Have a specific plan to celebrate temporary launch team members as you send them back to your supporting church. There’s a lot that is riding on it.

If you’re recruiting temporary launch team members from a supporting church, start with the end in mind. And that end is not getting people to come and serve your church.

There is a direct correlation between how well you celebrate them and:

• how they feel about having served
• the kind of leadership and initiative they take after they return to their sending church
• the chances that they’d volunteer for another plant in the future
• how likely the sending church will be to help another planter in the future
• the health of your ongoing relationship with the sending church
• to what degree your indigenous workers will step up to fill the gaps that are left
• …and probably some other things, too

Whatever the agreed upon time frame, you need to publicly celebrate their contribution. Probably even if they decide not to stick it out for the whole term. They joined you on mission and they are heroes of the Church.

The great news is that it’s not difficult or necessarily expensive.

Celebrate Temporary Launch Team Members

Bless them as you release them back to the sending church. And if some stay on and make your church plant home, bless them publicly, too.

Here are some ideas to celebrate temporary launch team members:

1. acknowledge them from the platform during a worship gathering
2. call them forward and pray a blessing over them during a worship gathering
3. record a video of one of the above and send it to the supporting church or post it online
4. throw a dessert or party (a surprise party?); just don’t make it a potluck
5. give them each a gift card and thank you note
6. give them each a memento or trophy
7. contact their sending pastor and brag on them
8. post a picture of the whole group on social media

Pick several of these ways to celebrate temporary launch team members. Everyone wins when you do.