ARC Magazine - Volume 3 - Issue 1

A P R 2 0 1 8 vol. 3 - iss. 1

THE ASSOCIATION OF RELATED CHURCHES MAGAZINE

Building Trust Within Your Community p28

Living Beyond Ourselves p60 / Adaptive Authenticity p86 MANY FACES OF ARC

/

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

CONTENTS

A RC M A G A ZINE Volume 3 • Issue 1 • April 2018

The Official Publication of the

Association of Related Churches

VOL 3 - ISSUE 1 - APR 2018

p18 Where Are They Now?

Catch up with a few of our planters to find out more about their ministry.

p24

Taking a Burden Off

P UB L I S HE R S Shaun Ray

E DI T OR S

Greg Daily discusses their heart for the local church and how they come alongside pastors and leaders in ways of church accounting and business solutions.

by Emily Chenevert

Emily Chenevert

p26

Aly LaBorde

For Pastors Rafael and Jessica Paez, their challenge was completely unpredictable.

Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast about three weeks before their launch.

by Emily Chenevert

Lindsey Hansen

CON T RIBU T OR S Greg Brooks

Emily Chenevert Lindsey Hansen Lindy Lowry Shaun Ray

Dino Rizzo

DeLynn Rizzo Michael Smith Greg Surratt

Tori Townley

Jonathan Wiggins

DE SIGN & L AYOU T

The Value of a Coach

p28

Building Trust Within Your Community

One night, the Lord spoke to Pastor Pradeepan Jeeva in a dream, about a place called Bellevue, Washington.

by Emily Chenevert

p34 Leaving Well

ARC Pastors Casey and Stacy Henagan share their planter/sender insights for answering God’s call while honoring your sending church.

by Lindy Lowry

David Song

p 40

HO W T O R E A CH U S

The ARC Family consists of a growing network of leaders from all around the globe.

Association of Related Churches 1201 Lee Branch Lane

Birmingham, AL 35242 (205) 981-4566

info@arcchurches.com arcchurches.com

Many Faces of ARC

p60

Living Beyond Ourselves

For as long as he can remember, Pastor Jimmy Rollins has had a passion for helping people.

by Lindsey Hansen

p64 Beyond Sunday

Pastor Earl McClellan hopes to build a feeling of community by empowering his church through the language he and his team use each week.

by Emily Chenevert

p68 Reaching Houston Together

In a time of such crisis and tragedy, churches worked together in order to serve the community like never before.

by Lindsey Hansen and Tori Townley

p 84

Building the Kingdom

We recently asked the WIF team to share some of the most common questions they get from churches, as they begin thinking about their first or next building project.

by Lindsey Hansen

p 86

Adaptive Authenticity I will never forget the sense of total fear that gripped my heart when I held my firstborn child in my arms.

by Jonathan Wiggins

p 88

Leading the Way in Generosity

What if we gave a dollar to something outside the church, in our community, for every person who walked inside our church?

by Emily Chenevert

p90 How Your Church Can Love Your City When Dino Rizzo started leading outreaches, he didn’t have a lot of resources, but he understood Jesus’ “show and tell” strategy.

by Dino Rizzo

FIRST WORD

A NOTE FROM THE ARC TEAM

Together We Succeed Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed.

Ecclesiastes 4:9 (nlt)

WE WERE NEVER meant to walk through life alone. God wants us to find community with other believers. You may have noticed our “Better Together” theme this year. We truly believe that two are better off than one – as churches, as believers, and as people. ARC provides the opportunity for pastors and church leaders to build community with one another, to learn and grow from each other’s experiences, and to mentor and share the wisdom we have obtained.

Throughout this magazine, you will read story after story of how churches and pastors have come together to support one another. You’ll see pastors coming together to train new church planters, churches coming together to fund and serve disaster relief, and communities come together as they open the door to new church planters, and allow them to thrive in their city. All with the vision to bring the life-changing message of Jesus to hurting people.

We hope this magazine encourages you to be open to new ideas and look for opportunities to come along-side other churches, partners, and organizations.

We hope it inspires you to make a bigger impact in the lives in your community. Don’t do this alone. We are here to support you, and we are here to celebrate with you!

GREG SURR AT T President, ARC

ARCCHURCHES.COM

5

769

120

NU M BE R OF CHURCHE S A RC H A S L A UNCHE D T O D AT E , W OR L D W IDE * * as of March 2018

NU M BE R OF CHURCHE S A RC L A UNCHE D IN 2 017

123

21

COUP L E S T R A INE D IN OUR NE W L A UNCH P ROCE S S IN 2 017

CHURCHE S L A UNCHE D T HROUGH A RC GL OB A L IN 2 017

7M

$

DOL L A R S IN V E S T E D IN T O CHURCH P L A N T ING IN 2 017

6

APRIL 2018

100

%

P E RCE N TA GE OF PA R T NE R GI V ING T H AT GOE S DIR E C T LY T O CHURCH P L A N T ING

120+ CHURCHES PROJECTED TO BE TR AINED AND FUNDED IN 2018

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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STATE OF ARC

THE LATEST UPDATE FROM ARC

Room at the Table LET ME START by saying a huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in making this one of the greatest times to be part of ARC. We are in such a great place in the health of our team and leadership, and we are seeing some great churches being launched. We have recently planted churches in many places where we never have before, like Billings, Montana; San Francisco, California; Portland, Maine; Oahu, Hawaii; Boise, Idaho; and Anchorage, Alaska. In 2018, we are projected to train and launch over 120 churches. There are so many truly amazing couples in the process of being trained and prepared to launch in 2019. We now have planted life-giving churches in 70 of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. Six of those remaining cities have a planter couple on the ground, working toward their launch in the next year.

Our ARC President, Greg Surratt, said recently, “Destinations are important, but I’ve learned that who takes the journey with you is almost equally important.” It’s so true.

We have gotten to this point based on the strength of doing this with each other and with the favor of God. This family is rooted in God and in loving each other deeply. We stand on the shoulders of some tremendously great people who have led the way these past 17 years.

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APRIL 2018

Because you can continue to be part of the group or organization you’re in and at the same time be part of ARC, we’ve found that some of our greatest fruit grows on other people’s trees. We’re okay with that! We have found tremendous favor in partnering with other great organizations. Our vision is to plant life-giving churches in every community, and when we find someone else with a vision that coincides with that, we’re excited to partner together.

It is incredibly exciting, no doubt, when we think about all God has allowed ARC to do. We know that this means it is going to be all the more important that we work together as a family to steward these blessings. So, we have been working hard recently to bring clarity and to formalize exactly what it means to be part of the “ARC Family.” We are working to bring resources to you that are contextualized for you and your particular challenges.

We are also strategizing ways to make ARC more accessible to you. There is an incredible wealth of spiritual wisdom, rich experience, creative thinking, and supportive friendships within ARC. We want to make sure you get access to more and more of that wealth.

One of the greatest ways is through ARC Meet-Ups, which are happening across the

Work is happening on other strategies that will give ARC more presence and proximity to where you are. What we are isn’t limited to any single culture or type of community.

We want to keep growing in our ability to see and hear by being present where churches are being planted.

This is one that makes me so happy. We are developing a plan to open up a place at the table for you – a wide array of leadership opportunities that you, as a pastor or leader, can engage in and help us see all of these dreams happen. We’ve always had a big family table at ARC. Our heart is always to have a seat at the table for new family – for those who share the dream to see more life-giving churches planted.

Ultimately, ARC is a family that is here for you. We want to work together to help you reach your communities, however large or small, whatever the challenges your community brings, whatever the culture, whatever

the story – we want to help you bring another voice of hope and another light to shine for Jesus in that community.

STATE OF ARC

country. There have been over 500 meet-ups since we started hosting them, so the opportunities to get involved are endless. Pastors and leaders gather simply to connect – sometimes to talk church, sometimes just to enjoy being around friends who understand ministry, but always to build and strengthen relationships and encourage each other.

Check out arcchurches.com and look under Events to see what’s near you!

We want to see you healthy. You need to be healthy as a person, as a spouse, as a parent, and as a pastor or leader. If we can help you this way, we know that part of what will happen is that your church will have greater health, too. A healthy church, at some point, will reproduce. That is when we get to do what we do best – help you launch a new church in a new community that needs Jesus.

Our vision is still crystal clear: We want to plant life-giving churches in every community. What’s awesome is that this ARC Family really can do this. Together really is better. Whatever you do, don’t isolate yourself. Find your place in the family – this very wide family – this very open and inviting, fun and joyful, generous and compassionate, serving and honoring, boldly-loving, and deeply committed to the cause of Christ through the local church – ARC Family.

There is a place at the table for you.

Get ready, because by the grace of God, this ARC Family is about to see and do things we’ve only dreamed of until now, and hundreds of communities, thousands of families, and millions of souls will be given hope and get to go to Heaven because they met Jesus through a life-giving church.

DINO & DELYNN RIZZO Executive Directors, ARC

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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Launch T HE MIS SION

WE WANT TO SEE A THRIVING CHURCH IN E VERY COMMUNIT Y REACHING PEOPLE WITH THE MESSAGE OF JESUS. THANKS TO OUR A RC FA MILY A ND PA R T NE R S , W E H AV E BE E N ABLE TO ASSIST HUNDREDS OF COUPLES PL ANT CHURCHES NATION-WIDE AND FORM GLOBAL NET WORKS TO L AUNCH CHURCHES AROUND THE WORLD. PL ANTING LIFE-GIVING CHURCHES IS AT THE CORE OF ALL WE DO. WE ARE E XCITED TO CELEBR ATE E VERY SUCCES S A ND MIL E S T ONE A S T HE S E CHURCHE S GRO W, B U I L D , A N D M A K E A N I M P A C T O N T H E I R CI T Y.

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APRIL 2018

IN T HIS SEC TION

p18

Where Are They Now?

Catch up with a few of our planters to find out more about their ministry. p24

Taking a Burden Off

Greg Daily discusses their heart for the local church and how they come alongside pastors and leaders in ways of church accounting and business solutions.

by Emily Chenevert p26

The Value of a Coach

For Pastors Rafael and Jessica Paez, their challenge was completely unpredictable. Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast about three weeks before their launch.

by Emily Chenevert p28

Building Trust Within Your Community

One night, the Lord spoke to Pastor Pradeepan Jeeva in a dream, about a place called Bellevue, Washington.

by Emily Chenevert p34

Leaving Well

Pastors Casey and Stacy Henagan share their planter/sender insights for answering God’s call while honoring your sending church in ways that bring God’s blessing.

by Lindy Lowry

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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LAUNCH

Books to Read

5 Ways to Encourage Your Volunteers

EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP

by Michael Fletcher

by Life.Church

01.

02.

03.

0 4.

05.

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CONNEC T T HEM WIT H O T HERS. Help them meet other volunteers and develop relationships. Provide an opportunity for volunteers to get together before or after service, host volunteer events during the week, or provide a way for them to connect electronically.

I AM NUMBER 8

by John Gray

S AY T H A NK YOU OF T EN. Whether it’s face-to-face, in a text message, on social media, or in a handwritten note, thank your volunteer team.

PR AY FOR T HEM. Give your team an opportunity to submit prayer requests weekly, and gather your staff to pray for them.

WHO AM I?

by Jeff Little

SEE MORE IN T HEM T H A N T HE Y SEE IN T HEM SELV E S. Lead them to do more than they ever thought possible. Speak truth into their lives and encourage them to tackle something that scares them. As they continue to grow in their leadership, empower them to do more.

EMBR ACE FRIC TION. As your volunteer team grows, there will be friction and misunderstandings. You may be tempted to let things go so you can keep harmony on your team, but that’s not what’s best for your culture. Address issues directly but lovingly.

APRIL 2018

FAITH FORWARD FUTURE

by Chad Veach

Questions Your Worship Team Should be Asking

by Andy Chrisman

Global Worship Pastor, Church on the Move, Tulsa, OK

DID YOU L E A D PEOPL E IN T O A “FACE-T O-FACE” ENCOUNT ER WIT H GOD? Our ultimate job is to give people an opportunity to connect with Jesus through worship. If we don’t get this one right, it’s possible everything else was just noise.

W ERE YOUR T E A M S PREPA RED? Did they come musically, emotionally, and spiritually prepared? If not, how did you handle their lack of preparation? Did you pitch the vision and heart of the weekend effectively, or did you just expect your team to play the right notes? How will you pastor them this week?

HO W T HOROUGH WA S YOUR REHE A RS A L? Did you walk away from rehearsal confident that you were prepared for services? Did you leave anything to chance? Did you budget your time properly?

HO W WA S YOUR REL ATIONSHIP WIT H T HE PRODUC TION T E A M ? Did you communicate with them throughout the week? Were you on the same page all weekend? Were there any conflicts?

W ERE T HERE FL AW S IN YOUR SERV ICE PL A N ? Did you think through every part of your service - song keys, transitions, speaking moments?

W H AT WA S T HE AT TIT UDE OF YOUR VOL UN T EERS ? Did they feel appreciated? Were they each in the right seat? Were they the right team members for that weekend?

DID YOU SERV E T HE V ISION OF YOUR CHURCH ? Was excellence evident in every detail of your set? Did your team represent your church well? Did you meet the expectations of your leadership and pastor?

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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LAUNCH

10 Most Churched Cities*

10 Most Unchurched Cities*

(PERCENTAGE OF CHURCHGOING RESIDENTS)

(PERCENTAGE OF UNCHURCHED RESIDENTS)

Chattanooga, Tennessee (59 percent) Salt Lake City, Utah (59 percent) Augusta, Georgia (57 percent) Baton Rouge, Louisiana (57 percent) Birmingham, Alabama (56 percent) Jackson, Mississippi (55 percent) Paducah, Kentucky (54 percent) Montgomery, Alabama (53 percent) Greenville, North Carolina (52 percent) South Bend, Indiana (52 percent)

San Francisco, California (60 percent) Reno, Nevada (59 percent) Springfield, Massachusetts (57 percent) Boston, Massachusetts (56 percent) Las Vegas, Nevada (55 percent) Portland, Maine (54 percent) Redding, California (54 percent) Seattle, Washington (52 percent) Orlando, Florida (51 percent) Albany, New York (51 percent)

* According to a Barna Research study

4 Tips from a First-Time Church Planter

by Zack Harris

Lead Pastor, Life City Church, Highlands Ranch, CO

01.

02.

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If your vision doesn’t scare you, it may not be big enough. Dream big, and trust that God will show up.

Be on the same page with your spouse. If you’re married, both spouses need to be all-in—both of you have to be called to ministry.

APRIL 2018

03.

0 4.

Give things away to other leaders!

Empower other people to lead and make decisions on your behalf.

If you’re not willing to “bet the farm,” you shouldn’t do it. If you aren’t willing to give everything for your calling, you may want to reconsider.

What to do When Experience Fails to Meet Expectation

LAUNCH

Events to Check Out

by Meghan Robinson

Pastor, The Movement Church, Lake Forest, CA

PR AC TICE A N AT TIT UDE OF GR ATIT UDE. When we pause to think about all of the great things God has done in our life, it changes our perspective.

NIGHT OF HOPE Brooklyn, NY July 13, 2018

Celebrate the little wins along the journey: the time you were able to spend with a loved one, the deeper understanding of the Word because you clung to it for dear life, the divine provision because you were in the right place at the right time, the one who said yes to Jesus because you said yes to starting the church or leading the connect group.

Recognize that the problem may actually be the provision.

The struggle will become your story. God will give purpose to your pain.

Remember, God is never late but He is never early. He is always right on time!

YOUTH AMERICA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Oklahoma City, OK Nov 8-10, 2018

SURRENDER T HE IL L USION OF CON T ROL . Faith is all about the journey, not the destination. Our expectation does not meet our experience when our hope is in our plan, or our dreams rather than in our God! Make the plan, work the plan, but release the plan. God will ultimately direct your destiny and His plan is more challenging, takes a little bit longer, but is always much more extravagant!

Remember, God is all about the journey. What He is doing in you is equally important as what He will do through you! Be patient with the process.

THE ONE CONFERENCE Nov 14-15, 2018

K EEP DRE A MING, K EEP PR AY ING, K EEP BELIE V ING. Place your expectation in who God is, not just what He will do.

Don’t quit before you see the story unfold. He is working on your behalf even now!

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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The Difference Between Vision & Faith

by Jeff Leake

Lead Pastor, Allison Park Church, Pittsburg, PA

If you ask anyone, “What are the qualities of a great leader?” on the list of responses, you almost certainly will get “vision” as an essential to effectiveness. Certainly, this is true. Leaders help to define the future for us. They see the possibilities of what can be. Then they paint the picture of this preferred future to us. When we see the vision, we are compelled to act differently, to get involved, and/or to sacrifice to see the realization of whatever was portrayed to us by this visionary leader.

A visionary leader is powerful. But a visionary leader acting in faith is even more unstoppable.

Why? Vision is based on what we can imagine possible based on our own thoughts and capacities. Faith is based on what God has promised to do. It is based on what God has imagined is possible and what His power alone can accomplish.

Leading out of faith requires a few things: DISCERNMEN T. I have to get alone and tune in to the voice of God to hear what He has to say about that which He has given me charge to lead. This is why we fast and pray during certain seasons of the year, because we want to clear out the clutter and the noise so that we can hear better.

V ISION. This is where the visionary process begins for a spiritual leader. Now we begin to imagine how the world will be different when God uses us to do what He promised to do.

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AGREEMEN T. When we hear from God, we have to say, “Yes.” Our will aligns with His will as we say, “Yes,” to what He has promised.

DECL A R ATION. Once we hear it and see it, we need to speak it in faith.

AC TION. As we speak it, we lead the way in helping others to step out and act in persistent faith until the word God has given us has now become a fully expressed reality.

The Lifeblood of Any Church

by Miles McPherson

Senior Pastor, Rock Church, San Diego, CA

Wherever you are in your church plant – pre-launch, launch, or post-launch – I want to encourage you to lead your church to seek out the dark places in your community, and find ways to bring hope and light. Below, I share a few practices that I believe are essential to effective and passionate outreach.

ME A SURE T HE PAIN IN YOUR COMMUNIT Y. When Jesus said that we would have power when the Holy Spirit comes on us, and be His witnesses, He basically said, “I’m going to empower you to be hope in hopeless places, and to be light in dark places.” To me, that’s outreach. So it’s very important for church planters to understand the condition of their community, which will help you understand the needs that God has put you there to address.

CA S T V ISION FOR OU T RE ACH. Use announcements to share stories, video, or testimonies about people whose lives have been transformed. You can also talk about the stats of pain in your city and the streets, alleys, strip clubs, and the group homes where that pain is. Bring the manager of a group home on stage, or your police chief or mayor, to talk about needs in the community.

M A K E IT DOA BL E. After you’ve communicated the needs in creative ways, make it doable by getting specific: “We need 10 people to mentor these kids in the foster home.” People understand practical needs and by identifying the specific need, you give them what they need to say, “I can do that today.” We have over 100 ministries that are self-funded by people who have said, “I can do this.” It’s the lifeblood of our church – of any church.

K EEP OU T RE ACH T HE M AIN T HING. The nature of a church itself is outreach. If a church doesn’t see outreach as their purpose, then they’re not a church. They’re a Bible college. The very fact that you exist – to preach the gospel to people who are lost – is outreach. What do we exist for, if not to reach people who don’t know Christ?

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

AN UPDATE ON ARC LAUNCHES

We caught up with a few of our planters to find out more about what is happening in the life of their church.

Over the past 18 years, ARC has helped launch over 750 churches. We had the opportunity to catch up with a few of our planters to get an update on what is happening in the life of their church. It’s such a great honor to work with couples that have a heart to launch a thriving church in their city!

W H AT DO YOU L OV E A BOU T YOUR CHURCH A ND COMMUNIT Y ?

I love our church's diversity. We have so many nations, ethnicities, and church traditions represented. Our church looks like New York. I love that our church is filled with so many people who did not have a church home before finding their way to Redemption. The community we live in, Westchester, is diverse and has an amazing vibe and authenticity.

Ziegler

JEREMY & AMEE

ARC CHURCH PLANT #500

Redemption Community Church

PORT CHESTER, NY

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W H AT H A S BEEN ONE OF T HE T OUGHE S T MOMEN T S YOU’ V E E X PERIENCED IN MINIS T RY ?

The toughest moment for me in the context of church planting was pre-launch. Leaving family and friends and moving to a fastpaced, expensive, diverse, and un-churched suburb of New York, where we knew nobody, was about as difficult as it sounds. There weren’t a lot of people showing up to help start a church. We also lost my wife’s father unexpectedly and had our third son just two months later. Needless to say, it was an emotional roller coaster. That was the beginning of our planting journey, but I wouldn’t change it because it taught us to hold on to Jesus and the calling we had like never before.

W H AT H AV E YOU L E A RNED A BOU T YOURSEL F A S A L E A DER A ND / OR PA S T OR? I’ve learned to be comfortable with being the pastor and leader God called me to be and to plant the church He put in my heart.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

W H AT DO YOU L OV E A BOU T YOUR CHURCH A ND COMMUNIT Y ?

I love the diversity! We have a generational and interracial church that reflects the passion and fun of our city.

W H AT H A S HE A LT H L OOK ED LIK E AT YOUR CHURCH ?

Health is simply defined by everyone taking steps. Souls saved, lives changed, purpose found, and hope carried into the world.

W H AT H A S BEEN ONE OF YOUR GRE AT E S T MOMEN T S IN MINIS T RY, OR W H AT IS ONE T H AT S TA NDS OU T MOS T T O YOU ?

One of my greatest moments is seeing my wife preach her first message and watching young leaders step into their calling.

W H AT WOUL D YOU SH A RE WIT H SOMEONE T HINK ING A BOU T PA R T NERING WIT H A RC OR BECOMING A FU T URE CHURCH PL A N T ER? Partnering with ARC could possibly be your greatest contribution ever. When you partner with ARC, you are investing in the greatest roi in the world – the local church! Where else can you see souls saved, lives changed, purpose found, and hope carried into the world? Where else can you populate heaven?

Canizaro JOSH & AMBER

ARC CHURCH PLANT #449

One Hope Church NEW ORLEANS, LA

HO W H A S BEING A PA R T OF A RC IMPAC T ED YOUR LIFE A ND FA MILY ?

ARC has been a source of encouragement when I'm down, inspiration when I'm struggling with vision, and friendship when I'm lonely.

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

W H AT MO TIVAT ED YOU T O PL A N T YOUR CHURCH IN T HE CIT Y T H AT YOU A RE IN ?

We felt drawn to the city because it felt like us. It was a small community (only 12,000 people), but was only 35 minutes from Dallas.

We have always loved small towns that were close to big cities.

W H AT H A S BEEN ONE OF YOUR GRE AT E S T MOMEN T S IN MINIS T RY, OR W H AT IS ONE T H AT S TA NDS OU T MOS T T O YOU ?

I love hearing about the salvations that happen every week, but I love baptism Sundays! To see people making a public declaration in front of their church family is simply amazing!

Sparks

BRYAN & CRYSTAL

ARC CHURCH PLANT #451

The Church RC

ROYSE CIT Y, T X

W H AT H AV E YOU L E A RNED A BOU T YOURSEL F A S A L E A DER A ND / OR PA S T OR? That I must grow myself continually as a leader so I can continue to lead my team and my church into all that God has called us too.

W H AT WOUL D YOU SH A RE WIT H SOMEONE T HINK ING A BOU T PA R T NERING WIT H A RC OR BECOMING A FU T URE CHURCH PL A N T ER? We love ARC and recommend them to anyone that is thinking about planting a life-giving church. I would tell them to follow ARC’s model all the way, not to pick and choose things they want to do and things they don't want to do and say they used the ARC model.

HO W H A S BEING A PA R T OF A RC IMPAC T ED YOUR LIFE A ND FA MILY ?

Love being a part of the ARC Family.

I've never met an ARC church that wasn't willing to share anything they have and everything they've learned. It’s not hard to find someone that has been through what you are going through.

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W H AT H A S BEEN ONE OF T HE T OUGHE S T MOMEN T S YOU' V E E X PERIENCED IN MINIS T RY ?

The process leading up to launching the church was a very challenging season. It required a level of humility and patience and faith that needed to be refined in me. The ARC leadership walked with me through that time.

Webb

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

W H AT H A S HE A LT H L OOK ED LIK E AT YOUR CHURCH ?

Authentic community, being built as individuals, to take the next steps specific to where they are in their journey with God. In a word, movement.

DEVIN & ASHLEY

ARC CHURCH PLANT #446

Connect Church MOUNT JULIET, TN

W H AT H AV E YOU L E A RNED A BOU T YOURSEL F A S A L E A DER A ND / OR PA S T OR? I've learned that I gain great fulfillment out of developing, equipping, and empowering leaders. I didn't realize how much that would become a part of what I do – to have the opportunity to speak to the potential inside of people and to watch their dreams come to life, that otherwise would have remained dormant. I get the chance to resource what's in people's hearts.

HO W H A S BEING A PA R T OF A RC IMPAC T ED YOUR LIFE A ND FA MILY ?

It has provided protection and accountability when I needed it most. It has been a source of support and encouragement.

It afforded me the opportunity to belong to something bigger than me, but it wasn't so big that I felt like I got lost. For the most part, my closest ministry relationships have come through ARC.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Nickel

NOAH & STEPHANIE

ARC CHURCH PLANT #604

King’s Church

LAKEWOOD, OH

W H AT DO YOU L OV E A BOU T YOUR CHURCH A ND COMMUNIT Y ?

I love that our church is very intentional at creating an environment for people to walk in at any stage in their journey of faith and feel like they can belong. Cleveland and the surrounding area is such a diverse and beautiful community. Our church is reflecting that and it's so encouraging and exciting to see it taking shape in such a short time.

W H AT H A S HE A LT H L OOK ED LIK E AT YOUR CHURCH ?

For us it's been finding our rhythm, which is always changing. We are adding a third Sunday morning experience at 18 months in as a church. The change and additions are always forcing us to reevaluate our expectations of our servant leaders but also the pace and the health at which they’re serving at and with.

W H AT H A S BEEN ONE OF YOUR GRE AT E S T MOMEN T S IN MINIS T RY, OR W H AT IS ONE T H AT S TA NDS OU T MOS T T O YOU ?

My parents came in and visited from out of town. When they came to church to visit, after the worship experience, a man came up to my father and told him that if it weren't for this church he wouldn't be alive today.

He felt that life was so overwhelming and he was so broken that he probably would have committed suicide.

W H AT H AV E YOU L E A RNED A BOU T YOURSEL F A S A L E A DER A ND / OR PA S T OR? To be content with the extent of my gifts that God has given me. To run in my lane and to do the three or four things I’m gifted to do. Also, to embrace the "I don't know,” not as a cop out, but as a means of defining the space for grace.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

W H AT DO YOU L OV E A BOU T YOUR CHURCH A ND COMMUNIT Y ?

Mobile is really the friendliest city in the world. You never meet a stranger here.

Nobody is ever in a hurry and will take the time to really find out how you are and what's going on in your life.

W H AT H A S HE A LT H L OOK ED LIK E AT YOUR CHURCH ?

After almost eight years, I really believe this is the healthiest we've ever been from a staff and church standpoint.

W H AT H A S BEEN ONE OF YOUR GRE AT E S T MOMEN T S IN MINIS T RY, OR W H AT IS ONE T H AT S TA NDS OU T MOS T T O YOU ?

Baptizing my children and watching them all now love us, God, and serve in the church is really my greatest moment.

W H AT H A S BEEN ONE OF T HE T OUGHE S T MOMEN T S YOU' V E E X PERIENCED IN MINIS T RY ?

Trusting and loving people that you thought were for you, literally turning their backs on you and leaving has been the hardest.

W H AT H AV E YOU L E A RNED A BOU T YOURSEL F A S A L E A DER A ND / OR PA S T OR? The ability to move forward when you really felt like giving up. I thank God for teaching me flexibility and forgiveness.

HO W H A S BEING A PA R T OF A RC IMPAC T ED YOUR LIFE A ND FA MILY ?

It's made the tough days in ministry and in family manageable. Not only that, it’s given us the strength to push forward after seeing others "make it through.”

Breland JOHN & TRACY

A RC CHURCH P L A N T #176

South Coast Church MOBILE, AL

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Taking a Burden Off R E S OURCE PA R T NER S P O T L IGH T : XCE L ER AT E BU SINE S S S OL U T ION S

by Emily Chenevert

PASTORS ARE ALWAYS LOOKING for new solutions and ways to help their staff and church suc-

ceed. At a recent conference, we were able to sit down with Greg Daily, Co-Founder of Xcelerate Business Solutions, one of ARC’s Resource Partners, to discuss their heart for the local church and how they come alongside pastors and leaders in ways of church accounting and business solutions.

W H AT M A DE YOU WA N T T O GE T IN VOLV ED WIT H T HE L OCA L CHURCH A ND A S SIS T T HEM FROM A BUSINE S S S TA NDPOIN T ?

G R E G : We drove cross-country to help plant a church in Seattle, WA. We felt the call of God to help plant a church and at that time didn’t know what that would look like, but it turned into about a 10-year ministry opportunity. That grew into an administrative pastoral role. Prior to me coming on staff, my wife was an accountant and she was actually handling the books. When I got hired on, we started outsourcing the accounting part of church.

We later moved to Fort Collins, CO and she started Xcelerate Business Solutions. It started as a stay-at-home mom side business to help fund our first adoption, which turned into us adopting three kids. We went from one kid to four kids pretty quickly. With our family growing, and the business growing, we had to make a decision about what our future would look like. I quit my job and now it’s a family-run business.

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We got into helping churches because we were church planters. Our first client was a church, but we still didn’t realize the lightning rod in front of us that this should be our niche. I realized that as I talked to clients, I got jazzed when I spoke with churches and pastors. I felt so encouraged and I felt like I was an encouragement to them, so it just made sense. I think that we as a company understand it from the pastor’s side and the accounting side. We have embraced this as our niche market and love working with churches.

HO W DO YOU SPECIFICA L LY COME A L ONGSIDE CHURCHE S FROM A BUSINE S S S TA NDPOIN T ?

G R E G :There are two things in the church world you want to get right, money and kids!

We love numbers. Our team has a passion for numbers, and we want to take that administrative burden off the church. A lot of the time we have found that churches think they have to do everything well, and it ends up

IT SEEM S A S T HOUGH T H AT WOUL D BE A HUGE W EIGH T LIF T ED OFF CHURCH PL A N T ERS. W H AT A RE SOME OF T HE T HINGS YOU EN JOY T HE MOS T ?

G R E G : Most pastors didn’t go to seminary or bible college to become an accountant, but it’s a reality for their job. People who give money to the church want to know you have good practices in place and that their gift is going to something that matters. Most people don’t want to pay for turning on the lights, but that’s a reality. We come alongside and do budgeting, forecasting, and system training.

I remember when I was a pastor, I would go to lunch with someone and I had a crumbled receipt that I would have to find again later.

We now have a mobile app for that.

W H Y A RC, A ND HO W DID YOU INITIA L LY CONNEC T WIT H US ?

G R E G : When we decided to work with churches, we were working with a network and a lot of their larger churches were planting churches. We worked with some of those small church plants and loved it. Churches just starting out don’t have a huge team of people or staff, and we fell in love with that and started looking for a church planting organization. That’s when we found ARC. From the beginning, it wasn’t about how much of a check I could write to work with them or what I had to do to buy my way into ARC. It wasn’t like that. It was about who I was as a person, and we started building

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where they are doing very few things well in the accounting realm. Accounting things fall through the cracks. We enjoy coming alongside the church and taking the administration burden off of them. We help with bookkeeping, managing the finances daily, paying reimbursements, and paying bills in order to allow them to use accurate reports to make strategic decisions for the Kingdom.

“ Our team

has a passion for numbers, and we want to take that administrative burden off the church.”

relationships with people in ARC. It was all about relationships, and that’s important to my wife and me.

We also love being a part of the church plants. I feel like they are our church plants as well. We celebrate when they get fully funded to launch or when they get a new building. We celebrate what they do because that is super exciting for us! We are working with a church plant in Colorado that just got a building, and we have been praying for them about this for a year. We just love coming alongside the Church and seeing what is happening across the country. We love being a part.

For more information about Xcelerate Business Solutions visit xcelerate-solutions.com.

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The Value of a Coach

by Emily Chenevert LAUNCHING A CHURCH can have its challenges. For some, it may be in building a great launch

team or finding that perfect location, but for Pastor Rafael and Jessica Paez of The Anchor, their challenge was completely unpredictable. Hurricane Harvey hit the Gulf Coast about three weeks before their launch.

Pastor Jimn Kyles of Anchor Bend, and Pastor Brandon Barber of Elevate People, both in the Houston area, were the Paez’s launch coaches.

With everything going on, these two coaches had a huge impact on their decision-making and helped them shift their mindset during those few weeks prior to their launch.

“Three weeks before our launch, Hurricane Harvey hit, and we lost $25,000 worth of our equipment in the flood. As a church, we were devastated. I had spent all of my money,” said Rafael. “I called my coaches and asked them, ‘Do I change my launch date? What do I do?’ They encouraged me to serve the community despite what I had lost. They told me to help rescue people. I got in front of my launch team and said, ‘We have lost all of our equipment and not sure what to do, but we can still make a difference.’”

That is what they did. They worked alongside others and served their community, or as Rafael put it, “We focused on people and I believe people saw that.”

Rafael was overwhelmed with the support and spiritual guidance he received during that time. Although he hadn’t even launched 26

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yet, he was talking to pastors all over the area that were there to support him and lend him resources in order to better serve the hurting in their community.

“I had never felt that before. I came from a smaller denomination that didn’t focus on mentorship. It was amazing to see how the ARC Family helped us when we were struggling,” said Rafael.

“Other pastors were calling me and wanting to know how I got all of the resources I had to help people with. They wanted to know how I got all of the stuff that people needed.

Some of these guys had been doing ministry for years, but didn’t have any connections to resources. I thought, ‘Me? Who am I? I haven’t even launched yet.’ But because of the ARC network of guys, my coaches just told me to call this pastor and that pastor who had resources and tell them what I needed.

It blew me away.”

For Rafael, what he thought was going to basically smother his launch, ended up doing just the opposite. With the influence of his coaches, he was able to gain a new perspective and think differently.

He wanted to move his launch to Jan. 1 in order to give people time to get settled again, which would have been months after his original launch date, but his coach discouraged him.

“They told me, ‘The people need hope!’ We moved the launch to Oct. 1. ARC encourages planters to do two practice services before launch, but we couldn’t do that because our new equipment got delayed due to the storm.

We did what we could and launched. We had 464 people on launch day.”

Later that evening, after launch Sunday, he was home and reflecting on what had happened, not only that day, but also what it took to get there. Then, he got a call from one of his coaches.

“That night he called to check on me. I couldn’t believe that he did that. I mean, he had the same long day in ministry I did. He had been serving the hurting for weeks, running on empty, but yet he still had time to check in with me and see how our launch went,” said Rafael.

The church is growing, and after five short months, they added a second service. He wanted to grow his team of volunteers and after his coach encouraged him to do a oneday growth track, they now have 100 people on their Dream Team.

“My coaches helped me make that decision on expanding our services so we didn’t miss

“ This next season will be a fruitful one because of their advice, and I am thankful.”

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“It helped us to establish ourselves as a church that doesn’t just preach about hope, but that delivers hope,” said Rafael. “My coaches told me that some of our greatest victories come from our greatest battles. They told me ‘change your perspective. Think of it differently.’ They helped me do that.”

– R AFAEL PAEZ

the upcoming growth season. This next season will be a fruitful one because of their advice, and I am thankful,” he said.

When asked what he would tell other church planters building relationships with their coach, he said he would start by shaking them awake. He saw his coaches’ advice as “manna from heaven” in a time when he didn’t know what to do or how to move forward.

“I would shake them and say, ‘Listen to what they are telling you.’ It’s like in Deuteronomy 8:16 (nlt), when God refers to manna and says, ‘I fed you with manna you don’t know,’ that’s how I saw my coaches. I didn’t know the abundance of blessings at the time when I got connected to my coach. The wisdom is what gets you through the rough times, and the fact that you have someone to call in the midst of the struggle, the mental fatigue, it’s invaluable,” said Rafael. “I am now a launch coach and can’t wait to invest in others what my coaches have done for me,” said Rafael.

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Building Trust Within Your Community AN INTERVIEW WITH PASTOR PRADEEPAN JEEVA

by Emily Chenevert

K A L O S C H U R C H S T A R T E D W I T H A D R E A M , L I T E R A L L Y. P R A D E E P A N A N D A M R E I T H A JEE VA , PA S T ORS OF K A L O S CHURCH, H A D BEEN PR AY ING A ND FA S TING A BOU T W H AT WA S IN T HEIR HE A R T W HE N I T C A M E T O L A UNCHING A CHURCH . ONE NIGH T, THE LORD SPOK E TO PR ADEEPAN IN A DRE AM ABOUT A PL ACE CALLED BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON. SOME OF THE DRE A M WAS IN FRENCH. THE PROBLEM IS, HE DIDN’ T S P E A K F R E NCH , S O HE A ND HI S W IF E H A D T O T R A N S L AT E W H AT I T M E A N T. T HE Y B O T H F E L T H E W A S L E A D I N G T H E M T O B E L L E V U E , B U T H A D N O I D E A W H Y. N O R D I D T HE Y H AV E A N Y CONNECTIONS OR REL ATIONSHIPS T HERE.

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A

“ABOUT FOUR MONTHS before we moved,

we did a scouting trip. We met with as many pastors as possible and asked them what they thought about us planting a church.

We asked them ‘Will you bless us in this?

Not in a financial realm, but will you open up the door to the city for us?’ all in a posture of honor,” said Pradeepan. “I think that in the spiritual and in the practical sense, that opened up the door for us. We genuinely wanted their input, and they were like ‘We have been praying for people like you and church plants like you. If you choose not to plant, we will hire you.’ That started relationships,” he said.

What Pradeepan didn’t realize was that the community had walked through some hard times in the past, and there was not a lot of faith in the church as a whole.

“We came here seeing churches on the decline, and according to what I had been told, there were a lot of “Christian refugees” of sorts. People were hurt, churches were ARCCHURCHES.COM

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hurt, and people did not want to be a part of the church, so we knew we had to connect with pastors,” he said.

we were brown people in a city of a lot of minorities. It was redeeming in a way, and churches wanted us there,” said Pradeepan.

He and his wife wanted to build trust and get to know as many people as possible in order to create healthy relationships with those in the community. He sincerely wanted to understand the area more.

As they continued to prepare for their launch, and even after, they continued to strengthen relationships, and other churches helped with all aspects of the process. Churches offered practice space for their worship team and offered office space for them to use. One church bought the candles they needed for their Christmas Eve service.

“Our first order of business was to connect with as many pastors first. We met with about 40 pastors in the area and went to conferences, coffee shops, meetings, anything we could to set ourselves up to build relationships and genuinely learn.”

Belllevue is a unique area and is considered a majority minority city. Forbes named it the #1 place for minorities to start a business in America.

“I am a brown guy, my wife is an ordained pastor and is a brown woman. We felt we could adequately serve the city because

“As we developed real friendships, we would tell them that we didn’t have that much to offer but we would ask, ‘How can we help you and partner with what God is already doing?’” said Pradeepan. “People naturally wanted to bless us. They would ask how they could help us. We had a strategy that we had specific things we asked for. We had an Amazon wish list that generated about $60,000-$70,000 worth of money. We had an idea of getting 30 people to partner with us for $30 a month.”

Quick Facts About Bellevue, WA Bellevue is a city close to Seattle and being in the Pacific Northwest, it’s an area in the country that is notoriously known as one of the most un-churched regions in America where 96% are not involved with a church.

The area is a very wealthy area, and is home to Bill Gates and the President of Amazon.

It is the headquarters of companies like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Expedia.

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Five churches in the area invited them to speak at their church, and invested in them financially. They were overwhelmed by the generosity, not only financially, but in people resources as well. Some of the churches even encouraged their congregation to leave their own church and help Pradeepan and Amreitha launch their church.

“At first we didn’t know anyone, but now they wanted to help us. I think they had experienced so much division in the Church and they were saying ‘This is a new era and we want to show kindness, unity, and generosity.’ We felt that the Kingdom of God was being celebrated in this area. We were not scheming, we were literally following a dream we had in the middle of the night and postured ourselves as learners.”

The other way they wanted to build trust was by getting connected to city leaders and officials.

“Step one, we wanted to connect to pastors. Step two, we wanted to gain favor with local leaders and non-vocational ministry roles. We signed up for the Chamber of Commerce. We looked for new businesses to partner with. We partnered with a new coffee shop because we needed a place to meet and they needed new business. I think almost 90% of their employees are Kalos Church members because we connected and we were meeting there,” said Pradeepan.

“We were literally following a dream we had in the middle of the night and postured ourselves as learners.”

“There was a business breakfast that met once a month. We asked them if we could sponsor one of their meetings that usually had 200-300 men,” he said. “They sent out emails, talked about us at their next meeting, and put us on social media to promote what we do. Finding established networks in the city was huge.”

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We asked him about how his groundwork made a difference and the overall feeling among the churches. He compared what is happening in Bellevue to a common business term known as Blue Ocean® vs. Red Ocean®. This term refers to how businesses seek customers. Red Ocean® is the strategy that is basically shark-eat-shark, where sharks fight in the water or go after the same prey, resulting in the water turning red. Red Ocean® focuses on current customers, by taking them away from the competition.

Blue Ocean® focuses on new customers and isn’t concerned with the competition. In a blue ocean, there is plenty of food for everyone, leaving a much more peaceful territory.

“Since this area is so unreached, it felt like the Church has acknowledged this as a Blue Ocean® territory and has said, ‘let’s stop fighting over a few dead carcasses, and let’s go after the harvest. Let’s take advantage of our blue ocean, and use our unity to reach the city.’”

The relationship among the churches is being noticed, even among the city leaders and the overall community. The church is working together and it is starting to open doors like never before.

“I feel like something is starting here. We partnered with 30 other churches and are 32

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planning a joint SERVEday, followed by a joint worship service. The city normally doesn’t allow churches to use the community parks or venues, but because so many of us will be serving the city and schools, they are allowing us to use the downtown park.

There are going to be thousands of people, from many different churches, worshiping in the middle of the city. Before, there were churches that would never participate, but this year a lot of the people we are connected with are connecting with each other.”

Many of the schools in the past wanted nothing to do with the Church, but as churches begin to serve the community, things are changing.

“The school districts are coming to the churches first asking, ‘Will you help us get ready for the school year and take care of this project?’ The school district where Bill Gates lives asked our church to sponsor their school, and work with their teachers to get ready for the school year,” said Pradeepan.

Now, after having their 26th service, Pradeepan and Amreitha’s heart is to continue to invest in church planters like the people that invested in them. They want to encourage future pastors to take the time to build trust and get to know those in their community.

Extra Tips SCO T T MCIN T OSH : I set up an account at the local coffee shop for any pastor in the area and let them know it was on us.

CHRIS M A R TINE Z : We met with all the churches in the area that we could. One church in particular became good friends with us and let us use their stage for worship team practice on their off nights so we could prepare for launch. They paid for a sound guy to come in and make us ready.

JEREM Y BOSM A : I was able to connect with another church that is two miles down the road from us. They let me sit in their staff and creative meetings for four months. They are giving to our church financially every month.

It’s all intentional cold calls and asking if I have their permission to plant in their city.

“A lot of church planters come into a city, they don’t know anyone, and they kind of wait for people to come to them. They isolate themselves,” he said. “When new church planters come to town, I meet with them.

We want to give what we freely got from other churches. It takes the Kingdom to build the Kingdom,” Pradeepan said.

“Ministry is all about relationships. We didn’t want to do ministry alone and that is one of the reasons we wanted to be a part of ARC. I wanted to learn. Because we postured ourselves as learners, they offered to help,” he said.

“I would say to church planters that you need to build trust with other pastors and with the community, because you are not meant to do this alone,” he said. “When God was alone with Adam in the garden and there was no sin, He said it’s not good for us to be alone, and that was a result of a mission. As soon as Adam got a mission, he got a partner. When you are on a mission, you realize that you don’t have what it takes to do this alone,” he said.

NOA H NICK EL : I reached out to the three churches in the area that were most similar to us, as far as being non-denominational. Took them out to lunch or coffee, thanked them for all they've done, and gave them each a check for their church from our church, even though we weren't actually a church yet.

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Leaving Well PASTORS CASEY AND STACY HENAGAN SHARE THEIR PL ANTER / SENDER INSIGHTS FOR ANSWERING GOD’S CA L L W HIL E HONORING YOUR SENDING CHURCH IN WAYS THAT BRING GOD’S BLESSING.

by Lindy Lowry

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K

KEYPOINT Church Pastors Casey and Stacy Henagan know what it is like to be the planters of a new church, as well as what it looks like on the flip side as lead pastors sending out new plants. The couple launched Keypoint in Northern Arkansas in 2005, and the now-thriving church has two campuses and has planted three other churches.

In early ministry, Casey and Stacy spent seven years on staff in the youth department at Bethany Church (then Bethany World Prayer Center) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

In 2001, the couple helped Pastor Rick Bezet launch New Life Church in Conway, Arkansas, a suburb of Little Rock, and remained on staff with New Life for the next four-and-a-half years.

“ We just had this stirring in our hearts that transition was coming.”

—CASEY HENAGAN

As their roles at New Life expanded, their own call to plant a church grew until they eventually planted Keypoint. In this interview, Casey and Stacy share how planters with the desire to start a church can fulfill God’s call on their lives and bless everyone involved. The couple says it is all about leaving well. They share their story and give us ARCCHURCHES.COM

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key elements to making a smooth transition, including laying the groundwork, finding rest in the “hurry up and wait,” and without fail, honoring your pastor and the church you are leaving.

“Have the hard conversations.”

When Casey and Stacy first felt the call to go out on their own, their No. 1 priority became making their feelings known to their senior pastor, Rick Bezet.

C A S E Y : Church planting is normal lingo now; it wasn’t that way then. Even the words “plant a church” probably weren’t even in our vocabulary. ARC wasn’t in existence then.

We just knew in our heart that one day we would like to pastor a church. We did feel the Lord at one point say, “Hey, go.” We weren’t discontent. Nothing was wrong.

There was no problem within the church and no problem with our relationships there. We just had this stirring in our hearts that transition was coming. God works in that way.

We had a very healthy relationship with Pastor Rick and a long history with him, so when we went to him to share our hearts, we didn’t have a lot of anxiety in coming to him. He listened and then said, “Hey, stay on another year or two, and let’s go from there. Let’s get you more training.” We were treated the same. Nothing changed. It was, “Hey, go dive into this other area of ministry, and then come back to me.” And that’s exactly what we did.

S T A C Y : It was a “yes, but let’s wait a minute.

Yes, but let’s pause.” It wasn’t a “no.”

It was like, Okay, you’re not shutting down our dream; you’re just saying get some wisdom in the dream a little bit more. As a church planter, you’ve got to raise money and you need as 36

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“ God has a plan for the sending church, and He has a plan for the planter.”

—CASEY HENAGAN

much wisdom as you can possibly get. If our overseer was saying, “Hey, gain a little more,” we were going to absolutely say, “Yes, sir.”

C A S E Y : [Having conversations] is so

important because then there are not any bad feelings. There’s not any frustration.

The parameters are marked out very clearly for you, and you know what to expect. The worst thing for a senior pastor is to get word underneath the table that you’ve been talking to people trying to convince them to go with you. I think a secure senior pastor knows, “Hey, if I send people out, it’s going to be fine for my church.” However, underthe-table talk just isn’t pleasant for any senior pastor. It’s much better if you come outright and say, “Let’s just all talk about it. Give me the parameters, and I’m going to flow within those boundaries.”

Etc. T HE HEN AG A NS S AY T HERE A RE M A N Y O T HER T HINGS SENIOR PAS TORS AND PL ANTERS CAN DO WELL TO MAK E THE SENDING AND PL ANTING PROCES S A SUCCES S. HERE ARE JUST A FEW: As best you can, flow within the parameters the senior pastor gives for your exit. “No matter how tight or how wide, it doesn’t matter,” Casey says.

If a senior pastor is not willing to send you, seek counsel. “You pray, you honor, and you seek wise counsel,” Stacy says. “If you’re working for a very unhealthy pastor, then you do need to seek wise counsel. However, you don’t know everything. You may be the one in the wrong. I would just say pray about it and honor no matter what—no matter if he’s a crazy or very controlling pastor, you still honor. I just think that’s part of God’s way. You don’t have to lie.

You can find the good. Then seek wise counsel because perhaps several people that you do know and trust can give you some good guidelines on how to deal with that.”

In as much as it is up to you, exit with grace and graciousness. “It’s so important not to stir up dissension within that church against the pastor,” Casey says. “It’s always honoring the church, and always respecting the local church to make it healthy, and not to create any type of issue within the local church.”

When you’re leaving, take only the resources that are given freely. That includes people, materials, money, and more. “After all, you’ve got to understand that this is their church,” Stacy says. “They put in the sweat, the finances, the time. It’s not yours. Those aren’t your people; they’re their people.”

Sending pastors should keep checking in on their planters long after they’ve left the building. “Allow the church planter to know, ‘If you need me, I’m here,’” Casey says. “Planters don’t want to be an island, alone. They need that support … New Life definitely did that for us!”

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S T A C Y : Casey does a really good job with our staff in creating confidence with our pastors. They know they can come to him and share their heart, and they’ll have a job the next day. They have permission to do that … [When staff members leave to plant], we want to honor them; they want to honor us.

We want them to succeed. They want to see Keypoint succeed. So there are just those conversations upfront.

“Look for ways to grow as leaders in the limbo phase.”

When Pastor Rick asked the Henagans to wait, he advised them to invest in other departments and ministries at New Life. During the waiting time, the couple says they put planting aside and made New Life their focus. Both agree that the lessons they learned during that time were vital to their successful launch.

C A S E Y : When Pastor Rick said, “Park for

a moment,” we said, “We’ll do whatever you say because we want God’s blessing on this, and if you don’t think that this is 100 percent the timeframe or we’re 100 percent ready, then we will listen to that because we know there’s wisdom there.”

We knew we had areas to grow in, but even if we hadn’t agreed – even if we had thought we were God’s gift to church planters – staying was so important because it was God’s blessing on us. God works that way. Now, I’m talking about a godly and life-giving pastor. I’m talking about working for someone that you know and trust. I believe we had Pastor Rick’s blessing on us because we did it in the way he asked. Had we not, no matter how gifted we were, I think we would have had a lot of heartache.

S T A C Y : Pastor Rick trusted us, and we

trusted him. After he asked us to stay and 38

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“ The senior pastor and the planting pastor can be in such a beautiful place of harmony where God is building His Kingdom.”

–STACY HENAGAN we said “yes,” he was confident we weren’t going to be plotting seeds of discord in people or asking them to come with us. While we were there, we dropped church planting out of our minds, out of our vocabulary.

Pastor Rick said, “Stay, learn, and grow,” not, “Stay, raise money, and prepare the year you’re here.” Going behind him would have been deceitful.

C A S E Y : It was, “No, you have more to

learn, so we’re not going to go on this journey just yet.” And so, when he did finally

say, “Yes,” that’s when we started the pre-launch process, and we went 150 percent straight ahead with a vengeance. But before and until he said “yes,” we paused it all.

this beautiful process between planter and sender. The senior planter and the planting pastor can be in such a beautiful place of harmony where God is building His Kingdom.

“Above all, honor your sending church and pastor.”

Church versus just a heart for your new church. Also, when planters show honor, God brings them what they need as well.

We saw that repeatedly. God has a plan for the sending church, and He has a plan for the planter.

Casey and Stacy say the additional time at New Life gave them exponential growth as leaders and better prepared them to be planters and now sending pastors themselves. Their biggest piece of advice to new planters is to honor your sending pastor. The benefits, they feel, are more than worth the sacrifice. Working in unity prevents division in the house.

C A S E Y : It’s about having a heart for the

S T A C Y : This year, we’ve had a lot of transition on our staff with different people being sent out, and each one honored us from the pulpit and said what a joy it was to work on our staff and how they were so thankful for their time at Keypoint. They got on Instagram and honored us, put up pictures with us, and said what a blessing we are and what a wonderful church Keypoint is.

C A S E Y : That’s not to build our ego. It’s

not even to make them look good. This kind of public honor and recognition gives church members the confidence that nothing is going on inside of the church and keeps them from wondering why people are leaving. They don’t have to wonder what’s happening behind the scenes. It also gives church members time to celebrate their pastor and those who you’re sending out. The church can get behind it and have confidence to say, “Wow, look, we’re a sending church!”

It’s just a beautiful time for the church if it’s done right.

Back in the Day: Keypoint Church led by Pastors Casey and Stacy Henagan launched out of New Life Church, where Casey and Stacy served for almost five years.

(Pictured l-r, Casey Henagan, New Life’s Senior Pastor Rick Bezet, and New Life’s Senior Executive Pastor Darren Delaune.)

S T A C Y : Maybe some people don’t realize it can be that way and how you can just see ARCCHURCHES.COM

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MANY FACES OF ARC

GET TO KNOW THE ARC FAMILY

The ARC Family consists of a growing network of leaders from all around the globe.

Each person brings significant value and something unique to the ARC Family and body of Christ. We believe in the strength of relationships and value each person’s wisdom and experience, and we want to share that with you.

HO W DO YOU H A NDL E CRITICISM ?

I go to my room and cry. Then I look into my heart and see if I was wrong. Most of the time, I am! If I need to improve in the area I was criticized, I set goals and be intentional about improving. If I was not in the wrong, I get mad and call them names in my head! I have learned that in every criticism, there is a bit of truth, so I’ve learned to be thankful for the knowledge.

Niemeier W H AT IS T HE FUNNIE S T T HING T H AT H A S H A PPENED T O YOU ?

Being a pastor’s wife is not always easy! I’m bad with remembering who people are – something I’m not proud of! One day after church, we were going out to lunch, but my husband and I had driven in separate cars.

KELLY

CO-LEAD PASTOR

HighPoint Church FRIENDSWOOD, TX

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

OUTGOING REAL LOVING

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When I got to the restaurant, he proceeds to tell me that a family from the church was sitting in a booth against the wall, and to go say “hi” to them. I looked to my left and there were three families sitting in three different booths. I panicked because I didn’t recognize any of them!

I picked the family in the middle and greeted them, the whole time they were looking at me like I was crazy! I said, “You’re not the Mesa family are you?” They laughed and told me no. The whole time, the real Mesa family was looking at me like, “How do you not know us – we go to your church.” I ran away!

Ok, so maybe this is not so funny.

MANY FACES OF ARC

IF YOU COUL D T R A DE PL ACE S WIT H A N YONE FOR A DAY, W HO WOUL D IT BE A ND W H Y ?

Kim Jong-un, for the opportunity to see behind the wall and pull the strings of one of history’s craziest regimes. If there’s a good seat in that house (or at least a non-perilous one), it would be his. North Korea is so dysfunctional, and he has such total, unquestioned power, it might be a chance to set some things right. Imagine this edict: close nuclear facilities, open markets, stop repressing our citizens, and imprison me for life beginning tomorrow morning. The world would rejoice, and the kingdom of God would prosper!

Brendle HO W WOUL D YOU DE SCRIBE YOUR HOPE S A ND DE SIRE S FOR YOUR LIFE A ND / OR A T E S TIMON Y OF GOD’S FAIT HFUL NE S S IN YOUR LIFE ?

The older I’ve gotten, the more I have realized how little I know and how much I need Jesus. In my twenties, I thought I knew everything and just needed a platform to enlighten everyone. In my thirties, I was convinced I could know everything if I worked really hard. In my forties, I’m learning I know nothing. I see, more clearly than ever, my total dependence on God. Jesus was so right – “Abide in me, and my words in you, and you will bear fruit.

Apart from me you can do nothing.” God has been so faithful to teach me His ways slowly, patiently, as I can understand them, and to work through me all the while He’s been working in me.

ROB

LEAD PASTOR

Denver United Church DENVER, CO

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

MISFIT WILLING LEARNING

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Young MONTE

W H AT DOE S SUCCE S S L OOK LIK E T O YOU ?

Success is living in the call Jesus entrusted to me. To make that more specific, it’s when I’m able to walk someone from death to life by introducing them to Jesus. It’s not about money. It’s not about numbers. It’s all about the One.

HO W WOUL D YOU DE SCRIBE YOUR HOPE S A ND DE SIRE S FOR YOUR LIFE A ND / OR A T E S TIMON Y OF GOD’S FAIT HFUL NE S S IN YOUR LIFE ?

I want to still be shining Jesus and leading small groups on the day that I pass from this life. I want to see my four daughters living in relationship with Jesus and fulfilling their call.

Jesus has never failed to amaze since we planted on September 16, 2012. We’ve faced challenges, low income, small crowds, flaky teammates, sicknesses, and deaths, but we’ve seen hundreds come to know Jesus. Every week He keeps bringing more and more people to connect with us. He has never failed us and He never will!

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LEAD PASTOR

NOLA Church NEW ORLEANS, LA

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

FUN HUNGRY DRIVEN

MANY FACES OF ARC

W H AT A DV ICE WOUL D YOU GO BACK A ND GIV E YOURSEL F 15 Y E A RS AGO ? W H Y ?

Make your family your highest priority. Although we believe our families to be first, our time and passion allocation seems to say something else. I heard a wise man say, “If you don’t love your spouse, someone will love them for you!” Go all in with your family. When home, be home. Spend time with your kids – your most important congregation. Romance your spouse. Go on dates, take trips, put down the phone and computer, and be ever-present. This proper focus will give you a better family and the added energy and passion to be the leader and world changer that God has called you to be.

Estes MARC

LEAD PASTOR

City Bible Church PORTLAND, OR

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

REAL PASSIONATE PURPOSEFUL

YOU H AV E YOUR EN TIRE FA MILY SIT TING A ROUND T HE TA BL E, W H AT DOE S T HE DISCUS SION L OOK LIK E ?

My entire immediate family lives within five miles of each other. Most of us work together at the church and the grandkids attend our Christian school, so times around the table are fun and frequent.

Our table is the kitchen island. It can fit us all!

When we’re all around the island, it usually ends in us crying our eyes out, watching funny videos on Instagram.

This most always sets the platform to discuss all of the ridiculous things going on in our church, city, and the world and how to find some humor in it all. There is so much to talk about these days. Jesus take the wheel!

Also, massive quantities of chips and salsa are a necessary ingredient before any meal, only to be polished off by the usual multiple containers of 100% healthfree ice cream. There is never a dull moment in the Estes home when we all gather together.

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Perez W H AT IS A DRE A M IN YOUR HE A R T T H AT YOU S TIL L H AV EN’ T SEEN FUL FIL L ED? The city impacted and touched by Jesus.

I have seen areas impacted, but I want to see the whole city experience a revival that impacts the church which impacts culture. I want to see people experience the presence of Jesus in a real and tangible way.

W H AT DO YOU T HINK A BOU T W HEN YOU’RE A L ONE IN YOUR CA R? How fast time has gone and what do I want to see happen in the next 20 years of life?

What steps do I need to take? What people do I need to meet, and what is God saying to me about the next season of my life?

HO W WOUL D YOU DE SCRIBE YOUR HOPE S A ND DE SIRE S FOR YOUR LIFE A ND / OR A T E S TIMON Y OF GOD’S FAIT HFUL NE S S IN YOUR LIFE ?

God has blessed me beyond what I ever thought possible. I have traveled the world, and been blessed to see God use me to touch and help people. My desire is to help raise up the next generation of leaders and help them understand how to move in the supernatural power of God. I want to see them do what no other generation has done.

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BENNY

LEAD PASTOR

The Church LV HENDERSON, NV

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

LOYAL PASSIONATE CARING

MANY FACES OF ARC

YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO MEET WITH ANYONE IN THE WORLD TODAY. WHO WOULD THAT BE AND WHAT WOULD YOU DISCUSS? Queen Rania Al Abdullah, the queen consort of Jordan. A brilliant woman, wife, mother, and diplomat who advocates for her people through educational initiatives while still engaging her community in global, innovative ways via social media. A simple cup of tea with the Queen, you can learn so much!

W H AT IS T HE FUNNIE S T T H AT H A S H A PPENED T O YOU ?

Several years ago, we travelled to Durban, South Africa. After a long trip and deliriously sleep-deprived, I took one sleeping pill. Let’s just say I saw ‘colors’ and awakened to a very frightened husband! The stories are TRUE, friends!

Nepstad DIANNA

PASTOR

Fellowship Church

ANTIOCH, CA

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

COLORFUL ENCOURAGER BUILDER

HO W WOUL D YOU DE SCRIBE YOUR HOPE S A ND DE SIRE S FOR YOUR LIFE A ND / OR A T E S TIMON Y OF GOD’S FAIT HFUL NE S S IN YOUR LIFE ?

Aging in my faith is a beautiful thing! I have some grit now with war stories and faith miracles that frame my person. Faith lived through a Kingdom woman is not a passive experience, but a journey where warriors are made. I’ve learned to fend off a bear, learned to handle lions, and now it’s not a problem to deal with giants, in my heels! Thank you, Jesus.

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McKelvey MIKE

LEAD PASTOR

Family Church

MIDDLETOWN, NY

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

PASSION DRIVER LEADER

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W H AT DOE S SUCCE S S L OOK LIK E T O YOU ?

Success looks like “knowing” what God has called me to do right now and living in that moment to the best of my ability. Success is not the results we achieve, but the journey along the path towards those rewards of success. Success is doing my best every single day, while living in the will of God. W H AT M A K E S YOU SO IN T ERE S TING A ND UNIQUE ?

I’m a New Yorker, baby! My passionate, in-your-face style sets me apart. It’s also what makes some really not like me. I combine leadership teaching into Bible-based sermons which inspire others and push the Kingdom of God forward.

HO W WOUL D YOU DE SCRIBE YOUR HOPE S A ND DE SIRE S FOR YOUR LIFE A ND / OR A T E S TIMON Y OF GOD’S FAIT HFUL NE S S IN YOUR LIFE ?

My life will mean something by the end of my days. I will raise leaders to take my place at a higher level of excellence than I could have ever reached.

MANY FACES OF ARC

WHAT IS A DREAM YOU HAVE IN YOUR HEART THAT YOU STILL HAVEN’T SEEN FULFILLED? The dream in my heart is to see New England move from the least-churched region in the U.S. to the most spiritually vibrant place on Earth. It’s been echoing in my heart since I was 16 years old, and it has never burned brighter than it does now. Our church started from the desire to be a part of that kind of change; planting in urban centers across New England. If we plant a church in the ten largest cities in New England, we will be within 15 minutes away from over half of New England’s population.

Kendrick YOU H AV E YOUR EN TIRE FA MILY SIT TING A ROUND T HE TA BL E, W H AT DOE S T HE DISCUS SION A ND IN T ER AC TION L OOK LIK E ?

My family consists of my wife, myself, and my three sons. My oldest son is Gabriel, and if we are at the table right now he would probably be reading a book. He reads more than any child I’ve ever met, and his comprehension is off the charts. Noah is my middle son, and he would be tapping on things. He loves to play drums, make noise, and break things. Ezra is our fouryear-old and he would most likely be saying something sarcastic.

Together, it’s always lively around the Kendrick dinner table.

JUSTIN

LEAD PASTOR

City Church NEW HAVEN, CT

DE S CRIBE YOUR S E L F IN 3 WOR D S

HOPE-FILLED PASSIONATE CALLED ARCCHURCHES.COM

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Connect T HE REL ATIONSHIP S

R E L AT ION S HIP I S T RU LY T HE S T R E NG T H OF T H E C H U R C H A N D O F A N Y M I N I S T R Y. W E E N COUR AGE PASTORS AND CHURCH LE ADERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO JOIN E ACH OTHER AT ARC EVENTS, TR AININGS, AND GATHE RING S A S A WAY T O IN T E N T ION A L LY B UIL D REL ATIONSHIPS. OUR HOPE IS THAT YOU WILL DR AW STRENGTH AND WISDOM FROM OTHERS, AND PROVIDE IT AS WELL. THAT IS THE JOY OF NOT DOING MINISTRY ALONE. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO BE A PART OF ALL YOU CAN AND ADD YOUR UNIQUE S TRENGTHS AND GIF TINGS T O T H I S B I G F A M I L Y.

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IN T HIS SEC TION

p60

Living Beyond Ourselves

For as long as he can remember, Pastor Jimmy Rollins has had a passion for helping people.

by Lindsey Hansen p64

Beyond Sunday

Pastor Earl McClellan at Shoreline City Church in Dallas, Texas, hopes to build a feeling of community by empowering his church through being intentional when it comes to the language he and his team use each week.

by Emily Chenevert p68

Reaching Houston Together

In a time of such crisis and tragedy, churches worked together in order to serve the community like never before.

by Lindsey Hansen and Tori Townley

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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Resources

3 Reasons Pastors Need Community

FRIEND OF SINNERS

by Rich Wilkerson, Jr.

by Chris Surratt

Ministry Consultant

INPUT/OUTPUT

01.

02.

03.

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PA S T ORING IS A L ONELY WORL D. A pastor is constantly pouring himself out to other people. With weekly sermons, counseling appointments, hospital visits, drop-ins in the office, and impromptu stops in the grocery aisle – a pastor is almost always in “on” mode for the congregation. If you are not allowing others to speak into your life, there will eventually be nothing else to give. Poor decisions happen when we are the most spent out.

W E A L L NEED ACCOUN TA BILIT Y. I am not just speaking to moral accountability, although that is important. We also need to be held accountable for being a better spouse, a better parent, and a better friend. We need accountability to study scripture outside of our weekly sermon study. Iron sharpens iron, and we become dull without a community to hold us to our commitments. Spiritual willpower is overrated and weak.

YOUR CHURCH NEEDS A MODEL . If the pastor is not a part of a small group, it’s likely that most of the congregation will not be as well. If your desire as a pastor is to see your congregation growing spiritually and being discipled in community, you will have to lead the way. Statistically, a church can expect less than 40% of the adult attenders to be in small groups if the pastor is not the champion of groups. That percentage can jump to 70+ with the senior leader modeling group life.

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by Substance Church

KB GAMEPLAN

by Lee Domingue

SERVANT LEADERSHIP IN ACTION

by Ken Blanchard & Renee Broadwell

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Creating Environments that Connect People

by Aubrey Garrison LIVE Design Group

In today’s fast-paced world, where the average attention span is around eight seconds, connection is more important than ever.

Especially in worship, creating opportunities and environments for connection, whether that environment is physical, like a church café, or philosophical, like small groups, is key to creating community and fostering spiritual growth.

As architects and designers, we believe the church’s facility is a critical ministry tool.

When done with excellence, it can facilitate, support, and even enhance your ministry experience; but when done poorly, it can destroy it. The types of environments in your church impact how you engage and connect those who experience it. The goal is to utilize your worship facility as a ministry asset to create connections, facilitate deep meaningful relationships, and ultimately create community. Community is built from a strong sense of belonging, and that sense of belonging can connect people and lead to spiritual growth.

So, how can you facilitate this experience of belonging, connection, and spiritual growth? Through creating opportunities for connections to happen naturally.

Meaningful interaction, where people meet and connect naturally and comfortably, is key. Environments that facilitate this type of interaction and connection are a critical component of your worship facility and should be created intentionally to support your ministry’s goals.

When creating these kinds of environments in your church, start by considering your congregation’s specific needs and the types of connections you intend to make.

These environments must give people a reason to go there and desire to use them. They must allow and encourage people to stay and linger. They must be comfortable, welcoming, and easily accessible. Ask yourself, what does the space communicate to those who encounter it? Does it draw you in and encourage you to stay? Does it give people a reason to gather, connect, and engage?

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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Who Am I?

by DeLynn Rizzo

FOR SOME WOMEN, the older we get, the more kids we have, and the busier we become, we can lose sight of who we really are and have an identity crisis. It’s almost like we feel we are victims of identity theft of the “real us” and feel lost with no purpose, value, or direction. I know for me, after I had each of my children, there was overwhelming happiness and bliss, but there were also feelings that the world was going on without me and self-worth issues, even though I knew motherhood was my most important job of all.

We can get so caught up in life and ministry that after a while, we end up just going through the motions, staying exhausted, feeling depressed and overwhelmed. This is not God’s will or plan for us! He wants us to get our identity back – the real us. The woman who is flourishing and knows who she is in Christ.

A trap we must be aware of and careful of (and I’m talking to myself) is to put our identity in our husbands, children, church, or ministry. This is such an easy trap to fall into.

We can become so comfortable in the identity of our role instead of the goal of being a

Christ-follower. I’ve had to do a lot of soul searching in this area because I’ve placed my identity in being Wayne and Dee’s daughter; Dino’s wife; mom to McCall, Dylan, and Isabella; worship leader; pastor’s wife; and conference host. At the end of the day, none of these titles define me. I am simply a daughter of the King, a child of the most high God, a servant of Christ – nothing more, nothing less!

Are you struggling with your identity? Are you worn-out and exhausted? Have you lost focus on who you really are? You’re not alone.

We all have at some point or could struggle with it in the future.

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 (niv) We are in this together. All of Heaven is cheering you on! You can make it, and all of ARC is rooting for you! You are the head and not the tail. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. I am believing and praying for you to rest and flourish in who Jesus has made you to be.

ARC Women exists to come alongside pastors’ wives and women in ministry to resource, support and encourage them to reach their full potential as a woman, wife, mom, and leader in ministry. For more ARC Women resources and to sign up for our periodic newsletter, visit arcchurches.com/women.

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3 Habits for Staying Encouraged

by Peter Haas

Lead Pastor, Substance Church, Spring Lake Park, MN

01.

02.

03.

DON’ T COMPA RE CITIE S OR RE SOURCE S. When my church, Substance, first broke 2,000 members, we only had about 80 members giving anything in the offering.

My nine-year-old daughter somehow made it into our top givers list! Surely, my church needed discipleship in this area. But every time I’d compare my church or my city to others, I’d get overwhelmed and discouraged. So here’s the solution: Stop comparing!

DIT CH YOUR TIMELINE FOR GOD’S TIMELINE. The greatest leadership accomplishments of Moses didn’t start until he was 80 years old! So chill out! God has a perfect timeline for all of us. Paul said, “At the proper time, you will reap a harvest.” Don’t presume to know it. Most overnight successes were often 20 years in the making. We see other people’s highlight reels but rarely their workout routines, disasters, or wanderings.

GE T A L O T OF PA S T OR FRIENDS !

We had several awkward staff transitions which caused almost a third of our church to leave. I felt like King David in exile. I can’t even begin to tell you how dark that season was for me. Thankfully, similar to David, I had lots of pastor friends from ARC call to encourage me. And sure enough, my breakthrough happened. But we never would have made it without the right friends.

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Did You Know?

%

P ERCEN T OF PA S T OR S T H AT S AY T HE Y H AV E T RUE FRIEND S * * According to a Barna Research study

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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4 Components of Spiritual Family

by Lori Champion

Co-Pastor, Celebration Church, Austin, TX

01.

02.

FA MILY L A NGUAGE. Every healthy family is built around having shared core values and language. Some call it DNA; we call it culture. Unclear vision is easily hijacked.

FA MILY RE SPONSIBILITIE S. Just as in any family, there's a point where people move from being served to serving others. Our church is volunteer-driven so that ministry is effective, others feel welcomed, and people are encouraged to use their God-given gifts to provide a place for others' lives to be changed.

03.

0 4.

FA MILY G AT HERINGS. Although we place an emphasis on excellent weekend experiences, we understand that real ministry happens in circles. Small groups are the way that churches can create a living-room experience for their people to deepen their relationships with each other.

FA MILY OU TINGS. It's easy to build a fortress and refuse to step outside our four walls, but Jesus said to go. (Matt. 28:19) We must continue to deliver hope to our community, the nation, and the world. Local and global outreach isn't something we do; it's who we are.

Are You a Personal or Transactional Leader?

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T R A NS AC TION A L

PERSON A L / REL ATION A L

Short-term view People’s value is extrinsic Focused on the ends only Project focused Considers results Utilitarian

Long-term view People’s value is intrinsic Focused on the means and the ends Person and project focused Considers impact on people Trinitarian

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Wisdom in Relationships

by Dale O’Shields

Senior Pastor, Church of the Redeemer, Gaithersburg, MD

There is nothing that can cause more joy or pain in your life than your relationships. God cares about the quality of your relationships. The Bible is a relationship book. It not only teaches us about how to have a relationship with God, it also shows us how to relate to other people. God knows how to make all or your relationships better.

Proverbs 24:3-4 states, “A house is built by wisdom and becomes strong through good sense. Through knowledge, its rooms are filled with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.”

It takes wisdom to build relationships. There are principles, truths, and practices that, when learned and applied, make relationships grow, and when ignored, cause them to fail.

What are you doing to increase your relationship wisdom?

The more wisdom you gain, the better they will be. Make a decision to increase your relationship quotient!

+3.3

%

17

%

AV ER A GE CHURCH AT T ENDA NCE IN T HE LAST YEAR

OF A L L CHURCHE S A RE MULT ISI T E CHURCHE S

55

50

%

OF CONGREGR AT ION IN V OLV ED IN GROUP S

%

OF S TA FF A R E PA R T-T IME

Before Partnering with a Nonprofit There are a couple of great resources you can use to retrieve accurate background information on the non-profit you may be looking to partner with.

GUIDE S TA R Contains records from 1.8 million nonprofits registered with the Internal Revenue Service and provides access to each organization’s Form 990, the basic IRS filing document for non-profits in the US. CH A RIT Y N AV IG AT OR Reviews non-profits based on their tax status, sources of revenue, length of operation, spending practices, and more.

ECFA Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has a website to look at member organizations that have been accredited.

* According to data collected by The Unstuck Group in Q1 2018 ARCCHURCHES.COM

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Going Local IMPACTING OUR CITIES TOGETHER

by Lindsey Hansen

56

ARC MEET-UPS are an easy way to connect with local pastors and couples in your city. We see Meet-Ups of all shapes and sizes being held across the country, dinner, coffee, golfing, baseball games, or church settings.

Of course, they normally involve food.

these gatherings as a time to invite other local pastors from your community to attend and build relationships with them.

If we truly want to impact our cities, we believe that we need to do it together – working alongside other believers and life-giving churches for the cause of Christ.

Meet-Ups are not restricted to just ARC planters or partners. We hope you will use

Our tagline is “don’t do ministry alone.” It’s true, the enemy will try to isolate you

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and make you feel you’re the only one fighting for your city.

Reach out! Be proactive and foster relationships with other pastors and encourage each other’s churches to thrive.

You can find the local Meet-Up schedule at archurches.com/connect. If you don’t see a Meet-Up in your area, please reach out to dan@arcchurches.com to coordinate one today!

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We love to see your posts!

Use #arcmeetup and tag @arcchurches on your photos!

“ Now the

multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.�

ACTS 4:32 (NKJV)

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ARC Global Update

by Michael Smith

WHEN THE ORIGINAL SIX pastors formed ARC in early 2001, their vision was to plant

life-giving churches that would impact the world. It was more than just the missions-giving of those churches that would impact the world, it was the global friendships that extended ARC’s influence way beyond U.S. borders.

ARC’s relational influence has grown. Our emphasis on healthy culture, a life-giving DNA, reaching unchurched people, and gift-oriented ministry is important for churches in every nation. Many have also found our principles for launching a church to be transferable into their culture. By being strategic, building teams, and preparing well before beginning the first service, a church planter can create a relevant church that is effective in reaching the lost and impacting a city. Many church planters in other countries have taken our model, made it their own, and planted strong. Hundreds have attended opening day launches in Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, and South America. Our launch model can really work anywhere!

A few years ago, leaders in several countries begin to ask about forming an ARC in their nation. They approached the ARC 58

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U.S. leadership team for approval, and then set out to build an influential core team to form a network in their country. This was no small feat. It usually takes two to three years to effectively build a leadership team, form an organization, build a partner base of 20+ churches to fund their own church planting, contextualize the launch training model, and start planting churches. Ireland, The Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, and two countries in Asia have formed.

These global network leaders are our heroes!

It takes a national vision – way beyond their own church vision – and it takes influential leadership to bring other churches into that vision. They’ve been successful. Canada has already planted 13 churches, with another 14 in the works over the next year and a half.

Their last four launches had more than 350

On a technology front, these new networks are tapping into what has already been built for the U.S. launch process. That includes a dashboard equipped to bring church planters through each phase of the process including evaluation, approval, training, coaching, and funding. Canada is already set up on our new system and the others should be launching that same dashboard over the next few months.

If you are a pastor in another nation and are not connected with ARC, we invite you to attend one of our conferences to relationally connect. Besides our two main conferences in the U.S., each of these global networks have annual conferences as well. We encourage you to reach out to other pastors and leaders in your nation. Before trying to build an official network, your goal should be to bring the life-giving DNA and culture of friendship to those working alongside of you.

If you are a pastor in the U.S. and interested in learning more about these ARC Global Networks, consider attending one of their conferences. We think you will be proud of what you see!

As Greg Surratt, President of ARC says, “Our dream is to see a life-giving church in every community of the world.” Sometimes that happens through friends of ARC applying our principles to plant a strong and influential church. In some places, there

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people in attendance on launch day with one of those having more than 600! In Asia, more than 25 churches have been planted.

The Netherlands, Ireland, and South Africa have planted their first churches in the last 12 months and have more in the pipeline. These leaders have made the ARC model their own, showing that it’s way more than just a U.S. model of planting churches.

“Our dream is to see a life-giving church in every community of the world.”

–GREG SURRAT T

are existing networks, denominations, and movements already established. Those groups, we can cheer on. In other places, leaders that are a part of our extended family are taking our values and culture to plant not just churches, but movements that will change their nation. No matter what stage of the process, we know that the eternal impact is exponentially more than what we see, and together we will reach our world.

For more information on ARC Global Networks, visit global.arcchurches.com.

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Living Beyond Ourselves A N IN T ERVIE W WIT H PA S TOR JIMM Y ROL LINS

by Lindsey Hansen

FOR AS LONG AS HE CAN REMEMBER, PASTOR JIMMY ROLLINS HAS HAD A PASSION FOR HELPING PEOPLE. HE GREW UP HELPING HIS PARENTS WHO WERE THE E XECUTIVE PASTORS OF T HEIR CHURCH , F OR M E R LY L I V ING WAT E R S WORSHIP CENTER, BUT NOW I5 CIT Y OUT SIDE OF BA LTIMORE, M A RY L A ND. A S HE BEGA N TO S E E T H E N E E D S I N H I S C I T Y, H E K N E W M I N I S TRY HAD TO BE RE AL, IT HAD TO BE TANGIBLE, AND THE CHURCH HAD TO DO SOMETHING TO M E E T T H E N E E D S O F T H E I R C O M M U N I T Y. H E WANTED A CHURCH THAT WASN’ T JUS T IN THE C I T Y B U T F O R T H E C I T Y.

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“WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE if church

were the tangible hands and feet of Jesus?

Where people could touch hope, feel hope, and experience hope,” said Jimmy.

Jimmy and his wife Irene built their vision for i5 City around Matthew 25:34-40 (nkjv).

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ In this scripture, the needs pointed out are food, water, shelter, clothing, and care.

These became the lanes for how i5 City was going to meet the needs of their community.

The “i” in their name stands for impact and the “5” are these five pillars.

Every Saturday, i5 City volunteers provide food distribution to their city. They have a mobile food pantry to serve areas of their city labeled as “food deserts.” These are communities that have limited availability to fresh fruit and vegetables, usually found in impoverished areas. This is largely due to a lack of grocery stores, farmers’ markets, and healthy food providers.

“ In this

scripture, the needs pointed out are food, water, shelter, clothing, and care.”

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i5 City has mobile service units that they use to bless the homeless. They can prepare meals on-site and the unit is equipped with showers for people to use. Every Sunday, i5 volunteers pick up people who don’t have a way to get to church and use these resources to provide a meal and a shower so they feel comfortable and dignified as they attend church.

“Would the community miss us if we were gone?

That will tell you a lot. For us, we want to be practical and consistent, to earn the trust of those in need. We want them to know they can count on us to be there,” said Jimmy.

Another outreach of i5 City is i5 elite. i5 elite is a sports club that focuses on building young people into superior athletes, cultivating a desire for excellence in education, and developing valuable life skills.

Jimmy and Irene wanted to use their passion for young people and athletics to change the way they get people to church.

Instead of just inviting people to church, they built relationships with the community through i5 elite and in turn, families started attending i5 City.

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The program started as a track club with eight kids, and has grown to more than 400 young people, ages 6–18, who participate in track and field and football. These athletes are excelling on and off the field, and these 400 young people represent 400 families who have now experienced the culture of i5 elite and for many, i5 City.

Faye Johnson’s grandson was a runner with i5 elite. He and his mother, Faye’s daughter, had begun attending i5 City.

They invited Faye to church with them. The service was very different from the traditional church background she had come from, but she chose to embrace the words that were being sung and not the method or the volume. Through i5 City, she dedicated her life to Jesus and began to serve.

Faye said, “i5 City has helped me regain my passion for serving Christ and being in church. This church is actually going out and serving the community. That was something I longed for in a church but never found until now.”

“ Would the community miss us if we were gone? That will tell you a lot.”

Through i5 elite, this family got in Church and is serving God. For Faye Johnson, she not only found a church home, she found a church family. When she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, she knew she was supposed to keep serving.

“God told me, He’ll heal me as I go,” said Faye.

She continued to serve while receiving chemo; she continued to serve as her hair fell out; she continued to serve when she became physically weak; and she continued to serve when doctors told her she only had two months to live. She kept serving, and God healed her. Faye Johnson believes she was able to receive God’s healing power because of her faithfulness to serve, which all started when she was introduced to the church through a sports outreach program.

Jimmy believes that he doesn’t just pastor his church, he pastors his city. The needs of his city are his business.

“My hope is to encourage other pastors to think about the needs of their city and to partner with local politicians, education departments, city officials and find out what are the gaps that the church can help fill,” said Jimmy.

“For i5 City, we are more than a church. We are an outreach powered by a church.”

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Beyond Sunday

AN INTERVIEW WITH PASTOR EARL MCCLELLAN

by Emily Chenevert

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COMMUNIT Y COULD BE DE FINE D A S “A F E E L ING OF

FELLOWSHIP

WITH

OTHERS, A S A RESULT OF

SHARING

COMMON

AT TITUDES, INTERESTS, A N D G O A L S .”

FOR PASTOR E ARL MCCLELL AN AT SHORELINE CI T Y CHURCH IN DA LL AS, TEX AS, HE HOPES TO BUILD THAT FEELING OF COMMUNIT Y BY EMPOWERING HIS CHURCH THROUGH BEING INTENTIONAL WHEN IT COMES TO THE L ANGUAGE HE AND HIS TEAM USE EACH WEEK . T HE Y H AV E CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT AROUND HEART

ONE AND

COMMON MISSION,

WHICH IS TO BE THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD WE

LIVE

IN

I T A C T I V E L Y.

AND

DO

E

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

“WE HAVE A CREED that we say at our church, we say it with our kids and our adult youth,” Earl said.

I am loved by God. I cannot earn it. I cannot lose it. In Christ I am forgiven and made brand new. I live with passion and purpose. I am empowered by the Spirit to be the Church in the world and to live for the glory of God. “We are trying to empower, teach our people to enter into the world and to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It is a significant piece of who we are and our dna,” said Earl.

As you talk to him, his passion is contagious.

He wants to help his church realize that their focus is not just to gather together in a crowd, but to go out into their community and be change agents in their world.

“Most people are not going to be able to work at the church. You are in the job that you have for such a time as this – to be a prophet, a pastor, a leader, a mentor, an encourager, and a change agent in that environment. That’s how we want our church to think,” said Earl.

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SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

Their language from the pulpit is not just language for Sunday. He said, “It’s for our lives day in and day out. You don’t need a gospel that just works on Sunday. You need it on Tuesday afternoon, at 4:30 p.m., when you are hitting your head against your cubical at your office. You need it Friday night at midnight when your friends are texting you, but you are trying to leave that old life.”

We asked what makes the people in the church so focused on inviting others to church or using their position for purpose and he said it’s about the heart.

“I would say, the heart first and then live it.

Do you want a big church or are you more interested in seeing people’s lives changed?

Do you want the people in your community to fall in love with Jesus? Are you so passionate about the church, that if they don’t go to your church but they are a part of another life-giving church that you can still celebrate that?”

He is motivated to see lives changed, and it doesn’t always mean numbers. For Earl, it all comes back to motivation.

“Always ask yourself, what is your motivation? You may not have the crowd … but you may not have the mission to have a crowd. Your mission is to keep focused on the one. Those who come will be attracted to that. Your motivation matters. People will sense that and will want to be a part of that community.”

He believes it’s the church’s finest hour to live like authentic Christians. He says that if the church looks different than the world, people will be drawn to the greatest story ever told. They speak to their church in a way for them to see the world as territory that should be taken.

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“You don’t need a gospel that just works on Sunday.

You need it on Tuesday afternoon, at 4:30 p.m., when you are hitting your head against your cubical at your office.”

In Matthew 16:18-19 (niv), we read, “… and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.”

“The whole idea of the gates of hell – in our mind, gates are not often weapons, they are defenses. Gates are put up to keep people out. I think there was a long time in the church where we were saying that we are supposed to set up gates, so hell can’t get in.”

He said, “Hell is the one with the gates, and they are trying to keep the Church out. Our job is to go into the world and knock down the gates. In every place the enemy has set up territory, but we say, ‘no, that belongs to God’ and we ram the gates as many times as we need to.”

“If the Church continues to be what Jesus has called us to be, I think we will break through

the calloused hearts and minds. If we treat people with dignity, honor, and respect; if we walk with humility, but still lead like champions; if we walk with a mixture of wisdom and zeal; if we walk like Christ walked; people will begin to take notice. Then, we will get the opportunity to share our lives and our words with them,” said Earl.

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI

He said, “We will be able to tell the most amazing story, the only story that makes all the difference in the world. It’s a story for every single person and people group and that is the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

For Earl and Shoreline City, “We are not hiding out on the weekends, we are having a family reunion, so we can be empowered to go back out in every realm of society – business, medical, education, athletics – and to establish the kingdom of God on earth, in those places, as it is in Heaven.”

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by Lindsey Hansen and Tori Townley

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O N A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 17, H U R R I C A N E H A R V E Y, A C A T E G O R Y 4 HURRICA NE , M A DE L A NDFA L L ON T HE T E X A S GUL F CO A S T. O V E R T HE NE X T F E W D AY S , T HOUGH T HE S T OR M WIND S BEG A N T O W E A K EN, I T S R A INFA L L DID NO T. A N E S T IM AT E D 2 7 T RIL L ION G A L L ON S OF R AIN FELL OVER TE X AS - SOME PARTS OF HOUSTON RECEIVING OVER 50 INCHES OF R AIN. MANY WERE C A L L I N G T H I S A 1, 0 0 0 -Y E A R F L O O D . Y E T , I N A T I M E O F S U C H C R I S I S A N D T R A G E D Y, C H U R C H E S W O R K E D TOGETHER IN ORDER TO SERVE THE COMMUNIT Y LIK E NEVER BEFORE.

I

IN THE FIRST HOURS LEADING UP to the storm’s approach, during its lingering landfall and rains, dozens of ARC pastors and local churches banded together as brothers in extraordinary ways. Dino Rizzo, Executive Director of ARC, began a text thread with over 20 pastors, church leaders, and ARC staff. After playing a huge role in the relief efforts in Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, he knew this was going to be a critical time to work together.

We were able to talk to four of the ARC pastors who were heavily involved in the relief efforts and who continue to play instrumental roles in the rebuilding process.

W H AT WA S YOUR FIRS T RE AC TION W HEN YOU RE A LIZED T HE S T ORM WA S GOING T O HIT YOUR A RE A? “Is this real?” said Scott Jones, Senior Pastor of Grace Church in Humble, Texas. “Because of all the times weathermen speak in hyperbole, there’s always a challenge of knowing if it’s real or if it will pass. My first thought was deciding whether to cancel Sunday services or not. As we began to hear the predictions that this would be a 100 ... 500 ... 1,000-year flood, we realized this was indeed real. We made the decision to cancel services and then immediately called Pastor Dino Rizzo.”

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“My phone was like the 4th of July. It was insane,” said Scott. “It was an adrenaline rush, and it was phenomenal.”

“I remember Pastor Dino said, ‘Boys, if you can get rid of the logos and the egos and come together to reach this city, we can make a major Kingdom impact.’ That was like a pre-game speech that got me fired up!” said Brandon Barber, Senior Pastor of Elevate People in Houston, Texas.

“I had received a prophetic word that said ‘In six months, God is going to entrust you with something that is going to blow your mind.’

I wrote that date on my board. I had no idea what this word meant for us. I was thinking our church was about to double, we were going to explode, amazing things were about to happen. Praise God!” said Jimn Kyles, Lead Pastor of Anchor Bend in Rosenberg, Texas.

When the storm was approaching, he looked at that date he had written down – August 25. He knew this storm was what God was

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referring to. They knew they were called to serve and immediately got to work.

W H AT WA S YOUR FIRS T S T EP IN RE SPONDING? “Pastor Dino shared with me that there were two ways we could go about responding,” said Scott. “He told me, ‘You can handle this as a local church, or you can handle this apostolically.’ When he said those words to me, it made me realize that our goal was not just to be able to say our members are okay, but to ask, how are we as a church going to do something?”

“I called Pastor Jimn and asked if our team could come spend a day learning from him and his crew,“ said Brandon Barber. “We came and saw the structure, system, and process of how they were doing things. From that, we were able to implement our own response plans. I told my team to get ready to work harder than they’ve ever worked in their lives – we were going to reach some people!”

IN W H AT WAYS DID T HE REL ATIONSHIP WIT H O T HER L OCA L PA S T ORS A FFEC T YOUR JOURNE Y IN T HIS ?

“There was an amazing cohesion between us – an already galvanizing relationship,” said Jimn. “I think sometimes we want to build relationships in the crisis, but what I love about all of the “H-town ARC Pastors”, as we call ourselves, is that there was already a relationship base before the crisis hit. Without that in place between us, there wouldn’t have been much for Pastor Dino to step in and coach.”

“We had recently had Pastor Scott speak at our church and were forming a friendship. It was so cool to know that was already unfolding so when the storm hit, we already had a relationship established,” said Mark Moreno, Lead Pastor of Journey Church in Kingwood, Texas.

T HROUGH RE SPONDING T O T HIS CRISIS, HO W DID YOU G AIN INFL UENCE IN T HE CIT Y ?

“We were boots on the ground. We weren’t looking for anything except to be a resource and help. I think it was recognized that sometimes when the government falls short, we could come in as the Church and help where sometimes they couldn’t,” said Jimn.

“I remember Pastor Dino saying, ‘You just watch the doors of favor that are going to open up,’” said Brandon.

“He just asked me, what do you need?”

Brandon said, referring to when he received a call from Jimmy Rollins, Lead Pastor at i5 City in Maryland. “At first I thought, I know people are going to need showers, but what are we going to do with this? We weren’t sure what God wanted us to do at first. We couldn’t even get to our church until two weeks after Harvey hit. However, our team

“ There was an amazing cohesion between us – an already galvanizing relationship.”

–JIMN K YLES

and the crew from i5 City just started hitting the streets.”

Before he knew it, i5 City had rallied a team together outside of Baltimore and was bringing down a mobile shower truck to Houston.

The team came to a home in the east downtown area. The family had lost everything.

The father was crippled and had been lying in a bed where the water had come all the way up to the top edge. His wife was crying, and she said, “My sons have helped me clean everything up, but the one thing I wish I could give my husband is a good shower.”

“Ma’am I tell you what, we have a shower truck right outside of your house! This is how much God is thinking about you – He sent a team from Baltimore, Maryland to come here to Houston just to take care of you,” said ARCCHURCHES.COM

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When the Church Cares, the World Notices

by Lindsey Hansen

SHORTLY AFTER HURRICANE HARVEY

hit, Scott Jones, Senior Pastor of Grace Church outside of Houston, Texas got a call from Los Angeles. It was Paul Van Doren, owner of Vans shoes. He said, “I'm coming to Houston and bringing truckloads of shirts, shoes, and caps. Every size, infant to adult.”

Paul Van Doren, himself, traveled to Houston and volunteered with the Grace Church team for five days. He told the Grace Church staff, “I saw how Houston responded to Katrina victims – how your city opened up and welcomed many people who were evacuated and even permanently transplanted here. When I saw this storm hit you guys I thought, 'Houston has a heart for others, so I'm going to help Houston.'"

The hurricane hit right at the beginning of the school year, and many schools and surrounding neighborhoods were severely impacted. With the help of Vans, they were able to provide backpacks, clothes, and shoes to students of some of the hardest-hit schools in the area.

Van Doren brought some of his pro skateboarders with him to Houston, who were also

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believers. Jay Hazlip was there. He was a professional vertical skateboarder and is now a pastor in Orange County. Students in Houston heard that he was in town and came just to meet him.

Vans donated over 20,000 pairs of shoes and other items to the people of Houston.

When their team got back to California, they reached out to Mike Acosta, Grace Church Missions Pastor, and said, "We are having our annual sales conference, and we want to fly you in."

Mike went to the event and Paul Van Doren personally presented him with the Humanitarian Award for the church’s relief efforts in Houston. Mike was able to greet the thousands of Vans employees and spoke about how the Church and the community came together to serve the people of Houston.

Vans had never presented this award to anyone outside of their employees. Scott Jones said, “It was an honor for us to represent the Church and show how much the Church cares for the people of our city.”

Brandon. She was weeping uncontrollably.

The team was able to pray healing over this man and lead that whole family to Jesus.

I love the partnership of the local church.

God used someone from the Northeast to pursue this family. Honestly, if it was all for just that one person, it was worth it,” said Brandon.

The team was able to serve that entire neighborhood with a giant block party, complete with snow cones, music, food, supplies, and more showers.

Through Hurricane Harvey, Jimn Kyles’ church launched the Fort Bend Dream Center. They also decided to rename their church to Anchor Bend after the experience of Hurricane Harvey.

“We recognized that we could be a source of strength and hope and a great resource to our community in a way that we previously hadn’t been,” said Jimn. “We felt like we were becoming an anchor to this region.

The focus for us is not just that we are here to build a church in this city, but that we are here to make this city better because we’re a church in this city.”

HO W H A S T HIS E X PERIENCE RE SH A PED YOUR PERSPEC TIV E ?

“He who ministers to broken hearts will always have an audience.” Scott said. This was something his dad often quoted. “You can get in the rhythm of church – growing, next steps, rounding the bases – and forget that it’s really about the needs of people. Jesus was the ultimate at meeting both practical and spiritual needs. People listen through the filter of whatever brokenness or challenge they’re facing. This experience has impacted my pulpit ministry. I approach it differently now.”

“ What I didn’t realize was that I had let outreach take a backseat in our church and in my own life.”

–BRANDON BARBER

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“If you’re getting ready in the middle of a crisis, it’s too late.”

–JIMN K YLES

“In the first two years of our church, we were constantly doing outreach. The season we were in lately, we began to focus more on our inner structure – which was good, and we needed to. What I didn’t realize was that I had let outreach take a backseat in our church and in my own life,” said Brandon.

“Going through this storm reignited my passion to make outreach equally as important as the platform and as everything else within the church walls. We already had a passion for outreach, but this lit it on fire again for us. Our team and church have been different ever since. You can feel the energy.”

Mark said God told him, “I’m going to force you to become missional – to become the church that I desire.” “It was easy for us to get comfortable in our building and the services. God was forcing us to become His church. We learned it. We embraced it. Our people are now walking in not being berated or enamored at all by what a Sunday morning production standpoint gives. It’s a great additive, but it’s not the priority. The priority

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“ God is screaming at us to get outside the walls of the church.

Go where the people are.”

–SCOT T JONES

is people. If we continue to be on our knees with our hands lifted toward heaven, He’s going to put us before generals and officials.

The cities are going to come to us as churches together and ask us what to do. We are the ones with the equation and the ultimate ingredient of hope. As these doors continue to open we’re going to seize them!”

W H AT PR AC TICA L A DV ICE WOUL D YOU GIV E O T HERS T O GE T RE A DY T O RE SPOND IN SUCH TIME S OF GRE AT NEED? “Don’t get ready – be ready,” said Jimn. “If you’re getting ready in the middle of a crisis, it’s too late. You’ve got to evaluate what it takes to be ready for whatever happens.

We haven’t seen anything yet. We are going to start seeing more natural disasters in an accelerated way – hurricanes, wildfires, floods. We must continue to be ready for the opportunities where we can really rise up and be the Church.”

Scott explained how important it is to set aside funding for these emergencies. They now have a fund specifically for emergencies like Harvey and other human disasters like the Las Vegas or Florida shootings.

“The church has to engage. We need to be ready to rise,” said Jones. “Whatever the problem, we know we have Jesus as the answer. It’s just figuring out how to apply Him. God is screaming at us to get outside the walls of the church. Go where the people are.”

“Just know that God will use anybody,” said Brandon. “To be transparent, being a smaller church and seeing the level, size, and resources of these other guys (they’re generals to me) made me start to question if God could use us. I started feeling like we weren’t big enough – didn’t have enough. I literally woke up every day and just said, ‘God point me somewhere.’ I started walking the street, and God just started moving and doors were opened. In five weeks we served over 10,000 people. Our little small church in Houston, Texas.”

“If you’re willing to go, God will use you.

Don’t listen to the doubts. Take a step and start helping people. God will take care of the rest,” said Brandon.

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Equip T HE RE SOURCE S

T HE A RC FA MILY IS F UL L OF T R E ME NDOU S WISDOM AND RESOURCES TO DR AW FROM. WE AIM TO GATHER A WE A LTH OF GRE AT TE ACHING AND TR AINING ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS AROUND MINISTRY AND LIFE. WE HOPE YOU WILL READ AND SHARE! WE LOVE TO SEE PAS TORS GROW HE A LTHIER AS LE ADERS, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT IS WHAT MAKES CHURCHES THRIVE.

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IN T HIS SEC TION

p 84

Building the Kingdom

We recently asked the Wesleyan Investment Foundation team to share some of the most common questions they get from churches as they begin thinking about their first or next building project.

by Lindsey Hansen p 86

Adaptive Authenticity

I will never forget the sense of total fear that gripped my heart when I held my firstborn child in my arms.

by Jonathan Wiggins p 88

Leading the Way in Generosity

What if we gave a dollar to something outside the church, in our community, for every person who walked inside our church?

by Emily Chenevert p90

How Your Church Can Love Your City

When Dino Rizzo started leading outreaches, he didn’t have a lot of resources, but he understood Jesus’ “show and tell” strategy.

by Dino Rizzo

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EQUIP

Events to Check Out

5 Questions to Ask Before Speaking

by Geoff Surratt

Founder of Ministry Together

01.

02.

03.

0 4.

05.

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W HO A M I SPE A K ING T O ? What is the average age of the audience? Are they more blue collar or white collar? Is it a “churched” crowd or more seeker-ish? What is unique about their culture? Jesus tailored his message to his audience, I should to.

THE CAUSE CONFERENCE

Kansas City, MO Nov 2-4, 2018

W H AT IS T HE FELT NEED? What common human need am I addressing? If I am not addressing a felt need then the audience won’t listen, and my message will be wasted.

W H AT IS T HE RE A L NEED I A M A DDRE S SING? Felt needs and real needs seldom line up. The goal of speaking is to catch people’s attention by identifying what they are feeling, then lead them gently (or not so gently) to the real need in their lives. (You feel lonely, you need God).

TEAM CHURCH CONFERENCE Seattle, WA Aug 6-8, 2018

W H AT IS T HE T HEME OF T HE ME S S AGE ? Can I boil the message down to one succint statement? If I cannot then I am not ready to speak. And the theme is not the catchy title or the passage of scripture. The theme is the one essential truth that will change people’s lives if they can grasp it.

W H AT DO I WA N T PEOPL E T O DO A S A RE SULT OF HE A RING T HIS ME S S AGE ? What action step or steps do you expect people to take as a result of hearing your message? If there are no action steps then there really isn’t a reason for me to listen to you. If you are just passing on knowledge then write it down; I’ll read it later.

APRIL 2018

HILLSONG CONFERENCE New York, NY Aug 1-3, 2018

by Philip Wagner

EQUIP

Distractions ... or Divine Interruptions?

Benefits of Church Portability

Senior Pastor, Oasis Church, Los Angeles, CA

by Portable Church

I’ve discovered some distractions might actually be Heaven’s interruptions. They might be God’s way of leading us into an important new piece of the puzzle in His ultimate plan for our dreams. What feels like an interruption in one moment can be the key to unlock another direction God wants us to go.

But how do you tell the difference between a distraction and a divine interruption?

With the expense being frequently less than permanent spaces, more can be invested in ministries that continue to grow the church.

Determine whether your current path honors God’s true direction or whether the new direction you are being drawn to may be more aligned with His purpose for you. While God may lead us into short-term assignments at times, they will be something that interferes with His ultimate direction.

Be patient and allow God to reveal more clearly to you what direction to take. Time is your friend. When you react to an opportunity too quickly and do not give it thoughtful consideration, it’s easy to be misled into thinking a distraction is a divine interruption and vice versa.

Rely heavily on input from experienced spiritual leaders and people who you know model making wise decisions in the same area you’re considering. Watch how they handle distractions and opportunities. Talk to them about your situation and ask for their advice and guidance. King Solomon said, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Jesus was always available for interruptions. He seemed to keep Himself open so He could turn what looked like a distraction into the gateway to a miracle.

Portability creates a tight community through bonding and teamwork; bonds often disappear and are hard to re-create in a permanent facility.

People are noticing and feeling connected to a sacrifice to be involved in a portable situation.

As churches grow and move into new spaces, the surrounding community is kept aware through marketing efforts. This momentum is noticed and frequently attracts even more people.

Rented venues tend to keep their spaces relevant, helping the church space appear fresh, clean, and not dated.

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EQUIP

4 Key Lessons for Balancing Life and Church Growth

by Charlotte Gambill

Lead Pastor, LIFE Church, United Kingdom

01.

02.

03.

0 4.

DON’ T DO T HIS A L ONE. Any leader who looks like they’ve got it together has a team of people behind them helping them keep it together. Refusing to work in isolation is key to balance.

T HINK Y E A RS, NO T MOMEN T S. Instead of trying to ride a wave, sustain a life that loves God and serves Him. If God needs you on a platform, He can and will orchestrate you getting there – and it will not be at the sake of your family or marriage because God gave you those gifts as well.

IN T EN TION A L LY PL A N FA MILY TIME. At least three or four nights a week, we all sit down for dinner at the table. We know this is an important time for our family, so we plan it into our schedule. Nothing happens by chance. You want a date night, then you have to plan for one. You want family time? You have to be intentional about it.

FIND T HE RH Y T HM OF GR ACE FOR YOUR LIFE. Matthew 11 talks about this. Too many times, we forget that there is grace that allows us to find rest when we work with, not for, God. Working with Him means that you are very aware of where the grace is and is not. Sometimes if I over schedule myself, I will know I am now operating under my own steam and not under God’s grace. Because I’m operating outside the rhythm of grace for my life, I get weary or frustrated very quickly.

I have two children and a church, and the Cherish Conference, but they don’t stress me out. I don’t feel burned out. When I get into the place where I’m working with God, and my husband is working with God, there’s a rhythm of grace for our family.

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Love Inventory

Books to Read

by Becca Ketterling

Co-Pastor, River Valley Church, Minneapolis, MN

My son just got engaged! As a mother of two boys, I’m overjoyed to be getting a daughter! He proposed on Monday evening, the day before Valentine’s Day. So sneaky. Now the planning and preparations can begin. I’m most excited to be able to go along on the hunt for the perfect wedding dress.

Of course I’ll have to find the perfect mother-of-the-groom dress as well.

Over the years as I’ve prayed for my future daughters-in-law, I have prayed for them to be the perfect help mate. Someone to compliment my son’s personality, be strong where they are weak, love them unconditionally, and encourage them always. Someone to laugh with, cry with, tell their deepest secrets and dreams, and someone to challenge them to be the men of God they were created to be.

NECESSARY ENDINGS

by Dr. Henry Cloud

BUILDING A STORY BRAND

by Donald Miller

As I prayed this several months ago, God spoke to me and asked, “How are you doing in these areas of loving your husband of 28 years?” Umm … Good … I think … And then I proceeded to go through each category and rate myself.

Honestly, I could be doing better in more than a couple areas.

As pastor’s wives, mothers, career women, sisters and daughters, we get pulled from every angle. After our relationship with our Savior, our husbands are the next most important relationships we have. How are you doing in the area of being your husband’s biggest cheerleader? The only one that can meet his physical needs (yup you’re the only one!), and the one he can confide in when he’s feeling weak.

Let’s all commit to being the best help mates to our husbands that we can be! Let’s be examples for our daughters and future daughters-in-law to follow. Healthy marriages breed healthy pastors, which breed healthy churches. We need healthy churches to reach this world for Jesus!

TEAM OF TEAMS

by Gen. Stanley McChrystal

THE DANIEL DILEMMA

by Chris Hodges ARCCHURCHES.COM

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Leadership Blind Spots

by John C. Maxwell

A N A RRO W PERSPEC TIV E It’s important for leaders to take a step back in the face of a new problem so that they search for and find the solution that best fits the situation, not just their own point of view.

INSECURIT Y Insecurity by its very nature causes leaders to think only of themselves. But the very essence of leadership is being about others!

OU T-OF-CON T ROL EGO I believe pride is a leader’s greatest enemy.

Like insecurity, pride makes the leader all about himself, rather than those he leads. It is the opposite of humility.

A L ACK OF CH A R AC T ER Many people with talent make it into the limelight, but the ones who have neglected to develop strong character rarely stay there long.

Absence of strong character eventually topples talent. Why? Because people cannot climb beyond the limitations of their character.

Quick Website Evaluation

by Shaun Ray

HO W QUICK LY CA N I FIND YOUR SERV ICE TIME S & L OCATIONS ?

A RE T HE SE PHO T OS RE A L OR S T OCK ?

CA N I T EL L W HO T HE L E A D PA S T OR IS ?

DO YOU T EL L ME W H AT I CA N E X PEC T IF I V ISIT ?

CA N I FIND OU T W H AT IS AVAIL A BL E FOR M Y FA MILY ?

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Avoiding Burnout

by Kerri Weems

5 Traits of Leaders Who are Easy to Follow

by Brady Boyd

Senior Pastor, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, CO

01.

02.

03.

0 4.

05.

T HE Y A RE FUN. Honestly, fun people are more fun to be around. Leaders who laugh have better meetings, tend to build camaraderie, and vanquish the inevitable relational stresses that come from any organization that involves two or more people. All of us love laughter and it is good medicine.

T HE Y A RE PREDIC TA BL E. Impulsive, unpredictable leaders may seem edgy and cool at first glance, but they are not easy to follow. Leaders who are easy to follow are not prone to whims or fancied by fads. They are not boring (see #1) but they are steady.

T HE Y A RE FAIR. Not everyone can be treated the same, but everyone can be treated fairly. Leaders who are easy to follow have established clear boundaries and are consistent when measuring results and performance.

T HE Y A RE AC TIV E LIS T ENERS. Leaders who are easy to follow know how to ask good questions that get the best answers. They are genuinely interested in you and know how to make eye contact during conversations. They tend to linger with their team in unhurried conversations and seldom make people feel rushed or pushed aside.

T HE Y A RE K IND. Leaders who are easy to follow manage their emotions and control their words. They are not easily angered and are much quicker with compliments than complaints.

They praise in public and correct in private.

Lead Pastor, Celebration Church Jacksonville, FL

We hear so much these days about pastors and leaders experiencing burnout and of the often-devastating consequences that follow.

No one ever intentionally tries to sabotage their own health and success, but the truth is that burnout is not the result of intention. It is the result of inattention. In other words, burnout is the result of neglect. So how can we, as leaders, make sure that we are not falling victim to neglect?

L E A RN T O RECOGNIZE T HE SY MP T OM S OF BURNOU T. M A K E TIME T O PR AC TICE SEL F-AWA RENE S S. H AV E T HE COUR AGE T O M A K E CH A NGE S T H AT CRE AT E HE A LT H A ND BA L A NCE IN YOUR LIFE.

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Building the Kingdom R E S OURCE PA R T NER S P O T L IGH T : W E S L E YA N IN V E S T MEN T FOUNDAT ION

by Lindsey Hansen

WESLEYAN INVESTMENT FOUNDATION

(WIF) has been serving churches since 1946, and is one of the largest church loan funds in the nation, currently serving more than 1,300 churches in all 50 states. More than 8,000 churches, individuals, and businesses place their savings accounts with WIF because they know it will be used for the Kingdom.

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not a typical secular lender and operates with a lot of flexibility, so some of the information below may only pertain to their process and not to other commercial lenders.

ARC and WIF have formed a strategic partnership to better serve the local church and the Kingdom. WIF is recognized as an extension of ARC and is the only church lender we refer. WIF is far more than a bank, they are a partner to the local church.

HO W MUCH CA N M Y CHURCH BORRO W ?

We ask, how much can the church afford?

We find that churches can generally afford a loan that is equal to three times the church’s annual tithes and offerings. Other factors we consider include the leadership of the church, attendance and giving trends, cash on hand for the project, income after all expenses are paid, and the value of the property although we don’t typically order appraisals.

“We are grateful to have the Wesleyan Investment Foundation as a member of the ARC Family. They have helped many pastors turn their building dreams into a reality,” said Dino Rizzo, ARC Executive Director.

W H AT A RE T HE L OA N IN T ERE S T R AT E S ?

Interest rates are determined on a case-bycase basis and can vary based on a number of factors. For over 70 years, WIF has always provided fair and competitive interest rates.

We recently asked the WIF team to share some of the most common questions they get from churches, as they begin thinking about their first or next building project. WIF is

W H Y SHOUL D I CHOOSE WIF OV ER A BA NK ?

WIF is a ministry partner with the local church and with ARC. We currently partner with over 1,300 churches in providing

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flexible and affordable loans so they have the facilities to reach their communities for Christ. Our loans are structured so the church can focus on ministry. We offer longterm financing options with no refinancing or balloon payments required, loans with no financial or restrictive covenants, lower fees over the life of the loan, and local, quick decision making. WIF has never foreclosed on a church. We look beyond the numbers to understand real Kingdom impact in evaluating a loan.

W HERE DOE S WIF GE T IT S MONE Y T O FUND CHURCH L OA NS ?

You! WIF depends on individuals like you, churches, and businesses to place money on deposit at WIF in a high interest-bearing and on-demand savings account. These funds are pooled together to make loans to churches, and only churches. Without the investment of thousands of our current deposit account holders, WIF would not be in the position it is today to make loans to churches.

“ Our loans are structured so the church can focus on ministry.”

W H Y SHOUL D I S AV E WIT H WIF ?

It’s good stewardship. Every dollar on deposit at WIF is used to provide loans to local churches. Your money will have a direct impact on growing the Kingdom! WIF also pays an attractive rate of interest that far exceeds what is offered at banks for similar accounts. Our accounts are demand deposit savings accounts, which means deposits and withdrawals can be made at any time without fees or penalties. WIF does not have shareholders, so every dollar of profit is reinvested back into helping churches. We currently maintain a capital reserve of over 18%, which is nearly double the FDIC requirement for a “well-capitalized bank.”

Wesleyan Investment Foundation is a strategic partner with ARC, helping ARC churches purchase property, renovate existing facilities, build new facilities, and refinance existing debt. For more information on the Wesleyan Investment Foundation, contact Greg Brooks at gregbrooks@wifonline.com.

–GREG BROOKS

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Adaptive Authenticity

by Jonathan Wiggins

MOST OF US ACCEPT the fact that great

leaders are lifelong learners. We attend conferences, read books, listen to podcasts, etc. precisely so we can adopt best practices in an effort to improve both our organizations and ourselves.

The Apostle Paul certainly endorsed this approach to both personal and leadership development. In fact, Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (nkjv), “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

This verse of Scripture encapsulates the leadership development culture of ARC as well as any single verse can. With just a few simple words, we are instructed to adopt the example, methods, and strategies of proven apostolic leaders in order to become more effective, Christ-like leaders ourselves.

If I’m being honest (this column is about authenticity), I used to really struggle with one little word in this verse. That word is, “imitate.” To imitate literally means to mimic, impersonate, copy, or emulate

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someone or something else. This word and the idea behind it often pose a dilemma of sorts for many developing leaders. The dilemma I’m referring to can be summed up in the following question, “How can I lead from a place of authenticity while copying the example of others?” After all, isn’t the very definition of authenticity compromised the moment we act like anyone else?

In an attempt to approach this critically important leadership development question in a useful way, I will share a little about my own story. I left home at 16 years of age to escape severe child abuse at the hands of my dad. Thankfully, I was placed with a caring and nurturing family for the remainder of my teenage years. A few years later, I moved out of that home, got a job, fell in love, and got married to an amazing woman named Amy. We eventually started a family of our own.

I will never forget the sense of total fear that gripped my heart when I held my firstborn child in my arms. Was I one day going to lose my temper and hurt my child the way

My wife’s father, on the other hand, is an extremely kind man who loves his own children in an exemplary way. He is the best dad I personally know. I profoundly admire the way he loves and supports his children. So even though I felt completely inadequate as a new father, I made the decision to imitate my father-in-law. I decided to act like the kind of father that my newborn son deserved to have rather than the one I believed myself to be.

Today, Amy and I have four children who are all healthy, who love their mom and dad, and who serve Jesus Christ with their whole hearts. By initially imitating a great father, I eventually became a good father. Imitating Amy’s dad in order to compensate for my own lack of good parenting skills came from a completely authentic place. It was the best way for me to develop into the kind of father that God called me to be.

Another example of this same principle can be seen in the development of one’s communication skills. All pastors should work on improving their communication skills. To become a great communicator, I believe it is critically important for us to imitate the messages we have heard from proven communicators.

It is clearly biblical for us to preach great sermons that were first preached by others.

Ecclesiastes 12 characterizes a wise preacher as one who collects the best proverbs (wise statements) of others and presents them to his own people.

When we preach a series we have borrowed from another great communicator, we are profoundly blessing our church while

“Authenticity is when you say and do the things you actually believe.”

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my father did with me? I felt paralyzed and helpless as a new father. I believed I lacked what it takes to be good father.

–SIMON SINEK

getting to experience what a truly great sermon feels like. Eventually, this approach will grow us into becoming significantly better communicators.

In order to become authentically good leaders, we are invited by Scripture to imitate great leaders. You might call this approach to leadership development “adaptive authenticity.” This is why Paul instructs us to imitate him. This explains why the Bible in Ecclesiastes describes this approach as a demonstration of great wisdom! It is completely authentic, stunningly effective, and should be widely embraced by anyone who is serious about becoming a better leader.

Jonathan and Amy Wiggins have served as the lead pastors of Rez.Church since June 2010. The Wiggins have a tremendous vision to see the work of the Kingdom of God advance, not only at Rez.Church, but also in the community, the nation, and the world.

Jonathan has a strong anointing to preach the Word of God. He brings a Rez look and revelation to God’s Word and challenges his hearers with biblical truths and principles.

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Leading the Way in Generosity AN INTERVIEW WITH PASTOR CHAD FISHER

by Emily Chenevert CHAD FISHER HAD AN IDEA. He and his wife Katie planted Rock City Church in Columbus, OH in April 2011. As 2012 approached, it was the first New Year celebration as a church and his heart was to do something wildly generous. He was looking at a unique way to model generosity in his community.

It started with the idea of one-for-one. He thought, what if we gave a dollar to something outside the church, in our community, for every person who walked inside our church? That was just the beginning, because within the first five years, his church was able to give $5 million outside the walls of the church, including a dream center they were able to launch as well as funds given to local and global outreach.

WHEN DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS UNIQUE IDEA OF GENEROSITY? CH A D : I talked to another pastor about this idea of one-for-one. We were going to give a dollar away for every person who walked through our doors, and we wanted the money to go to local and global missions.

We had no idea what our giving per person was going to look like. We didn’t know how we were going to afford it, but we felt that this was a practical way to model generosity because it was easy to communicate and talk about. It’s easy to celebrate and we could share each week. It became our DNA. HOW DID THIS IMPACT YOUR CHURCH? CH A D : We have something we call our generosity cycle, where we say it, we do it, and we celebrate it. We talk about the heart of 88

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God being a generous heart. We as a church talk about the expectation and responsibility and the opportunity as believers in the church to be generous. We talk about some of the practical ways of what we can do here and how we can do it together, and we do it.

As we do it, we celebrate what’s been done.

We do what we say we are going to do and we, as a church, accomplish some amazing things together and celebrate it.

WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW YOUR CHURCH USES WHAT IS GIVEN TO IMPACT THE COMMUNITY? CH A D : A few years ago, we started looking at what we could do for guests. We were looking at gifts to give them, but for us, we felt like there was something we could do that fit us better and the generous part of our

It was simple and easy. We communicated generosity at the end of every service – by turning in the card, you are being the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s a way to communicate generosity without being overly gimmicky.

People love to talk about the generous heart of the church. It’s reminding the church what happens when we all come together.

DO YOU THINK THIS HELPS YOU ENGAGE AND GET TO KNOW YOUR COMMUNITY BETTER? CH A D : It has helped us find partners in the community. It’s not expected to be that way.

We have this plan, and we realize it’s a lot of work. Before we give money to outside organizations, we want to know what they are doing. We might give a whole month’s worth of one-for-one to an organization. We are not going to send that much to an organization we don’t know anything about. It forces you to engage your city and to recognize who is doing good work in your city.

You don’t have to re-create the wheel. You can provide resources through finances or man power. It’s a great way to serve the community. We are accountable for every dollar we send outside the walls. We were surprised initially how hard it was to find organizations we wanted to support. After that hard work is done, they are so willing to send their thanks back to the church and to report on how the generosity is making an impact. It becomes a really great relationship with them.

The church becomes the hub of hope that we ought to be. We are that beacon of light because generosity is attractive. I think it’s

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church. We decided that for every guest card turned in, we would give $5 to the most reputable food bank in our city. Every $5 donation turned into a $50 bag of groceries because of other partnerships around the city, which was incredible.

“A generous church is led by a generous leader.”

–CHAD FISHER

the job of the church to identify, partner with, and resource those we can. Whatever the gaps are, we as the church should fill those gaps. You have to fulfill the vision that God has given you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help to resource the broader vision of Christ that is being carried out in your city.

HOW WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE A CHURCH PLANTER OR LEADER WITHIN THE CHURCH WITH THIS MESSAGE OF GENEROSITY? CH A D : You have to step out. You have to model it. A generous church is led by a generous leader before the church is generous.

It’s not just about what I give personally, it’s about what I communicate. You just have to do it. It’s so fun.

Generosity has spread throughout the culture of our church. One-for-one, you get excited about someone who gives $1 million, but you also get excited about the homeless person that puts $1 in the offering with a note that says, “I want to put in my one-for-one.”

People respond and want to get involved.

Being generous as a church will not slow down the vision, it will only accelerate the vision. It creates forward movement in your church.

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The World IS WAITING for us to LOVE THEM. — Tommy Barnett —

DINO RIZZO, A RC E X ECU TIV E DIREC T OR, GIV E S US A L OOK IN T O HIS NE W BOOK , " SHO W A ND T EL L ," HO W YOUR CHURCH CA N L OV E YOUR CIT Y. When Dino Rizzo started leading outreaches, he didn’t have a lot of resources, but he understood Jesus’ “show and tell” strategy. In this book, you’ll sense Dino’s heart, be inspired by his stories, and learn from his experiences of engaging his community.

W H E N I WA S A B O Y, I struggled with delayed speech, and I had difficulty pronouncing certain consonants. In the first grade, I was put in a special class called “resource.” This was before there was much sensitivity to these kinds of problems, so every day after home room, I got up and went to the class that carried plenty of emotional and relational baggage. There, I received speech therapy for half of each school day. I couldn’t pronounce certain sounds, and I stuttered badly. Over the years, my speech patterns didn’t improve very much, so I stayed in this class until I was in the eighth grade. At lunchtime each day, I left resource and went to the regular classes for the afternoon. As you might imagine, I wasn’t exactly an exemplary student, but in the regular classes, I excelled in two subjects: honors recess and show and tell. I killed it in both of those.

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HE EXPLAINED THAT HE KEPT IT IN A BOX UNDER LOCK AND KEY...AND HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO HAD A KEY.

At the end of the fifth grade, our teacher scheduled a Show and Tell Grand Finale, a Super Bowl of show and tell. She told us to bring something from our homes to present and tell everyone about it. To keep things fairly under control, so nobody brought snakes or too many Barbie dolls, our teacher asked us to write down what we planned to bring. She didn’t want any duplications.

By the time the paper got to me, almost everybody else had signed it. Only two of us were left—Johnny and me. After I’d written what I planned to bring, I handed the paper to Johnny. To my dismay, he wrote the same thing: a GI Joe Action Figure. I was so upset.

For the next couple of days, kids in our class brought their treasured items to class and told us all about them. I don’t want to say these kids were competitive, but everybody was trying to one-up the others. Finally, Johnny had his turn. He smirked at me as he walked to the front of the class, and he proudly showed his GI Joe . . . in its original box! Oh, come on. What red-blooded boy still has the box his action figure came in? He described it as “a Special Edition GI Joe.” He explained that he kept it in a box under lock and key . . . and he was the only person who had a key.

The teacher asked him, “Johnny, would you like to pass it around so everybody can see it up close?”

He exploded, “NO! I’m not letting anyone touch it! I keep it locked in my closet . . . with all my other collector GI Joes!”

Johnny sat down. The teacher turned to me and asked, “Dino, are you ready to show and tell?”

I nodded, “You bet I am!”

I guess I broke the rules because even though I knew Johnny was bringing his GI Joe, I brought mine anyway. I didn’t care who else brought one—it was my pride and joy. When I walked to the front, I told the class, “This is my GI Joe, but it doesn’t live in a box in the closet. It lives in the mud in my backyard . . . next to our dog that’s on a chain!”

I wasn’t through. I pointed to a black place on its head and told them, “I lit his hair on fire.” I then turned it over and showed them a gash on its back. “This is where I taped an M-80 to it and blew it up. And one of the legs came off, so I duct taped it back on. I’ve thrown it, run over it, and stomped on it, and it keeps coming back for more.” I grabbed my GI Joe by the head and threw it. I yelled, “Catch, Johnny!”

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I hadn’t kept my GI Joe in its original box locked in a closet. It had been to war, and it had more than its share of bumps and bruises. The other kids in the class gave me a standing ovation.

This may seem like an odd story to introduce the subject of serving our communities, but actually, it fits perfectly. The Christian life isn’t meant to be lived carefully protected in a box, and certainly not in a box on a shelf in a locked closet. It’s meant to be lived in the real world, in the mud with real people, giving them real hope.

Far too often, people come to church, sing a little and hear a message, all within the walls of the church building, but their lives remain protected and secure, almost like they live in a box. We wonder why our people aren’t more passionate, more committed to reach people with the gospel, and more willing to sacrifice to care for the disadvantaged. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for wonderful music and terrific teaching. That’s important, but if we thumb through the pages of the Gospels, we see a very different model of leadership. Jesus’ life and ministry are the ultimate example of show and tell. His followers saw Him heal the sick, feed the hungry, and care for the poor—and while He was doing those things, He taught them. That’s His model: He showed them, and He told them. Sometimes, the model in our churches is limited to telling, with very little showing. I’m not criticizing or condemning. I’m just pointing to a different model, one that I stumbled on and found incredibly effective, one that I now see on every page of the accounts of the life of Jesus. I’ve learned that “show and tell” is the most powerful way to supercharge the hearts and release the energy of people in our churches. That’s what this book is about.

“THE CHURCH CAME TO ME” When I was growing up, I helped my parents in our family business in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We sold tourists lots of flip-flops, airbrushed shirts, shark teeth, and cotton candy, so we worked every weekend. It wasn’t that we were against God or the church, but we were really busy every Saturday and Sunday. In fact, Sunday was our biggest day, and we couldn’t afford to miss any potential customers. My dad was a “lapsed Catholic,” but he was very generous, and my mom was a Baptist, but she didn’t go to church regularly at all. Our family life revolved around selling candy apples, rabbits’ feet, and mood rings. It was our livelihood, our reason for existence. My older sister found Christ through a Billy Graham Crusade, but by my late teenage years, she was out of

I HADN’T KEPT MY GI JOE IN ITS ORIGINAL BOX LOCKED IN A CLOSET. IT HAD BEEN TO WAR…

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the house. There were a few passing moments when God surfaced in our lives, but going to church was literally the last thing on my mind.

By the time I was 17 years old, I had seen street preachers who yelled at people as they walked by, and I’d seen busloads of church people file onto the beach to pass out tracts that warned people they were going to some form of eternal condemnation. One day, a man came by our stand as I was putting out a display of shark teeth, and he struck up a conversation with me. He let me know pretty soon that he was a Christian, but he didn’t yell, he didn’t push, and he didn’t pass out any literature that threatened me with gruesome, everlasting torment. He asked if I’d like a snowball from a vendor nearby. He wasn’t in a hurry, and he didn’t appear to have a pressing need to convert me. From the look in his eyes, the tone of his voice, and his genuine kindness, I felt something I hadn’t felt from other Christians who had come to convert me: I felt seen...I felt noticed...and I felt loved.

I realized he actually had a specific agenda. Purely and simply, it was to love me. He didn’t see me as a potential notch in his evangelism belt. He was genuinely interested in me, and he wanted to show God’s love for me by listening to my story. After about half an hour of relaxed interaction, he asked if he could tell me how to know God. He explained the gospel in a simple message: accept, believe, confess. He asked, “Do you want me to pray with you to receive Christ?”

I said, “No, not really. Not right now.”

He wasn’t offended, and he didn’t threaten me. He smiled and said, “That’s fine. Let me give you this piece of paper so in case you think of our conversation again, it will remind you what we talked about.” He paused a second, and then he smiled again: “There may be a moment when you want to say ‘yes’ to the love of God. This piece of paper has all you need to know. When that moment comes, read the prayer on the back.”

.

I felt seen.. d...

I felt notice . oved and I felt l

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Two weeks later, I came home after being out late . . . at a place where I never should have gone. I had left the paper near my bed. At that moment, my heart felt drawn to Christ.

I read the sheet again and decided to pray the prayer on the back. Immediately I sensed the love of God, the same love that man had displayed in our talk near the beach. He was a man I’d never met before, sent by a church I’d never visited (or heard of), trained by leaders who understood the power of kindness, and resourced by faithful people who tithed to God’s kingdom. From the moment we met, I could tell I wasn’t just a project to him. He genuinely loved me with the wonderful love of God.

I would never have gone to that church or any other one, but through him, the church came to me. I didn’t take the initiative to reach out. This man and the people of this church didn’t wait for me. He looked for a lost sheep, and he found one.

I COULD TELL I WASN’T JUST A PROJECT TO HIM.

Today, many churches are incredibly attractive places.

HE GENUINELY They have coffee bars, outstanding childcare, theatre LOVED ME WITH seating, fantastic music, movie nights, family activities, and every other conceivable convenience. I’m not THE WONDERFUL knocking those perks. As a matter of fact, I love all LOVE OF GOD. those features, and I’m a part of great churches that offer amazing things to people who arrive at their doors. I’m only observing there are plenty of people who will never make the first move to go to church to experience all the great things they have to offer. A lot of people are just like me: they need the church to come to them before they’re willing to go to church.

The question isn’t “Will we go to them?” If we understand the gospel and look at the life of Jesus, of course we’ll go. The real question is how we’ll go to them.

In this book (and in everything I do), I want to help church leaders engage more effectively with people in their communities—especially those people who aren’t going to take the first step toward the church.

T WO ASSUMPTIONS I know two important things about pastors and other church leaders: First, they genuinely care about the people in their communities, and second, they’re already incredibly busy. If they perceive the calling to reach out to the lost and the least as “one more thing on the to-do list,” it won’t happen. Already, far too many people and issues are demanding their time and attention. They need to rethink, redefine, and relocate their sense of calling. Reaching out to the poor, the disadvantaged, the disenfranchised, and the despised is central to the heart of God. It’s not an addendum to the gospel of grace; it is the gospel of grace because all of us were alienated from God and needed Jesus to reach out to us with His sacrificial love.

As leaders, we may have many different motivations for being in the ministry, but they all revolve around reaching people with the love of Jesus Christ to impact their eternity. We have different gifts and we serve in different situations, but this is our common calling.

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“

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE JUST LIKE ME: THEY NEED THE CHURCH TO COME TO THEM.

”

Jesus didn’t wait for us to come to Him. He left the comfort and glory of heaven to come into our neighborhood. The incarnation is the greatest act of community engagement in the history of the world! He came as the King, but not like any king the planet had ever known.

He was born in obscurity, and His parents were so poor they could afford only doves for an offering when He was presented at the temple. In His ministry, He moved effortlessly between the powerful and the powerless.

But in fact, He demonstrated God’s preference for the poor as He reached out to the sick, lepers, the lame, those who were demon-possessed, foreigners, children, women, and others who were overlooked or despised by society. These people weren’t projects to Jesus. He genuinely loved them, and they knew it.

To me, one of the most powerful and touching moments in the Gospels is John’s short introduction to the scene when Jesus gathered the disciples for the Last Supper. John tells us, “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (John 13:1). Jesus didn’t show His love through a lecture; He showed it by taking the role of a servant, the lowest servant, and washing their dusty feet. The disciples (like us) were slow to get the point.

They were soon bickering about which of them would occupy the highest positions when Jesus was crowned king. Things didn’t turn out exactly like they planned! The next day, Jesus went to the ultimate lengths to show His love: He gave himself in our place on the cross. Jesus served the lost, the poor, the disenfranchised, and the forgotten. He didn’t just tell us about “the full extent of his love”; He demonstrated it. From the beginning of the church, caring for the lost and the least has been central to our calling. To lead is to serve, and in fact, to believe is to serve.

For pastors and other church leaders, an act of compassion for those who feel overlooked isn’t just one more priority to add to our to-do list. Caring for “the least of these” is the culture of the gospel, something we can’t afford to miss if we’re to be who God wants us to be. But we need to be observant. The strategies we use should be tailored to the needs we uncover wherever we live—in rural areas, small towns, suburbs, and cities. We need to move our focus outside the walls of our buildings. The church isn’t a place, and it isn’t restricted to a time on Sunday or any other time of the week. We are people who have been chosen, forgiven, loved, and adopted by God. We belong to Him all day every day, and we have the unspeakable privilege of being channels of His grace, wisdom, and strength to people who never expected to receive God’s amazing love. We’re on a rescue mission to reach people who are stranded. Some know

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how desperate their situations are, but some are completely unaware. Like Jesus, we wade into their lives with tangible help—food, shelter, clothing, and safety—and the incomparable message of grace. As they see love in action and hear the good news, we let them choose to accept His gracious offer.

The benefits of making this ministry central to the calling of your church are deep and wide. You and your people will be more in touch with the heart of God, you’ll see specific results in the lives of those in need, your people will grow in their love for God and for people as they see God use them, and people in your community will be drawn to the love and joy they’ve experienced.

In other words, your church will grow as people in your community feel loved.

Those results are worth the effort.

How does all this happen? We need to hold two truths in our hands: First, God is already using your people to care for the people around them. The gospel has changed them from selfish to generous, and they’re responding to the needs they see every day. You don’t have to drum up their enthusiasm. Your job is to celebrate their compassion, provide resources, and empower them to lead. Second, you need the Spirit’s power working through a God-inspired plan to create a culture of generosity in your church. When the church began, virtually all believers were Jews; Gentiles were considered outsiders, unclean and despicable. God used a vision and a visitor to prompt Peter to travel to the home of Cornelius, a Roman soldier, to share the gospel of grace. Peter explained how remarkable it was that God was now inviting Gentiles to be His children. He began by telling Cornelius about the life and purpose of Jesus: “You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him” (Acts 10:36–38).

But Peter wasn’t finished with his explanation. Yes, Jesus came first to the Jews, but His love extends to all people.

In fact, the wide scope of God’s grace shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone. Peter continued, “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:42–43).

IN HIS MINISTRY, HE MOVED EFFORTLESSLY BETWEEN THE POWERFUL AND THE POWERLESS.

The church began with a heart for diversity. Then and now, no one is beyond the grace of God, and no one is beyond the reach of God’s people. Some of our acts of compassion are ARCCHURCHES.COM

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stirred spontaneously as the love we experience flows through us and from us into the lives of others, but churches need a plan. Through Isaiah, God connected the dots: “But a generous man devises generous things, and by generosity he shall stand” (Isaiah 32:8, NKJV). Pastors and church leaders, it’s our job to “devise generous things” our people can be involved in.

Let me —

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ask a few questions: As we look at the priorities Jesus demonstrated, how well do ours match His? Is our church known in the community for its compassion toward disadvantaged people?

How would we explain the heart of God for our communities?

How many of our resources are we allocating to care for the poor and the disadvantaged?

Are the resources and time we invest in people helping them take the next step out of their circumstances and into a place where they can connect with the body of Christ?

You already care for people outside the walls of your church, or you wouldn’t have picked up this book. I simply want to share some stories and lessons I’ve learned as we’ve taken the initiative to reach out to the people in our community. We’ve done some pretty cool things, but we’ve made plenty of mistakes. I want to help you avoid some of our mistakes. (Don’t worry, you’ll make enough of your own!) I’ll give you a glimpse of where we’ve found some valuable resources that have enabled us to care for more people. And finally, I want to encourage you to stay on task through the inevitable ups and downs as you reach out to hurting, displaced, overlooked people.

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LAST WORD

A PARTING THOUGHT

Dear ARC Family, IT HAS BEEN OUR JOY to bring you this edition of the ARC Magazine. As members of the ARC staff, we have the unique honor of working with pastors, church leaders, church planters, partners, and friends on a day-to-day basis. It is so fulfilling to assist couples as they begin to see their dreams come to fruition and watch God’s favor poured out on people’s lives over and over again. He truly does exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.

We love celebrating with our ARC Family. Over the past 18 years we’ve have been able to celebrate many types of wins; thousands of salvations, over 750 churches planted, global reach, new campuses being built, debts being paid, books being written, anniversaries, and growing families.

As with any family, we also hurt with those who are hurting. This year has been very tough on some of our family whose communities have suffered through natural disasters, unthinkable loss, social injustice, and tragedy. Through all of it, we can say we have seen the Church come together like never before, to share the love of Jesus on this Earth.

We are so thankful for you! Thank you for supporting your ARC family with your time and with your resources. Thanks to you, we are able to bring our vision to life for many years to come – to see a healthy and thriving church in every community, reaching people with the message of Jesus.

We are #bettertogether.

THE ARC TE AM

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We would love to hear from you!

We are always looking for resources to share and accomplishments to celebrate with our ARC Family throughout the year. If you or your church has news you would like to share with us, please reach out to share@arcchurches.com. We are looking for life-changing testimonies, community impact stories, event success, new music, books, blogs, or podcasts.

Also, if you are interested in writing a blog or article to be shared on our different platforms, please let us know. It is so important to take the wisdom we have gained and share it with others. We can’t wait to hear from you!

ARCCHURCHES.COM

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