Church Planting - Upstate New York

Come and plant in one of the least-reached states in the country.

New York is filled with communities where the presence of the local church has not kept pace with the population and where thousands of people live with little meaningful engagement with the Gospel.

Research from JD Payne identifies 10 Upstate New York metropolitan areas among the 50 least-reached metro areas in the United States, with 5% or less of the population identifying as evangelical. These communities represent strategic opportunities for new Gospel-centered churches and multiplying movements.

Potential church-planting locations include:

• Malone — 4.31% evangelical
• Gloversville — 4.18% evangelical
• Glens Falls — 4.45% evangelical
• Hudson — 3.27% evangelical
• Kingston — 2.63% evangelical

And the need extends into some of New York's largest population centers. Barna's Bible-Minded Cities research found that several major Upstate New York markets ranked among the least Bible-minded in America. In the 2017 study, Albany/Schenectady/Troy ranked #100, Buffalo #96, Rochester #86, and Syracuse #68 out of the nation's 100 largest media markets.

We are looking for a church planter who believes the local church can be a catalyst for Gospel transformation and who is willing to go where the need is greatest.

Here's the exciting part: in some locations, you won't be starting completely from scratch. Existing Alliance churches are ready to multiply and are looking for the right planter to help lead the next chapter.

As a Church Planter, you will serve as the spiritual, visionary, and multiplication leader of a church planting team in a location determined through our discernment and assessment process.

You will seek the Lord's direction in developing and implementing a vision and strategy for establishing a Gospel-centered, disciple-making, multiplying community that is deeply rooted in its local context. There is oppprtunity to in some locations to partner with existing Alliance churches who are ready to mutiply and just need a planter!

We are looking for a Gospel-rooted, courageous, missional, catalytic, and multiplying leader who meets the biblical qualifications of an elder and has a passion for reaching people who are far from Jesus.

We are looking for someone who:

• Lives on mission — willing to move into and become deeply invested in the community where the church will be planted.
• Sees what could be — able to recognize Gospel opportunities others may overlook and cast a compelling vision for what God could do.
• Makes disciples — passionate about developing people who follow Jesus and helping them make disciples of others.
• Builds teams — able to recruit, inspire, develop, coach, and empower leaders rather than attempting to do ministry alone.
• Thinks entrepreneurially — comfortable starting from scratch, navigating uncertainty, taking appropriate risks, and creating new pathways for ministry.
• Builds relationships — able to develop meaningful relationships with people both inside and outside the church.
• Communicates the Gospel — able to clearly and passionately communicate the Gospel in a variety of environments and contexts.

• Experience starting ministries in new contexts, communities, or cultures.
• Previous church planting, church revitalization experience or has demonstrated experience pioneering new ministries or initiatives (including business) from the ground up
• A track record of making disciples and developing multiplying ministry.
• Highly strategic, organized, entrepreneurial, and self-motivated.
• Strong communication and relational skills.
• Creativity and a willingness to experiment with new approaches to ministry.
• Ability to build teams and create healthy organizational culture.
• Willingness to partner with established local Alliance churches.
• Ability to engage and understand a community before determining what ministry should look like.
• Experience working across denominational, cultural, socioeconomic, or generational lines.
• Licensed in the C&MA or willing to go through the process

If God has given you a passion for pioneering, a burden for people far from Jesus, and a vision for what a multiplying church could look like in an unreached community, we'd love to talk with you.

Come plant where the need is great. Come build what doesn't yet exist. Come help bring the Gospel to communities where a multiplying church is desperately needed.