Lessons learned seven years into planting a church

Chris Highfill planted Grace River Church in St. Peters, MO, seven years ago. In that time, the church has grown, relocated a couple of times, and gone from portable to permanent. He shares his journey as a church planter. He talks about the lessons he’s learned as a church planter. And he discusses the vision he has over the next few years so more people in Missouri can meet, know, and follow Jesus.

0:18 Lee introduces episode guest, Chris Highfill.

0:32 Chris talks about his church, Grace River Church, and where he is located.

0:48 Lee asks Chris how he landed in a suburb of St. Louis.

0:57 Chris explains how he thought he was going to plant a church in Boston but ended up moving to St. Louis.

1:48 Danny affirms that sometimes it’s as simple as a church planter wanting to live in a specific area as to how they arrived at planting a church there.

2:33 Chris talks about how opportunities opened up once his family moved to St. Louis.

3:22 Lee asks Chris to talk about the progression of his church planting experience.

3:29 Chris reminisces how the church plant started as a Bible study in their home, progressed into a launch team, and how they got the word out about the new church.

4:44 An elementary school was the first portable church location for Grace River, and it had a lot of benefits as a location.

5:21 Chris shares about moving church services from the school to a local YMCA.

5:50 As the church grew, a capital campaign was launched, even though the church didn’t have its eye on a specific location to buy.

6:14 Chris talks about how he had a feeling of urgency to find a property to buy once the capital campaign was started.

6:51 Chris tells the story of how quickly things moved once he contacted a realtor and how God moved all the pieces into place.

7:30 Danny asks Chris how many people were attending church at this point of their journey and how much offering was coming in.

8:00 Just when Grace River got into their new space, the pandemic began.

8:25 Chris shares how the church continues to grow, coming out of the other side of the pandemic.

9:04 Lee asks Chris to talk about some of the challenges Grace River faced when moving from a portable church to a permanent location.

9:10 Chris reminds church planters that being portable can be a long haul.

9:39 Keeping volunteers engaged as their roles in setting up a portable church changed due to becoming a permanent location was important to Chris. He wanted all volunteers to know that even though their work may change, they are still important and needed in the church.

10:55 Chris encourages churches that are finding a permanent location to emphasize everyone still has a role in serving the church.

11:04 When property management is part of a church’s responsibility, things change, and new challenges arise. Chris talks about how buildings cost a lot of money to maintain and there are many surprises along the way.

13:06 Lee asks Chris what his vision is for the St. Louis area of Missouri.

13:25 Chris talks about how all of Missouri needs more church planters and there is a lot of room for many churches.

13:50 Grace River Church is getting ready to plant its first church, which will be in Hannibal, MO.

14:33 Danny mentions that Chris talks about Columbia, MO, needing a church planted there. 

14:55 Columbia is a university town that...

Chris Highfill planted Grace River Church in St. Peters, MO, seven years ago. In that time, the church has grown, relocated a couple of times, and gone from portable to permanent. He shares his journey as a church planter. He talks about the lessons he’s learned as a church planter. And he discusses the vision he has over the next few years so more people in Missouri can meet, know, and follow Jesus.

0:18 Lee introduces episode guest, Chris Highfill.

0:32 Chris talks about his church, Grace River Church, and where he is located.

0:48 Lee asks Chris how he landed in a suburb of St. Louis.

0:57 Chris explains how he thought he was going to plant a church in Boston but ended up moving to St. Louis.

1:48 Danny affirms that sometimes it’s as simple as a church planter wanting to live in a specific area as to how they arrived at planting a church there.

2:33 Chris talks about how opportunities opened up once his family moved to St. Louis.

3:22 Lee asks Chris to talk about the progression of his church planting experience.

3:29 Chris reminisces how the church plant started as a Bible study in their home, progressed into a launch team, and how they got the word out about the new church.

4:44 An elementary school was the first portable church location for Grace River, and it had a lot of benefits as a location.

5:21 Chris shares about moving church services from the school to a local YMCA.

5:50 As the church grew, a capital campaign was launched, even though the church didn’t have its eye on a specific location to buy.

6:14 Chris talks about how he had a feeling of urgency to find a property to buy once the capital campaign was started.

6:51 Chris tells the story of how quickly things moved once he contacted a realtor and how God moved all the pieces into place.

7:30 Danny asks Chris how many people were attending church at this point of their journey and how much offering was coming in.

8:00 Just when Grace River got into their new space, the pandemic began.

8:25 Chris shares how the church continues to grow, coming out of the other side of the pandemic.

9:04 Lee asks Chris to talk about some of the challenges Grace River faced when moving from a portable church to a permanent location.

9:10 Chris reminds church planters that being portable can be a long haul.

9:39 Keeping volunteers engaged as their roles in setting up a portable church changed due to becoming a permanent location was important to Chris. He wanted all volunteers to know that even though their work may change, they are still important and needed in the church.

10:55 Chris encourages churches that are finding a permanent location to emphasize everyone still has a role in serving the church.

11:04 When property management is part of a church’s responsibility, things change, and new challenges arise. Chris talks about how buildings cost a lot of money to maintain and there are many surprises along the way.

13:06 Lee asks Chris what his vision is for the St. Louis area of Missouri.

13:25 Chris talks about how all of Missouri needs more church planters and there is a lot of room for many churches.

13:50 Grace River Church is getting ready to plant its first church, which will be in Hannibal, MO.

14:33 Danny mentions that Chris talks about Columbia, MO, needing a church planted there. 

14:55 Columbia is a university town that is growing quickly. So, there’s a great opportunity to spread the gospel to a lot of people by planting a church there.

15:38 Lee teases Chris about “Missouri” versus “Misery” in pronunciation.

16:25 Lee thanks listeners for tuning in to the episode and thanks Chris for sharing his church planting experience and wisdom.