Getting these wrong or having them untested is going to hinder the new plant dramatically. We will cover these in brief. There are books written on each one and much more that could be said on each characteristic.

Vision

Thousands of years ago the the saying was written, "Without a revelation / vision people perish / die. Or people dwell carelessly". Prov 29: It's still true today. 

What's the dream? Write it down. This will clarify the vision. 

What have you done in the past with some success that would give confidence to the vision? If you have a dream to plant a church, that's excellent, yet never began and led a small group, that's a problem. Start with running a small group and planting out to start another small group. You will learn a huge amount with this simple step. Remember, everything the Bible talks about can be done in a small group. Share your vision with a trusted leader or mentor. Listen to what they have to say. 

Leadership

It's all very well having vision, but the leadership gift is needed to execute vision. There has to be some leadership ability and component in a church planter. You need people to follow you and stand with you. One of your main jobs is to build team and draw in other leaders. 

Are people following you? What have you led to some success? Do your peers and those over you confirm a leadership ability? What have you tested this?

Faith

"Without faith it is impossible to please God". Heb 11:6. We all have faith, but where has your faith been exercised with success? Where finances are needed do you have faith or are you simply hoping things will work out? You will need huge amounts of faith to plant. Do you really believe that God will work with you? How is your trust? How much are you relying on others to meet your needs? 

There are other characteristics... but these are ALL needed. In fact, I say miss out one of these and you WILL hinder any church planting effort. 

How are these characteristics able to be tested? A leader is able to test these characteristics in a person by giving them a task. Give the person a task or tasks that require, Vision, Leadership and Faith. 

Till next time.

Nick