The Unseen Work: What God Does in the Church Planter Before the Plant - Paperback

Everyone talks about what it takes to plant a church. Nobody talks about what it takes out of you. The Unseen Work is the honest, unfiltered account of what God does in the church planter before the first chair is set up, the first song is sung, or the first hand is raised. Chris Parks doesn't offer a roadmap or a methodology-he offers something far more valuable: a mirror. With disarming humor, hard-won vulnerability, and deep spiritual conviction, Chris walks you through the moments nobody puts in a church planting brochure-the gut punches, the ugly cries, the 2 a.m. Google searches, and the unmistakable voice of God interrupting every carefully laid plan.

If you've ever sensed a calling to plant and then quietly talked yourself out of it, this book is for you. If you're in the trenches right now, wondering why nothing is going the way you planned, this book is especially for you. Because the greatest work of any church plant isn't what happens on a stage on Sunday morning-it's what Jesus is doing in the planter long before the doors ever open. He forms the leader before he builds the church. He heals before he sends. He surrenders you before he uses you. That unseen work? It changes everything.

A lifelong Bay Area resident, Chris Parks spent over twenty-five years in the business world before stepping into full-time ministry. He and his wife, Suzy, are the parents of four children and together planted Presence Church in South San Jose in 2025.