Student Ministry has been done. We’ve seen everything from simple home meetings to multimillion dollar, high-energy production driven experiences. In my time as a Student Pastor I’ve had the privilege of being a part of almost the entire spectrum. So as we begin to discover what Student Ministry will truly look like at Elevation Church we aren’t interested in having yet another ministry environment. We want to see students who are far from God become filled with life in Christ.

That is our goal. That is our motivation. That is our vision. If that means we create an incomparable worship experience in a flashy building we’re okay with that. If it means we wipe out student specific worship experiences and focus our energies into getting students serving and connected with each other, we’re going to make it happen. Either way we’re not going to spend a lot of sideways energy creating something that works for a small percentage of the students of Charlotte and will only be “cool��? for the next year and a half.

There is no formula for a revolutionary Student Ministry. There is however a formula for seeing students changed by the revolutionary love of God. Our vision will push us to introduce as many students as we can to that love. As Pastor Furtick said, “Our Vision remains the same but our Strategy will be fluid.��?Â

Phillip McCart, Family Pastor

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When I was in college taking marketing classes, this warning is one of the things I remember most – and it has been one of the things I try to remember most when designing – don’t settle for second best if it’s what comes first.

What does that mean? Simply put - don’t be completely pleased with your first try. Take a break and come back to it later, then see where you can improve on it or make a variation. Then, for a third effort, try something completely different than the previous two. Give yourself at least three options to choose from and look around for a few first impressions. Handle criticism even-tempered and do your best to garner useful help from outside opinions.Â

Due to tight timelines in the past, we’ve had to work with the first try and simply hope that it was the best. But with some new timelines, guidelines and processes we’re beginning to set in place, we’re allowing more lead-time for the creative process. And often it’s not until you have more time to work up more than one version, that you realize the project’s true potential.Â

Sometimes quick and dirty projects are a last minute necessity, but the more you allow your designer time for the creative process and watch them take their work to the next level.

Ryan Hollingsworth, Graphic Designer
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I can’t believe it, but it all came together. Our Dominate Sunday under the “big topâ€? was a huge success. For those of you who have kids, you’ll understand this analogy. It was like the delivery room. When you’re in the room, there’s action and commotion going on all around. It’s a much different perspective than when the nurse cleans up the baby and brings it to you in the waiting room. When you’re in the delivery room it seems like organized chaos and you’re not quite sure how it’s going to turn out. It’s intense but at least you’re a part of what’s going on. Outside the room there’s an anxious anticipation because updates are infrequent and sketchy. It’s not until you see the baby that you know for sure that everything is fine.Â

November 11th was definitely a “delivery roomâ€? experience. On paper a 100’ long and 300’ wide by 34’ tall tent sounds huge but I didn’t have a point of reference because I’ve need been in a tent close to that size. The tent company started work Thursday. It took them a full day to pound in the stakes that would hold this thing in place. It was tough going up; water restrictions and lack of rain left the ground as hard as cement. Friday was the day the actual tent top was assembled. It came in very large sections that had to be laid out across the field. Once they had the alignment the individual sections were cinched and velcroed the together. If you ever rent a tent, make sure you get a “black outâ€? top. It prevents all light from coming in through the top and is essential for anything during the day. At this point it looks like an entire football field covered with a tarp.Â

Now the fun begins as they start on one end putting the 34’ long poles in place and standing the tent up. Friday night, when the last pole was put up and you could see from one end to other I had an almost sick feeling come over me. I remember thinking “can we fill this thingâ€? and “are there this many people who come to Elevation.â€?Â

Saturday started early. The stage and lighting trusses were the first things to go in place. The main stage was 40×28 with a smaller stage flanking each side. The right side had 4 sections at different heights for the gospel choir. On the left was a 12×16 foot stage where the baptistery was placed. This 4 hour process finished around noon when the sound and video guys were able to begin putting in their gear, our goal was to start band rehearsal at 3:00 but that started an hour later because of production delays. That delay carried through the night pushing our production run through later than anticipated. We maximized the entire day, brining in all of our guest services and utilizing that time for re-training was a major reason that Sunday was a seamless process. Saturday night ended in a special way… we had a wedding. We have a great young couple attending Elevation that Pastor Steven blogged about a few weeks ago. It was only fitting to end a long day with a celebration of God’s faithfulness.Â

Sunday was a cold morning and I was hoping the heaters we rented had the tent nice and toasty, but that was wishful thinking. The tanks that were supposed to run through the night fueling the heaters didn’t make it, so needless to say it was a chilly rehearsal. An unexpected visit from the police department at 8:30am brought additional excitement to the morning. It seems that by 8:30 there were multiple complaints from neighbors about the volume and even a few angry folks showing up at the tent. After deliberation, mainly through one of our key volunteers who works as a police officer himself, we weren’t shut down for the morning. An acoustic set under a tent would not have gone over well. It seems there is such a thing as an “amplified noise permitâ€?.  We’ll make sure we have one of those in the future for any outdoor events. The police were ready to shut everything down for the day, but thank goodness God was in control.Â

The event kicked off at 10:00am and we a complete success. The tent was filled to capacity and everyone walked away with a huge “wow� experience. A huge amount of credit goes to our amazing volunteers. I am continually blown away by their level of commitment and pursuit to excellence. It’s an incredible thing watching over 100 greeters pick up every piece of trash in the parking lot on Saturday and stand out in the cold welcoming people on Sunday. I don’t know how our parking guys did it, but they found spaces for cars where there were none. One of our biggest worries was about parking, but the parking leaders looked at me on Saturday and said, “we’ll handle it, you don’t have to worry about it�. That’s leadership from an incredible team of guys whose hearts are connected to the vision of Elevation Church.

As I reflect upon the entire Dominate season and the past weekend’s culminating event under the tent, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of thankfulness. Thankfulness to God for blessing us in our first 21 months of ministry, without His anointing this whole thing would fall apart. I’m so thankful for the leadership that Pastor Furtick has given through this process. His relentless pursuit of excellence and commitment to the gospel are inspiring. Lastly, I’m so thankful for our volunteers. Without their hearts and hands serving, it wouldn’t have happened.Larry Brey, Leadership Development Pastor
   Â

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One of the guiding principles at Elevation Church is that when we do something it has to be big and bold. “Over the topâ€? would be an accurate way to describe it. On a side note, “Over the topâ€? might also be Sylvester’s Stallone’s best movie. We are always looking for the “WOWâ€? experience, something that exceeds a person’s expectations. As we were planning the culminating event of Dominate season we wanted to have one massive worship experience that combines both of our campuses and our five worship experiences. Great idea, but difficult to execute when there isn’t a building in South Charlotte that could accommodate our size. It could have been easy to settle for “we can’t do itâ€?, but we don’t go down without a fight.Â

This coming weekend, November 11^th, we’re putting up a tent. It’s not a small tent. The company we’re working with is saying this is the largest pole tent they have ever put up on the east coast. It’s so large that it’s actually the size of a football field, that’s right its 300 feet long and 100 feet wide. It comes with side walls which will allow us to have a climate controlled environment which is great because it’s looking like it will be in the 30’s Sunday morning. At the peaks it will soar 34 feet off the ground. It will definitely be the “WOW� experience we are looking to create.

If you’re at a church that is ever in the need to have one massive worship experience consider a tent. It’s not only about the “wowâ€? factor of the day, but there’s the buzz factor leading up to the day. The people of Elevation have such a sense of excitement going into this weekend that it’s almost uncontainable.Â

To help you prepare for you own tent event, here’s a list of the vendor’s were working with. When planning the event you’ll need to figure in how best to utilize your volunteers. We decided to outsource several areas because it allowed to us to spend a little more time training the hearts for Sunday morning.

Tent               Â
There are only a few companies on the east coast that actually have tent’s the size of what we needed. We settled on Classic Party Rentals. Their service was impeccable and wonderful to work with. If you get the opportunity to work with Christine, you’ve hit the jackpot. We also rented the staging and chairs from them as well. As part of the agreement, they will set up the tent, stage and chairs.

Lighting           Â
Nascar Images is doing our lighting. They are a great company to work with.

Sound             Â
The majority of the equipment we are using is our own, a few ancillary items are needed to supplement our system.

Video              Â
We are using all our gear.

The tent will be delivered Thursday and put up on Friday. Saturday will be the day all the staging, sound, video, lighting and chairs will be set-up. We are leveraging all day Saturday as a chance to train all guest services volunteers specific for Sunday.

Stay tuned because next week I’ll write another blog letting you know how it all came together………

Larry Brey, Leadership Development Pastor

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