10 Ideas to Break the 65 Barrier by Nelson Searcy

Over the past 16 years God has allowed me to serve in ministries that have grown.  Some have moved quickly and others have taken a little more time.  Though most of my experience has been in the American mega-church over the past few months I have started to learn a little more about ministry growth in smaller congregations and church plants.  Here are some thoughts from a audio lesson entitled: Breaking the 65 Barrier by Nelson Searcy.  You can find more from Nelson here: http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/index.php/

If you are leading a smaller church, ministry or multi-site campus I would strongly encourage you to check out these 10 thoughts and move ahead!

1.    Define Reality

a.    Look over the past monthly attendance

                                                                                   i.     Children and Adults

                                                                                 ii.     Focus on Adult attendance

b.    Look for trends

c.     This could let you know you know where you are.

d.    “The first role of a leader is to define reality.” The Art of Leadership Max Dupree

2.    Grow Yourself

a.    Maybe you put the lid on the church.

b.    “No organization rises higher than its leader.” John Maxwell

c.     If your heart for God and leadership are not growing than you are holding the church back.

d.  You must always be growing!

3.    Make Space for your church to grow

a.    Do you have enough good seats for your church to grow?

b.    70% rule

                                                                                   i.     If you fill more than 70% of your seats you will struggle to grow.

                                                                                 ii.     It could also be a children’s issue or parking lot issue.

               

4.    Cast a Vision for Growth.

a.    When was the last time you spent a day away with God and asked God for a vision for your church?

b.    Are you sharing this vision with others or the benefits of this vision?

c.     Why should this church grow?

d.    Develop a list of a 100 reasons why your church should grow.

                                                                                   i.     When you know the why almost any what is possible.

e.    Transitioning: by Dan Southerling

5.    Tough Conversations

a.    Boarder Bullies

                                                                                   i.     Some people will stand in the way of change.

b.    You may need to have some hard conversations.

c.     It hurts but some people will leave.

6.    Personally Mentor New Leaders

a.    Pick 5 people that will help lead the church.

b.    Invest in them and help people grow.    

7.    Focus on Sunday Service

a.    When are you finished with your sermon?

b.    Make Sunday a priority.

c.     Grow in your preaching.

d.    Plan a preaching calendar.

e.    Re-evaluate your worship services.

f.      Work on transitions in your service.

8.    Break the 65 barrier with a special sermon series.

a.    Do this with and intentional series.

b.    Use this to break other barriers.

c.     Example:  “40 Days of Purpose”

9.    Go Full-Time

a.    Pastor

b.    Full-Time worship leader is the next hire.

c.     You will never have enough staff.

d.    Staff yourself for the next level!

                                                                                   i.     Staff yourself like a church of 125

10. Think 125

a.    Think like a church that is twice your size!

b.    Look at churches that are just one or two steps ahead of us.

c.     Put some resources in growth learning.

d.    Set a goal to break the barrier!

Review: Wiki Church by Steve Murrell (Part 2)

 Steve Murrell serves as the founding Pastor of Victory Church in Manila, Philippines.  In Wiki Church Steve chronicles the unique experiences that lead him to start a church thousands of miles from his native Mississippi, and shares many of his leanings along the way.  This is an excellent read for those leaders who believe their current leadership model is too complex and those who long to develop empower leaders to further the kingdom.

·      Catching Birds, Fishing for Men and Ashtray Evangelism

o   Jesus was able to engage his culture because he was not afraid to have contact with those around him.  He was not afraid that this would tarnish His Holiness.

o   Engage:  Luke 15:1-7, 1 Corinthians 9:22, Share the Gospel.

·      Good Façade, Bad Foundations.

o   Tragically, many spiritual lives are built with more concern about façade that the foundation.

§  Storms will come.  Invest in the foundations first.

§  This is established by time in God’s word.

o   Establish:  Matthew 7:24-27, 1 Corinthians 3:10, Establish the faith, word and church.

·      The Myth of Maturity

o   Three Discipleship Truths

§  The Truth of Mentoring

·      It is not the pastor’s job to primary minister to the people but to equip people to minister to others.

§  The Truth of Ministry

·      While many people feel that they are not “ready” yet, God is ready to use them now.

§  The Truth of Maturity

·      We can’t wait until every one feels mature.  The time to move is now!

o   Equip:  Matthew 4:19, Eph. 4:11-13, Train members to minister.

·      The Man of God Syndrome

o   You Choose: Build a Ministry or Make Disciples

§  Create an empowering culture

§  Mistakes are OK.

o   Empower: Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:2, Instill confidence and competence in others to make disciples.

·      Leading With the Next Generation

o   If we do not empower the next generation in some way now, we will lose them.

§  Identify and develop Emerging Leaders.

o   Security: Established leaders must be secure when your leaders start getting credit.

o   Respect: Established leaders must make room around the table for emerging leaders.

o   Humility:  Established leaders must continue changing and improving the disciple-making process.

o   Unity:  Established leaders must build a multigenerational team that is deeply committed to a common vision.

o   Trust:  Established leaders must learn how to trust the next generation.

·      His Last Command, Our First Priority

o   Follow Principles, not models

o   Focus on Process, not events

o   Develop a culture, not methods

o   Concentrate on consistency, not creativity

o   Build relationships, not programs

Review: Wiki Church by Steve Murrell (Part1)

Steve Murrell serves as the founding Pastor of Victory Church in Manila, Philippines.  In Wiki Church Steve chronicles the unique experiences that lead him to start a church thousands of miles from his native Mississippi, and shares many of his leanings along the way.  This is an excellent read for those leaders who believe their current leadership model is too complex and those who long to develop empower leaders to further the kingdom.

·      What is a Wiki Church?

o   Engage, Establish, Equip, Empower. (Repeat)

o   Focus on developing a simple Culturally relevant process of making disciples.

o   The goal is making disciples.  Not the process!

·      The Reluctant Leader

o   Let Compassion compel not just gifts or abilities.

o   Leading and Leaving

§  Work yourself out of a job.

§  “From the very beginning it was never about creating a position of a ministry for ourselves.  We were always leading with the idea of leaving.”

§  I have never forgotten what it was like to have someone believe in me.

§  We exist to Honor God. This is all for Him.

·      One-Armed Judo

o   Commit yourself to one great thing.

§  Simple, Biblical, transferable discipleship process.

o   Growth vs. Control Some pastor stay small because they want control.

o   Count what counts.

 

·      Hitting the Wrong Target

o   Define the Target

§  When does discipleship start?  Are groups the back door or front door to ministry?

o   What is Outreach?

§  “Write down everything you love to do then go do it with those not connected with God and his community.”  Rick Warren

§  It is about relationship.

·      The Power of Process

o   We are all in spiritual process.  This never ends.

o   Churches need to develop systems to help move people along in their spiritual Journey.

§  “My Brother Wesley acted wisely: the souls that were awakened under his ministry he joined in class (small groups), and thus preserved the fruits of his labor.  This I neglected, and my people are a rope of sand.”  George Whitefield.

o   This should be unique to your gifts and culture.  Do not copy but learn from others.

o   Focus everything around your process and adapt. 

5 Measures of a Healthy Church

This week I was meeting with a number of talented young leaders in the United Methodist Church.  In our time together some began to ask about how you measure a healthy church. 

This is an interesting discussion because leading a church is an interesting and difficult challenge filled with all kinds of variables both natural and spiritual; it can also be a very difficult thing to measure.  For young aspiring pastors who want to make a difference in this world, I have pulled the following measures for a healthy church.

1.    Worship

The primary goal of the local church is to help people connect with God.  One good measure of this is observing a warming heart to worship in the body of the local church.  This includes corporate worship but is far greater than the moments of song in a weekend service.  If people are not connecting and growing in their relationship with God it is a sure sign of a problem.

We are created to worship our creator and will worship the created if not taught to worship our creator.  As a result, we as leaders in the local church we need to carefully observe teach and lead our people to real and authentic connections and worship with God.

2.    Community

Another sign of health in a local church is growing heart for others in the local community.  A vibrant church community looks to serve and support each other.  The church is created to support and love each other in seasons of struggle and celebration.  Faith has always been intended to be lived out with others.  From Israel in the Old Testament, to the disciples, to the church this as always was a value and community growth sign of a healthy church.

3.    Mission

A healthy church is focused on the needs of those around them.  The church exists to not only meet the needs of the local body but to also be a blessing to the greater community.  A healthy church is focused on reaching out to others with the good news of the gospel and through good works, which model the love of Jesus Christ.  One great question to ask about your church is this:  “If our church shut down next week outside of weekly services and educational programing (i.e. small groups, bible studies, Sunday school) what would our community miss?  What void would we leave?

4.    Numeral Growth

The church is intended to grow.  We are part of a growing movement, not a club.  If the local church is focused on mission to the greater community and teaching the truth in love it will grow.  In many ways this is a by-product of a healthy church but if you are not growing something is not right. 

5.    Generosity

People invest in things they believe in.  This is not limited too but includes financial investment.  A healthy church cultivates a culture of generosity.  Both to meet the needs of the community and in everyday life.  This too is a by-product of a healthy church.  I have found that when a church is healthy, generous leaders step forward and ask where they can give and the needs of the local church.  Generosity needs to be taught in the local church because our hearts are often tied to the things we own but I have found that if a church is healthy and growing people will want to invest.

Audio: "Developing vs. Using People" by David Browning

Are you using or developing the people that serve with you?  “Developing vs. Using People” was the third keynote session at the Ignite Conference on April 2, 2011 at Crossroads Church in Cranberry, PA.  In this talk David Browning shares his personal thoughts on the importance of developing leaders in the local church.

Developing vs Using People?" from Mike Arnold on Vimeo.

Audio: "Multi-Site Church Strategy" by David Browning

"Multi-Site Church Strategy" is an inside look at how Christ the King Community Church addresses the challenges and opportunities of multi-site ministry. This was a keynote session at the Ignite Conference April 2, 2011.

Multi-Site Church Strategy: David Browing from Mike Arnold on Vimeo.

11 Obstacles of a Multi-Site Church

I have served on the staffs of four multi-site churches in Akron, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Pittsburgh, PA in the last 14 years.  These are my top 11 Obstacles to going multi-site.  I love the energy; focus on mission and new opportunities that a multi-site strategy brings to the local church.  I’ll be speaking on this this topic on April 2 at the Ignite Conference 2011 at Crossroads Church in Cranberry.

 

11 Obstacles of a  Multi-site Church

1.    Unhealthy Culture

a.    Going multi-site will not fix anything.  In fact it will only multiply the strengths and weaknesses of a local church if your culture is marked by insecurity, micro-management, and politics fix this before going multi-site.

2.    Inflexibility

a.    Going multisite will change everything. All staff will have to adjust to this new reality.  If you do not have buy in from your staff wait.   The most challenging part of going multi-site is reorganizing your staff to support multiple campuses.*

3.    Resources

a.    The average cost for launching a multi-site campus in a low risk, low cost facility is $250,000.*

4.    Sermon Delivery

a.    There are three primary ways to deliver messages at a multi-site church.  Video, live via a campus pastor, or hybrid.  Only 20 percent of existing multi-site churches utilize video, while half use life in-person and a third are a hybrid.  All three have pluses and minuses.  Decide this first and hire to your strategy.*

5.    Not enough Leadership

a.    This will take strong leadership.  It will change the role of the senior pastor and will require strong leadership at the campus pastor level.  Hire well.  Make sure the skill set of you campus pastors fit your sermon delivery strategy.

6.    Autonomy

a.    Either too much or too little autonomy given to a campus staff can be unhealthy.  The goal is to find the right comfort zone for the greater church and local campus.  This is largely dependent on the gifts of the campus pastor, trust, and context of specific local campus.

7.    Technological Issues.

a.    This is a pressure point for many multi-site churches.  It will have to be staffed and trained well.  The medium is vital to the message in a video campus. 

8.    Volunteer Base

a.    It can be difficult to develop volunteers in a consumer driven church culture.  Most people want to be part of changing the world. This may have to be awakened in the hearts of your people.

9.    Too much, Too Fast

a.    Pace is key.  Just because one campus is working does not mean that all will work as well.  It is important to build a launch team well.  To be prepared and ready to start together.  There are a lot of variables to success in ministry.  Many of them are out of our control.

10.  This must be Mission Driven

a.    This is why we do it.  Multi-site is not your mission.  It is your method.  The Mission is to reach more people with the message of Jesus Christ.  It is to see Him make old things new.  This is why people want to be apart of church.  To make a difference not be a part of a grand plan or method.*

11. Mission Clarity

a.    If your mission and vision are not clear multi-site will cause greater confusion.  Clarity and simplicity are important in a multi-site church.

*Portions of this have been gathered from 125 Tips For Multi-Site Churches and Those Who Want to Be.  By Jim Tomberlin and Ben Stroup.  E-book.

11 Reasons to Become a Multi-site Church

I have served on the staffs of four multi-site churches in Akron, Ohio; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Pittsburgh, PA in the last 14 years.  These are my Top 11 Reasons for going multi-site.  I love the energy; focus on mission and new opportunities that a multi-site strategy brings to the local church.  I’ll be speaking on this this topic on April 2 at the Ignite Conference at Crossroads Church in Cranberry.

11 Reasons to Become Multi-site Church

1.    To Reach People who are not connected to church.

a.    The number one reason to go multi-site is to reach more people for Jesus Christ.  This has to be your driving force!  It is the mission of the church.

2.    Develop Pastoral Leadership

a.    Many times churches will support a church plant if there is a leader on their staff who is ready for this challenge.  This can be another way to further develop pastors and grow an existing local church. 

3.    Engage Volunteers

a.    Going multi-site will create new opportunities for volunteer ministry.  You will need more worship leaders, kids workers, ushers, outreach coordinators, etc.  It creates more spaces for people to use their gifts in the local church.

4.    Need more space

a.    Multi-site is a good way to create space without building an expensive large building. It will create flexibility in worship offerings and more seats during optimal worship times.

5.    Reach a different social demographic

a.    Multi-site is a great way to reach other social and ethnic demographic groups in your local area.  It is a great way to create non-English speaking services.

6.    To develop a new style of worship

a.    Multi-site is a good way to create a more contemporary or traditional worship service offering.

7.    To reach a new generation.

a.    Multi-site campuses and be a good way to target younger or older age demographics.

8.    Create a more intimate community

a.    The average multi-site campus is 300-400 in weekly attendance.  This creates smaller or medium sized communities for greater relational connections.*

9.    Develop Thought

a.    A multi-site teaching team can create sermons together within a team model.  This can open doors to share research, illustrations and develop deeper thought.

10. Because you are bored and need a new challenge.

a.    Ready for another challenge?  Leaders need to be challenged.  Maybe you have accomplished your goals and want to expand the kingdom further.  This is a method to do this to reach more people.

11. Stretch influence.

a.    Studies show that people have difficulty engaging if they live farther than 15 minutes from their church.  This creates closer and deeper connections to church community.

Portions of this have been gathered from 125 Tips For Multi-Site Churches and Those Who Want to Be.  By Jim Tomberlin and Ben Stroup.  E-book.