Our Story Launched in 2006 in Salmon Creek Elementary School September 2014 celebrates 8 years Formerly youth pastors in East Vancouver Our launch team consisted in total of 39 people 23 Adults 16 children Total Money before launch: $25,000 Total monthly budget for the first year: $6500 Launch Day Attendance: 134 End of year average attendance: 65 mark@coffeechurch.com 360-907-1387 Our Timeline June 2006- Began implementing launch plan Sept 2006- Vancouver launch in school Nov. 2008- Moved to rented building (old night club) January 2009- Broke 100 in average attendance April 2009- Launched youth ministry at our Vancouver campus Oct 2011- Broke 200 in average attendance Feb 2012- Acquired battle ground church and deaf church April 2012- Battle ground launch In one step was a merge/turnaround/multi-site Dec. 2013- Bought first facility for Vancouver campus March 2014- Launched youth ministry in battle ground August 2014- Baptized my oldest daughter Current Statistics Baptisms since launch: 136 people Current Average Attendance: 332 Multisite Campuses: Vancouver Battle Ground Battle Ground Deaf Church Leadership Team: 19 people Total volunteers: 163 Year Attendance Yearly Giving 2006 76 $52,292.00 2007 69 $116,981.00 2008 75 $121,877.00 2009 133 $136,940.00 2010 164 $177,804.00 2011 192 $223,085.00 2012 318 $437,425.00 *MERGE attendance/finances skewed 2013 308 $430,694.00 Page 1 of 5
Two important lessons I ve learned as a church planter 1. You have to be a relentless defender of your culture a. Pay attention to you Culture Culture impacts the effectiveness of the organization Culture not vision or strategy is the most powerful factor in any organization. It determines the receptivity of staff and volunteers to new ideas, unleashes or dampens creativity, builds or erodes enthusiasm, and creates a sense of pride or deep discouragement about working or being involved there. Ultimately, the culture of an organization particularly in churches and nonprofit organizations, but also in any organization shapes individual morale, teamwork, effectiveness, and outcomes. Chand, Samuel R. (2010-09-14). Cracking Your Church's Culture Code: Seven Keys to Unleashing Vision and Inspiration (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series) (Kindle Locations 197-200). Wiley. Kindle Edition. b. Recognize that there is a vast difference between your philosophy and your culture Philosophy is what you want to happen Culture is what actually is happening You want your culture to reflect you philosophy Andy Stanley- "Is what's on the wall happening down the hall?" c. You get to define your values... and then your values begin to define you Your Values help determine your culture How our values have shaped the culture of North Creek Honor Connect the win Celebrate Everything...whenever/however you can Tell people s stories Creativity Quality ministry without the big budget Timeless truths shared in a new framework Advertise your church in a positive way to your community Page 2 of 5
Authenticity Be open in your preaching and life Lead and be a part of your discipleship ministry and/or small groups Recognize that you are not the best in everything Be humble Family staff meetings on Sunday afternoons Prioritize childcare needs for every ministry Prioritize family needs over church needs Empowering Budget money towards values Give authority where needed Trust your people Don t lead out of policies 2. Focus on building a team Don t do ministry alone You can accomplish more with a team Exodus 18:17-23 17 Moses father-in-law replied, What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 21 But select capable men from all the people men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied. Your team will multiply your efforts and effectiveness Leviticus 26:8 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you. Page 3 of 5
1. Get as many people as you can invested in leadership God will bring them to you and it s your job to discover what s in them and equip them to be on the mission God has called you to 2. Create an encouraging culture for your leaders to succeed People want to feel like their efforts are making a difference 3. Focus on what s right Everyone s a 10 somewhere. Your job is to help people discover their gifts and place them where they will be most effective 4. Allow room for people to grow in their gifts Live by the principle of continuous improvements. Help people answer the question, What would I do differently? 5. See the best in people who may not see it in themselves Everyone plays an important part Other Lessons I wish I had time to share on Keep it simple. It gets complicated all by itself The nature of any organization will naturally drift to complicated. Your focus as a leader is to keep things simple. This will be more difficult than you can imagine! Everything is risky! You need to risk anyway We are on a journey of faith. Lean into the Holy Spirit and take the steps (Big ones and small ones) that he is asking you to take. You won t regret it! Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being certain of what you hope for, the evidence of things not yet seen Jesus grows your church! It s your job not to mess it up I am a firm believer that Jesus calls, prepares, and works through leaders. With that said, he is the only one who can make your church grow. You can do everything right and not see growth. A continued study of our roles as leaders and God s role as God will help keep you focused on what you are truly capable of doing and what only God can do. Stay true to your vision with conviction and courage. Every person who walks into your church will come with their own set of preconceived ideas of how the church should be run. Keep your vision out in front of your people and stand strong with conviction. Be ridiculously optimistic in the face of every challenge Challenges will come. Choose to be optimistic with a faith in the God of the impossible, a trust in the God who is faithful, and a reliance on the God who works all things for the good to those who love him. Page 4 of 5
Put down your insecurities and pick up your authority. As leaders, we are all insecure that is a fact. But we shouldn t lead out of our insecurity. We must realize the authority that God has given us to effectively do the work he has called us to. Bring quality people around you as team. Empower others to succeed and then celebrate their success; it becomes a reflection of your leadership. Never get comfortable We should always be working hard. Moving the mission forward in people s hearts and lives will take constant work. If accomplished well and people are on mission, there should be a new group of people (Christians) right behind you that you will start over with. We will rest in heaven! My Prayer for you! Jesus, I ask you to bless each person who is reading this. I am confident that you have directed them to this point of their journey. I pray for continued wisdom in their life to know what to do, and for the courage to then do it. May they tune their ears to what the spirit of God is saying to them and then walk whole-heartedly toward that vision with conviction and passion. Give them strength to endure the obstacles that lie ahead and resolve not to give up too soon. Protect them from that which will trip them up and disqualify them from the race you ve called them to run. Send them workers to come along side of them and help carry the load. Give them the resources they need, when they need it. Let them taste the fruit of their labor and celebrate their success. We thank you for the privilege of partnering with you to see lives changed. AMEN! Page 5 of 5