Daily essentials that seasoned planters keep coming back to, distilled from the most recent field guides and case studies are:
1. Pray the soil, not just the seed Spend the first minutes asking God to “overcome any resisting power structures” in the neighbourhood and to “establish the work of your hands” (Ps 90:16-17).Then listen—silently—for names, places or images that surface; turn those into your prayer list for the day .
2. Contact 3–5 non-churched people Growth in the first 24 months is almost perfectly correlated with the number of new relationships the planter initiates each week.Use a simple rhythm: – 1 text, 1 phone call, 1 coffee invite, 1 social-media comment, 1 drop-by.Track it on your phone; if the list is empty, evangelism is idle .
3. Cast micro-vision in 30-second bursts Every time you meet a believer or a seeker, end the conversation with one sentence that answers:“Where is this church heading and how can you be part of it?”Repetition creates critical mass; people join what they can repeat .
4. Feed the core, even if it’s only two people Read one paragraph of the scripture together (Zoom or in person), ask: – “What does this say about God?” – “What does this say about us?” – “Who needs to hear this today?”This 15-minute huddle turns attenders into missionaries .
5. Build your “digital front door” daily Post one story, photo or 15-second reel that shows life-change, not publicity.Algorithms reward consistency; neighbours google you before they visit you .
6. Review yesterday’s numbers for five minutes – How many first-time guests? – How many next-steps taken (sign-ups, gift-use, volunteer cards)? – How many follow-ups pending?What gets measured gets stewarded; what gets stewarded multiplies .
7. Do the next legal/administrative task for five minutes Set the timer: EIN paperwork, bank-reconciliation, bylaws tweak, insurance quote—whatever is the next domino.Small daily bites prevent the “compliance crash” that kills plants in year two .
8. Guard the Sabbath edge Pick a stop-time and a non-ministry activity every day (gym, guitar, dinner with kids).A planter who has no “off” switch soon has no “on” switch for anyone else.If you do nothing else on a given day, do items 1–3. They are the levers that move everything else.
Author
kay.alli@legalview.co.uk