I've noticed in the book of Acts three numerical milestones in the growth of the church.

1. 12 people milestone.  Core Group Phase.  Time line:  3 years.

This is the time Jesus took to raise up the 12 apostles.  Signals to us the importance of leadership development.  Build a strong core team at the beginning, and the weight they will be able to carry in future days will be significant and glorious.

2. 120 people milestone.  Upper Room Phase.   Time Frame:  10 days

Between Jesus'  ascension (day 40) and Pentecost (day 50), the 12 apostles gathered a growing core of 120 people into the upper room.  This is where they grew together in unity and cemented their core values as a group.  This was the intimacy, closeness phase.  Then the power came -- as in the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

3. 3000 people milestone.  Breakout Phase.    Time frame: 1 hour

In one hour, 3000 people came to Christ.  Amazing stuff.  But look at what went into that one hour:  an equally amazing amount of work, strategy, development and patience on the part of God.    It's like the tall oak tree that has an even deeper root system.  If we want to build for the long haul, then we need to follow this pattern and the general principles that these three milestones teach us.

Phase 1 & 2 are the "hidden and growing in the soil phases."  Phase 3 is the season of bursting out of the privacy and nourishing darkness of the soil into the light.  The time frames of 3 yrs, 10 days, 1 hour give us a prophetic sense of the labor that goes into each phase, and the quickening progression as one moves toward the Phase 3.

Take away:  Start slow, build well, gain momemtum and then bust out.    Which phase is your church plant in?