As the chief executive officer of StartCHURCH, Nathan Camp has had the privilege of helping set the foundation for more than 17,000 church plants. He’s helped consult with the leaders of these plants on legal and financial matters as well as how those churches could best reach and serve their communities.
And like everyone else, Camp has been forced to deal with the major challenges of COVID-19 and to adjust the practical logistics of StartChurch to tackle the hurdles the pandemic brought with it. What the enemy meant for evil to try to stop the forward progress of the gospel, Camp says, has backfired on him.
Many churches have adjusted well and are even thriving financially and watching their congregations grow virtually during the quarantine period, and StartCHURCH has been there to help them through the chaos.
“At first, people went into a survival mode, and there was a sense of anxiety,” Camp told Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of Greenlines on the Charisma Podcast Network. “But one of the beauties I’ve seen as this begins to linger on a bit is that I’m seeing the church really rise up and taking new ground.
“I’m seeing people utilizing resources that they’ve never had before, technology they’ve never had before, to really reach more people. I just wrote a blog on the five characteristics of a thriving church, where they are actually growing. They are actually seeing increased income, increased effectiveness in the community.
“There are two types of churches out there, some that are trying to hunker down and say, ‘We’re waiting for things to get back to normal.’ But there’s another group that says, ‘This is the moment for us to take new ground for the kingdom.’ So it’s pretty exciting. It’s tough. I used to be a pastor, and I can’t imagine leading through these times and the emotional energy of it, but I do think the fields are ripe for harvest, and that’s what we love to see.”
For more about StartCHURCH and how churches are growing through the COVID-19 pandemic challenge, listen to the entire podcast.
