The Difference between a Church Planter & a Campus Pastor

I’ve written previously about the newest Staff role in church-world, the Campus Pastor. Ever since the multisite movement has begun to gain momentum, churches across the nation have been searching high and low to find their next Campus Pastor. I’ve heard some church leaders even blame the multisite movement for an apparent increased difficulty in finding Church Planters. Essentially stating that instead of Church Planting, up and coming church leaders are opting to become a Campus Pastor instead of planting a church.

I’m not really buying it though. When it comes to recruiting a Church Planter or a Campus Pastor you’re looking for two very different people with two different sets of gifts.

Campus Pastor:

1. Developer: They’re great at developing people. They know how to identify potential in people and enjoy spending their time investing in others. People respond to their coaching and their performance improves because of it.

2. Leader: They know how to lead from here to there. They can position the staff to succeed, meet goals, and integrate calendars, budgets, and the ministries on their Campus in a manner that moves the Campus towards the vision.

3. Implementer: Great Campus Pastors makes things happen. They may not come up with the idea, but they can execute the idea. They know how to see ideas through from concept to completion.

Church Planter:

1. Calling: Great Church Planters possess a distinct calling from God to go and start something new. It’s not merely a career opportunity but deep sense of spiritual direction from God that they tenaciously grab hold of.

2. Visionary: They’re not simply a dreamer. Yes, they can see a preferred future, but at the same time they are wise enough to leverage the current moment to move people towards that future.

3. Entrepreneur: They are wired up to start new things. They are opportunity oriented, embrace risk, and are comfortable with the amount of ambiguity that comes with starting something new.

What other unique differences have you observed when it comes to Campus Pastors and Church Planters?

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