Outline: 10 responsibilities of a sponsoring church for a church plant

1. Sending: providing leaders for the church plant

• Assessing potential leaders

• Training leaders

• Equipping leaders

• Commissioning Leaders

2. Supporting: bearing the weight of the church plant

• Pastoral support

• Prayerful support

• Practical support

3. Sustaining: strengthening the church plant

• Dealing with weakness

• Developing strength

• Delivering to the independent care of qualified elders 

The above outline is from a talk I delivered at the Grace Baptist Partnership Basic Training for Church Planters Day (London) on 9 November, 2013. While mainly practical in nature, I sought to root it in biblical principles through the use of various New Testament texts.