Leadership Training in Church Plants

In the 80's and 90's there was this buzz word - leadership. I'm not hearing about that much anymore.

Why?

What are you doing to train leaders or volunteers outside of your Sunday morning service?

Let me define what I mean by "train." I'm not talking about training them to fill a position, but to have the mindset to think like a leader. A leader is someone in my book who influences people to become more like Jesus.

Do you have another term or word for leadership? What do you call these people we have called leaders? Maybe that's a dumb question, because there really is no other word.. but I thought I would throw it out there to see if anybody is thinking about this differently. Are the times changing in other words that we are using different terms for leadership?

Questions:
1. Are we hearing just as much about leadership and if no, why?
2. What are you doing to train leaders or volunteers outside of your Sunday morning service?
3. Do you have another term or word for leadership?

"rules" for start up

per bracy's request:

“Why would you want to start a church instead of going to an existing one?” Besides feeling that God has called us to launching Gateway, we felt like we were wired for this venture. Of course, anyone who has launched a church has their own rules, so I thought i would add with my own. My “rules” below aren’t just for those starting churches, but for those who are considering going to work for themselves as well. With most businesses and churches struggling to survive in their first year, it is imperative to have “rules”.

1. Don’t start a church unless its an obsession and something you are passionate about. I felt possessed by this consuming vision that I constantly think about when laying in bed, showering, and riding my bike.

2. If you have an exit plan, its not an obsession.

3. Recruit team players who you think will love working in your system and with you. Character, Chemistry, and Competence are the non-negotiables.

4. Transformed lives cures all. Know how your church will operate and how you will actually make disciples. A simple defined process that is understood by everyone is key.

5. Know your strengths and focus on being great at them. Get the best you can. Outside the core competencies, hire people or recruit those outside your strengths.

6. As far as technology, it is not the main thing. However, having a good website, video projector, blogs, blast emails, and podcasts are a great way to communicate in our culture.

7. Keep the church flat. If you have leaders and pastors reporting to other leaders and pastors in a startup, we will fail.

8. Never forget the “why” and the mission. For us it is to become friends with the unconvinced so we can help them become life long followers of Jesus Christ. Every person who we meet or walks through our door is the most important person, matters, and for whom Christ hung on a tree for.

9. Do as much as you can “in house” and save money.

10. Make volunteering fun for the team. Keep a pulse on the stress levels and accomplishments of your people and reward them. Surprising a key team member with a 3D U2 concert, random canoeing/cliff jumping, and handing out starbucks cards is way to have fun or celebrate during stressful seasons.

11. It is your responsibility to make sure your core leaders are growing. Offer accountability and opportunities for spiritual and leadership growth. Every team member is currently reading a leadership book so we can become better.

A few books that have influenced my “rules” are the Bible, 7 Practices of a Church-Andy Stanley, E-Myth Revisted, Simple Church, and Good to Great-Phil Collins

Church Planting Video

We took the crazy risk within the first 4 months of launching to purchase about $8,000's worth of video equipment (video and computer). I learned a something that seems funny for me to write on it because I don't know how helpful it is, but it might be so practical that somebody may need to hear it.

Make sure you purchase the right stuff. I know that sounds pretty silly simple, but let me explain. I wanted to purchase an Apple Mac G5. What else is there when it comes to video editing. I have confirm that God has an Apple. He calls us the Apple of His Eye. Anyways, the guy who was going to do the editing wanted a PC. Well, we bought a PC because of this guy and then he left 6 months later. Now I have a really expensive machine that is not being used. It's a slammin' barely been touched Dell computer with two monitors (anyone want to purchase?) and it hasn't been used much since. It only has the video software on it. Lesson: Buy the right stuff. People leave, but the equipment stays.

Well, I have been doing some video's for our sermon series (some of them have been short film's). I thought I would share. I would love to see some of your videos. You can find our video's at stonebridgechurchmc.

Thoughts When Moving Locations and During Transitions

Here are some things that I'm learning and that surprised me during our recent move from an elementary school to a theater:

THE PLAN IS ALREADY THERE!
God already had a plan; I just needed to listen and obey. It sounds obvious, but I think as leaders, we have a tendency to think that we've got to figure it all out and "make it happen". Or at least I do. But as we took steps to move to the new location, I found that the details and issues were already in place for us to move forward. Ex: I felt prompted in prayer and while jogging by a theater to pursue leasing it. An hour later I got a phone call from a guy in my church saying that he'd found a great location for us and that they were interested in leasing it- the same theater! That Sunday, we were notified by the school that they wanted us out in 2 months. You see what I mean!

BE BOLD!We've asked our landlord and others for crazy things. Don't be afraid to step out and ask. Ask business owners, a landlord, volunteers, etc. There are people that are as passionate as you to make it happen. Sometimes all they need is an opportunity or to be asked. Also, we have not because we ask not. Volunteers have worked harder than I expected. People have given more than I imagined. The landlords have given us more latitude and opportunity than we hope.

DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING! Just because you hope something will happen doesn't mean it will. Cross your "t"s with the lease, building codes, etc. It's our responsibility as the leaders to plan ahead, think through various options, and come in with an idea of where things are going. Have contingencies if something looks questionable.

DON'T TAKE SETBACKS AS SETBACKS! Challenges are blessings from God. Don't see conflict or difficulty as a problem but as a window for growth. Ex: We made our regional news for an outreach we did shortly after moving into the theater. Well, the commissioners noticed and pulled our permit records, but when they didn't find any, they told us we'd have to get building permits, etc. At first, we were frustrated, but decided this was for our best. It's turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We've built great relationships with the County and owners.

DON'T LET OTHER CHURCHES OR LEADERS DETERMINE YOUR VISION OR LOCATION! If you've heard from God, follow through on the plan He's given you. Simple example: when we began looking at the theater, I felt a lot of pressure to go nuts with lighting, sound system, etc. And this would have cost tens of thousands that we didn't have. We already are pretty edgy, and we decided we weren't ready for a ton more. When you stick with your vision/ passion, it'll pay off long term. Plus you won't have others constantly thinking that they can dictate the vision, style, location, etc.

Just some simple thoughts off the top of my head.

free church graphics and resources toolbox

Church Relevance is a great resource to be on your radar if it isn't already. Today they posted 15 of some of the best sites for free church graphics and ministry resources.

Be sure and check out the links and add Church Relevance to your blog roll.
Hope these are a help.

Moving into a New Building - 23 Questions

I thought this was good to file away. It's by Dan Reiland
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No matter how much planning, no matter how inspiring your vision, no matter how much you pray, the change connected to moving into a new church building is highly stressful on both the leaders and the congregation.

The leaders carry the weight of first adjusting to the change themselves and they must adjust quickly. The leaders must also inspire, prepare and encourage the people for the coming changes related to a new building.

The congregation, including your best and brightest volunteers, must wrestle through change. Typically, if you are moving into a new building, it is larger than the previous one (candidly, I can't think of a church that built a smaller worship auditorium for the primary campus). With a larger auditorium comes more parking, more class rooms for the kids, more offices, and more seats. The whole thing is bigger. When we opened our new building a couple of weeks ago I noticed dozens of people inside the Worship Experience Center on their cell phones. It was just before the service started and they were trying to find friends and family so they could sit together. This will pass as they learn their new rhythms and where they like to sit, but change is still change. Changing from a manual child check-in to a computerized check-in system is change. Changing from parking where you want to being directed to park in the next available spot is change. Even the way you "feel" worship inside the new auditorium is change.

There are some things that are almost impossible to anticipate, but you can plan and prepare for the vast majority of what you will face. If you do, you will have the margin you need to deal with the things that life throws your way before moving in and soon after moving into your new building.

After recently going through this process, and still learning, it seemed helpful to pass on to you the "23 Questions" that helped us prepare for this transition. These questions don't represent the more artful questions that require knowledge of your culture, but the practical ones that apply to all churches. I must say up front that we didn't nail every answer before we moved in, and some solutions are still morphing, but overall these questions will be very helpful to you when you are preparing to move into a new building or into a new campus.

I suggest starting the conversation with your staff and key leaders many months in advance of your move (at least 6). Begin the dialogue by asking: "What are you dreaming, praying and planning for?" I stated that this set of questions is practical in nature, but you need to begin at a heart level asking God to breathe life into your plans. Then ask the visionary question: "What will our experience be like soon after the move-in?" Throughout the months of asking and answering the following questions, keep these first two in mind.

There is no magic in the number of questions. You may have more or less. But failure to answer them will end in chaos... so here we go.

1. What will people love about it? Anticipate the things that your congregation will genuinely appreciate. What will they find helpful and be proud of in your new building. How will you leverage those things?
2. What will people complain about? There will be things the people don't like, so be ready for that. Among those you can anticipate, which ones should you solve, in what order, and which ones do you intentionally ignore?
3. What changes must not happen? What are the specific expressions of core values and culture that you and the church leaders must protect?
4. How / when do you cast vision for the coming changes? This is not exclusive to the general congregation, but relates to all levels and departments.
5. How will you market to the community prior to move-in? What is your plan for advertising? What is the budget? When do you start?
6. What sermons (series) are required before, during and after the move-in? This requires much thought and prayer to discern the balance of reaching both those who are far from God and those who are Christ-followers.
7. In what ways will the staff need to be different and function differently? This, of course, is a massive question. You may not be able to afford more staff upon move-in, but you should know who you want to hire next.
8. What will the new shape and expression of Spiritual Formation look like? How will the process function, including baptism, new Christians, volunteer service, and small groups, etc.?
9. How will you help people transition from the big experience to small group environments? How will you utilize mid-sized environments?
10. How will you leverage creative arts and evangelism in fresh and productive ways? How will you ensure that evangelism remains at the cutting edge?
11. What are your clear, fresh and creative plans to continue strong in building pledge monies? If your building isn't paid for, what is your plan to keep the revenue source alive after move-in?
12. How will you deepen and strengthen church-wide leadership development?
13. How will ministry programming be different? (What is cut, what is added?)
14. How will you respond to / communicate with first-time visitors?
15. How will you communicate your vision after move-in? What's your next hill to conquer? This is often where churches drop the ball. Once the building goes up and people move in, the vision dies down. Decide before you move in where you are headed after that day.
16. If you have a video venue or a satellite campus ministry, how are they affected by the opening of this new building?
17. Where and when do the sacraments fit in? Why?
18. What does community look like in the new building? Will you encourage community within the large building? Example, will you permit small groups to meet on campus? Why? How? Seating areas?
19. What is your strategic use, and implications of that use, of the building outside of your regular services and events? This relates to unique ministry ideas.
20. Is the building open to your community for outside events? (Concerts, Graduations, Weddings etc.) Will you charge a fee or grant usage at no charge?
21. What will a typical week of activities look like? (Small Groups, Support Groups, Student Ministries, Worship rehearsals. etc.)
22. Guest Services - how will you communicate events and opportunities with everyone considering multiple entry points to the building? (This relates more to larger buildings.)
23. What do you pray / want to accomplish in the first 30 days? First 3 months? In the first 6 months? In the 1st year?

Take these questions and add and delete as you see fit. Pray and plan much before you launch your transition.

techsoup.org

Dave had asked me to submit a blog on processministry to let everyone know about a really great resource we were introduced to called TechSoup.org...TechSoup has literally saved us a few thousand dollars.

TechSoup.org is a company which acts as a filter for organizations wanting to donate their software (whether out of generosity or tax purposes) to nonprofit organizations. Techsoup then gives this software away charging only a small fee for their overhead. All you have to do to receive this donated software is:

• a. prove you are in fact a nonprofit organization underneath the umbrella of the AG by faxing a letter explaining the discrepancy of name and address between you and the actual 501(c)3 papers held by the AG
• b. have your EIN number

That's it...here is what we were able to purchase...and yes these are full copies...you can register them and get all updates applicable for that software.

Microsoft Office Professional Edition: $20
Adobe Creative Suite for Mac: $160.00 (originally $1800.00)
Norton 360 for PC: $30 for 15 licenses
Norton Internet Security for Mac: $15

There you have it...
By the way...their customer service is really good...if you run into any problems or just need help getting through the process you can email or give me a call.

lanny@thecrossingchurch.tv
1.214.295.1027

volunteer resource

I know volunteers are vital to any church operation, but many questions surround recruitment, assessment, keeping them involved, preventing burnout, etc.

In fact, it was even a recent post on this blog.
I think it is pretty much safe to say we all have questions concerning this area.

Church Volunteer Central could be a resource that is worth checking out for materials, information, and help. Maybe they can answer some of our questions.

Conference to attend?

For most church planters with limited resources and time, we have to be careful what conferences we'll spend our time and money attending.

What are your ALL-TIME-WON'T-MISS-FOR-ANYTHING conferences? What are your favorites as a church planter?

Second, you've allocated finances to send staff to conferences: which ones are the MUST-ATTEND for: worship, children's ministry, administration, youth, hospitality, small groups?

Check List #2: Children's Event

Bracy asked if I could contribute to the examination of Factors in Church Plant Survivability as published by the Leadership Network.

One of those factors is the hosting of a Children's Event (Easter Egg Hunt, Fall Festival).

In our efforts to mother churches in the economically depressed communities in the Pittsburgh region, this factor has been huge. It has also been a significant momentum builder for the one church that we planted in a more suburban community.

What does a Children's Event do?

1. Establishes the church plant as 'family-friendly' and concerned for kids.
2. Creates an environment of FUN. When people enjoy themselves, they talk about what they experienced.
3. Provides a safe way to connect with new families. Parents come for their kids to have fun. In the process they meet other people from the church.
4. Provides Inexpensive Advertising - A great event can create some word of mouth momentum. One of our church plants (Sharpburg Family Worship Center) was able to host the Easter Egg Hunt for their entire city. The third year they did it, they had over 2000 people in attendance.
5. Doesn't Require Sophisticated Planning - most plants have enough volunteer energy to pull of a one-day event like this.
6. Provides An Opportunity For A Comeback Moment - we try to do something on the following weekend with a 'give-a-way' so that families want to come to church to check it out.
7. Serves As A Crowd-Builder - people attract people. Crowds build vision and excitement. Kids Events are often big deals which a new church can leverage for momentum.

This method works so well for us that we try to do something like this 3 or 4 times a year.

• Spring = Easter Egg Hunt
• Summer = Block Party (we raise funds and collect resources for a Back Pack/School Supply Give-a-Way)
• Fall = Light The Nite or Fallfest
• Christmas = Give A Gift Outreach

How has this worked for you?

Church Media Conference

Is anyone planning on going to the Echo Conference? It's gonna be here in Dallas...August 14-16. Individual registrations is $269...but if we get a group of 5 or more it's only $219. There's gonna be some amazing speakers and "how-to" labs...


Check out the conference site and let me know if you wanna go:
www.echoconference.com

Easter Was Amazing!

Easter 2008 was amazing! We met new families from our community, Lifepoint regulars invited friends and neighbors, and lives where changed forever. And to top it all off...we had our largest crowd ever!


Bigger than our launch, bigger than our 6 month anniversary, bigger than any single day in our short history. Now, the hard work starts...follow-up. We've got a fairly good follow-up system...but I'm always willing to try something new.

QUESTION:

What are you doing in regards to follow-up?

Letter, postcard, gift, etc...?

What would you recommend?

What are you doing for Easter?

This will be our third Easter. I love Easter. It's one of the best Sunday's all year. We are keeping it simple with a regular service except for the flowering of the cross and communion. We don't do anything different for our first time guest than what we usually do. We just love people at Easter and share a message on the resurrection. Everything we believe hinges on the resurrection.

What do you do for Easter? Any traditions?

resources

Just wanted to highlight a couple of resources I ran across today that might be helpful.

One is a church planting blog, Planting Space, from the guys who run Converge and  Church Planting Solutions.

The other is some breakout session notes and main session videos from Unleash 2008, a church ministries conference hosted by New Spring Church in South Carolina.

Leading Volunteers

I'm looking for some resources to train our team on how to hold volunteers accountable. It's the age old dilemma, how do you motivate volunteers to produce at high standards without driving them away or burning them out. I've worked at big and small churches and never seen the problem completely resolved. Maybe it can't be.

I'm looking for books, articles, CD's, etc. that can be shared. What have you all come across?

Thanks,
Anthony

PS: Happy Easter! I'm spending ours dissecting "I Am Legend" as we close out our annual God at the Movies series. That can't be right.

top 5 books?

If you could start and pastor a young church with the knowledge of three books, which ones do you choose and why? After not reading much the last few months, I'm ready to read a couple after Easter.

1. Planting Missional Churches - Ed Stetzer - not too sexy, but the church planting handbook after the Bible.
2. No Perfect People Allowed - Burke - with the church fighting the image problem of being judgemental, John does it right.
3. Rethinking the Church - James Emery White - challenges the way we flesh out the five purposes of the church.
4. The E-Myth Revisted - great business principles that can be applied to help us operate bigger. Unfortunately, we didn't learn this stuff at Bible school.
5. Never Eat Alone - Ferrazzi - nothing has inspired me more to get my butt out the door to engage others with confidence.

Anyone read Simple Church or The Multiplying Church by Roberts?

this beautiful mess

Thanks to this book for the post title, but ministry really can be this sorta beautiful mess.

People are not always fun to deal with. Sometimes they seem to cause more frustration and problems than anything else.

We have this internal pressure and perceived (yet sometimes true) peer pressure to make progress and look really good with numbers, stats, marketing schemes, and sweet new events.

And just to pile more on top of all of that, we really just don’t always have the time, money, or overall resources to make so many of our ideas happen. [Sidebar-lack of resources is no excuse for not fulfilling God’s vision]

I think most of us have been in this place before, and especially applies in the arena of church planting. We just don't have a lot, but we have a big vision and know God wants to use us. I wanted to share a few thoughts from my experience in no particular order that I have learned about how to get big results with little resources. They aren't necessarily fool-proof, just thoughts I've learned.

1. Operate where you want to be, not where you currently are.

If you don’t first go there in how you operate, nothing and no one will ever follow. I love how Steven Furtick puts it, “Dress for the wedding.” It may look funny now, but it won’t when you get there. Don’t get embarrassed or impatient-go for it.

2. Don’t compare.

It only creates pride or jealousy. Plus, we should celebrate others success and assist others along. We are all on the same team.

3. Develop leaders and delegate authority.

They not only increase your ability to handle more people, but also allow you to perform ministry at a much higher level and focus on things that as the leader you alone can do.

4. Raise funds to increase ministry capability.

Ministry isn’t cheap. It takes money. Sometimes you just got to work to raise it. But money follows vision first, then it follows life changing stories of individuals. Share the vision and what God is doing through you to make their investment worthwhile.

5. Invest money into missional opportunities.

God is extremely honored by our sacrificial giving. We have a responsibility to invest in others around the world, even if it is a sacrificial gift. When you invest, you are partnering together to build the Kingdom and fulfill the mission of the church. And why would God bless us if we are greedy and selfish?

6. Dream big, and strategically cast the vision.

God gives the point leader the dreams and visions. You've got to dream it, discover it, and provide tangible direction at optimal times, so others can follow. Sir Francis Drake says it best, so why try anymore. "Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little. When we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord."

7. Build a relational culture.

All people (unchurched, dechurched, believers, poor, rich, middle class, African-American, Hispanic, Caucasian, Asian, Arab, etc) want relationships. As a church leader, we get to offer them two of the greatest relationships in the world-a relationship with God and a relationship with God’s family.

8. Celebrate moments of success.

The principle is true: what gets celebrated is often repeated. Commit to make consistent progress every week. Celebrate that progress publicly and privately. After one year that means you are at least 52% better.

9. Pray God-sized prayers.

If you don’t pray them, they will rarely happen. Plus, God loves the supernatural.

10. Stay focused on the vision and never quit.

It’s easy to be distracted, frustrated, or discouraged. God will always be faithful to finish what He has spoken though. Fight for the vision, work it, and trust God to be faithful. Don’t give up on God’s promises.

What are some things you have learned about getting results with little resources?

Originally posted at Dream the Journey.

Easter Series

Can you explain this? Why did Jesus leave heaven and come live on earth? If God is all powerful, why didn't he just forgive us of our sins instead of sending Jesus to die on the cross? What is the significance of the resurrection? Why did God choose the way of salvation? Could you Explain this to me? This series provides simple but revealing answers that bring a new perspective to the Christian faith. Four-part series.

Explain: His Life
Explain: His Death
Explain: His Resurrection
Explain: His Reasoning

What are you doing as a series during this season? 

Accountability

I'm doing some research to develop an accountability system for myself and pastoral team. I've begun interviewing ministry peers and leaders regarding their accountability system as well as what's out their on the topic.

Can you help? I realize accountability is born out of relationships. However, that can also be code for not having any accountability in a pastor's life. And since we're all aware that most pastors don't fail for a lack of leadership skills, etc BUT due to some type of ethical, moral, or spiritual decline, I'd like to know what you're doing to be held and hold others accountable:

• What do you do to safe guard your personal and ministry life?
• What measures of accountability do you have in place? What tools
  
• Who do you meet with regularly and what do they ask you?
• How have you created a checks and balances, to make sure there is real honestly in these interviews?
• How did you choose an accountability partner/ partners?
• What resources do you know of on this topic?

Thanks for all your help.

free live web events

Leadership Network is now hosting free live web events that should be informative and challenging. One of interest may be "The Eternally Focused Church: Breaking into the Kingdom" with Rick McKinley. 

Something that about every church more than like 2 days old faces is staying Kingdom focused.  As you all know, it takes work to continually stay focused on fulfilling the Great Commission. It's real easy to drift into the paradigm of placing an unhealthy and unbalanced amount of time on internal issues, such as church attenders, ministries, growth, etc. 

Regardless of your feelings about Rick, their church, Imago Dei in Portland, OR, is making a real impact in their community and meeting true needs in a tangible way. I'm sure the web event will be worth attending.

via Monday Morning Insight.