Where it all starts…..

If you’re a Seinfeld fan you probably remember the episode with the soup Nazi. He was the guy that loved his soup so much that if people didn’t act a certain way in line, didn’t respect his soup, he would kick them out and say “no soup for you!” He loved soup, it was his life and he wouldn’t let just anyone eat it. The soup Nazi was a bit obsessive, but passionate nonetheless about his soup.

Well I’m kind of that way about our First Time Guests. Let me paint a picture for you. Here’s a husband and wife, let’s call them Susie and Bill. They have been married for a few years and have two kids. Susie and Bill grew up in church as kids but when they had the opportunity to decide for themselves about going they had already made their decision. Because growing up they learned a few things, 1) they had to go and 2) church is boring so God must be boring.

Susie and Bill wake up one morning and say, “hey our kids need to be in church” because they think it’s the “right” thing to do. Now picture Susie and Bill dressing the kids up in their Sunday best, packing them in the car, driving across town as they are trying to find your church as they are running late. Bill’s too stubborn to ask for directions and Susie’s calling him an idiot because he should have gotten better directions before they left the house. They finally pull in, scramble to get things together and begin their adventure. Unsure of what to expect, but probably expecting what they grew up with, they walk toward the entrance.

Now ask yourself a few questions. What do you want them to experience? How do you want them to be treated? Do you realize that that might be the only time they go to church for years based upon what happens? Susie and Bill are far from God and this may be the last time they give church a chance.

The beginning point for creating “over the top” guest services comes from an uncompromising standard. Do you have a picture of what that standard looks like? What does it sound like and how it is transmitted to your FTG’s? Are you willing to fight for that standard no matter what it takes?

It all starts with a vision. Does the thought of Susie and Bill keep you awake at night? If it does, now you’re beginning to see a passionate vision that others will follow. Now you’re developing the starting point for an uncompromising standard. Now you’re ready to begin the process for developing over the top guest services.

Larry Brey – Assimilation Pastor

Filed under: Assimilation | Comments Off

Hit the pause button for two seconds…..

You know you have a passionate vision when it keeps you awake at night. It’s the thing that lights a fire deep in your soul that you can’t ignore; it’s the thing that compels you to do something. Can you see it in your mind? Can you feel it in your heart? But before you go running through your neighborhood pulling people out of their homes you need to hit the pause button.

In a church that understands spiritual authority, the vision flows from the top down. For over the top guest services to be a driving force in the church it has to be fueled from the person at the top of the organization whether you call him the Lead Pastor or Senior Pastor or Head Deacon. At the end of the day that person sets the direction for the church. He is the one to whom God has given the vision. If you are that person there’s no potential for conflict. If you are on staff or a key volunteer you may be reading this thinking, I’m not sure where my Pastor’s at on this.

When I say “hit the pause button”, I’m saying “is it part of the Lead Pastor’s vision”? Does it flow from the vision that God has given him for the church? The worst thing you could do is to create a vision that is separate or different from the Lead Pastor. The church can only have one vision and it comes from the Lead Pastor. Division isn’t a bad word; it means two visions. But a church can only have one vision and it comes from the heart of the man who God has put in place to lead the church.

You may be sitting there in a dilemma wondering how to figure out if it is part of his vision. Here are a few questions to wrestle with: 1) are we more consumed with how to get ‘em here vs. why would they come back, 2) are we more worried about who we’re trying to reach vs. who we’re trying to keep, 3) as a church do we earnestly/aggressively try to reach those who are far from God, and 4) is the Lead Pastor’s vision to reach those far from God? There are a few keys to answer #4; does he communicate from the pulpit and does he drive it into his staff?

At Elevation Church I have never had to wonder if that was part of Pastor Steven Furtick’s heart. He relentlessly pushes the staff and volunteers reminding us that our vision is “so that people far from God will be filled with life in Christ”. My role is not to create the vision, but my job is to implement the vision that God has given Pastor Furtick. I continually ask questions, pressing in to understand the vision. Because when I speak for the church I’m not communicating what I think; I’m communicating the vision that God has given Pastor Furtick.

If you are the Lead Pastor, what is the vision God has given you? If it doesn’t keep you awake at night, it’s not a vision. Are you communicating that vision to your staff in ways that compel them to own their areas? Vision will motivate for the long haul; good ideas and platitudes will fizzle out and fail.

If you are a staff member or a key volunteer, what is the vision that God has given to your Pastor? Are you buying into his vision and infectiously spreading it to others? Are you relentlessly striving to implement that vision in your area? Are you creating your own little church with your own little vision or do you fully embrace your Pastor’s vision?

Right now you should be in one of two places: 1) jacked up ready for the next thing or 2) needing to clarify/understand/solidify the vision. If you are at the second place, that’s a good thing because you’re not ready to move forward until you drill down that essential philosophical mooring. The stakes are too high and the gospel is too important for anything less than unity. Stay there until the vision is overflowing and everyone is on the same page. If you are on the same page, hit the play button because now you’re ready to begin inoculating your key leaders so they become infections with the vision.

Larry Brey - Assimilation Pastor

Filed under: Assimilation | Comments Off

Do I have a story for you!!

We have traveled and spoke with almost every multi-site church in the Southeast and we have heard a wide variety of horror stories concerning video mishaps and issues associated with video campuses. We left every meeting saying, “That will not happen to us!!�

Well…….we launched our first video campus on 4/8 and the very first Sunday we experienced the nightmare of all nightmares with our technology. Our video preacher got tired and decided to quit preaching 18 minutes into his Easter Sermon. He didn’t actually quit but he did decide to freeze. The room is silent. Nobody is moving. Then from the back of the room, our Production Manager grabs a microphone and desperately saves the situation. Of course, the band came up and played another song and video preacher was “resurrected,� and was able to finish his sermon.

10 minutes go by and every volunteer in the auditorium is thinking the same thing; did we just completely ruin the harvest God has placed in our hands?

As we were nearing the invitation, we were all begging the Lord for at least 1 hand to go up to minimize the guilt surrounding the mess up. Well – the Lord slapped us right across the face and said “I don’t need you.�

OVER 50 PEOPLE ACCEPTED CHRIST!!!! VIDEO WORKS!!!

Did I also mention nobody left during the “FREEZE�!!! Half of the 500 people that were there on our launch day were first time guests and they all stayed engaged!! God has placed us in this day and time to harness the video technology of the day and reach more people with the love of Jesus.

One last thought, Can a Video Preacher really get Tired?

Chris Brown - Union Campus Director

Filed under: Being Portable, Creative Elements | Comments Off

There are many different philosophies for “doing Small Groups� at your church. In fact, I would say that there are as many different ways to approach Small Groups as there are churches doing them. One of the biggest questions you will need to answer when starting your Small Groups ministry is what will be your philosophy of Small Groups. Will you be open or closed, topical or demographically oriented, discipleship or fellowship etc, ad nauseam…

Elevation Church has committed to a Closed Group System (because we think it fits our personality and target group) with emphasis on Accountability, Belonging and Care (Check out North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA for the whole scoop on the ABC’s). One of the benefits of having closed groups are people get to build relationships over a period of time without having the process disrupted by new members who are added every so often. One of the biggest problems with closed groups is that they are closed; after a certain point you can’t add any more people to them even if you have a waiting list that is growing. So when your gettin’ it done on Sunday’s and people are coming to your church, you either have to violate your philosophy by making your groups open to new people, or you have to start new groups. Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend violating your philosophy very often, so the question becomes, how can I start new groups to keep up with the growth when identifying leaders can take so much time?

What’s our answer? Turbo Groups! Our turbo groups typically meet for about 8 to 12 weeks. At the end of that time the group multiplies. Not only do we gain a new group from the leader that is sent out, we also gain the advantage of filling the seats that those leaders left behind. Maybe it’s cheating; I like to think of it as doing my best to harness the momentum that God has sent us.

John Bishop - Small Groups Director

Filed under: Small Groups | Comments Off