I never cease to be amazed at the incredible kaleidoscope of churches that God’s Spirit is empowering planters to start today: from microchurches reaching the adult film industry in Las Vegas to Nigerian immigrant churches in Texas to second and third generation Korean American churches in LA.
In response to global migration and the diversifying of our cities, consider the various forms of diversity in the church planting world:
- a strategic diversity of church planting models from launch large to microchurch to digital
- an ethnic diversity of groups being reached including Black, Latino, Asian American, Native American, and multiethnic, and as well as immigrants from dozens of nations
- a generational diversity of immigrants – from immigrant to 1.5 to second and third generation, each with their own languages and needs
The result is a seemingly endless combination of planters and planting contexts. This presents a dilemma for leaders of church planting networks and denominations: Do we pursue efficiency through a one-size-fits-all approach to training, or do we seek effectiveness by equipping planters on a case-by-case basis according to their background, model, and context? Can we scale without losing our soul?
Just like urban White churches whose neighborhood makeup changed around them, so networks and denominations have been caught flat-footed as the country and world has changed around them. Going forward, how can church planting networks and denominations adapt to the various multicultural realities of today’s cities? How will they identify, affirm, and train the next generation of multiethnic church planters so they can fully show up for God’s call?
Running on New TRACS
Most church planting networks and denominations equip planters through an ecosystem (a term I prefer as opposed to pipeline, which is more mechanistic) that includes five basic functions summarized using the acronym TRACS: Training, Recruiting, Assessing, Coaching, Support-raising.
Few networks (if any) do all five functions well, so they often outsource some of them. As we’ve pointed out in several prior articles, the current ecosystem was built and optimized for a specific kind of planter: white, male, suburban, wealthy. So here are ways that network leaders who are paying attention can re-imagine a new set of TRACS for the diverse planters that our diversifying nation now needs:
Training – Contextualized for Diverse Planters
Just as planters must contextualize the gospel to reach their neighborhood, so networks must contextualize their training to reach their planters’ distinct backgrounds and cultures. This means that majority culture network leaders must be willing to learn from diverse planters even as they train them. Check in with them. What is their perspective? What does and doesn’t work in their context? Does the training work with bi-vocational planters?
I’m grateful for the minority-led networks that are already training diverse, urban planters in contextually appropriate ways out of their lived experience. For example, MyBlvd’s Dhati Lewis trains urban missionaries, and Passion2Plant’s Liz Rios uses trauma-informed approaches to train planters. We need these and other networks like them to point the way for majority culture denominations to train diverse planters.
In my own work at Fuller Seminary, I’m nearly done authoring a course called “Training Asian American Planters” and my colleague Corey Lee is similarly developing “Training African American Planters.” Courses specifically for Latino and multiethnic planters are in the pipeline – or should I say ecosystem. A vision for truly contextualized training is becoming a reality.
Recruiting – Fishing Beyond the Usual Ponds
Most churches think they are more welcoming to newcomers than they really are, and the same holds for networks and denominations. As you recruit diverse planters to your tribe, ask yourself, why would an ethnic minority or a majority culture person planting a multiethnic church want to plant with us? Do they see anyone in leadership that looks like them? Are there planters or coaches with their background? As is often said, “You have to see it to be it.”
If you keep fishing in the same ponds, you’re going to get the same fish you always have. We need to creatively and prayerfully discern new ecosystems to build relationships with and draw from – new cities, new networks, new seminaries, etc.
The Evangelical Covenant denomination uses a Six-Fold Test to ensure that they are advancing ethnic ministry and diversity within their tribe. The first test is, “Population – Are we reaching increasing numbers of people among increasing numbers of populations?” This ensures that a missional imperative of extending the gospel to new people groups is always present. The second test is “Power – Are our positions and structures of influence influenced by the perspective and gifts of diverse populations?” This ensures that the voices of many people groups are shaping the denomination’s conversations and decisions.
Assessing – Evaluating on Competencies
Assessment is the process – formal or informal – by which a network or denomination gives a planter a “green light” to start a church. As networks grapple with the strategic, ethnic, and generational diversity we talked about earlier, they realize that they need a better and more equitable scorecard.
In 2022, Stadia, which runs multiple assessments each year for many different planting organizations, saw in their surveys that White planters were having a vastly better experience of assessment than planters of color. After some soul searching, I was moved to be present when Stadia issued a statement of lament: “We acknowledge that our White organizational roots were formed in the midst of an unjust, segregated system. This does not represent the fullness of God’s Kingdom nor God’s mission for the church. We lament the harm caused to planters of color and the churches they were called to start. We repent for the barriers we have erected and the challenges that this has caused our brothers and sisters of color.”
Practically speaking, Stadia has dramatically diversified their pool of guides (the term they now use instead of assessors) to include many women and leaders of color. They have defined up front the key competencies they are looking for in planters, are using a more narrative approach to learning about planters, providing more training to their guides on bias, and highlighting many different models of “success.”
If our assessment processes are going to see and give opportunity for the vibrant variety of planters out there, we need to build new scorecards and define success based on planting context.
Coaching – Across Contexts
Planting a church without a coach is akin to skydiving without a parachute – it generally ends badly. Both research and anecdotal evidence show that providing a trained coach who meets regularly with a planter to support them and help them discern how God is working in their missional context is one of the best investments they can make.
Some questions for networks to consider are: How can our network ensure equity of access to coaching? How can we recruit and train diverse coaches? Can our coaching fees be on a sliding scale? How can we assist planters in finding and connecting with other planters of color within our network or within their city?
Support-raising – Show Me the Money
If we talk about planting multiethnic churches and don’t talk money, we’ve completely missed the boat. Funding equities are stark.
As my friend Chris Brooks says, “Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.” For many communities of color, being a bi-vocational planter or pastor and side hustles have always been the norm.
While the typical majority culture church planting model relied heavily on affluent donors and networks, multiethnic planters often need to discover diverse funding streams. Troy Evans of Nitrogen network trains planters in a variety of models, including writing grants, starting for-profit businesses, utilizing AI to meet and monetize needs, or creative ways to rent, lease, or buy facilities. He’s equipping planters with multiple pathways to financial sustainability. See more insights in our article on creative fundraising here.
But it’s critical that even if networks and denominations can’t provide significant financial backing, that they demonstrate their backing of that planter in every way they can, such as hiring a fundraising coach for them, introducing them to as many potential supporting churches as possible, and praying for their finances.
5 Next Steps for Denominations & Networks
Given that none of us can build new TRACS overnight, where do we start? Here are suggestions to move networks and denominations forward in multiethnic church planting:
- Convene your ethnic-specific pastors and planters – The best way to ensure a future ecosystem of multiethnic planters is to better support your current multiethnic planters and pastors right now. If you haven’t already, gather and support ethnic-specific pastors or those who previously planted from your tribe. Two planting organizations that have used this approach to strongly support ethnic-specific pastor associations and gatherings are the Evangelical Covenant Church (which developed the six-fold test) and the Vineyard, which hosted a “Better Together” conference in 2024 for their whole network and will again in 2026 to continue to influence their whole tribe.
- Listen to your pastors of color – As these groups gather, make sure their voices are influencing the way future planters are recruited and trained. Time and again these leaders are asking for and willing to help with practical issues such as making training available at times and prices that work for bi-vocational leaders, and making resources and websites available in multiple languages. They have ideas on how to reach people groups you may not even have considered yet.
- Partner with organizations that have strong TRACS where you are weak. You don’t have to do this alone. Get out of your silo and find organizations that you can outsource your weaknesses to – that’s how the body of Christ works. You may find an organization to partner with at PlanterMatch, a directory of nearly 150 church planting organizations. At the risk of self-promotion, if you need training, consider partnering with the Fuller Church Planting Initiative where I work. Consider using Stadia for assessment. Find a list of trained coaches at varying price points here.
- Discern which TRACS are your strengths and lean into them. At the same time, don’t sell yourself short. Deepen and strengthen the area that God is already blessing and using to bear fruit. If you’re strong at recruiting planters from college campuses, keep reaching increasing numbers of students among increasing numbers of campuses, to paraphrase the Six-Fold Test. If you have access to denominational funds, find creative ways to incentivize missional experiments to surface gifted planters and evangelistically fertile areas. Focus on what you do well and outsource the rest until you’ve developed that competency.
- Notice where multiethnic leaders are pioneering new mission fields. God often works from the margins, so pay attention. The point of re-engineering your pipeline isn’t to meet a diversity quota, but to see how God is working in a world that is shifting beneath our feet. For Gen Z, it’s not a diverse world that is normal for them, but a just world.
Reimagining church planting ecosystems isn’t just about updating systems or tweaking processes. It’s about aligning with what God is already doing in a rapidly diversifying world. Networks and denominations that adapt their TRACS will not only serve planters more faithfully but also bear witness to the Kingdom’s breadth and beauty.
If we can learn to scale without losing our soul by prioritizing justice, equity, and contextual wisdom, we may see a new generation of diverse planters rise to meet this moment with creativity, courage, and faith.
