StretchyChurch

Can you believe it?! This is my last post in my series from the Launch Conference!! It only took me a month and a half!

Drumroll, please………

Breaking Barriers for On-going Growth

In his book, The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren explains the wrong and right questions to ask in dealing with growth barriers:

• The Wrong Question: How do I get my church to grow?
• The Right Question: What is keeping my church from growing?

The Top 3 Growth Barriers Every New Church Will Face

Growth Barrier #1: Space

• The 70% Rule: When a room is 70% full, it’s full!
• At 80% your church is stangled and it will not grow.

Growth Barrier #2: Self-Development

• Are you growing?
• When the leader stops growing, the church stops growing.
• See John Maxwell’s “Law of the Lid” (from The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership)

Growth Barrier #3: Evangelism

• Keep the focus on evangelism hot!
• Teach on relational evangelism.
• Set an example by telling stories of how you’ve invited people to church.
• Kick off a new series with a special challenge for people to invite their friends.
• Hold a prayer walk or servant evangelism outreach.
• Talk to staff and volunteers about the importance of reaching friends.
• Read an evangelism or church-growth book with your staff.
• Develop training materials that will help your members invite their friends to church and share their faith.
• Ask someone who has experienced life change to share his or her testimony.

Overcoming Spiritual Barriers to Growth

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” –John 15:5

Abiding Area #1: God’s Word

• Spend time in God’s Word every day

Abiding Area #2: Prayer

Abiding Area #3: Fasting

• www.elmertowns.com - a great free resource on fasting

And that’s it!! Hope these notes were helpful. Certainly, they were at times controversial–and even I don’t agree with everything. But I think you can always learn something, even when you don’t agree 100%.

Ok… Part two of this section of my notes from the Launch Conference:

4. Baptism

Be able to answer these questions:

• How do we make sure people understand the meaning and significance of baptism?
• How do we capture our first baptism on video or with photography? How do we get the video or photos out to the entire church in the coming weeks?
• How do we capture the stories and testimonies of those being baptized? How do we maximize these as celebrations of what God is doing in our church family?
• How do we signify the event for those being baptized? Do we give them certificates? Framed personal photos? Group pictures?
• How do we promote the next baptism at our first baptism?

5. Recordkeeping and Databases

• Contact information on everyone who attends (name, address, phone numbers, e-mail address, spouse and kids’ names)
• Weekly Sunday attendance broken down by adults and children
• Weekly offering amount
• Number of volunteers on Sunday
• Number of volunteers during the week

6. Basic Accounting

• Offering collection, counting, and deposit
• Check writing
• Reimbursement processes
• Salaries/paychecks
• Regular reports (bank account, budget, etc.)

7. Corporate/Legal Structure

• What’s the minimum structure you must have ‘by law’?

8. Leadership Development System

• My personal plan (e.g., conferences, books, podcasts)
• My plan for staff (e.g., read books together, DVDs)
• My plan for volunteers (create a culture where there is an abundance of leaders)

These 8 systems are crucial! Everything else can wait 8-18 months! (including membership class and small groups)

Finally… the next section of my Launch Conference notes. This section is called Gathering a Launch Team from Scratch.

Launch Team vs. Core Group

Launch Team: A team of committed individuals who will assist you in preparing for and executing an effective launch. This is a team of people currently living in the area where your new church will meet–a team that you will build from scratch. The launch team is in existence only through the first weekly service.

The purpose of a Launch Team is simple and has a clear end. It is:
To Launch this New Church

Launch Team: A time-bound team
Core Group: An open-ended team

Launch Team: Meets to plan the launch
Core Group: Meets for spiritual growth

Launch Team: Involves anyone who is willing
Core Group: Involves only the spiritually mature

Launch Team: Is engaged to accomplish a task (a work team; a get-it-done team)
Core Group: Is engaged to encourage and support

Launch Team: Focuses on those outside the church
Core Group: Focuses on those in the group

Launch Team: Ends with an outward focus
Core Group: Ends with an inward focus

• The word “core” implies a commitment that really doesn’t exist when it comes to a church plant. Often times, the members of a core team will leave the church plant to go back to their church of origin.
• Have a specific timeline and end-date for every volunteer position.

Five Launch Team Truths

1. For the first monthly service, you are the Launch Team.
2. Grow your Launch Team with each Monthly Service.
3. Give each Launch Team member specific assignments and hold them accountable (don’t let someone from another church do something that a local church attender could do).
4. Thank and disband the Launch Team on the day after the Launch.
5. Recruit Launch Team members as ongoing volunteers. (for 4-6 months; always give a timeline).

Three Launch Team Temptations

1. Temptation #1: Change the Launch schedule (never change the launch date if you heard it from God)
2. Temptation #2: Give my Launch Team too much control
3. Temptation #3: Merge with another church

Key Guidelines for a Healthy Launch

• Don’t do a membership class until after your Launch (at least 3-6 months after launch; you don’t know till later what you’re actually asking people to join).
• Do everything possible to keep your Launch Team outwardly focused (if you think you are doing enough, you’re not).
• Don’t vote. You are the leader. Lead.
• Remember that your Launch Team is a time-limited, single-focus team.
• The Launch Team will force you to learn how to manage teams. Keep those lessons with you. Everything about church involves managing teams of people.
• Preparing a Launch Team to maximize your first service is first and foremost a spiritual enterprise. Pray and fast–a lot!

“It is like a person who builds a house on a strong foundation laid upon the underlying rock. When floodwaters rise and break against the house, it stands firm because it is well built.” –Luke 6:48

Ok, time to get back to my purpose-driven, seeker-sensitive Launch Conference notes! Heh heh… Sorry, couldn’t help it!

As it turns out this section is gonna be in four parts, not three. So here goes…

5. Promote Each Service with Greater Intensity

The Four D’s of Promotion:

1. Design

• Get professional help (Note: Match the design to your area and who you are trying to reach!)

Design Lessons Learned the Hard Way:

1. Make the promotion match your city (Use skylines, meadows, beach scenes–whatever characterizes your city best. Every city has a story; try to match that story to your design/logo).
2. Choose images that are attractive to your target (In general, target your marketing to men, using colors and images that attract men. Men are harder to get to church, but if you can get the man, you can usually get the whole family.)
3. Be sure that text makes up less than 50% of your layout–period.
4. Be clear that you are a church.
5. State exactly what you want people to do (e.g., “Join us on [date]”).
6. Put your name, website, meeting times and location in a prominent place.
7. Use full color. It’s only a bit more expensive and worth it!

2. Direct Mail

• Find one of the largest printers/mail houses in your area and ask them for advice.
• Is there another church doing direct mail? Be careful that your church doesn’t get confused with that church.
• Read The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.

3. Display Advertising and Media

Examples:

• Press releases
• Event-oriented newspapers (Creative Loafing, What’s Happening, and so on)
• The top radio morning shows (according to your target group)
• Sports radio or the sports section of the newspaper
• Local trade journals read by your target
• Cable advertising on ESPN, CNN, FNC, and others

4. Direct Delivery

Direct delivery is the highest-risk, highest-return option in advertising. Direct delivery includes everything from personal invites to servant evangelism, or any other type of face-to-face church promotion. It’s high risk in that it requires person-to-person contact. If you are trying to make thousands of direct contacts, it will require the involvement of a lot people. However, it’s high return in that a personal invitation, delivered by a live person, is the most effectve way of encouraging someone to attend your church.

• Nothing beats direct delivers, but it’s slow.
• It’s important to complement direct delivery with direct mail and display advertising/media.

How to Maximize Direct Delivery:

• Invite everyone you meet!
• Ask everyone you know–especially your launch team–to promote your church.
• Join with mission teams or other outside people to help get the word out.

Which One is right for Me?

• Direct Mail: low risk, low return
• Display advertising/media: medium risk, medium return
• Direct delivery: high risk, high return

Kyle posted some comments/questions about my Launch Conference notes that I think deserve being addressed.

First of all, I need to confess that I definitely don’t have all the answers. I never have and I don’t think I ever will.

I’m drawn to the postmodern/emerging/incarnational approach to ministry. And I wish I could say I was 100% there because I think that this movement really is meeting the needs of people in my generation.

At the same time, I’ve begun to discover that there’s still value in some of the older approaches to ministry (funny–by older, I mean 25 years…). There are millions of people in this country who would get a little freaked out by the idea of becoming part of an “intentional community.” I, personally, understand the value of that kind of community, but for many people when someone says “Community,” what they hear is “Commune.”

Anyway, I say this because over the last year or so I’ve realized that it’s not that “seeker” is “out” and “emerging” is “in.” Both are “in,” depending on the context and the culture that a particular church is trying to reach. Heck, even old-school, mainline, traditional is “in” for some people.

So, let me address Kyle’s comments/questions:

1. Yes, the Launch Conference definitely came from a “purpose-driven, seeker-attractive” perspective. In fact, Nelson Searcy was open about the fact that he used to work at Saddleback with Rick Warren and continues to use the purpose-driven aproach with The Journey Church.

2. I, personally, am not planning on planting a church in Northern Kentucky. I am considering planting a church in another metropolitan area in another part of the country. But that’s still up in the air. I’m also in talks with an established church. I had three reasons for attending the conference: 1) Learn about church-planting (in case that’s what I do), 2) learn some things that will hopefully be transferable to an established church situation (in case that’s what I do), and 3) get some clarity on whether or not I’m called to church-planting (which I’m still wrestling with).

3. It’s true that there will probably be a different kind of spirituality in a “seeker” type of church than in an “intentional community” kind of church. But I think one of the reasons is because of the people that each type of church attracts. Regardless of what you believe, “intentional community” kinds of churches attract a certain kind of person. Likewise, “seeker” kinds of churches attract a different kind of person. And regarding a “core” vs. a “launch team,” one of my upcoming posts will explain why they suggest going with a launch team rather than a core.

Like I said, I’m still on a journey. I’m still trying to figure things out. And I think that’s why I still like the word “stretchychurch.” The church fits all kinds–emerging, seeker, traditional, mainline, protestant, Catholic, conservative, liberal, fundamentalist, evangelical, etc., etc., etc.

The question isn’t, “Are they doing it right?” The question is, “Are they helping people become followers of Jesus?”

Ok, here’s the second part of Planning My First Service From Scratch.

3. Secure my Meeting Location.

• Hotel ballrooms (various sizes)
• Movie theaters (various sizes)
• Comedy clubs (approximately 150 seats)
• Public school auditoriums
• Performing arts theaters
• Available church meeting spaces
• College auditoriums
• Corporate conference space

Four Space Lessons Learned the Hard Way:

1. As much as possible, match your space to your target audience. (You wouldn’t want the people of a rural, farming community meeting in a downtown art gallery.)
2. Make sure your space is easily accessible to your target audience. (You don’t want downtown businesspeople traveling to the countryside–or anywhere else not easily accessed by public transportation.)
3. Make sure your space has a reasonable number of seats.
4. Don’t sign a long-term lease.

4. Plan Comeback Events between my Monthly Services.

• “Comeback Events” are those events you schedule between your monthly services to invite those who attended a service to come back for a non-threatening, fellowship-based event.
• Continue to cast the vision of the new church at Comeback Events.

Examples of Comeback Events:

• BBQ at the pastor’s house
• Picnic in the park
• City events
• Dinner in the back room of a restaurant
• Ice skating
• Swimming

This next section from the Launch Conference is called Planning My First Service From Scratch. It’s actually a pretty long section, so I’m gonna break it up into three parts. This will (naturally) be the first part.

1. Determine my Launch Date!

• Your launch date is the most important decision you will make after you nail down your calling.
• Once you pick a date, stick to it!

Top 3 Best Launch Dates (#1 is best)
#3 - Easter
#2 - Fall: Just after school starts
#1 - February

Why is February the best time to launch you first service?

• You get a second “bump” in attendance with Easter 2 months later
• There’s plenty of time for growth to happen before summer (when attendance tends to drop)
• People are still willing to do something new with the start of the New Year

Top 3 Worst Launch Dates (#1 is worst)
#3 - Christmas (most attenders are visiting family in the area; they won’t be repeat attenders)
#2 - Tie: Superbowl Sunday, July 4th, Labor Day, or any other national holiday
#1 - Any time other than Sunday morning

2. Plan 3-6 Monthly Services prior to your Launch.

• Monthly services are stepping stones to your Launch.
• Do a minimum of 3 monthly services, a maximum of 6.

The Power of Monthly Services:

• Attract a Launch Team
• Build momentum
• Give you practice and allow you to improve your skills
• Give you a chance to grow
• Provide more time for follow-up
• Enable more efficient use of initial resources
• Lower your stress level
• Make your launch day less intimidating
• Build greater awareness of the church
• Build excitement within the church
• Help you stick to your Launch date
• Allow you to test your meeting location
• Allow you to test a worship leader
• Build your database of future weekly attendees

Monthly Service Do’s and Don’ts

Do:

• Teach a message series
• Talk about your future weekly services
• Receive an offering (unchurched people aren’t offended by receiving an offering)
• Collect contact information (send handwritten notes to everyone who visits)
• Hold at least three monthly services

Don’t:

• Only talk about the future vision
• Tell them you are “practicing”
• Ask them to join (wait till after your launch)
• Hesitate to evaluate and improve
• Do more than six preview services

BUT: How do I staff my monthly services?

• First monthly service will be you, the worship leader, and possibly your spouse and/or a friend.
• After the first monthly service, get volunteers from those who attended that service to staff your next service.

After talking about funding, Searcy and Thomas discussed Staffing: Building a Staff from Scratch.

The first thing they shared was a quote from John Maxwell, which they claimed was the “Greatest Leadership Secret” (and I agree that this is critical): “Those closest to the leader will determine the success level of that leader.”

And then they moved on to discuss Three Tenants (sic) for Staffing a New Church (I think they meant “Tenets,” not “Tenants”):

1. Determine my first year staff

• Lead pastor
• Worship leader

The worship leader ought to be a flexible, teachable, moldable person

Someone who believes in the vision of the church

• Who else do I need to staff Sunday Services?

Volunteers or paid (children’s staff, ushers, greeters, etc.)

God will send the people you need to staff your services

2. Decide how I will make payroll

• Staff can raise some or all of their own funds to support themselves financially.
• It’s not a bad idea to pay someone $50 per week to help with certain tasks. This can help develop more leaders in the church.
• But never pay someone to do something that a volunteer could do.

3. Don’t be afraid of the “Big Ask”

• That is, don’t be afraid to ask people for big commitments or to take on big tasks. All they can do is say no.

Following these three “tenants,” they gave us 10 Staffing Lessons Learned the Hard Way:

1. You’ll never have enough money up-front to hire staff.
2. Hiring staff precedes growth, not vice versa.
3. Hire slow, fire fast. One bad apple spoils the bunch. (It’s normal to have high staff turnover early on in the church start)
4. Hire from within whenever possible.
5. Hiring and firing is ultimately the responsibility of the lead pastor.
6. Hire part-time before full-time.
7. Never hire staff when you can find a volunteer.
8. The role of staff is to find additional volunteers.
9. Hold weekly staff meetings.
• Including volunteer staff.
• You have to meet with your staff in order to lead your staff.
10. Clarity and accountability are the keys to an effective staff.

Coming up next: Planning My First Service From Scratch.

One of the biggest challenges of a new church is money!! So it was great that they included a section on raising funds. They opened with a few quotes:

• “Money isn’t everything, but it is right up there with oxygen.” –Zig Ziglar
• “If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?” –Romans 8:31-32
• “God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s provision.” –Hudson Taylor

Then they talked about Four Steps to Raising Funds. The only thing that really confused me is that they actually had five steps, not four. Oh, well…a freebie, I guess.

Step 1: Create a budget

• What will the cost of living in this community be?
• What will my salary be? How about salaries for additional staff? (see www.churchstaffing.com–it’s got a pastors’ compensation handbook)
• How much will it cost to rent space for the church to meet in?
• How much will it cost to operate a business in this city (office rent, phones, computer equipment, copy equipment, and so on)?

• The Chamber of Commerce is a great resource for leads on equipment, office space, etc.
• Move to an office after the 2nd or 3rd monthly service. It will cause less conflict with your family life.
• Don’t sign a long-term lease.
• Buy equipment that’s just a little bigger/better than you need. That way it can grow with you as the church grows.

• There are basically 2 budgets to keep track of: 1) Pre-launch, 2) Post-launch annual budget.

Step 2: Prepare my presentation

Focus on:

• My leadership
• My compelling story
• My strategy
• My plan for self-sufficiency

Step 3: Seek funding

Possible sources of funding:

• Option 1: Personal savings
• Option 2: Bi-vocational ministry
• Option 3: Your spouse (i.e., if you spouse earns enough to support your family)
• Option 4: Your launch team
• Option 5: Outside funders (individuals and churches)

A Key Question: Who has a heart for my area?

Step 4: Develop a plan for regular communication

• Share prayer requests
• Seek mentoring
• Make additional requests
• Invite mission team
• Share results and God-stories

Step 5: Plan an annual partners’ meeting

• Host the meeting at your location
• Invite current and future partners
• Invite spouses
• Make the meeting fun
• Ask for the Big Commitment

“And since we are his children, we will share his treasures—for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too.” –Romans 8:17

Searcy and Thomas were pretty serious about having a strategy for your Launch. They defined a strategy like this:

A Strategy is simply a logical plan to get you from where you are to where God wants you to be.

They said that a good strategy will clarify and quantify what you’re trying to accomplish. And then they gave us Eight Key Elements of a Start-Up Strategy:

1. Purpose, Mission, and Vision Statement

• Purpose Statement – How you will do it.
• Mission Statement – What you will do.
• Vision Statement – What it will look like to do it.

2. Core Values

• What makes your church unique?
• The Core Values are the filters through which you do ministry and make decisions.
• Ken Blanchard says that no organization should have more than 10 values and as few as 5 or 6.

3. Strategic Aim

• States what the specific aim of your strategy is. What are you trying to do?
• “Our strategic aim is to effectively launch a new church in Great City, USA, on the second Sunday in September, 2007, with 300 in attendance and average 215 people in weekly attendance during the month of October.”

4. Major Objectives

              a. Preparation
              b. Pre-Launch
              c. Launch
              d. Post-Launch

• Eventually you will determine the specific tasks to accomplish each major objective.

5. Goals

• Goals have to be accomplished to achieve major objectives.
• Goals are a subcategory of Major Objectives.

6. Tasks

• Tasks are clear actions that have to be taken
• Determining specific tasks makes it easier to get people to help you. You can be very specific about what you need a person to do.

7. Calendar

• Put all the major objectives, goals, and tasks on a calendar

8. Budget

They made a special note that Objectives, Goals, and Tasks should be S.M.A.R.T.

S – Specific

• All of the statements in your strategy need to be written in as precise language as possible. Avoid generalities.

M – Measurable

• Make sure that you have some kind of gauge for measuring the accomplishment of each objective, goal, and task.

A – Attainable

• Break your statements into small enough bites that each one is realistically attainable. You can stretch, but don’t overextend!

R – Relevant

• Make each statement relative to the one that precedes it. For example, all tasks under Goal 1 should be directly relevant to Goal 1.

T – Time Bound

• Put a projected completion date on every task, goal, and major objective.