Determining the best location for a church is difficult.  You must start by knowing that you will have interest in the church, as it is useless to start a congregation if you have no members or interested parties.  In order gauge current interest and recruit new interest and members, a church planting ministry is very practical.  What does this process involve?  What should you and your helpers tell the neighborhood residents regarding the church, and what information should you be learning from them?

One of the first determinations to make is what sort of interest is already handy in the area.  Do people attend church already and, if so, where are they attending?  What denominational identification do they practice?  How often do they go to church?  Is it a long drive to their place of worship?  For those that don’t attend church or perhaps don’t attend regularly, what is the reason?  Is their church simply too far away to bother?  Are they not inspired by their current pastor or minister or the beliefs that are being taught?  Have they simply never been religious people and have not affiliated themselves with a church in the past?  You may even come across parties who are looking for some sort of religious direction in their life and weren’t aware of where to look.

As you survey the people to determine where their current interests lie, your church planting ministry should include gauging the reaction to your proposed congregation.  You should provide a few details regarding where you hope to build and how large the location would be.  While not necessarily placing emphasis on it, you should let the people know what denomination will be headed under the church.  You should tell them about yourself, as the founder of the church and congregation, and tell them about the proposed leaders of the flock.  You should watch their facial and bodily expression to see if they react in a positive or negative fashion to your information.

A negative reaction, while still offering an opportunity to minister as to the benefits of the church, could be a sign that you’ve chosen an area that is not welcoming to your prospective place of worship, especially if experienced over and over.  A positive one, however, means that the person is interested and could be a subject that wishes to become a member.  At the very least, a positive response means support for your cause.

You may find a lot of passiveness in your church planting ministry.  While this won’t help your congregation grow, it won’t hinder your efforts, either, and some of these individuals may be converted to supporters with the proper care and consideration.  The important thing is to not misinterpret a reaction or continue down a path of certain failure should you have a majority of negative responses.  Sources like this website can provide suggestions for handling such matters.  The work is difficult, and determining if your church will grow and prosper in a particular location must be a coordinated effort.  With the proper direction and questioning efforts, though, you can make an informed decision regarding the startup of your congregation.