One aspect of church planting that was touched on at the Forge Church Planting Workshop that I think we do not give enough training and time to — and this also plays into the debate about naming a church plant — is the legal ramifications that we as a church must adhere to in order to safely exist within the legal and governmental constraints. Here in Australia, you are either in a denomination or not, and if not then there are a couple of organisations you can join Crosslink being one, that provide you with a network, insurances etc that the denominations offer. In addition, churches or ministries may be required to;
- Register with their State Government
- Have Professional Indemnity and/or Public Liability if holding Public worship — what does that mean for house churches etc?
- Incorporate for legal purposes of loans etc or as recognition of legal entity for Gov’t purposes
If there are more, please share them with us.
But the issue of naming a church plant takes on a whole new dimension when you see it through legal eyes. Sure, having a bunch of people around may not be an issue, but what if you start to provide a ministry outside of the house?
So, while it may not be biblical to name a church plant — see previous post’s comments — what does that mean then for the church once it is necessary to do so for legal purposes?
Just thought I would throw that into the discussion. Now while the examples etc are Australian, love to hear more from anyone who has some other points legally or Governmentally that need to be met whether in Australia or not.
