You’ve already taken the first step by visiting this website. You are probably here because you feel God calling you to help reach the 26 million souls in the SoCal district. However, if you have not won a soul or made a disciple, you will not win the many souls and make the many disciples that constitute an apostolic church plant. Church planting is not just leadership, preaching, and organizing. Those skills are important, but apostolic church planters are soul winners and disciple makers. If that describes you, then this website will provide you with the next steps you need to begin your journey into church planting in Southern California.

• Pray, and seek the counsel of your pastor, your leadership, and your spouse.

• Immerse yourself in evangelism, soul winning, and discipleship.

• Teach bibles studies and make disciples.

• If you are a soul winner and disciple maker, and absolutely feel called to start a new work, prayerfully examine and consider the pathways of church planting (daughter work model, launch model, etc)

We hear the term church planter used quite a bit, so it is important to clarify what a church planter is, and what church planting entails.

A church planter is someone who started a new work from the ground up in a new community, without the benefit of a preexisting congregation of people, bylaws, bank accounts, and/or other assets.

Pastors who take over a small and struggling preexisting work can apply to be redesignated as a NAM work, and would be considered a “relaunch”. SoCal NAM has helped several pastors relaunch over the years, and it has helped revitalize many congregations thereby increasing the overall health of our district.

Every church planter can be a NAM pastor, but not every NAM pastor is a church planter.

It is important to make these distinctions so we can track the number of works accurately. Because if the number of churches increases in our district, it will do so because of new churches being planted.

New Church Plant

In SoCal, the term “church plant” as a standalone is typically used to describe a church that has been planted from the ground up, without the full support of a mother church, and without the benefit of an existing congregation.

NAM calls this the “Launch Model”, wherein a church planter and his family go into a city and establish a new church plant without being fully supported by outside sources. Ideally, the planter would go into this city with training, funding, and a team. As such, a new church plant is eligible to apply for NAM status immediately upon approval from the district board, and begin applying for CFC funding.

Daughter Work Church Plant

A daughter congregation is a congregation that has met at least three months, and is the result of the concerted efforts of an established mother church to plant a new congregation, and holds at least one service per week apart from the mother church, and is under the general oversight of the pastor of the mother church.

Daughter works can be recognized by NAM and be made eligible for special daughter work “project” funding. Ideally, the daughter work will become self-supporting and transition to an autonomous church. At that point, it would be eligible to become a NAM status work.

Preaching Point

A preaching point is a regularly scheduled service - typically weekly or monthly - designed to reach unchurched people in a specific location or language, distinct from the mother church. It serves as an initial, authorized step toward planting a new congregation.

Preaching points, although not technically NAM works, are recommended to have a form filed with the district so they can be included in the annual reports and listed in the church locator.

Small Groups / Evangelism Extensions

Evangelism extensions, small groups, etc, fall under the discretion of the local pastor, and are not considered NAM works. Preaching points, although not technically NAM works, are recommended to have a form filed with the district.

The model progression is “evangelism extension, to preaching point, to daughter work, to NAM church”.

A daughter congregation must have the approval of either the District North American Missions Executive Committee (in accordance with the UPCI Manual) or the District Board before they can be listed in the annual UPCI Directory. Click here to submit this application.

Please note that a Daughter Work application is to only be filled out by the Mother Church Pastor.

The stated intention of a daughter work is to plant a new church that will eventually become self-governing.

If you desire to pursue this route using the “launch” method, then you would complete the application, and make plans to attend LAUNCH Conference.

The only works that are officially considered “NAM status” are self-governing works that are affiliated with the UPCI.

This would include new church plants, as well as approved church relaunches.

Daughter works, evangelism extensions, preaching points, small groups, etc, fall under the discretion of the local pastor, and are not considered NAM status works, until they become self governing.

However, daughter works can be recognized by NAM and be made eligible for special daughter work grant funding. Ideally, the daughter work will become self-supporting and transition to an autonomous church. At that point, it would be eligible to become a NAM status work.

There are many benefits to being NAM Status!

In addition to eligibility for CFC grants, we have many district benefits for our NAM status pastors and their families.

Here are a list of benefits available to all NAM status pastors:

• One-time $500 startup grant

• One-time $500 grant to attend LAUNCH

• ResourceCon Conference (all expenses paid)

• Ladies Conference Registration (Provided by Ladies Ministries)

• Full sponsorship for PK Retreat for all NAMK’s

• Available Emergency Funds

• CSTI Scholarship
  (must pay $40 annual registration fee)

• Birthday & Christmas Cards for NAMK’s (For kids ages 5-18)

• $75 gift card for Ladies Conference

• Men’s Conference Registration

• Jr Camp Registration

• HYC Registration

Yes, you must affiliate your congregation with the UPCI to receive NAM status. You can find the affiliation form here.

NAM status lasts for five years after your application is approved.

You can apply for CFC funding for a total of three years within your five-year NAM status window.

Yes! High quality professional church plant & church growth training exists on a district level, a national level, and a digital level. Your first stop would be Ministry Central online to begin the NAM training available on that website. You would also want to attend RESOURCE Conference right here in SoCal, and LAUNCH in Indianapolis.

Existing UPCI congregations undergoing a pastoral transition can apply to relaunch as NAM Status under the following conditions:

(1) Undergoing change of pastoral leadership, (2) have a total membership of under 50 people, (3) have less than $25,000 in accounts and assets, and (4) have a difficulty to meet obligations without temporary monthly assistance

The new pastor agrees to go through NAM training, attend LAUNCH, rebrand the church, relaunch the church utilizing LAUNCH principles and methods, submit to district and sectional leadership, work closely with NAM Director & leadership, and exhibit a spirit of ongoing evangelism and excellence in pursuit of effective methodology.

Access the church relaunch application here.