There's a nice post on church planting by Brad Ruggles, a church planter who is starting a new plant in Indiana.  He talks about how he's interested in having a church full of disciples and not a church full of attendees and will be working hard to keep it that way.

I found the following comment by Brian Detzel, another church planter now in Cincinnati, to summarize some of my own perceptions of church PLANTING and (from my own experience) church BUILDING.

To be honest, and this is coming from an experienced church planter who has said the very same thing…I think it’s extremely common to say that we’re not interested in human numbers. That’s what hip/young disciple makers say.

The real challenge is sticking to your guns when you can’t rub two nickles together for gas money to “go and make disciples”. The time will come, and it will come quickly, where you want to give away bibles. Where you want to provide help to the poor. Where you want to purchase something that God is calling you to purchase and when you see the lack of money there, you will make the transition to a multiplication attitude. An attitude that says, more people = more money. Then you will move to the point of justification by saying more people = more impact for the Kingdom…but we all know it can quickly become about the numbers.

Fight that.

Fight the desire for more and hold ferociously to the call for true discipleship…and don’t be afraid if God blesses that and things begin to multiply. This is one of the hardest things for pastors and apostles (who I believe are typically church planters…apostles that is). It’s worth it.

I've been struggling with the call for discipleship amidst our construction process.  It is hard.  Whether you're planting or growing.