Elevation is fired up to have Larry Hubatka as our new Creative Pastor. Larry has been at the church since we had 40 people and served in the past as the volunteer Student Pastor. He will be leaving a real estate career to build our creative department. Larry is a regular blogger- check it out here. Also, here is a copy of our new org chart for the creative department.Â

Chunks Corbett, Executive PastorÂ

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We are often asked about how our worship bands practice since we are portable. Let me begin by saying that there is a great deal of value in having a mid-week practice. We are making a concerted effort now to dedicate a room in our office specifically for band practice and recording purposes. However, up until this point in Elevation’s history, the first time the band rehearses for a Sunday worship experience is on Sunday morning. In order to make this work, band members and vocalists must show up at the specified call time knowing all of their material without using charts or lead sheets. Practice then serves to tighten up the song and work on transitions rather than learn parts.

All of our set lists are posted two weeks in advance on Box.net, an online file-sharing site. We post the mp3s, charts, and reason loops we use there, so that the band can download them. One week out from Sunday, each worship leader will follow up with a detailed email to the band with song instructions. Background vocalists are also sent vocal instructions at this time.

The following is the Sunday morning schedule for the band at our Providence campus. Band members arrive at 6 am to set up their gear and be ready for sound check to start right at 6:30. If they are just showing up at 6:30 they are late. It is vital that everything happens right on time, so honoring the call time and making preparations to be there early is in the contract we have with our players and an expectation if they are to continue on the team. Practice then starts at 6:30 and runs until about 7:45. This is enough time to run each song twice at the most. Our production run-through happens right after we are done, no later than 8 am, and all musical and media transitions are practiced and clearly communicated to everyone. The first worship experience then begins at 8:30.

The benefits to having a weekly practice are huge and we hope to be there soon, but this system has worked well for us so far as a portable church.

Wade Joye, Worship Pastor

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If it was easy to grow a church, then 8 out of 10 would not fail in the first year (at least that is what I hear). If it was easy to grow a church, there would be a megachurch for every grocery store. If this church planting thing was easy, we wouldn’t have to work so hard.Â

There is a reason that even the most evangelistic churches stop growing. It may be a lack of room, lack of leadership, or a lack of vision. It may be a frame of reference for what the church should look like. It may be preconceived notions of what the church is according to our “parent’s churchâ€? or even the biggest and most successful churches in the country.Â

The first question is how do you measure growth? At Elevation, we are very objective. We like to set goals that are measurable and quantitative. We say often that we are all about the numbers and that is the truth- we are all about the number of lives changed in Charlotte.Â

Different seasons of church growth require different metrics. We measure our growth by the attendance numbers and ask ourselves; “are we reaching new people?â€? We count salvation and baptism totals to hold ourselves accountable to seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ. We measure the number of adults in our small group structure to see if we are getting people involved in community and the discipleship process. We count our volunteer numbers to make sure we see growth in people serving. We also gauge the culture of generosity we are creating as a church through tithes and offerings. Different seasons bring growth in different areas but these are the primary objective ways we quantify growth at Elevation.Â

But it is hard to grow a church. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You have to make tough decisions that effect people’s lives but if you are not willing to make them then the church may not advance. You’ll have to lose people that got you where you are, you’ll have to move from the location that you feel like contributed to your growth, and you’ll have to raise a lot of money because growing a church ain’t cheap. Every time the church grows, the level of your decision making goes up. If you study church growth, you’ll see the natural attendance barriers of 300, 500, 1000, and 2000. Each one has a reason but it’s the church leaders’ responsibility to find a way to get past these barriers that are primarily defined by comfort.Â

It sounds like fun, but don’t forget the other words that describe growing a church: grueling, hard work, painful, sacrifice, lonely, and challenging. All things that you must go through to experience the reward, fulfillment, satisfaction, and joy of seeing people far from God filled with life in Christ.Â

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor

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