http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05.htm Page 1 of 2 High-Yield Church Planting Begins with Radical Shifts "You've planted one or two churches. Now what would it take to plant 10? And after you plant 10 churches, what would it take to plant 40?" Five years ago, Bob Buford, founder of Leadership Network, posed these questions to a group of pastors gathered for discussions on new approaches to church planting. Momentary silence was followed by broad smiles and animated dialog that continued throughout the day as the group dreamed big and brainstormed ideas. This conversation resulted in a five-year pilot project that included partnering with and supporting local churches with proven track records in church planting. Churches participating in the Burning Bush Project came to identify shifts in context, finances and priorities as necessary to experience a multiplication effect. The Burning Bush Project, as the pilot came to be called, would be about finding ways to enhance and accelerate successful planting initiatives, and also about moving to the next level by creating church multiplication movements here in the United States. By design, each participating leadership team had a unique approach and methodology to planting. Each leader's vision for planting would be embedded into a strategic plan complete with action steps, budgets, timelines, measurable outcomes and accountability. The selected local church leaders were already planting at least four or more new congregations each year. How could they significantly increase the number of new plants launched each year without compromising the viability and long-term health of the plants? The challenge to move beyond church planting to church multiplication would require making a radical shift in heart, mind and bottom lines. Most of the churches represented began with one new plant at a time but soon realized the pace was too slow. They needed to make the following significant philosophical and practical shifts in their approach and methodology... Shift #1-Context For these leaders, God's call to plant new churches overwhelmed old tendencies to focus on growing their own churches and gaining notoriety among their peers. For example, Bob Roberts, senior pastor of Northwood Church in Keller, Texas says, "Our church died a long time ago to being the biggest church in the area. We want to help church our area and beyond. We aren't starting churches for Keller or Denver or St. Louis. We are starting churches for the world. That's our context." Shift #2-Finances Significant resources were also shifted from the planting church to the new plants. Church planting comes at a high price both personally for the leader and for the body as they invest in Kingdom expansion. Leadership Connection Merges with Group Leadership Connection, which began as Leadership Network's Leadership Training Network (LTN) and has helped numerous churches mobilize and equip leaders for ministry throughout its history, is now merging with Group Publishing. Welcome Once Again! Leadership Network Advance, our newest e-publication, is coming to you twice each month. Click here for available back issues of Advance or its predecessors: Explorer and Into Action. When Good Deeds Lead to Good News Many externally focused churches employ the "funnel" model to help their members mature into volunteers that affect life changes, reports Alexandra McNabb in "Widening the Funnel in Externally Focused Churches." Zondervan and Jossey-Bass Publishing Initiatives Leadership Network has now inked multiyear, multi-title deals with both Zondervan and Jossey-Bass. Watch for Us in Leadership Journal Leadership Network creates a one-page "innovations" column for each issue of Leadership Journal published by Christianity Today, Inc. Catch the May 12 CCN Broadcast Church Communication Network presents "Worship in the Emerging Church" May 12, 2005. Upcoming Halftime Opportunities A Halftime Summit is scheduled for May 21 in San Antonio, Texas, at Alamo Heights United Methodist Church. Omaha, Nebraska's Grace University is the site for a June 2 Halftime Vision Casting. "Leadership Network is a great resource for connecting leaders to the best ideas and the best practices in the church day. Being a part of Leadership Community for the last two years helped Community Christian Church dramatically increase its redemptive influence. When I'm looking for new ideas or want to get connected to the best practitioners, one of the first places I go is Leadership Network." Dave Ferguson, Lead Pastor at Community Christian Church, Chicago, IL Did You Know? The largest 10% of congregations contain about half of all churchgoers.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05.htm Page 2 of 2 - from Mark Chaves' Congregations in America (Harvard, 2004) The Church of Irresistible Influence Irresistible believers and bridges of influence to the community are the central topics at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, May 10-12. Churches Starting Churches, July 15-17 The Wooddale Center, a ministry of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is hosting a weekend workshop in July with a second opportunity October 7-9. "If the culture changes, everything else changes, including the future," conclude the authors of Culture Shift. Strong pre-sales of Culture Shift prompted publisher Jossey-Bass to a second printing immediately after the April 8 release date of the new book written by Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro with Warren Bird.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05a.htm Page 1 of 2 MAY 10, 2005 High-Yield Church Planting Begins with Radical Shifts "You've planted one or two churches. Now what would it take to plant 10? And after you plant 10 churches, what would it take to plant 40?" Five years ago, Bob Buford, founder of Leadership Network, posed these questions to a group of pastors gathered for discussions on new approaches to church planting. Momentary silence was followed by broad smiles and animated dialog that continued throughout the day as the group dreamed big and brainstormed ideas. This conversation resulted in a five-year pilot project that included partnering with and supporting local churches with proven track records in church planting. The Burning Bush Project, as the pilot came to be called, would be about finding ways to enhance and accelerate successful planting initiatives, and also about moving to the next level by creating church multiplication movements here in the United States. By design, each participating leadership team had a unique approach and methodology to planting. Each leader's vision for planting would be embedded into a strategic plan complete with action steps, budgets, timelines, measurable outcomes and accountability. Churches participating in the Burning Bush Project came to identify shifts in context, finances and priorities as necessary to experience a multiplication effect. The selected local church leaders were already planting at least four or more new congregations each year. How could they significantly increase the number of new plants launched each year without compromising the viability and long-term health of the plants? The challenge to move beyond church planting to church multiplication would require making a radical shift in heart, mind and bottom lines. Most of the churches represented began with one new plant at a time but soon realized the pace was too slow. They needed to make the following significant philosophical and practical shifts in their approach and methodology... Shift #1-Context For these leaders, God's call to plant new churches overwhelmed old tendencies to focus on growing their own churches and gaining notoriety among their peers. For example, Bob Roberts, senior pastor of Northwood Church in Keller, Texas says, "Our church died a long time ago to being the biggest church in the area. We want to help church our area and beyond. We aren't starting churches for Keller or Denver or St. Louis. We are starting churches for the world. That's our context." Shift #2-Finances Significant resources were also shifted from the planting church to the new plants. Church planting comes at a high price both personally for the leader and for the body as they invest in Kingdom expansion. "It was a defining moment for me when I had to do a self-examination and humble myself," says Wayne Cordeiro, senior pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii. "You have to decide, 'Am I going to build a big church or build big people?' If you have a heart to build big people, you don't have trouble watching 1,500 people and $1.2 million walk out the door to become a church plant." In 2004, the 10 church planting churches of the Burning Bush Project planted 466 new churches in the U.S. and 266 internationally. Shift #3-Priorities Leadership Network observed over the five-year period of the Burning Bush Project that these local churches allocate anywhere from 20-100% of their annual budgets to church planting. The amount depends on whether the planting initiative exists as one budget area within the larger church budget or whether a separate nonprofit church planting organization exists alongside the local church. "You have to decide whether you believe planting new churches is a significant and valued priority," says Bill Wellons of Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas which has its own church planting leadership residency program. "There are a lot of other ways our church could spend that money. But we believe it is the best way to share the Gospel and raise up new leaders." Making a radical shift in heart, mind and bottom lines is only one part of the story of creating a church multiplication movement. In January 2005, the church planting leaders of the Burning Bush Project came together at a Leadership Network Briefing to share what they've learned along the way in creating and sustaining church multiplication movements in the U.S. Their observations have been captured by Andy Williams in the concept paper "Church Multiplication Centers: Best Practices from Churches that Do High-Yield Church Planting." We've summarized the first of four key learnings -- a radical shift in philosophy and methodology -- in this article. Future excerpts and summaries will address the remaining three -- creating a leader farm system and readiness assessment, leader training, and coaching and support. If you don't want to wait for the future installments, download the entire concept paper free at Leadership Network's Online Store.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05a.htm Page 2 of 2 Andy Williams authored "Church Multiplication Centers" from which Linda Stanley drew this summary.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05c1.htm Welcome Once Again! Leadership Network Advance, our newest e-publication, is coming to you twice each month. Click here for available back issues of Advance or its predecessors: Explorer and Into Action.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05c2.htm When Good Deeds Lead to Good News Many externally focused churches employ the "funnel" model to help their members mature into volunteers that affect life changes, reports Alexandra McNabb in "Widening the Funnel in Externally Focused Churches." McNabb explains that in the funnel model events become introductions to serving that then pull volunteers to tasks of greater commitment which leads to greater personal growth and deepening relationships. Perimeter Church of Duluth, GA, uses the funnel to illustrate how members are mobilized for community transformation. Leadership Network released "Widening the Funnel in Externally Focused Churches" in March to further unpack how prayer, compelling vision and an intentional process are needed for developing the externally focused paradigm.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05c3.htm Zondervan and Jossey-Bass Publishing Initiatives Leadership Network has now inked multi-year, multi-title deals with both Zondervan and Jossey-Bass. Leading the charge on both alliances is Publishing Director Greg Ligon, who has successfully managed several other key Leadership Network programs and strategies during his 8 years with the organization. Working closely with Greg to help shape the new programs is consultant Mark Sweeney, whose 30-year career includes stints as publisher at 3 major Christian publishing houses. The Leadership Network Innovation Series (Zondervan) will provide pastors and other church leaders with success stories, analyses and practical "how-to" resources for putting truly innovative ideas into practice. Equally exciting, the Leadership Network Publications imprint (Jossey-Bass) will deliver thoroughly researched and innovative concepts from preeminent thinkers, practitioners and pioneering churches. "Leadership Network has long been committed to bringing the best in innovation to as many pastors and church leaders as possible," says Tom Wilson, President and CEO of Leadership Network. "Drawing on the strength and expertise of these great publishing houses will obviously help us do so in powerful new ways. And as the appointments of Greg Ligon and Mark Sweeney show, we will be devoting substantial resources to make the most of this exciting opportunity for our authors-and our readers. " For the full press release, click here.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05c4.htm Watch for Us in Leadership Journal Leadership Network creates a one-page "innovations" column for each issue of Leadership Journal published by Christianity Today, Inc. The columns are available in both print and online. See page 11 in each Leadership Journal or click here for online links to the articles written by Warren Bird, Leadership Network's Director of Intellectual Capital Support: "Setting the House Afire," Spring 2004 "Faithful Friends: A Church that Loves Those with HIV," Summer 2004 "Not Your Mama's Church: A Multi-Ethnic Movement to Reach Leaders of the Next Generation," Fall 2004 "Fresh Plants in the City: Tim Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Are Making New York an Urban Church Planting Center," Winter 2005
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05c5.htm Catch the May 12 CCN Broadcast Church Communication Network presents "Worship in the Emerging Church: What Resonates with Post-Christian Generations" on Thursday, May 12, 2005. Where are all the 18-35 year olds? If you have ever looked into your congregation on a Sunday morning and asked that question, this seminar is for you! Join pastor and author Dan Kimball and worship expert Sally Morgenthaler as they give insights into the mind and heart-set of people who have grown up in a post-christian culture. You'll take away practical steps to create worship gatherings that connect. Featuring: Dan Kimball, pastor of Vintage Faith Church and author of Emerging Worship and Emerging Churches and Sally Morgenthaler, author of Worship Evangelism: Inviting Unbelievers Into the Presence of God Air date: Thursday, May 12, 2005 Times: Pacific 8:30 a.m. -11 a.m., Mountain 9:30 a.m. - Noon, Central 10:30 a.m. -1 p.m., Eastern 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. If you miss the event live, check out CCN's archives!
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05b1.htm Leadership Connection Merges with Group Leadership Connection, which began as Leadership Network's Leadership Training Network (LTN) and has helped numerous churches mobilize and equip leaders for ministry throughout its history, is now merging with Group Publishing. "We are excited to be joining forces with Group to further the message of building an equipping church. This is a truly win-win; for Leadership Connection, for Group, and most importantly for the kingdom of God. We will be able to accomplish much more together than either of us could have done apart, " Sue Mallory, Executive Director of Leadership Connection said in a recent press release announcing the change. As Leadership Connection merges with Group's Church Volunteer Central, Mallory will assume the role of Executive Consultant for Church Volunteer Central. The author of Equipping Church will bring her equipping expertise to the development of training resources including a national workshop tour in 75 cities beginning this fall, new volunteer leadership materials, and Advanced Institutes. For more information, check out the Leadership Connection press release.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05b2.htm The Church of Irresistible Influence Irresistible believers and bridges of influence to the community are the central topics at Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, May 10-12. Robert Lewis and Tim Lundy are the main session speakers for the three-day event that also includes breakout sessions on assimilating newcomers, children's and youth ministry, advanced strategic planning, small groups, worship and more. To register, click here.
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05b4.htm Did You Know? The largest 10% of congregations contain about half of all churchgoers. - from Mark Chaves' Congregations in America (Harvard, 2004)
http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may05b3.htm Churches Starting Churches, July 15-17 The Wooddale Center, a ministry of Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is hosting a weekend workshop in July with a second opportunity October 7-9. Learn a church-planting strategy designed for developing a significant core group that will increase the probability of success in starting new outreach oriented churches as you gather with other participants at Wooddale Church. Topics to be covered during the workshop include: Why Start New Churches, Barriers to Church Planting, and 7 Critical Success Factors. For more information visit their website or contact Jen Spickelmier at 952-656-1050. Founded in the fall of 2000, Wooddale Center is devoted to mentoring churches and church leaders in building healthy outwardly focused churches.