Discouragement. Disappointment. Frustration. These can be experienced by any pastor facing the trials of shepherding God’s flock, but they are especially decimating for the church planter. Typically every four years the Home Mission Board holds a conference for our church planters. Due to the pandemic, that conference was postponed, intensifying the need for encouragement for those laboring in our missions.

Recently, church planters from the U.S. and Canada descended upon the Lake Williamson Retreat Center in Carlinville, Ill. Participants were treated to a mix of teaching, discussion, recreation (everyone exhibited their skills on the mini golf course), and fellowship.

The Speakers

Romesh Prakashpalan. Our board president for the last few years, Romesh (Rom) Prakashpalan provided a fitting and inspiring start to the weekend as he opened to us God’s Word in 2 Peter 1:4 regarding persevering through precious promises. Rom was a part of the Dallas church plant from its inception. He moved from ruling elder to teaching elder after some training at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

In lamenting the state of the church today, he pointed out: “It seems like the need of the day is perseverance, especially in the gospel ministry. Men are running ragged and are often burning out. Their wives are experiencing great and tremendous pressures. In our own midst, we have presbyteries who are picking up the pieces of shattered congregations, and elders who have much to do in their own congregations are having to shepherd and help out congregations in great distress. Our members are feeling the strain of the world, and, a lot of times, the controversies of the world are entering the church. Hope is starting to falter. Once hope starts to diminish, the church starts to lose its power and potency, and men and women start to lose their perseverance.”

Rom went on to share many of God’s precious promises, especially “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Matt. 16:18). His focus on God and His promises was a great encouragement to those working in the trenches of new works.

In the discussion time following Rom’s inspiring message, those who listened were able to share specific examples of God’s faithfulness in their ministries. This time spent reflecting on the promises of God provided much motivation to persevere.

Pete and Vicki Smith. Pastor Pete and Vicki Smith spent 20 years as church planters outside of Washington, D.C. There is no church there now, but this does not mean their work was for naught. Many lives were impacted as they labored: people came to faith, others were built up, and those relationships are still bearing fruit today. The experiences Pete and Vicki had were invaluable as they shared with those going through similar struggles today.

The Saturday morning workshop touched on many subjects pertinent to life as a pastor and, especially, as a church planter. Second Timothy 3:1–5 was used to remind us that not everyone we meet or even everyone who comes into the church will be helpful in growing the church. It is necessary to deal with the reality that some have their own agenda. Topics included discipline, rest, trials, and training leaders, and were covered either in the lecture or in the discussion groups. The nitty-gritty of life as a church planter was explored.

The ladies were especially appreciative of the times when Vicki led discussions for the wives. I heard comments such as, “I also appreciated Vicki Smith’s organization and leading of the women’s separate times in particular. She is a delightful servant of Christ,” “I appreciated the gender-divided group times that allowed more informal sharing. I would like to see the role of the pastor’s wife addressed in more detail,” and “I would try to have more time for all the women to get to know each other better. So, I loved the time we did have with the ladies. I think being a pastor’s wife of a small church can be lonely. I, nevertheless, have found it a place to grow in the Lord personally. I need to keep my eyes on Jesus as my provider for all things!”

Eric Watkins. Dr. Eric Watkins was our main speaker. He is a pastor in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), has planted two churches, and serves on their Committee on Home Missions and Church Extension. He teaches at Mid-America Reformed Seminary and is the author of The Drama of Preaching: Participating with God in the History of Redemption.

Eric’s varied experience in his church plants made him an excellent choice to present to this group. His first plant was that of a mother church creating a daughter congregation, a process that is very similar to many of our missions. He was also a part of a plant where he was dropped into an area with minimal support (as far as local people). In both cases, his churches flourished.

Eric is not your typical OPC minister. His evangelistic activities include surfing with his son and others. Yet, he has found taking the opportunities presented by living your life and enjoying your hobbies to open doors for gospel ministry. He always seems prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for his hope (1 Pet. 3:15) and to share the wonder of the gospel. God used his experience of building a culture of evangelism in his congregation, through example and teaching, to cause the churches he pastored to flourish.

Saturday Night

Eric was tasked with bringing encouragement to church planters often facing difficult circumstances. He began by looking at his go-to text for dealing with afflictions in ministry: Colossians 1:24–29. How could Paul say, “I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions”? Eric encouraged this group of church planters by stating that “people who are intent on proclaiming the gospel will suffer for Jesus’s name.” Is that message encouraging?

Yes, the message is encouraging when you see where it leads. Eric said that Christians are a little bit farsighted. “Old Puritans use the language of godly farsightedness. Our vision for the things of this world is a little bit blurry, and slowly fading. But our focus on the things of heaven is more and more fixed, and ever increasing.”

But it is not just the future that gives us encouragement. “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.” Energy and power, where do they originate? The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in you. That should be an encouragement to everyone who calls on the name of the Lord.

Eric shared many of his church planting experiences to open the discussion following his talk. The importance of building a culture of evangelism in the church was obvious through his experience. The example he provided was one of a humble man living his life to the glory of God while always being ready to share the good news.

The teaching times on Saturday were great, but all work and no play might get dull. We followed the discussion with a hayride. Those of us in the front wagon definitely had the advantage when it came to showering the other wagon with hay.

On our return from the hayride, the campfire was ready. What do members of the RPCNA do when sitting around the fire? You guessed it—we sang psalms.

Sunday

A restful Sabbath included two worship services and an afternoon psalm sing. Rom presided at both services, with Eric preaching and leading a discussion to close our time together.

Unlike many in Reformed circles, Eric admitted that he believes in seeker-sensitive worship when relating the story of the woman at the well from John 4:1–30. But he said many people turn things upside down regarding who is seeking. Our God is seeking true worshipers. The I Am of Israel has come like a shepherd to seek and save the lost. “Great sinners need a great Savior, and we’re really great sinners. But Jesus is a greater Savior.”

In the evening worship, Eric pointed us to a beautiful thing from Mark 14:1–9. The woman in this story pours out her time, her talent, and her treasure upon Jesus. Eric tied this woman to the proclamation of the gospel and asked a probing question: “What will you do with your time, your talent, and your treasure?”

Final Thoughts

One participant summed up the retreat with these words: “The retreat was both helpful and encouraging! It was helpful in the teaching/advice and experiences of others in church planting that were shared. It was helpful to have plenty of time available to rest and relax. It was encouraging meeting other ministers, elders, and church planters and their wives and getting to build relationships with them. The teaching was also very encouraging as it built us up in the Lord and constantly pointed us to the Lord for our strengths and sufficiency.”