Influence: Tell us a little about your church-planting journey.

Mike Acker: Church planting always existed in the background of my life. Growing up with missionary parents in Mexico, we started two churches, one in Spanish and one in English. In college, I was invited to be part of a new church plant in Washington. When I became a lead pastor, I could see the need around my small rural city. Our church launched another site 20 minutes away. On Sunday morning I traveled between them, and our second site grew to 80 people. Experiences accumulate. Reading inspires. One of the books that encouraged me was How to Multiply Your Church by Ralph Moore. 

Now, in a different church, we have planted two café churches, one daughter church, one relaunched campus in a church that was dying and one campus in an empty church building. Every experience has been a training ground for the next. 

Some people assume going multisite is only for large churches or urban settings. Please share your experience planting in a rural area.

Church planting and multisite is not just for urban settings, rich churches or large churches. I’m part of a small group of Washington pastors who are encouraging rural churches and smaller churches to multiply in new, creative ways. Thirty people who love Jesus and meet to move the mission of God forward is a church.

It is not the pastor’s job to do everything. My job is to equip the saints. I teach, preach, shepherd, lead and counsel people so they can do the work of the ministry. As I learn to lean into this role, it frees me up from trying to be the “super pastor.” Additionally, when I don’t try to do everything, I can do more of what I am called to do — pastor and equip. 

When I don’t try to do everything, I can do more of what I am called to do — pastor and equip. 

How have you instilled a vision for multiplication in your members? 

Every year we do a missions series (not just world missions, but missions everywhere). We work hard to celebrate life change and new additions to God’s family. The board, staff and key volunteers read books on multiplication. We pray hard. We ask people to give. Then we go for it! Some don’t want to run with us. I try not to let that get me down. Instead, I run with those who want to run. 

Share an encouraging word with would-be church planters?

A big Sunday morning experience is hard to pull off for a church plant. But where does the Bible say we have to have a huge Sunday morning experience? We put a lot of pressure on planters to perform and produce awe-inspiring Sunday morning services. But what if we allowed for other methods of planting? What about the waiter who teaches 30 people at night at a café? What about driving 20 minutes to an abandoned church building and leading a vibrant church without a musical component?   

Try it. Risk it. Laugh failure off. Don’t compare. Don’t give up. Pray hard. Wade in; you don’t have to build a dock every time. Position yourself to catch the ball, but allow God to be the one to choose where to throw it.  

Mike Acker is lead pastor at Citipoint Church, a rural multisite church based in Mount Vernon, Washington. Mike also serves as president of the board of goonthemission.com, an organization committed to helping end extreme poverty in a sustainable way through child sponsorship and microenterprise development.

This article originally appeared in the print issue of Influence. For more print content, subscribe.