. Al Barrera is a Colorado Native, called out from a career as a Journeyman Electrician, and has since worked in Ministry Leadership as a college pastor, young adults minister, revitalizing senior pastor, a church-planter, and now as a Church Planting Catalyst for the North American Mission Board. A graduate of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Al is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Ministry with Gateway Seminary. He and his wife of over 15 years, Marcy, live with their four beautiful daughters in Parker, CO, a suburb of Denver. He is a serving member of Calvary Church, Denver, loving people in the heart of one of the most diverse areas of the city. Dan Freng serves as the Lead Pastor at Calvary Church Littleton in Littleton, Colorado. Dan earned his BA from Southwest Minnesota State University and his MDiv from Denver Seminary. Dan’s main ministry is to his wife, Kelly, and their kids Noah, Jasmine, Isaac, Brian, and Shamie. Dan’s passion is reaching out to people in the community and connecting them to the local church. Mark Hallock serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Church Englewood in Englewood, Colorado and as a National Replanting Catalyst with the North American Mission Board. He is grateful for 17 years of marriage to his wife, Jenna, and loves being a daddy to their kids, Zoe and Eli. He earned his MDiv from Denver Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry from Westminster Theological Seminary. Kevin Hasenack serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Church Denver. He earned his BA from New Mexico State University and his MTS from Golden 5 6 contributors Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Kevin loves his wife, Jenn and his sweet daughter Charlie. He loves doing intercultural ministry and connecting those that are far from Jesus to the Savior! Jeff Jung serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Church Aurora. He was born in S. Korea, but grew up in Reno, NV. After high school, he attended the University of Nevada Reno where he earned a degree in music, and more importantly, met his wife, Jihyun. After getting married in 2005, they moved to Mill Valley, CA to study at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary where he earned his M.Div. Jeff and Jihyun thank the Lord for their four beautiful children. Jim Misloski serves as the State Director of Missions for the Colorado Baptist Convention and a pastor at Calvary Church Englewood in Englewood, Colorado. He enjoys spending time in God’s beautiful creation with his wife Paula and three children Perry, Ellen and Davis. Fabian Perea serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary en Español. Fabian is from Venezuela and has been married to his wife, Marianela, for 25 years. They have two beautiful children, Fabian Rafael and Ana Karina. Fabian has been in the ministry for more than 27 years. He has helped plant 14 churches in Venezuela and is now planting the 15th: Calvary en Español in Englewood, Colorado. His studies include a Bachelor in Theology from the Venezuelan Baptist Theological Seminary. His great passion is to develop leaders who can take the Gospel to the unreached through the planting of new churches. Evan Skelton serves as a pastor at Calvary Church Denver and has lived in sight of the Denver skyline for most of his life. He earned his BA in Pastoral Ministry from Moody Bible Institute and his MDiv from Denver Seminary. Evan and his wife, Grace, are loving the adventure of raising Clara and Oliver, and Evan looks forward to shepherding his family and the church for years to come, hopefully over a root beer and a Chipotle burrito. Matt Whitt serves as the Lead Pastor of Calvary Church La Junta in La Junta, Colorado. After serving as a Calvary and NAMB replanting intern, Matt and his wife and their two kids moved to La Junta, a small plains town in south eastern Colorado, to replant a church that was set to close its doors. Matt earned his BA from Eastern University and his MDiv from Denver Seminary. God is at work in our city. We have been praying and are now beginning to see a special wave and move of God that is emerging and spreading in our city and along the Front Range. This movement has humble beginnings and very ignorable paths. Several years ago, a church that was struggling to stay alive decided to take one more chance by trying another pastor. This church was in an "Underdog" situation, but this pastor was unique. He began as an “underdog” himself with a solid theological integrity, a heart of a visionary shepherd, a love for people, and a joyful attitude that has become contagious. Pastor Mark Hallock has been used of God to draw a band of brothers together to advance the gospel and make Jesus non-ignorable in the city of Denver and along the Front Range. Lodged in the heart of this man of God is a desire not only revitalize existing churches and replant dying churches, but a desire to plant new churches. His passion has energized others to come alongside and help prepare God-called men into gospel driven work in the trenches of church ministry and church planting. Gospel ministry is a high calling, but it is hard work as well. It requires mastering some “basic” core competencies in order to equip workers in church planting. This resource is written for the underdogs who know no better than to depend on God, obey his calling, and make Jesus non-ignorable by sharing and living out the gospel along the Front Range. I recommend you take this resource which provides the basics of ministry to heart and apply these basic core principles into your lifestyle, until these healthy habits become the core competencies of your ministry. Approach this resource in a humble fashion, since this story has humble beginnings. You can become part of this movement if you approach it with the same spirit of humility and joy. For, if you do and learn and live out the principles by God’s grace, this movement will occur within you, and God will use you to spread it along the Front Range, flooding this city and the West.