A Large Multisite Church in Phoenix is Hiring a Children’s Pastor

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

I’m pleased to announce a new Staff Search. Sun Valley Community Church, the church I have the honor of serving at, is beginning a national search for a Children’s Pastor to serve on our Tempe Campus. Sun Valley began as a church plant in 1990 in Chandler, Arizona. Over the years Sun Valley has grown into a large multi-site church in the Phoenix area. Currently there are three campuses located in Casa Grande, Gilbert, and Tempe with a total weekend attendance of nearly 6,000 people and in recent years was named by Outreach Magazine as one of the top 10 fastest growing churches in America. The Tempe Campus was the result of a merger in October 2011 with Bethany Community Church. In the merger Sun Valley acquired a 16-acre, 8-building campus with over 100,000 sq. ft. under roof. At present, the campus attendance is 1,200 people but when fully utilized, the campus capacity will accommodate more than 6,000 people. Sun Valley was recently featured in a new book by Leadership Network about church mergers: Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work. To learn more about that story click here Part-1 and Part-2.

Interested in learning more? Continue reading below…

Posted in Staffing

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A Large Multisite Church in Phoenix is Hiring a GroupLife Pastor

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

I’m pleased to announce a new Staff Search. Sun Valley Community Church, the church I have the honor of serving at, is beginning a national search for a GroupLife Pastor to serve on our Gilbert Campus. Sun Valley began as a church plant in 1990 in Chandler, Arizona. Over the years Sun Valley has grown into a large mult-site church in the Phoenix area. Currently there are three campuses located in Casa Grande, Gilbert, and Tempe with a total weekend attendance of over 5,000 people and in recent years was named by Outreach Magazine as one of the top 10 fastest growing churches in America. The Gilbert Campus is the original and largest campus with over 3,500 in weekly average attendance. Sun Valley was recently featured in a new book by Leadership Network about church mergers: Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work. To learn more about that story click here Part-1 and Part-2.

Interested in learning more? Continue reading below… Continue Reading…

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You’ve Got to be Stupid to take that Job!

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Thinking about taking a new job? Think twice, because you’ve got to be stupid to take that job. And I mean it. There’s a special blend of arrogance and naivety needed to take a new job, especially in church-world.

Arrogance: To believe that you can actually be the one and only special person to walk in the room and change things.

Naivety: To cover up for the fact that you can’t possibly know everything you’re actually getting ready to get yourself into.

There are quite a few biblical characters that demonstrated this same special blend of arrogance and naivety. A couple in particular come to mind.

Joseph was naive enough to share a dream that he had about his brothers bowing down to him. It came off a bit arrogant and he ended up getting beat up and sold into slavery by those same brothers. Then after a while God would use him to save the entire group of people (there weren’t many yet) that would end up being the nation of Israel.

David was arrogant and naive enough to walk onto the battlefield with Goliath. He carried an attitude that cried, “Well of course my God is big enough to do this. What’s wrong with the rest of you guys, why are you afraid?” It came off as complete arrogance.

Peter was naive enough to act first and think second on many accounts, not least of which was getting out of the boat in the middle of a storm to walk to Jesus on the water. Yea, good thinking Peter.

It takes a bit of stupid faith to follow Jesus, a special blend of arrogance and naivety. Make sure you’ve got it before you say yes to your next church job.

Photo Credit: MïK via Compfight cc

Posted in Leadership, Staffing

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Church Shopping: Find What You’re Looking For

Sunday, September 21, 2014

People church shop. Like it or not when people look for a church they typically go on a bit of a shopping spree to find what they’re looking for. Comparing and measuring teaching, worship style, facilities, kids ministry, general vibe…the list goes on and on. Week after week they walk on church properties with a mental scorecard looking for that special feeling that says, “You’re home.” So here’s how to find what you’re looking for when you’re church shopping.

Worship Style

One of the first things people check out when they come to your church is the music. “Does it give me the goose bumps or make me want to cringe?” But we need to be asking less about the music style and more about what the music is moving people towards. Now I’m not saying that quality doesn’t matter, rather the direction the music moves people matters more. Is it moving people towards Jesus or liking your church? They’re not always the same thing.

Mission & Vision

Most people are looking for a church that cares about what they care about. In other words, will the church support their vision and what they’re passionate about pursuing in life? When church shopping check your vision at the door and see if you can buy into and support the vision of the church first.

Kids & Student Ministries

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard church shoppers make a decision on a church based on the kids or student ministries. Your kids are important and they should be considered in any decision like this. But how often do you allow your kids to lead and make major decisions for the family?

Teaching

Teaching is a big deal when it comes to church shopping. Did I like the pastor, did I like their presentation, their approach, are they likeable, and so on. Teaching isn’t just about entertainment. Albeit entertainment matters and so does likeability, it’s just a starting point though. The right question to ask: “Is the teaching helpful?” Does it help you move towards Jesus and following Him more closely? Or is it just entertaining?

Photo Credit: yuisotozaki via Compfight cc

Posted in Creative Arts, Leadership

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A Large Multisite Church in Phoenix is Hiring a Small Group Pastor

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

I’m pleased to announce a new Staff Search. Sun Valley Community Church, the church I have the honor of serving at, is beginning a national search for a Small Group Pastor to serve on our Gilbert Campus. Sun Valley began as a church plant in 1990 in Chandler, Arizona. Over the years Sun Valley has grown into a large mult-site church in the Phoenix area. Currently there are three campuses located in Casa Grande, Gilbert, and Tempe with a total weekend attendance of over 5,000 people and in recent years was named by Outreach Magazine as one of the top 10 fastest growing churches in America. The Gilbert Campus is the original and largest campus with over 3,500 in weekly average attendance. Sun Valley was recently featured in a new book by Leadership Network about church mergers: Better Together: Making Church Mergers Work. To learn more about that story click here Part-1 and Part-2.

Interested in learning more? Continue reading below… Continue Reading…

Posted in Staffing