Creating an Invite Culture - Highrock Quincy Retreat 2016-01-30Jason Condon
Workshop Handout from the Highrock Quincy Retreat 2016-01-30 at Pilgrim Pines Campground on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Creating an Invite Culture - Highrock Quincy Retreat 2016-01-30Jason Condon
Workshop Handout from the Highrock Quincy Retreat 2016-01-30 at Pilgrim Pines Campground on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Understanding Covenant Church PlantingJason Condon
Presentation with Q&A discussion introducing the principles and practices of Covenant Church Planting in Evangelical Covenant Church. Facilitated by Michael Carrion & Jason Condon at Midwinter 2015, Denver CO.
Regional Cohort Gatherings March 14 & 15, 2012Jason Condon
Topic: "Member Care & Church Governance" From the "Big Picture" Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Regional Cohort Gatherings Jan 11 & 12, 2012Jason Condon
Topic: "Seasons of Church Life & Ministry" From the "Big Picture" Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Regional Cohort Gatherings Aug 17 & 18, 2011Jason Condon
Topic: "Successful Fall Outreach" From the "Big Picture" Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
The "open source outreach" handout from the Artisan Church quarterly members and friends meeting ("The Gallery"). Designed for members to form small design teams to create their own unique approaches for effective outreach.
Understanding Covenant Church PlantingJason Condon
Presentation with Q&A discussion introducing the principles and practices of Covenant Church Planting in Evangelical Covenant Church. Facilitated by Michael Carrion & Jason Condon at Midwinter 2015, Denver CO.
Regional Cohort Gatherings March 14 & 15, 2012Jason Condon
Topic: "Member Care & Church Governance" From the "Big Picture" Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Regional Cohort Gatherings Jan 11 & 12, 2012Jason Condon
Topic: "Seasons of Church Life & Ministry" From the "Big Picture" Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Regional Cohort Gatherings Aug 17 & 18, 2011Jason Condon
Topic: "Successful Fall Outreach" From the "Big Picture" Regional Cohort Gatherings for church planters on the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
The "open source outreach" handout from the Artisan Church quarterly members and friends meeting ("The Gallery"). Designed for members to form small design teams to create their own unique approaches for effective outreach.
Basic strategic communication info, followed by an invitation to connect. Finishing with basics on FM Connect with features and timeline implementations.
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way
SBs – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
Homily: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday 2024.docxJames Knipper
Countless volumes have been written trying to explain the mystery of three persons in one true God, leaving us to resort to metaphors such as the three-leaf clover to try to comprehend the Divinity. Many of us grew up with the quintessential pyramidal Trinity structure of God at the top and Son and Spirit in opposite corners. But what if we looked at this ‘mystery’ from a different perspective? What if we shifted our language of God as a being towards the concept of God as love? What if we focused more on the relationship within the Trinity versus the persons of the Trinity? What if stopped looking at God as a noun…and instead considered God as a verb? Check it out…
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
Launch Team Training Workbook for Hope West Side Covenant Church, Manhattan NY
1. Launch Team Training
4-Stage Launch +
Your First 12 Months
Hope West Side Covenant Church
www.hopewestside.org
Sun Oct 1
2017
New York, NY
2. 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”
ECConf Staff • eastcoastconf.org/staff
• Howard Burgoyne, Superintendent
• Jason Condon, Director of Church Planting (Assoc. Sup.)
• Barbara Ettinger, Director of Discipling & Leadership
Development (Assoc. Sup.)
• Kreig Gammelgard, Director of Congregational Vitality (A.Sup.)
• Sandi Lee, Office Manager
• Robin Jones, Finance Manager
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
Quick ECConf Stats & Stories
• 98 Total Congregations (140 projected by 2025)
• Oldest: 254 years old, St Paul's Wolf's Covenant Church, York, PA
• Newest: This One! (tied with Brockton Covenant Church & Hope Jersey City :)
• 34 Current “Church Plants” (defined as congregations under 10 years old):
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of2 12
1. Dave Capozzi, Brockton CC, MA,
brocktoncovenantchurch.com (June 2017)
2. Mike Park, HopeWestside, Manhattan, NY
hopewestside.org (June 2017) [NCN]
3. Craig Okpala, Hope Jersey City, Jersey City
NJ, hopejerseycity.org (June 2017) [NCN]
4. Drew Hyun, Hope Midtown, Manhattan, NY,
hopemidtown.org (April 2017) [NCN]
5. Andrew Mook & Sarah Cowan Johnson
(exec. team), Sanctuary Eastside CC,
Providence RI, sanctuaryri.org (Jan ’17) [SCN]
6. Kevin Kokx, Nashua CC, NH,
nashuachurch.com (Dec 2016)
7. Kevin Brown, StillWaters CC, Newport News
VA, stillwaterschurch.org (May 2016)
8. Rick Jakubowski, Sanctuary North CC,
Providence RI, sanctuarynorth.org
(March 2016) [SCN]
9. Stephen Poore, Center Church ECC,
RichmondVA, centerchurchrva.com (Jan ’16)
10. Michael Han,Table Covenant Church,
FairfaxVA, tablecovchurch.org (Oct 2015)
11. FinneyVarughese, Hope Long Island CC, NY,
hopelongisland.org (Sept 2015) [NCN]
12. Phillip Beatty, Hartford City Cov. Church, CT,
hartfordcitychurch.com (July 2015)
13. Ezra Sohn, Disciples NYC CC, Queens NY,
disciplesnyc.com (March 2015)
14. Steven Martino, Movement CC, Staten
Island NY, www.themcc.nyc (Jan 2015)
15. Will & Becky Barnett (co-pastors/planters),
Highrock Acton CC, MA, highrockacton.org
(Dec 2014)[HCN]
16. Dan Sadlier, Hope Roosevelt Island CC, NY,
hoperooseveltisland.org (Dec 2014) [NCN]
17. Drew Hyun, Hope Midtown CC, Manhattan
NY, hopechurchnyc.org (Fall 2014) [NCN]
18. Chris Bannon, The Commons ECC, (April‘14)
Rochester NH, churchofthecommons.org
19. Grant & Miho Buchholtz, Tokyo Life CC,
Japan (special partnership, Fall 2014) [HCN]
20. Don Schiewer, Dust Covenant Church,
BlacksburgVA, dustchurch.com (Sept 2013)
21. Eli Hernandez, Charm City Cov. Church,
Baltimore MD, charmcity.cc (Aug 2013)
22. KimberlyWright, Church of the
Resurrection ECC, NewYork NY,
resurrectionchurchnyc.com (July 2013)
23. Stephen Sharkey, Highrock Quincy CC, MA,
highrockquincy.org (May 2012) [HCN]
24. Aaron Engler, Highrock North Shore CC,
Salem, highrocknorthshore.org (Feb‘12) [HCN]
25. Kristian Hernandez (DrewHyun,planter),
Hope Church NYC CC, Astoria NY,
hopechurchnyc.org (Feb 2012) [NCN]
26. Andrew Mook, Sanctuary Providence CC, RI,
sanctuaryri.org (Jan 2012) [SCN]
27. Efrain Alicea, Elements Covenant Church,
Bronx NY, www.elementsbx.org (Aug 2011)
28. MonyroorTeng, Sudanese ECC, Manchester
NH, Dinka&Arabiclanguage,
sudanesechurch.com (July 2010)
29. Michael Carrion, Promised Land CC, Bronx
NY, facebook.com/PLCChurch (July 2010)
30. Derrick Jackson, Life Covenant Church,
Morganville NJ, lifecovenantchurch.org
(March 2009)
31. Kiho Lee, Worship Frontier Covenant
Church, Brookline MA, Koreanlanguage,
worshipfrontier.org (July 2008)
32. Frank Catalano, Evergreen Covenant
Church, Sanford ME,
evergreencovchurch.org (April 2008)
33. JoshThroneburg, Highrock Brookline CC,
MA, highrockbrookline.org (Jan 2008) [HCN]
34. Jose Humphreys, Metro Hope CC, Harlem,
www.metrohopenyc.org (June 2007)
Three “Church Networks”
1. [HCN] = Highrock Church Network,
Greater Boston, highrock.org
2. [NCN] = New City Network of Hope
Church NYC, hopechurchnyc.org
3. [SCN] = Sanctuary Church Network,
Providence RI, sanctuaryri.org
3. 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
covchurch.org/what-we-do • video: Three Strand Strong / Mission & Ministry 2017 [vimeo.com/191034336]
1. Start and Strengthen Churches
2. Make and Deepen Disciples
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 being connected to something bigger and not just being “independent”?
Staying Connected
Take advantage of the many opportunities for connection, encouragement, & development | Examples:
• Online: eastcoastconf.org, facebook.com/eastcoastconf, flickr.com/ecconf
• Newsletter & Enews: Quarterly East Coast Covenanter 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/events for even more opportunities for pastors, leaders, & congregations
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of3 12
11 Regional Conferences Form Our Larger Mission
4. Overview & Review
Four-Stage
Launch Process
Your first twelve months planting!
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 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 | Preview Worship/Ministry Development: reaching and gathering more people
to the new church, developing effective ministry systems, practicing what you’ll become
3. Stage 3 | Soft Launch/“Full” Weekly Worship: continuing to reach and gather,
refining the ministries, getting the systems right, acting “as if ”
4. Stage 4 | Hard Launch/“Grand Opening”: launching for accelerated growth and impact,
unfettered outreach & evangelism, robust ministry systems
* time-frames may compress or expand as needed and for different situations and applications,
but there should still be meaningful “stages” with appropriate time, efforts, and build up
Scenarios for Adaptation
1. New Church Plant: from scratch, not pre-existing
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)
5. Discipleship-Centric/Missional Multiplication: heavily adapted, leveraging the principles, applying
for the “launching” of various components and initiatives
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of4 12
5. Cautions & Common Mistakes
• New Church Plants (sometimes others):
• go too fast, skimp on key components
• downplay or ignore benchmarks
• do too many things at the same time
• New Worship Service (or Venue/Site):
• don’t revisit and apply best practices from
church planting (eg. developing a Launch
Team, staging the ramp-up & roll-out, etc.)
• double the work with out doubling workers
• “It’s just another worship service, how hard
could it be?” - famous last words :)
• “2.0” Church Plants (sometimes others):
• assume “regular attenders” = Launch Team
• don’t make the “hard asks”
• don’t revisit foundational principles
• Discipleship-Centric (sometimes others):
• downplay or disregard role of “gatherings”
and medium- to larger-group dynamics
• subdued or absent pursuit of faithful & fruitful
“sustainability” within the model
• confusing “organic” with lack of structure,
goals, and godly effort
Discussion
• what scenario (or blend) best represents your project? what are its advantages? disadvantages?
• what caution or mistake resonates most? (you made it, avoided it, don’t believe it, etc!)
• what do you dislike or doubt about the Four-Stage Launch concept and approach?
• what’s just one way it might be extremely helpful?
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
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)
Examples of Suggested Timeline & Benchmarks:
Sunday-Centric/Launch Large Model (Traditional/Majority Approach in ECC)
KEY: DR=DisciplingRelationships,LT=LaunchTeamMembers,WA=WorshipAttendance,KM=KeyMinistriesGrade
Discussion & Questions
•
•
•
•
STAGE: 1.LaunchTeam
Development
2. PreviewWorship/
Ministry Development
3.SoftLaunch/“Full”Worship
(2x/mo→weekly)
4. Hard Launch/
“Grand Opening”
Post-Launch1:
Depth&Stability
Post-Launch 2:
Outreach & Growth
May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov
DR: 6 8 10 12 14 20 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
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 N/A
WA: N/A N/A N/A 80 100 120 90 110 125 130 135 150 130 130 130 135 140 160 150
KM: N/A N/A C+ B- B B B B+ B+ B+ A- A- A- A- A- A- A A A
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of5 12
6. Stage 1: Launch Team Development
What is a Launch Team?
Simplest Definition:
The ones who show up and get it done.
• Highly committed hard workers and leaders 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 this growing team
• 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…)
• Support Churches (Parent, Partner, & Mission Friends)
• Strategic Networks (para-church, non-profits, professional organizations, and more)
• Find Opportunities: tap into, partner, and network with existing churches & organizations
• Create Opportunities: organize and execute well targeted gathering events (vision desserts, open house,
picnics/bbqs, service projects, etc.)
Team Mix: Roughly “1/3rd” Each:*
1. Committed Christians
2. Unchurched Christians
3. New Christians & Seekers
• Reflective of Your Target (e.g. multi-ethnic, 18-30 yr-olds, etc.)
• Balanced Gifting (e.g. musical, kids, hospitality, tech, admin, etc.)
* particularly applicable to new church plant, but every application
needs healthy variety and representation - adjust accordingly)
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
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of6 12
“People are God’s method.
The church is looking for
better methods; God is
looking for better people.”
~ E.M. Bounds,
Power through Prayer, p. 13
7. Cautions
Launch Team Landmines
• “tasks not titles” - proven faithfulness and effectiveness
• “process not promises” - clear leadership development path (not promises of jobs/staffing/positions)
• faithfulness and fruitfulness need to be demonstrated
• Three “Highly” people to watch for and respond accordingly:
• Highly Controlling
• Highly Needy
• Highly Missional
• Extra Cautions for 2.0 Church Plants and New Initiatives: “regular attenders” ≠ “Launch Team”
you must make the “hard asks”; you must recruit, enlist, and infuse new Launch Team members into mix
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
• initial minimum of 40 committed, gifted adults before signing Covenant Agreement
• 50% of Launch Team from new contacts
• continually adding, growing, and maturing to 50-75+ through entire 4-Stage Launch
• planter is seen as the legitimate leader of the group
• increasing number of people contacted, coming, and connecting with the group with growing enthusiasm
and commitment
Launch Team Audit: Hope West Side Initial Launch Team
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 50-75 people total
• often a 3:1 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
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of7 12
8. Stage 2: Preview Worship/Ministry Dev.
Question: What’s one big mistake Planters & Launch Teams often make early on?
Goals
• accelerating growth while continuing to build momentum
• more fully express what your church is becoming through public worship and expanded
attractional & incarnational ministries (“come & see” + “go show & tell” - need balance of both)
Benchmarks
• 75-125 at each monthly worship service (build momentum from “low” to “high”)
• 50 new people attending each preview service
• strong word-of-mouth: over half of guests from personal invitation and investment
• roughly double the size of the initial Launch Team
The ‘W’
Wisdom 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, they also need
Greater Depth with Launch Team development, training,
and small- to medium-sized group experiences
• yet both “extremes” can overshoot many people you’re
called 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 upcoming events - always be casting vision,
calling to commitment, and inviting each time, adjusting appropriately to setting & audience
• Note: See Benchmarks from Suggested Launch Timeline
Temptations, Cautions, and Common Mistakes
• Rushing/Demanding Weekly Worship Services: succumbing to internal & external pressures and
expectations (real or imagined); “When will we be a real church?!”, “Can’t we just worship?!”
• Fake/Anemic ‘W’ Rhythm: do some of everything every time, nothing done with purposeful focus,
resulting in ineffective “mushy middle”; doing everything poorly at same time vs. one thing done well
• Short-Sighted/Short-Term Thinking vs. the long view over generations and eternity; are you planting
a centuries-long church or a worship service now? (especially when the “wait” is only weeks)
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of8 12
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 …
9. Example ‘W’ Rhythm
1. Worship #1: music, message, related key ministries, vision casting, a vital invite opportunity to the
following weeks (invite at each)
2. Launch Team Mtg #1: orientation, bible study, vision-casting
3. Gathering Event #1: picnic, bbq, service project, bowling, etc.
4. Launch Team Mtg #2: prep key ministries teams for next Preview
5. Worship #2: restart cycle (like Week 1), only improved upon, more new people, etc. (rinse, repeat!)
Note: these 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
• Approach might range from “soft reset” to “hard reset”
• 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
• strategically “shut down” weekly public worship for a season (4-8 weeks)
• clear opt-in process for Launch Team members (with other open activities for everyone)
• Discipleship-Centric: very adaptable to “launching” and rolling out various phases, key components,
and ministry initiatives
• Launch of Any New Ministry Area: principles really works across a wide variety of applications
(examples: launching youth ministry program, building up to annual outreach season, adding 2nd service)
Q&A and Discussion
• What struggles might you face with the ‘W’ rhythm, monthly worship concept,
and execution with your group or in your context?
• Done well, what benefit will it bring?
•
•
•
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of9 12
10. Stage 3: Soft Launch/FullWeeklyWorship
Natural continuation of Stage 2, with freedom still to tweak, improve, & over-haul 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 Hard Launch/“Grand Opening”
• develop leadership and volunteers
• finalize Grand Opening Launch Strategy
Benchmarks
• minimum of 80 in the now weekly worship services (“75 is the enemy!”),
then reach or surpass 120 in weekly worship services before Hard Launch/“Grand Opening”
(Note: easier to get people “once a month” vs. “every week”, need to work harder with larger pool of people)
• improve quality of Key Ministries from B to B+/A-
• increasing number and percentages 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
Hope West Side ready to go “fully public”
Goals:
• Launching Strong (Qualitative)
• Launching Large (Quantitative)
• Letting the Entire Community know we’re here!
• Help ensure Vitality, Sustainability, and
growing Missional Impact for future generations
Benchmarks
• Launch past 125 in Worship, stay above 125 throughout
• Key Ministries with letter grades in B+/A- range
• 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 :)
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of10 12
Launching Large,
Launching Healthy
• Contextualize: What might
launching large look like for
Hope West Side CC?
• 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 are still needed
to launch large in your
context? Who will do what?
11. 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
• 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
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of11 12
Looking Ahead
Key Missional Milestones
in Your First Five Years
Stewardship & Sustainability
1. Year 1: 130 in worship
attendance, 33% progress to
financial self-sufficiency
2. Year 2: 160, 66% towards
financial self-sufficiency
3. Year 3: 190, 100% financially
self-sufficient by time
Appropriations end
4. Year 4: 220, 105%,
preserving or using surplus
for parenting or partnering in
church planting
5. Year 5: 250, 110%, using
surplus for parenting or
partnering in church planting
Multiplication & Membership
• Years 4-5 Church Planting:
Parent or Partner with other
churches in the planting of
your first church plant
• Full Member Church:
With demonstrated missional
vitality, complete process to
become a full member
congregation in the ECC
12. Additional Church Planting & Outreach Resources:
Church PlanterTraining Intensive: Workbook, Materials &, and Resources
• Blog Post: www.jasoncondon.com/2016/10/cpti-09-2016.html
• Online Folder: goo.gl/NhfvSP
• Digital resources from our Church Planter Training Intensive held in Minneapolis MN, Sept 14-19, 2016,
plus gathered resources from several previous (and future) Trainings
Variety of Church PlantingTrainings with other East Coast Conference Church Plants
• Blog Posts: www.jasoncondon.com/search/label/training
• Variety of handouts and digital resources from several trainings with other East Coast Conference
Church Plants, including“Launch Team Training Day”and“Creating an Invite Culture”
Outreach Support Materials:
• Blog Posts: www.jasoncondon.com/search/label/outreach, including…
• “Open Source Outreach: Enlisting Your People for Fresh Outreach Ideas”
www.jasoncondon.com/2011/09/open-source-outreach-enlisting-your.html (now adapted for
“Creating an Invite Culture”training)
• “Outreach Print Materials: Tips & Tricks, Files & Resources”
www.jasoncondon.com/2011/09/outreach-print-materials-tips-tricks.html (nothing beats word-of-
mouth, but good branding and marketing materials can help reinforce and turbo-charge those efforts)
Additional Notes:
4-Stage Launch + Your First 12 Months | Hope West Side Covenant Church Launch Team Training 2017-10-01 | pg. of12 12