Random Thoughts Before We Launch

Been awhile since I’ve done a random thoughts post.  In fact, it’s been awhile since I’ve done much blogging…seems like there’s been something going on keeping me busy…oh yeah getting a new church started!  With that said, I thought I’d give some thoughts on what this whole experience has been like getting ready for this Sunday’s launch.  For some of you this will just be a unique perspective…for others of you that are considering planting your own church in the future, hopefully there will be some things to learn in here.  I’m sure I’ll forget a lot but there’s always other posts for that.  This will be  long but I think worth the read…

• Hard to believe that it was 51 weeks ago today that God gave me the vision to start ExponentialChurch.tv.
• I had always said that church planting was for stupid people.  Not sure I’ve changed my mind on that…if you can do something else then do it.  I started two businesses and have had the opportunity to be a part of some cool ministry stuff in the past and nothing was harder or more stressful than this journey.
• So with that said, if you’re considering planting, make sure it’s something that you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God has called you to.  If you’re married, that would include 100% support and confirmation from your wife.  The one thing Lisa and I were able to cling to time and time again through this whole process has been knowing that we were doing exactly what God wanted us to do
• I’m extremely proud of the love and support my previous church gave me and is still giving.  For months only a handful of people knew that God was potentially calling me elsewhere.  Having the blessing of the leadership to do and go where God was calling was extremely helpful.  Thanks Earl and CFCOG for everything…I think we navigated what could have been disastrous territory about as well we could.
• The lesson for planter’s (or for church staff for that matter) is that as soon as you sense God is leading you away from your current assignment, let your senior leadership know ASAP.  I’ve done this now twice and while it’s scary at the time, looking back it’s the best way to go instead of sneaking around behind their back.  If God is really calling you elsewhere, then the leadership which provides your spiritual covering and protection will know it as well and will send you out with their blessing.
• The best time during this past year was the week that Lisa and I went out to San Diego for our assessment.  Now some of you may be thinking…January in San Diego…yeah I can see how that would be a good thing.  But it had nothing to do with the weather (ok maybe a little bit).  It was perhaps the most intense time in the past year but we wouldn’t trade it for anything.  If you’re considering planting then you NEED to be assessed.  And not just a 1 or 2 day assessment either.  I’ve heard about some of these and there is no way they can accomplish everything that a week long one does.  If after reading that you’re interested, email Chuck Frank to get the conversation rolling.
• Telling the people at United and CFCOG that I was leaving was hard but again the love and support even to this day has been incredible.
• I didn’t leave staff there until the last day of May.  This meant we were on a “short fuse” to launch.  Most planters take 9-12 months to live in the community and prepare.  Lisa and I never moved to Harrisburg until July.  The lesson is that it can be done but I’d still recommend a longer process if you can do it.
• What made this even tougher is we’re going for what’s called “Large Scale Launch”.  That simply means that instead of starting with a handful of people and growing from that, we’re looking to launch (in our case) with at least 400 people from day 1.  I can’t speak for other strategies but here’s what I do know…
• You’d be foolish not to start with multiple staff.  We’ve taken some heat for this but statistically plants with 2 staff do better than plants with just 1…and plants with 3 do even better than plants with 2.  More than 3 doesn’t significantly change things.  In our case we have 2 full-time (myself and our  Pastor of Community and Connection), 1 part-time (Children’s Director), 1 volunteer staff (Worship) and 1 paid 6 week consultant leading up to launch.  The funny thing about this is our combined salaries are in the window of some Senior Pastors salaries that I know.  That’s not a knock on those Senior Pastors (they deserve every penny) what it does tell you is we have a team that was willing to sacrifice greatly from a personal standpoint to be a part of something with the potential to make a huge impact here in Harrisburg and beyond.
• So a staff team is essential as is a group of dedicated launch team members.  This is where our short fuse hurt us most.  I was hoping to have 100+ on the launch team when in reality we only have 63.  As with anything…out of those then, about half do the majority of the work.  I’m proud and grateful for everyone but  especially of the 30 some people who have worked 4-5 nights a week all summer long getting ready for this Sunday.
• From May 31st to now seems like an eternity looking back, but we needed every minute of it.  Here are some things we did…
  • Visited and preached at other churches to raise support and get ideas.
  • Held 6 block parties/community events where we provided free food, drinks, popcorn, games, bounce houses, prizes, The Game Truck and more.  In prep for each of these the team would go door-to-door to at least 1000 households per event to hand out fliers.  Each event got progressively bigger from 40 some at the first one to 400-600 at the last one.  Big lesson here was to find a business on a busy road and ask them to use their parking lot…HUGE!
  • We handed about 5500 business card size invites to people we’d run into in our daily lives, plus periodically just stand in parking lots and hand them out (until the business owner kicks you out  :)  )
  • Did 4 separate mailers to 20000 households and 1 last mailer to 40000 households (it hits mailboxes today).  These mailers where WAY OUTSIDE THE BOX.  We got nasty calls, emails and letters about them (mostly from other Christians) but they certainly created a buzz that has the community talking about us.  In fact it was because of these that we got the attention and coverage from ABC27 News and The Patriot News.
  • We ran ads on Google and our ad which is on Facebook from Wednesday through Saturday this week has already had over 2.5 million impressions and has generated over 1000 new unique visitors to our web-site.
  • We are running daily ads in the Patriot News this week.
  • We held 2 Preview Experiences to work out all the bugs.
  • We held 12 Launch Team Meetings over the last 12 weeks in various parts of the city.
  • Most importantly we have prayed and asked God to take our feeble efforts and bless them in ways that we could only dream about.  One of my stops this summer was preaching and teaching at 2 churches up in the Boston, MA area.  I stayed at the home of a family that lives on a lake and Sunday morning I woke up and did my devotions out on the dock.  As I was praying I sensed God wanting me to open my eyes.  When I did He said to me, “Gilbert do you see how big that lake is?”  “Yes.”   “Well all you are doing is like taking an eyedropper and putting a single drop in the lake.  I’m responsible for the rest”.  Two points from that…God has much more to do with our churches than what we do.  2nd though notice there was still something for me/us to do.
• I have been blown away by the churches that have been helping us from many different denominations and various parts of the country.  We currently have over 35 churches who have helped us in a variety of ways.
• That leads to my next point…”The Big Ask”.  Don’t be afraid to ask for things that seem crazy.  My favorite example is what I asked from CrossPoint United Methodist Church which happens to be the closest church to us in proximity.  Their property just happens to be where we needed to have one of our big directional signs on Sunday mornings.  I met with their staff one day for lunch and worked up the courage to ask their Senior Pastor, Dave Biser, about putting one of our signs on their property.  When he didn’t blow chucks of sushi out of his nose, I knew that was at least a great start.  Long story short, Dave and his team were Kingdom minded enough to say yes!  By the way, Lisa and I have visited there twice and they have so much to offer if Exponential is not for you.
• At some point I’ll list all the churches that have helped us, but my point is…work together with the other churches in your area…and not just to see what’s in it for you…genuinely try to help others even when you’re still small or in our case haven’t even started.  Be about the capital “C” Church and building God’s Kingdom not your own.
• Another key for us was something I stumbled upon not knowing how valuable it would end up being.  One of the first people to say yes to being on the launch team was Bill Butler.  Bill is the aforementioned worship pastor who was so captured by the vision that he said, “I’ll do staff level work but do it for free”.  Bill is local and so he knew a lot of musicians locally whom he knew would love to be a part of what we’re doing.  I didn’t realize how important having a local guy would be in forming this team.  I mean it makes sense now, but his wealth of contacts has enabled us to have a pretty solid band from day 1.  In fact, after one of the Previews I had a lady express disappointment that the “band you hired” wouldn’t be there every week.  When I explained that, “No that’s our band” she was ecstatic.
• Speaking of staff.  As the senior leader you have to know where you’re strong and where you’re weak and then staff to your weakness (yet another reason to go to Assessment).  I knew that for the vision God gave us, that I needed someone as passionate about the Monday-Saturday aspects of the church as I am about creating relevant Sunday worship experiences for people.  So grateful that God brought us Chad Chute to fill that role.  Chad originally interviewed to take my position in Chambersburg, but when that didn’t work out, I jumped at the chance to have him on our team because God has given him the gifts and passions to do what it is we’re asking him to do.  Without him I’d give verbal assent to the missional side of things but probably not really accomplish it.  With him it’s truly a case of being better together…were I’m weak he’s strong an vice versa.  So thankful for Chad and his family!
• That leads to connections.  When you talk to someone you need to also ask them who they know.  It was through Chad that we found the perfect person to be our Children’s Ministry Director.  Her name is Chelsea Miller and she just graduated with a degree in Children’s Ministry and was looking for someone to give her a shot.  She was an intern at Chad’s church out in OH a couple of years back and the rest as they say is history.  Imagine how proud I’ve been after the two previews to see kids running up to their parents and telling them how excited they were by the unique and fun ministry Chelsea and her team have provided.
• While I’m handing out personal accolades, again I’m proud of everyone, but perhaps the biggest risk was taken by my best friends, Andy and Gayle Krull.  Unlike the rest of us who were coming from out of the area who were getting some compensation from the church, the Krull’s came giving up home, schools, jobs, etc.  They put in incredible amounts of hours to Exponential above and beyond everyone else and I’m so fortunate to have friends that will follow God’s call no matter where their crazy friend goes.  Gayle is a gifted musician and teacher so if you live locally and are looking for someone to teach your kids, she offers multiple things.
• And of course the biggest thanks goes to Lisa.  15 years now of wild adventures…there is no other person I’d rather do this life and journey with…I love you and I’m proud of the many unique ways you allow God to use you to further His Kingdom!  Pretty amazing considering you don’t play the piano, cook or teach kids like every others pastors wife is expected to :)  Lesson here guys…allow your wife to be who God has created her to be and don’t bend to the expectations of others.

As I’m getting ready to post this we are now less than 44 hours to launch.  I wanted to get this all out beforehand so it’s unfiltered by the success or failure of the day.  To be honest I don’t know how big our launch will be.  Regardless though if it’s 4, 40, 400 or 4000 we are going to rejoice about all that God has allowed us to do and be a part of this summer.  We know this Sunday is just the beginning and not the end…pray for us that God will be glorified in all that we do!