New & Unique Locations to Plant a Church

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New & Unique Locations to Plant a Church

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Zoning ordinances, school and hotel usage regulations, overpriced rents, local restrictions on religious organizations – new churches face numerous challenges in finding a place to meet. With God’s help and provision, Converge church planters take some creative approaches to resolve this problem. Here are a few…

#1 Church in a Movie Theater
Iron Ridge Church
Waukon, Iowa
Marlan Mincks, pastor

After Mincks inked the contract to purchase the Main Feature Theatre & Pizza Pub in October 2007, the church decided to keep the restaurant open and remodel the theater as its sanctuary. All restaurant profits go to Iowa church planting.

#2 Church in a Skating Rink
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
Columbus, Georgia
Luis Scott, pastor

In 2010 ACF bought the 25,000-square-foot Lambert Skating Rink, which had been unoccupied for six years. After remodeling the rink, the church opened its sanctuary in October 2011 and added eight classrooms and three nurseries in 2012. English and Spanish-speaking congregations share the facilities. A fellowship area, café and offices are under construction.

#3 Church in a Computer Store
Heartland Church
Indianapolis, Indiana
Darryn Scheske, pastor

Leading a new church of 30 people, pastor Scheske signed a lease in May 2001 on a former Elek-Tek Computer store. The church remodeled the building for classrooms, offices and a 1,000-seat sanctuary. Since then, additional sites were added in Indianapolis and at Purdue University in Lafayette.

#4 Church in a Movie Theater
Epikos Church
Milwaukee, West Allis
Danny Parmelee, pastor

Founded in 2004 in Milwaukee, Epikos purchased the Paradise Theater in suburban West Allis in June 2011 and completed remodeling a year later. Continuing to meet in Milwaukee, they opened their West Allis campus in June 2012.

#5 Coffeehouse & Church Combo
SoZo Coffeehouse & Missio Dei Community Church
Chandler, Arizona
Scott Morgan, pastor

When you walk into SoZo Coffeehouse in Chandler, Arizona you won’t see crosses and Bible verses on the walls. And you won’t know a church of more than 100 people worships here every Sunday. In fact, the only hint of a church you’ll find is an 8.5”x11” sheet of paper displayed on the countertop. It reads, “Missio Dei Community Church meets here every Sunday. All are welcome.” Pastor and owner Scott Morgan calls SoZo Coffeehouse and Missio Dei Community Church his “unique venture,” a combination of business and missions.

#6 Church in a Gas Station
Epiphany Station
Thief River Falls, Minnesota
Jeff Gauss, pastor

Available sites were hard to find in Thief River Falls for this 45-member church plant. After a long search, church planter Jeff Gauss settled on remodeling a gas station. Epiphany saw more than 500 attendees this Easter.

*This article first appeared in Converge’s Point Magazine. Used by permission.

Posted in Leadership

Multisite Campus Constants

Sunday, March 9, 2014

At Sun Valley we are one church family that meets in many different locations. As any church or organization grows there comes a point in time where oral tradition only goes so far. At some point, you’ve got to write things down. This helps provide clarity to everyone as to how to make decisions and what direction to go. After all lack of clarity is the greatest barrier to growth and speed in any organization. To that end we’ve adopted the following “Campus Constants” that every existing and future Sun Valley Campus will adopt. If you’re in a multisite church or thinking about going multisite I hope this serves as a resource to you and your church!

1. Mission:“We exist to help people meet, know, and follow Jesus.”

2. Vision: To reach as many people as we possibly can with the Gospel by growing a movement of healthy reproducing Campuses and Churches.

3. Strategy: This strategy serves as the foundation for spiritual growth.

Meet: We help people meet Jesus through Weekend Services.
Know: We help people know Jesus through Small Groups.
Follow: We help people follow Jesus through opportunities to Give and Serve.

4. Cultural Values: These values are what keep us on target as we move towards our vision.

Authenticity: Trusting Jesus and others with the real me.
Community: Learning from Jesus through strong friendships centered around God’s Word.
Generosity: Living like Jesus through giving and serving.

5. Leadership Distinctives: This is what we expect from those in leadership and what makes the Sun Valley Staff Culture so unique. If you’re interested in learning more about our 7 unique leadership distinctives you can follow this link.

6. Leadership Structure: At Sun Valley vision is global and leadership is local. Leadership authority and responsibility flows through the Campus Pastors and influence flows through the Ministry Champions. Every ministry of the Church at each Campus operates under one leadership structure that ultimately comes under the authority of the Board of Servant Leaders and the Lead Pastors.

7. Weekend Teaching: The Teaching Team sets the teaching schedule and serves as the primary communicators either in person or by video.

8. One Church: We choose to align the ministries on each of our Campuses, including Children’s, Students, Groups, Care, Missions, Guest Services, and Weekend Services.

9. Corporate Branding: Every Campus operates under the same branding and communication strategy including a centralized website for the Church representing all Campuses.

10. Financial Model: Every Campus shares these financial goals:

Within 12 months, offerings from the Campus cover its ongoing ministry expenses including staffing costs.
Within 24 months, the Campus also contributes its prorated portion of central service expenses.
Within 36 months, the Campus also contributes towards expansion endeavors.

11. Central Services: There is one centralized process or system for administrative services including banking, budgeting, staffing, payroll, benefits, capital expenditures, I.T., facility management, lease agreements, etc.

Posted in Leadership

necessary endings

Monday, December 5, 2011

New is exciting! Whether it’s a new relationship, a new job, a new purchase, or even a new project at work. And when new things begin they usually start off with all kinds of passion, energy, excitement, and great anticipation for what’s about to happen. The same is rarely said for endings in life. Yet endings are just as normal and a natural a part of life as beginnings. Unfortunately little is written about handling the endings in our lives well.

That is why I’m excited about a recent book I read by Dr. Henry Cloud entitled “Necessary Endings.” In it he does a masterful job of leading us through how to handle endings in our lives well. In fact he goes so far as to assert that in order for us to move forward in life there are, “employees, businesses, and relationships that all of us have to give up in order to move forward.” It’s definitely worth the read and will challenge you to grow and think differently about your work, your relationships, and what it means to move forward in life.

Here are some of my favorite quotes and thoughts from the book that had an impact on me: