2015-02-07 Launch Team Training Handout for Movement Covenant Church (Staten Island NY), Pastor Steven Martino

1. EAST COAST CONFERENCE OF THE
EVANGELICAL COVENANT CHURCH
Launch Team
Training Day
Feb 7, 2015 • Staten Island, NY
Movement Covenant Church
www.themovementsi.com

2. Notes:
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 20152

3. Welcome & Intros
Leadership & Support
• Steve Martino, Lead Pastor
Movement Covenant Church
www.themovementsi.com
• Jason Condon, Director of Church Planting
East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church
www.jasoncondon.com
Group Intros:
• Share your name and what you love about where you live
• Why are you involved in or exploring the
Movement Covenant Church planting project?
• What do you hope to get out of today?
Opening Devotional
“Outsiders, Insiders, Friends, Family”
What are the four types of people typically drawn
to a new church community?
You become who you embrace, choose wisely!
• “Outsiders” - Matthew 12:46-50
confuse concern with control
• “Insiders” - Matthew 20:20-22a, 24-28
confuse position with purpose
• “Friends” - John 20:24-26, Matt 22:11-14 -
mostly positive; caution: don’t confuse sentiment with covenant
• “Family” - Matt. 12:50, Galatians 3:26-29 - mostly positive;
caution: don’t confuse membership with mission
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 3
Audio | Full Message
Version of Devotional
• http://archive.org/download/
OutsiderInsiderFriendFamily-
ChooseWisely/
OutsiderInsiderFamilyFriend-
ChooseWisely.m4a
• First presented Sat March 11,
2012 at combined Launch
Team Training Day for
Sanctuary Church,
Providence RI; Highrock
Northshore, Salem MA;
Highrock Quincy, Quincy MA

4. Our Larger Church Family
East Coast Conference
www.eastcoastconf.org
Our Mission: “Believing we are a movement of God, the mission of the
East Coast Conference is to Multiply Churches, Orchestrate Ministries,
Vitalize Congregations, and Empower Leaders”
Our Regional Mission Field
• Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island,
• Eastern New York, New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania,
• Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., and most of Virginia
Conference Staff
• Howard Burgoyne, Superintendent
• Jason Condon, Director of Church Planting (Assoc Sup)
• Kreig Gammelgard, Dir. of Congregational Vitality (Assoc Sup)
• Alicia Sturdy, Office Manager
• Robin Jones, Finance Manager
Quick ECConf Stats & Stories
• 83 total churches (120 projected by 2020)
• Oldest: 251 years old, St Paul's Wolf's Covenant Church, York, PA
• Newest: This one! (with 5-6 more coming this next calendar year)
• 20 current “church plants” (defined as churches under 10 years old):
"
1. Steve Martino, Movement Covenant
Church, Staten Island, NY
themovementsi.com (Jan 2015)
2. Drew Hyun, Hope Midtown, Manhattan
NY, hopechurchnyc.org (Fall 2014)
3. Dan Sadlier, Hope Roosevelt Island, NY,
hoperooseveltisland.org (Summer 2014)
4. Chris Bannon, The Commons ECC
churchofthecommons.org (April 2014)
5. Grant & Miho Buchholtz, Tokyo Life,
Japan (special partnership, Fall 2014)
6. Don Schiewer, Dust Covenant Church,
Blacksburg VA, dustchurch.com (Sept‘13)
7. Eli Hernandez, Charm City Covenant
Church, Baltimore MD
www.charmcity.cc (Aug 2013)
8. Kimberly Wright, Church of the
Resurrection, NYC,
resurrectionchurchnyc.com (Feb 2012)
9. Stephen Sharkey, Highrock Quincy, MA
highrockquincy.org (May 2012)
10.Aaron Engler, Highrock North Shore,
Salem highrocknorthshore.org (Feb‘12)
11.Drew Hyun, Hope Church NYC, Astoria
NY, hopechurchnyc.org (Feb 2012)
12.Andrew Mook, Sanctuary Providence RI
sanctuaryprovidence.com (Jan 2012)
13.Efrain Alicea, Elements, Bronx NY
www.elementsbx.org (Aug 2011)
14.MonyroorTeng, Sudanese ECC,
Manchester NH, Dinka & Arabic language
sudanesechurch.com (July 2010)
15.Michael Carrion, Promised Land
Covenant Church, Bronx NY
facebook.com/PLCChurch (July 2010)
16.Frank Catalano, Evergreen Covenant
Church, Sanford ME
evergreencovchurch.org (April 2008)
17.JoshThroneburg, Highrock Brookline,
MA highrockbrookline.org (Jan 2008)
18.Kiho Lee, Worship Frontier Church,
Brookline MA, Korean language
worshipfrontier.org (July 2008)
19.Derrick Jackson, Life Covenant Church,
Morganville NJ, lifecovenantchurch.org
(March 2009)
20.Jose Humphreys, Metro Hope, Harlem
www.metrohopenyc.org (June 2007)
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 20154

5. Evangelical Covenant Church
www.covchurch.org
Our Values: The “Four ALs”
Two historic questions early Covenanters asked:
• Biblical: “Where is it written?”
• Devotional: “How goes your walk?”
As they formed in the US, they chose
the name “Mission Friends”:
• Missional: “Are we pursuing Christ’s purposes?”
• Connectional: “Are we together in Christian community?”
Our Beliefs: Covenant Affirmations
www.covchurch.org/who-we-are/beliefs/affirmations
1. We affirm the centrality of the word of God
2. We affirm the necessity of the new birth
3. We affirm a commitment to the whole mission of the church
4. We affirm the church as a fellowship of believers
5. We affirm a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit
6. We affirm the reality of freedom in Christ
Our Mission: What We Do as the Covenant | Five Strategic Priorities
www.covchurch.org/what-we-do • video: Covenant Mission & Ministry 2013 [vimeo.com/50717463]
1. Make and Deepen Disciples
2. Start and Strengthen Churches
3. Develop Leaders
4. Love Mercy, Do Justice
5. Serve Globally
Table Discussion
• Which of these “family characteristics” resonates most with you?
• Why is it important to be connected with a larger family of faith?
• What are the challenges of not just being “independent”, but instead connected to something bigger?
Staying Connected
Take advantage of the many opportunities for connection, encouragement, and development. Examples:
• Online: eastcoastconf.org, facebook.com/eastcoastconf, flickr.com/ecconf
• Newsletter & Enews: Quarterly East Coast Covananter sent to your church, monthly Enews
• Congregations: Connect with area Covenant Churches (eastcoastconf.org/churches)
• Camp & Retreats: Pilgrim Pines for Family & Youth Camps, Retreats. pilgrimpines.org
• Cohorts & Events for Pastors, Church Planters, Youth Workers, Worship Leaders, etc. See
eastcoastconf.org/calendar for even more opportunities for pastors, leaders, & congregations
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 5
11 Regional Conferences form our larger mission

6. Vision & Values
Answers: “Who are we and where are we going?”
Zera* Verse: what is the biblical story of your new church community?
• “Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you
to walk worthy of the calling you have received”
– Ephesians 4:1-6 (HCSB) * Zera: Hebrew for “Seed”
Vision: what is the dream and destination?
• To be a Movement of committed followers of Christ
that love God and serve others,
growing in love and moving forward in purpose
Mission: what is the road map?
• Embracing the Lost
• Equipping the Saints
• Empowering for Purpose
Goal: To be the Hands, Feet, and Voice of the Living God in a Dying World
• Hands: actively take part in the community, serving with compassion and love (Mark 9:41)
• Feet: spread the gospel in this city and to the world (Mark 16:15)
• Voice: speak the truth of God’s saving word in love to all (Eph 4:15 John 3:16)
Values: What defines your church and its culture? Non-negotiables that help you
say “yes” and “no” to options and opportunities. God’s unique design.
communicate these often, clearly, and consistently in word & deed!
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 20156

7. Notes:
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 7

8. Four-Stage
Launch Process
Your first twelve months
as a church plant!
Purpose of Four-Stage Launch:
• Build missional momentum and effectiveness
• While having “permission” to focus and pace yourselves accordingly
Overview of Four-Stage Launch:
Timing & Benchmarks: Each stage is 3-4 months
with clear healthy, missional benchmarks
1. Stage 1 | Launch Team Development: gathering like-minded, diversely gifted,
missionally motivated people into a cohesive team
2. Stage 2 | Monthly Preview Worship Services: reaching and gathering more people
to the new church, developing effective ministry systems, practicing what you’ll become
3. Stage 3 | Weekly Pre-Launch Worship: continuing to reach and gather,
refining the ministries, getting the systems right, acting “as if ”
4. Stage 4 | Grand Opening Launch: launching for accelerated growth and impact,
unfettered outreach & evangelism, robust ministry systems
Four Scenarios for Adaptation
1. New Church Plant: from scratch, not pre-existing ministry
2. “2.0” Church Plant: pre-existing ministry, new to
Covenant, ranges from soft relaunch to hard reset
3. New Campus: extending church’s pre-existing ministry to a
brand-new location or venue
4. New Worship Service: multiplying worship services
(new times, different rooms, new styles, etc)
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 20158
Reflection:
• what scenario (or blend) best
represents your project?
what are its advantages?
disadvantages?
• what caution or mistake
resonates most?
• what do you dislike about
the Four-Stage Launch idea?
(be honest :)
• what’s just one way it might
be extremely helpful?

9. Cautions & Common Mistakes
• New Church Plants (and sometimes Campuses or Worship Services):
• go too fast, skimp on key components
• downplay or ignore benchmarks
• “2.0” Church Plants (and sometimes Campuses or Worship Services):
• assume “regular attenders” = “Launch Team”
• don’t make the “hard asks”
• don’t revisit foundational principles
Four Key Metrics:
each is a blend of qualitative & quantitative measures
1. Discipling Relationships: Those who are intentionally receiving discipleship, with the
commitment to disciple others when ready, for the ongoing reproduction of disciple-making
disciples (Note: this is a new metric we’re intentionally tracking, still developing best-practices)
2. Launch Team Members: Specifically asked to commit to the church plant launch, the reliable
leaders and workers, count on each other (balance of quality and quantity)
3. Worship Attendance: Through prayer, evangelism, invitation, events, marketing, follow-through,
and more, reach or surpass goals for each stage (emphasis on quantity, care for quality)
4. Key Ministries: Deploy Worship, Children, Hospitality, Follow-up & Connection, Small Groups,
Evangelism & Outreach (or others). Improve “letter grades” throughout each stage
(emphasis on quality, care for quantity/capacity)
Suggested Launch Timeline & Benchmarks for Movement Covenant Church
KEY: DR = Discipling Relationships, LT = Launch Team Members, WA = Worship Attendance, KM = Key Ministries Quality Letter Grade
Discussion & Questions
•
•
•
•
STAGE:
LaunchTeam
Development
Soft Launch/
Preview Worship
Pre-Launch
WeeklyWorship
Hard Launch/
“Grand Opening”
Post-Launch Q1:
Depth & Stability
Post-Launch Q2:
Outreach & Growth
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
DR: 8 8 8 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
LT: 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 70 70 70 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
WA: N/A N/A N/A 80 100 120 90 110 125 150 130 130 130 135 135 160 140 140
KM: C C+ B- B B B+ B+ B+ B+ A- A- A- A- A- A A A A
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 9

10. Leadership
Reproducing leaders that effectively
lead, serve, and multiply
2-2-2 Principle (from 2 Tim. 2:2)
1. 1st Generation: Paul → Timothy
2. 2nd Generation: Timothy → “Reliable People”
3. 3rd Generation: “Reliable People” → “Others”
4. 4th Generation: “Others” → ...
Recognizing Potential Apprentices
The Must-Haves:
• Spiritual Velocity (what’s their movement/direction, not just position in relation to Jesus?)
• Teachability (are they open to being developed and sharpened?)
• Relational Intelligence (do they get people, do people like them?)
The Bonuses:
• Missional (are they willing to sacrifice for God’s mission?)
• Discerning (can they wisely discern things in people and situations?)
• Inclusive (do they love to bring people alongside them?)
• Biblically Knowledgeable (strong grasp on God’s Word?)
5 Steps of Leadership Development
1. I do. You watch. We talk.
2. I do. You help. We talk.
3. You do. I help. We talk.
4. You do. I watch. We talk.
5. You do. Someone else watches. You talk…
* Ideas and highlights on this page adapted from the Apprentice Field Guide,
created by Community Christian Church. Updated version available at www.lulu.com/spotlight/bigidearesrouces
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201510
3 Question at each
debrief (“We talk.”)
• What worked?
• What didn’t work?
• How can we improve?
“And the things you
have heard me say in
the presence of many
witnesses entrust to
reliable people who will
also be qualified to
teach others.”
~ The Apostle Paul
to Timothy
(a seasoned church
planter to a younger
church planter,
2 Timothy 2:2)

11. The Six Christian Leadership Styles
Created by Dave Olson, Evangelical Covenant Church,
More resources and info available at SixStyles.org
Metaphor: The Leadership Stool
• All Three Legs are required
• The Seat provides strength & stability
• Legs should be near the same length
• Problem: no one has all in equal length
Spirituality:
• commitment to deep spiritual transformation that
brings about the life-changing work of God in people
• Biblical insight and passion
• Devotions and intimacy with God
• Authentic self-revelation
• “PRAY”
Chemistry:
• creates an inviting relational atmosphere within your church
that connects people to God’s community
• Personal relationships
• Small group dynamics
• Leading large gatherings
• “PLAY”
Strategy:
• creates process of sequential actions that produce
fruitful ministry in line with God-directed goals.
• Ability to anticipate tomorrow
• How to get from point A to point B
• Delegation and administration
• “PLAN”
10min | TEAM TIME:
self-select into the three groups around the room
• What are our strengths & weaknesses?
• What about us annoys each other? :-)
• How should we communicate and interact
with each other and show we value other styles?
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 11

12. Understand Your Leadership Style
There are Six Leadership Styles 1
(see diagram next page)
1. Relational Leader
• Leadership Sequence:
CHEMISTRY - Spirituality - strategy
• APEST 2 Type is often: Shepherd (Pastor) -
interpersonal intelligence helps them connect
to people in a warm and caring manner.
2. Inspirational Leader
• CHEMISTRY - Strategy - spirituality
• APEST: Evangelist - social intelligence helps them
connect with people, especially in crowd context
3. Sacred Leader
• SPIRITUALITY - Chemistry - strategy
• APEST: Teacher - their greatest gift to the church is
communicating to people the deep things of God
4. Imaginative Leader
• SPIRITUALITY - Strategy - chemistry
• APEST: Prophet - like to look to the future and call the
people of God to become who God created them to be.
5. Mission Leader
• STRATEGY - Spirituality - chemistry
• APEST: Apostle - ability to lead the mission of God into
the future, through the development of ministries,
ministers (both professional & lay), and mission endeavors
6. Building Leader
• STRATEGY - Chemistry - spirituality
• APEST: Apostelist (hybrid of an Apostle & Evangelist) -
primary love is growing the church or organization they
serve, while simultaneously making it better and stronger.
Pragmatic visionaries that focus on strategy and structure,
they typically stay in a location for extended times, never
tire of creating “more” and “better”
1 More details at www.sixstyles.org. Your pastor can get online survey links specifically for your church
2 APEST = shorthand for five-fold gifts of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Shepherd (Pastor), & Teacher
found in Ephesians 4:11-12. Dave Olson contends these often align/overlap with Six Leadership Styles.
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201512
“So Christ himself gave
the apostles, the
prophets, the
evangelists, the pastors
and teachers, to equip
his people for works of
service, so that the body of
Christ may be built up.”
~ Paul (Ephesians 4:11-12)
Implementation in a
church context
• Mission Leader (Apostle)
sets the Agenda
• Imaginative Leader
(Prophet) analyzes the
Target (the Culture)
• Inspirational Leader
(Evangelist) leads People
to Christ
• Relational Leader
(Pastor) disciples the
Converts
• Sacred Leader (Teacher)
lays (reinforces) the
Scriptural foundation
• Building Leader
(Apostelist) grows the
Church
~ Johannes Reimer,
New Testament Scholar

13. Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 13
Complementary,
Styles
Complementary,
Styles
Complementary,
Styles
Sacred
Leader
Inspirational
Leader
Imaginative
Leader
Mission
Leader
Building
Leader
Relational
Leader
TheImaginativeLeaderisgifted
byGodtointeractpowerfullywith
aninnovativevisionfromGod,then
leadpeopletostepoutinfaithand
liveoutthatnewwayofbeingthe
peopleofGod.
Strongest7in
Spirituality
Strongest7in7
Chemistry
Strongest7in7
Strategy
TheBuildingLeaderisgiftedby
Godtostrategizeforgrowth,
enlistotherleaders,andthen
togetherleadthewayinenlarging
themissionofGod.
TheInspirationalLeaderisgifted
byGodtoconnectpowerfullywitha
crowd,andmotivatethemtofollow
Jesus,byencouragingthemto
engageinthemissionofGod.
TheRelationalLeaderisgiftedbyGod
toconnectemotionallywithindividuals,
andinspirethemasagrouptofollow
Jesusandloveeachother.
TheSacredLeaderisgiftedbyGod
toconnectspirituallywithpeople,
andencouragethemtogrowdeeper
withGod,whilebringingattentionto
thevoiceoftheHolySpirit.
MissionLeaderisgiftedbyGodwith
spiritualvisiontoforeseewhatisneeded
intheimmediatefuture.MissionLeaders
callpeopletofollowadeeperGospel,
whilemultiplyingdisciples,expanding
ministriesandstartingnewventures.

14. The Six Primary Roles of Christian Leaders
1. Relational Leader Love.........
2. Inspirational Leader Motivate.....
3. Building Leader Grow...........
4. Mission Leader Multiply...........
5. Imaginative Leader Create.....
6. Sacred Leader Deepen
............
The Six Hidden Needs of Christian Leaders
1. Relational Leader Need for attention, Need for affirmation.........
2. Inspirational Leader Need for power, Need for attention.....
3. Building Leader Need to over-work, Need for power...........
4. Mission Leader Need to over-innovate, Need to over-work...........
5. Imaginative Leader Need to be right, Need to over-innovate.....
6. Sacred Leader Need for affirmation, Need to be right
............
The Six Intelligences of Christian Leaders
1. Relational Leader Interpersonal Intelligence.........
2. Inspirational Leader Social Intelligence.....
3. Building Leader Organizational Intelligence...........
4. Mission Leader Strategic Intelligence...........
5. Imaginative Leader Cultural Intelligence.....
6. Sacred Leader Intrapersonal Intelligence............
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201514

15. Notes:
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 15

16. Stage 1: Launch Team Development
What is a Launch Team?
Simplest Definition: The ones that show up and get it done.
• Highly committed leaders and hard workers who will pray, sweat, laugh, cry, grow,
and bleed together for the church planting mission to which God has called them
• As the Pastor, you can rely on them
• As the Launch Team, you can rely on each other
Purpose: build, assist, provide, become, create, protect
• Invite Others
• Evangelism
• Develop Key Ministries
Gathering
Where will these people come from?
• pray, pray & pray some more! (Ask the Lord of the harvest…)
• work, work, & work some more! (faithful with the little things…)
• Parenting Churches, Partnering Churches, and Strategic Networks
• tap into, partner, and network with existing churches & organizations
• organize and execute well targeted gathering events (vision desserts, open house, picnics/bbqs,
service projects, etc.)
Team Mix
• Roughly 1/3rd each: Committed Christians,
Unchurched Christians, New Christians/Seekers
• reflective of your target (multi-ethnic, 18-30 yr-olds, etc.)
• balanced gifting (musical, kids, hospitality, admin, etc.)
Training Best Practices
• Teach the Vision - “T-Shirt Test” (succinctly communicate its essence)
• Key Ministries Teams – break the group into your 5 or 6 teams
• Pray and Practice - reduces fear, builds skills, increases success
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201516

17. Cautions
Launch Team Landmines
• “tasks not titles” (proven faithfulness and effectiveness)
• “process not promises” (clear leadership development path)
• faithfulness and fruitfulness need to be demonstrated
• Three “Highly” people to watch for and respond accordingly:
• Highly Controlling
• Highly Needy
• Highly Missional
Agenda Harmony: How do we keep this group together?
• critical to have clearly defined DNA, mission and vision that are Biblically based (cf. earlier session)
• planting pastor must be the champion, custodian, and defender of the mission, vision, and values
• out-counseling poor fits is a necessary leadership task
• self-selecting out is a mature response if the church plant is not a fit
Benchmarks
• minimum 30 committed, gifted adults
• 50% of Launch Team from new contacts
• planter is seen as the legitimate leader of the group
• increasing number of people contacted, coming, and connecting with the group with growing
enthusiasm
15min | TEAM TIME:
Use poster paper if helpful...
• Evaluate:
• What is the current make-up of your Launch Team?
• What would God have you do to build a stronger Launch Team?
• Strategize: Create initial strategy for reaching 40-50 people total
• often a 4:1 ratio or more, so probably need to connect with 150 people at least
• Put real names and real networks on the list (as much as possible)
• Pray for your list
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 17

18. Stage 2: Soft-Launch/Preview Worship
Question:
What is one of the big mistakes church planters and Launch Teams make early on?
Goals
• accelerating growth
• continue to build momentum to more fully express what your church is becoming
through public worship, and expanded attractional & incarnational ministries
Benchmarks
• 75-125 at each monthly worship service (build momentum)
• 50 new people attending each preview service
• strong word-of-mouth: over half of guests from personal invitation
• roughly double size of the Launch Team
The ‘W’
Reasoning behind the ‘W’ Rhythm
• for most, gathered worship is the high-bandwidth
High Point of their experience of God and his
community at a new church
• but there’s a tension, especially early on, also need
Depth with Launch Team development, training,
and small group experiences
• yet both “extremes” can overshoot many people you
hope to reach, so also need some more accessible
Middle Ground to make friendly connections
Repeating Cycle:
• each type of gathering is “open” (preview worship, launch team meeting, gathering event, etc)
• purposefully invite people to each type of gathering (may invite different people, different
ways, for each portions)
• at each type of event also invite people to the other events
• should always be casting vision, calling to commitment, and inviting each time, adjusting
appropriately to setting and audience
• Note: See Benchmarks from Suggested Launch Timeline on p.13
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201518
Wk 1:
Preview
Worship
Wk 2:
Launch
Team Mtg
Wk 3:
Connection
Event
Wk 5:
Preview
Worship
Wk 4:
Launch
Team Mtg
MONTH 1 MONTH 2 …

19. Example ‘W’ Rhythm
• Worship: music, message, related key ministries, vision casting, a vital invite opportunity to the
following weeks (invite at each)
• Launch Team Mtg 1: orientation, bible study, vision-casting
• Gathering Event: picnic, bbq, service project, bowling, etc.
• Launch Team Mtg 2: prep key ministries teams for next Preview
• Worship: like Week 1, only improved upon, more new people, etc. (rinse, repeat!)
• Note: the same principles can be applied to either condensed or stretched-out time-frames
Applications
• Brand-new Plants & Campuses: fairly straightforward, though variations are possible (e.g.
Preview Worship every other week, stretch out over summer lows, etc.)
• “2.0” Church Plants: had already been meeting weekly, usually bi-vocational pastor now full-time
• Turn weekly meeting time into a feature, leveraging the existing structure and strengths…
but still honor the principles!
• Build the rhythm and emphases into your weekly gathering, treat each gathering purposefully
• Launch of Any New Ministry Area: principles really works across a wide variety of applications
Quick Table Discussion
• What struggles might you face with the monthly worship concept
and execution with your group or in your context?
• Done well, what benefit will it bring?
‘W’ Scenarios for Movement Covenant Church
• Q&A and Discussion
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 19

20. Stage 3: Pre-Launch Worship
Natural continuation of Stage 2, with freedom to tweak, improve, and overhaul as
needed (plus, people are far more forgiving when it’s labeled “Pre-Launch” :)
Goals:
• move from monthly to weekly rhythm of public worship services
• develop more strength and structure through vital ministry teams and effective systems
• strengthen and improve your Key Ministries
• strengthen gathering and growing prior to Launch
• develop leadership and volunteers
• finalize Grand Opening Launch Strategy
Benchmarks
• minimum of 80 in the worship services (75 is the enemy!)
• improve quality of Key Ministries from B to B+/A-
• increasing number of people serving in ministry teams
• 50% of adults in “small groups”
Stage 4: Hard Launch/‘Grand Opening’
Culmination of the first three stages,
with Movement Church ready to go “fully public”
Goals:
• launching strong (qualitative)
• launching large (quantitative)
• letting the entire community know we’re here!
• Help assure sustainability and growing Missional Impact for
future generations
Benchmarks
• Launch past 125 in Worship, stay above 125 throughout
• Key Ministries with letter grades at B+/A-
• Great facility that can accommodate growth to 200+
• Seeing increasing #s coming to Christ and connecting
• Healthy Mix: 1/3 mission-minded,
1/3 formerly de-churched,
1/3 formerly un-churched
(these are rough generalities, not hard-and-fast percentages. YMMV :)
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201520
Launching Large,
Launching Healthy
• Contextualize: What might
launching large look like for
Movement Covenant
Church?
• Brainstorm: What might
you do to launch large
enough and healthy enough
to have greater missional
impact in your community
• Strategize: What specific
action steps still need to be
done to launch large in your
setting? Who will be
responsible?

21. Helpful Congregational Growth Equation
Net Growth = [ Visitor Flow × Retention Rate ] – Backdoor Loss
• Visitor Flow = how many first-timers experience the church
• Retention Rate = percentage who become regulars at least for awhile
• Backdoor Loss = how many eventually leave for any reason
Additional Thoughts:
• pay attention to each of those variables so you know what’s working & what needs improvement;
this applies to worship services, small groups, etc. - any “ministry” that should grow through people
• easy to focus on the wrong thing, so get beneath the “numbers”
• BIG Caveat: these are people, not soulless numbers; the “numbers” are merely a tool for fruitful
accountability and ministry insight. They are essential, but not sufficient to tell the whole story.
Scenario 1:
• [10 visitors/mo × 20% Retention] - [2 leave/mo]
= 2 stay/month - 2 leave/month = 0 Net Growth
• Possible Interpretation: 20% is actually a fairly good retention rate and 2/month
departing isn’t bad either, therefore increasing the number of visitors (through prayer,
invitation, evangelism training, hospitality, etc.) will likely increase Net Growth
Scenario 2:
• [20 visitors/mo × 10% Retention] - [2 leave/mo]
= 2 stay/month - 2 leave/month = 0 Net Growth
• Possible Interpretation: 10% isn’t great for retention, though 2/month departing
isn’t bad. For some reason people aren’t coming back and getting connected.
Evaluating hospitality, facility, spiritual vitality, quality of programming, etc. might
reveal ways to improve that retention rate to increase Net Growth
Scenario 3:
• [10 visitors/mo × 50% Retention] - [5 leave/mo]
= 5 stay/month - 5 leave/month = 0 Net Growth
• Possible Interpretation: Might be an urban area or college town with very
transitory population and lots of “churn” AND/OR church is great at “first
impressions” but lacks depth and growth opportunities. Depending on issues,
may need to really increase visitor rate while also working on back door loss
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 21

22. Extended Team Time &
Future Launch Team Exercises
work on one of the following, combine them, or make up your own!
Sketch out the Next 4-6 Months
one giant sheet for each month
• details will depend on what Stage you’re at now, but likely some combination of Stage 1 and 2
• flesh out a Launch Timeline and the ‘W’
• keep developing developing rhythms and strategies
• add details like dates, events, ideas, etc (take pictures to capture)
• look at key holidays, community events, and seasons on the calendar
that lend themselves to outreach, launching, community engagement, etc.
Normal & Natural Pathways
For Movement Covenant Church what are the normal and natural pathways for…
• Making Disciples that are maturing in Christ
• Evangelizing People so they come to a transforming faith in Jesus
• Reproducing Leaders that effectively lead, serve, and multiply
• Instilling a Stewardship Culture of generosity, sacrifice, & faithfulness. Stewardship Examples:
• placement of offering at end of service, clear explanation connecting with mission and vision
• online giving that’s done well and easy to use
• Offer Financial Peace University course once per year
• Multiplying Churches that are healthy, missional, and reproduce
Exercise: use one giant sheet for each “vital pathway”
full doc & full descriptions at: www.bit.ly/normalnaturalpathways
• Put down one idea for each, then more fully develop a couple.
• Which one will be easiest? Which one will be most difficult?
• Before the ‘Grand Opening’ Launch, flesh these out fully and revisit them regularly
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
• one giant sheet for each area (take pictures at end to capture)
• In what areas are you going strong? what needs work?
• What key resources do you have, what resources do you need?
• Where are your greatest opportunities? greatest threats?
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201522

23. Notes:
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 23

24. Resource List
Web Resources:
• www.jasoncondon.com/search/label/churchplanting - this is where Jason posts many of the
materials and resources for our East Coast Conference church planting efforts
• www.ChurchPlantingWiki.com - simple “historic” resource site compiled by Directors of Church
Planting across the Covenant - not pretty, tons of good content!
Related Books:
Church Planting
• Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers, Ed Stetzer & Warren Bird
(2010)
• Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement,
Dave Ferguson and Jon Ferguson (2010)
• The Permanent Revolution: Apostolic Imagination and Practice for the 21st Century Church,
Alan Hirsch & Tim Catchim
• Planting Fast-Growing Churches, by Stephen Gray (2007)
Congregational Vitality & Ministry Models
• Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations, Thom Rainer, Ed Stetzer
• Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church: Mandate, Mark Deymaz
• Hybrid Church and Deliberate Simplicity, Dave Browning
• Cracking Your Church's Culture Code, Samuel Chand
• Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny,
Ron McMillan, Al Switzler [notes: bit.ly/crucialconversationsnotes]
• Influencer: The Power to Change Anything [notes: bit.ly/influencernotes]
• Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne [notes: bit.ly/blueoceannotes]
Missional-Incarnational Ministry
• The Permanent Revolution: Apostolic Imagination and Practice for the 21st Century Church,
Alan Hirsch and Tim Catchim
• Resources from Mike Breen & 3DM (www.weare3dm.com), such as Building a Discipling Culture
and Multiplying Missional Leaders
• AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church, Hugh Halter & Matt Smay
• On the Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church, Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201524

25. Top Tens!
Top Ten Church Planting Maxims
10. You will be broken
9. Plant behind the plow. Prayer is the plow.
8. People are “polite” (*cough* lie) - don’t just believe them :-)
7. 75 is the enemy
6. You can’t plant from behind a desk (or computer screen!)
5. There’s no magic bullet
4. God is in the vision – the devil is in the details
(so don’t ignore the details and derail the vision)
3. Its the relational – not the technical
2. Isolation kills – connection gives life
1. It’s a God thing!
Reflection: Which of these maxims are hardest
for you to embrace? Most encouraging?
Top Ten Reasons for Starting New Churches
1. New churches needed because vast majority of Americans don’t attend church
2. New churches are more effective at conversion growth
3. New churches are the only truly effective way
to reach the growing ethnic populations in America
4. New churches are needed to stem the tide of
ideological moral erosion in America
5. New churches have historically been the best method
for reaching each emerging new generation
6. New churches give a group of connected churches
“market share” and greater influence in their community
7. New churches grow exponentially faster than established churches
8. New churches are a test laboratory for church leadership development
9. New churches are the research & development unit of God’s Kingdom
10. New churches provide excellent on-the-job training for energetic young pastors
Reflection: Which of these reasons resonates most with you?
Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 2015 | 25

26. Notes:
! | Launch Team Training Day • Movement Covenant Church, Staten Island, NY • East Coast Conference • Sat Feb 7, 201526
Go in Peace.
Thanks for being together and making
this a great Launch Team Training Day :)
Your ECConf Staff and Family of Churches
are praying for you, your neighbors,and the
vibrant church God has called you to plant!