The Influence 10 by Influence Magazine

ISSUE _ 13 / AUG 2017 _ SEPT 2017

S A M U E L R O D R I G U E Z / D I C K F O T H / M A R K B AT T E R S O N

The

HOW

Influence

ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH PLANTERS ARE FULFILLING THE VISION FOR A HEALTHY, SPIRIT-FILLED CHURCH IN EVERY COMMUNITY IN AMERICA.

Shifting Leadership Trends in a Post-Christian Culture Back to the Altar: Returning to the Place of Divine Encounters The Heart of Spiritual Parenting

IT’S TIME

TO RISE UP AND CONFRONT

DARKNESS IN

Disponible en Español (Available in Spanish)

EVERY REALM OF OUR LIVES

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GOD LOVES

A HEART

In Be Light Samuel Rodriguez provides a blueprint for confronting darkness in every realm of our lives. He issues a clarion call for individual believers and the church to rise up and once again be that bright city on a hill that doesn’t simply expose the invading darkness... but overcomes it with God’s blazing light.

Moses saw a burning bush. The Israelites were led by a pillar of fire. Believers witnessed flames on the Day of Pentecost. In When Faith Catches Fire, Samuel Rodriguez & Robert Crosby partner to draw our attention to a new fire igniting in the Latino Church—an invitation to Christians everywhere, to rekindle a passionate faith.

ON FIRE “Your eyes will be opened to something phenomenal God is doing today in the Latino church.” —Robert Morris, founding senior pastor,

Gateway Church

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Help people in your church understand how God is calling and equipping them to make a difference in the marketplace. Our Made for Mondays teaching series includes sermon abstracts, graphics, and videos.

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Why is gender-specific ministry important? Today more than ever, girls and boys need to understand God’s design for their lives. In a world where gender identity and marriage are being redefined by culture, the church can help bring clarity to what it means to be a godly man and woman.

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1.855.642.2011 • MyHealthyChurch.com

CONTENTS ISSUE _ 13 / AUG 2017 _ SEPT 2017

8 If You Ask Me

Church Planters: The Church’s Best Hope

12 Get Set

The

Influence

Becoming the Leader Others Want to Follow A Q&A with Scott McChrystal

14 Like a Leader • Live: Live It Before You Lead It • Think: Three Keys to Partnering with Public Schools • Read: Books Worth Highlighting, for You and Your Team • Listen: Enhancing Your Listening Experience with Podcasts and More • Tech: Apps and Tech That Add to Your Life

p36

24 Playbook • Build: Building an Effective and Relevant Ministry for Women • Know: Shifting Leadership Trends in a Post-Christian Culture • Invest: Are You a Man-Friendly Church?

34 Perspectives Is Salvation a Requirement for Service in the Church?

p52

36 The Influence 10 How Assemblies of God church planters are fulfilling the vision for a healthy, Spirit-filled church in every community in America.

52 Back to the Altar: Returning to the Place of Divine Encounters

p24

Samuel Rodriguez renews the call for a fresh, bold, divine encounter with God by re-establishing the altar in our churches and our homes.

60 The Heart of Spiritual Parenting

p26

How Dick Foth and Mark Batterson are turning meaningful experiences into life-changing adventures.

p60

70 Make It Count

Leadership Growth: 8 Keys to Maximize Your Growth as a Leader

80 The Final Note

5 AG Stats You Need to Know

p70

MAGAZINE THE SHAPE OF LEADERSHIP INFLUENCE MAGAZINE 1445 N. Boonville Avenue Springfield, MO 65802-1894 Influence magazine is published by Influence Resources. Publisher: George O. Wood Executive Director, Influence Resources: Chris Railey Executive Editor: George Paul Wood Managing Editor: Rick Knoth Assistant Editor: Christina Quick Senior Editor: John Davidson Contributing Editor: Chris Colvin Designer: Steve Lopez Advertising Coordinator: Ron Kopczick CONTRIBUTORS: Mark Batterson, Stephen Blandino, Kay Burnett, Warren Curry, Greg Ford, Dick Foth, Patrick Grach, Scott McChrystal, Gabby Mejia, John Murdoch, Wayne and Kristi Northup, Scott Obremski, Leila Ojala, Kelly Presson, Christina Quick, Chris Railey, Samuel Rodriguez, Chad Stafford, Ed Stetzer, J.J. Vasquez, Heather Weber, Taylor and Kristen Wilkerson, George O. Wood, George Paul Wood SPECIAL THANKS: Alton Garrison, James Bradford, Douglas Clay, Gregory Mundis, Zollie Smith, Tim Hager EDITORIAL: For info or queries, contact editor@influencemagazine.com. ADVERTISING: Display rates available upon request. Contact advertising@influencemagazine.com. By accepting an advertisement, Influence does not endorse any advertiser or product. We reserve the right to reject advertisements not consistent with the magazine’s objectives. Website: influencemagazine.com Twitter: @theinfluencemag Facebook: facebook.com/theinfluencemag Instagram: @theinfluencemag

SUBSCRIPTIONS: To subscribe, go to influencemagazine.com or call 1.855.642.2011. Individual one-year subscriptions are $15. Bulk one-year subscriptions are $10 per subscription, for a minimum of six or more. For additional subscription rates, contact subscribe@influencemagazine.com. Please send all other feedback, requests, and questions to feedback@influencemagazine.com. Copyright © 2017 by The General Council of the Assemblies of God, 1445 N. Boonville Ave., Springfield, MO 65802-1894. Permissions required for reprints. All rights reserved. All materials published herein including, but not limited to articles, photographs, images, illustrations, are protected by copyright, and owned or controlled by Influence magazine of The General Council of the Assemblies of God. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Influence magazine (ISSN: 2470-6795) is published six times a year, in December, February, April, June, August and October by Influence Resources (1445 N. Boonville Avenue, Springfield, MO 65802-1894). Periodicals postage paid at Springfield, Missouri, and at other mailing offices. Printed in the U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Influence magazine: 1445 N. Boonville Avenue Springfield, MO 65802-1894

IF YOU ASK ME

CHURCH PLANTERS: THE CHURCH’S BEST HOPE love the television show Shark Tank. There’s something about the entrepreneurial, anything-is-possible spirit that inspires me. The people who walk into the shark tank identify a problem in the world then develop a solution. In fact, that’s what good leaders do. They see opportunity where others see problems. The best leaders understand that to change the world, you must become great at solving problems. The church planters in the Assemblies of God embody that same entrepreneurial spirit. They see opportunities where others see problems in communities all over the world, and right here at home. They demonstrate radical faith and believe anything is possible if God is in it. Church planters want to change the world, and the truth is, they are the Church’s best hope. The Assemblies of God is seeing incredible growth in the number of new churches. In fact, 2016 was the best church-planting year in our 103-year history, with 406 new churches opened. Church planters connect us to our pioneering roots; they represent the missional and Spirit-led work of expanding the kingdom of God that has always defined our movement. The Assemblies of God began with a group of men and women touched by revival, moved by the Spirit, and abandoned to the cause of Christ. Now more than ever, we need a generation of leaders ready to rise to the occasion to solve the problems of the world by putting gospel-centered, Spirit-empowered, healthy churches in every community.

The critical nature of this work was described prophetically in the 1960s by the late R.L. Brandt, a gifted author, pastor, district superintendent, college president, and executive presbyter of the Assemblies of God. In the introduction of Handbook of Helps for the Pioneer Pastor, he said, “Pioneering and progress are quite inseparable. Future expansion of the Assemblies of God on nearly every front will be determined largely by the Movement’s pioneering pastors. Without them we die. With them we grow.” That’s a powerful statement and testament to the need for more men and women planters like the ones you will encounter in this issue of Influence. In our cover story, you will meet our inaugural “Influence 10,” a group of Assemblies of God church planters using creative and innovative strategies to reach people with the gospel. They are representative of countless other courageous church planters who believe the Church and gospel is still the hope of the world. To create a culture that continues to allow apostolic leaders and pioneering pastors to emerge, we need this generation and future generations to fall in love with the presence of God, and to understand the power of the altar. In our second feature article, Samuel Rodriguez discusses how to embrace and employ the altar in our personal lives and corporate settings. In our final feature, Mark Batterson and Dick Foth discuss spiritual parenting and the importance and role of a spiritual father in the life of a leader. I trust these articles and the many others in this issue will point us forward and help us better develop leaders who will lead and multiply the Church.

Chris Railey, D.Min., is the executive director of Influence Resources and the senior director of leadership and church development ministries for The General Council of the Assemblies of God, U.S.A.

Share Sharestories. stories. Connect Connectcommunities. communities. Change Changelives. lives.

very church has a story that can change people’s lives—but what’s the best way to share it?

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1.855.642.2011 • MyHealthyChurch.com

GET SET

SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ

HAL DONALDSON

Rediscover the importance of reflecting God’s light to a world that desperately needs it.

Explore the difference you can make through small, doable acts of kindness.

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Find out how to build a framework for your team that supports your vision.

Be inspired to something greater as you explore the seven virtues of manhood.

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11 1.855.642.2011 • MyHealthyChurch.com

GET SET

4 Questions with Scott McChrystal

BECOMING THE LEADER OTHERS WANT TO FOLLOW Chaplain (Retired Army Col.) Scott McChrystal presently serves with the Assemblies of God U.S. Missions Chaplaincy Department as military representative and endorser. His leadership experiences, both military and civilian, have afforded him many opportunities to study and practice leadership in a variety of contexts. Influence: Given your leadership experience within the military, the corporate world, and the church, what advice would you pass along to our ministers, particularly those who are pastoring churches? Scott McChrystal: I’ve observed that effective leaders adopt the attitude of being lifelong learners. Proverbs 9:9 captures this idea well: “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” In the busy world of ministry, this requires intentionality, making time and not simply hoping to find time. Besides Scripture, serious learners practice mining knowledge and wisdom from an array of sources: books, magazines, podcasts, documentaries, the Internet, talking with others and everyday experiences. Occasionally visiting other churches, both within and outside the Fellowship, is another source for learning.

We’ve all noticed the growing hostility to Christianity throughout our society. What advice would you give to Christian leaders? It’s no secret: Christian leaders are battling on the frontlines. The enemy of our soul seeks “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). That said, effective leaders refuse to take a victim mentality. They know who they are and recognize their calling. They set priorities and stick to them, knowing others will not always agree. But as Nehemiah told his enemies, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down” (Nehemiah 6:3). In your experience, is there a specific leadership trait that effective leaders possess? Leadership skills and abilities receive the most attention these days, but character is far more important. Character governs thoughts, words and actions. In recent years, many great leaders have fallen due to character flaws. But we can learn from this. No leader has a monopoly on skills and abilities; some leaders have more than others. But character is a choice. Any leader can choose to become a person of character. While most things can be stripped away from us, character cannot. It only happens when we surrender it. Comment on the importance of leaders discovering their strengths and weaknesses. Identifying our strengths and weaknesses is huge; it’s about knowing the truth. We’ve all been around leaders who were “legends in their own minds” but certainly not perceived as such by those being led. Any leader sincerely desiring to discover personal strengths and weaknesses can do so. King David in Psalm 139 courageously prays to God, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (verse 23). God will help us discover who we really are, but it takes guts to seek out that truth. Additionally, we can turn to others for honest feedback. But it all hinges around sincerely desiring to know the truth about ourselves. 13

LIVE

LIVE IT BEFORE YOU LEAD IT Are you living the way you’re leading? Here are three areas in which we must live before we lead. PATRICK GRACH

any people view leaders through a lens of suspicion. It’s even worse for Christian leaders, whom our culture portrays as the source of society’s problems rather than the answer to them. In such an environment, how can we, as Christian leaders, gain the influence to overcome distrust? Live it before you lead it! It’s that simple. Live-it-first leaders disarm skeptics with their bold authenticity, dangerous vulnerability and uncomfortable transparency. This is the way of Jesus. Jesus began His formal ministry with this invitation: “Come, follow me … and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4:19). A come-and-hear model of leadership focuses on information that educates. The come-and-see style focuses on inspiration that encourages. Jesus’ approach was come-and-follow, then come-andbecome. This come-and-become way of leading focuses on impartation that empowers. We don’t lead the way; we live the way. Leadership has no office hours. It’s a way of life. Leaders do before they show. Whatever we intend to lead others toward we must first live out in private anonymity, in follower-less faithfulness. Are you living the way you’re leading? Here are three areas in which we must live before we lead.

Spiritual Disciplines Jesus didn’t pray in solitude as a leadership lesson. He received fresh strength in His Father’s presence. Then, He invited others to follow His ways. Similarly, our private dependence on God’s Word, Spirit, and power through spiritual disciplines are not a means, but an end. Only as we make this the priority can we authentically invite others to follow us in pursuing a Spirit-empowered life. Sacrificial Living and Giving God doesn’t call us to be Jesus, but He does call us to be like Jesus. Jesus served, even when He was tired and grieving, so we serve and give selflessly. Jesus lived and died sacrificially, so we must live sacrificially. 14

Chaplain Daryl Britton once said, “I want to stand before God sweaty, tired and broke because I invested my life and resources in the kingdom of God and for the benefit of others.” I believe that if God calls our church to something, I should lead the way. So, we became a foster family caring for children before I asked our church to get behind local foster care efforts. We aren’t just trying to appear kind and loving. By God’s grace, we are kind and loving. Evangelism It’s not enough to inspire others to invite their friends to our services or share their faith. We must invite the unbelievers into our homes and personally share and show Jesus’ love to our neighbors. Only then will we impart to our church members the heart of evangelism and a passion for lost souls. If leadership is influence, we must first have a lifestyle worth influencing others toward. Like Jesus, we must be vulnerable and transparent enough to spend time with those we lead so they can see how we personally live the vision we boldly proclaim. Our greatest sermon and primary strength in building trust is that we live it before we lead it. Patrick Grach is founding and lead pastor of Lifehouse Church (AG) in Hagerstown, Maryland.

THREE KEYS TO PARTNERING WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS Churches can become welcomed partners with public schools in building healthy families and strong communities. KELLY PRESSON

or 20 years, the doors to our local public schools remained tightly closed. The message was clear: No churches allowed. I’ve discovered three principles that are key to partnering with public schools.

Pray Traveling home after performing nine public school assemblies on behalf of two Missouri churches, I prayed and asked God for a plan. The Church’s mission is to change the world for Christ, and there is no better place to start than with the children in our communities. Schools represent an opportunity to show God’s love not only to children, but also to their teachers and families. Prove The fact is, schools need churches. Every school administrator and teacher has a long list of things he or she would like to accomplish — and few resources for making them happen. But they also face enormous liability and pressure from those who 16

seek to keep out people of faith. Consequently, church leaders must be willing to prove their involvement will be beneficial and not detrimental. My first idea was to begin “Rescue Me from School Lunch.” When a child in my ministry had a birthday, I invited the parents to call the school and give approval for me to bring the child lunch to celebrate. At first, we ate separately from the rest of the students; eventually, the school allowed me to join everyone in the lunchroom. This small change revealed that I was gaining trust. I later talked with a teacher I met and offered to volunteer in the classroom 90 minutes per week. Relationship building made the difference. I kept my ears attuned to needs and then looked for ways to meet them. All it takes is a servant’s heart — and a servant’s attitude. Partner It’s a rewarding day when you graduate from tolerated guest to trusted partner. You’ve proven you’re not there for your own agenda, but to help the school with theirs. Partnering with schools is all about relationship. Don’t assume you know what they need. Ask! Then sign up people from your church to volunteer an hour or more. Gather a paint crew and offer to refresh parts of the building. Victory Worship Center in Tucson, Arizona, transformed an entire school building over a summer, and provided iPads and other supplies for teachers. VWC’s bond with the school is now so strong that the employment application for principals asks whether the candidate will continue the relationship with the church. One thing we did that strengthened our relationship was donating money for school leaders to use at their discretion. Students often have needs that teachers see. Gaining the ability to meet those needs as they arose was thrilling for them. I also partnered with principals to bring them messages their students need. I presented character education assemblies and spoke in all but one elementary school in our county. Partnering with schools doesn’t have to be expensive or timeintensive. Even simple things can help build relationships. Rod Loy, senior pastor of First Assembly in North Little Rock, Arkansas, says serving as a guest reader in the school library can be a good way to show support and make positive connections. Remember: Failure is not final. Schools need the church’s involvement. As we pray and prove our commitment, we can become welcome partners in building healthy families and strong communities. Kelly Presson is the director of leadership development for the Children’s Ministry Agency at the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri.

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DEBATING RELIGIOUS LIBERTY & DISCRIMINATION John Corvino, Ryan T. Anderson and Sherif Girgis (Oxford University Press)

All Americans support religious freedom and oppose discrimination — except for when they don’t. “But the devil is in the details,” write John Corvino, Ryan T. Anderson and Sherif Girgis, “and these topics are rich with controversial details.” Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination presents a point-counterpoint debate between Corvino, who argues that contemporary religious-freedom claims constitute “a license to discriminate,” and Anderson and Girgis, who argue that laws prohibiting LGBT discrimination needlessly violate religious freedom. Many Americans despair of contemporary political discourse, but this book shows that debate on a hot-button social issue can be conducted with both substance and civility.

BOOKS WORTH HIGHLIGHTING, FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM By Influence Magazine

AS KINGFISHERS CATCH FIRE Eugene H. Peterson (WaterBrook)

Near the beginning of his pastorate, Eugene H. Peterson found himself tossed about by “the winds of the times.” The 1960s were a tumultuous decade, and many voices clamored for his attention. On top of that, he felt “increasingly at odds” with his denominational advisors, whose ideas of leadership came “almost entirely from business and consumer models.” So he turned to God’s Word to see what it said about doing God’s will God’s way. As Kingfishers Catch Fire is a collection of 49 sermons which consider that theme. It is a master class in what Scripture says about the pastoral care of souls. 3

MULTIPLIERS, REVISED & UPDATED Liz Wiseman (Harper Business)

Leading a church is hard because of what David Allen calls “new demands, insufficient resources.” Or, as Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37). Too many pastors respond to new demands on their own. They fail to see God’s resources in the spiritual gifts distributed throughout their congregations. In consequence, pastors burn out and followers feel underutilized. Wiseman wrote Multipliers to figure out how leaders can grow the intelligence and capability of their organizations. It contains insights about leading others that are relevant in ministry. 18

Creating Lasting

Legacies.

Planned giving can make it happen. A variety of charitable options can allow for significant gifts for your church and ministry while providing income and potential tax benefits for those in your congregation. We have planned giving solutions that can meet a variety of needs such as: • Generating more retirement income • How to transition out of appreciated assets • Estate planning and distribution • Honoring a family member with a legacy gift Contact us today for more information and learn how we can provide options to those who have a heart for the future support of your church’s ministry. 877.616.5202

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By Influence Magazine 1

LEADERSHIP MOMENTUM stewardshipcentral.org/podcast

Leadership Momentum “brings the world’s top church leaders into the room to candidly share their inspirational wisdom and bold advice,” focusing especially on the topics of “church leadership, the personal lives of pastors, and the importance of stewardship.” Hosted by Chris Brown, episodes drop every other week and run 30 to 45 minutes in length. Episodes include conversations with Mark Batterson on “Donor Development and Engaging Generous Givers,” Max Lucado on “Two Ways to Create Margin,” and Bob Goff on “Leading in Friendship.” 2

LEADx leadx.org/leadership-podcast/

LEADx Podcast aims to help you “accelerate your career and reach your full potential in just minutes a day.” Hosted by New York Times bestselling author Kevin Kruse, the podcast features conversations with “the world’s top leadership experts and business executives,” focusing especially on “career advice and management tips.” Episodes drop daily, Monday through Friday, and run 15 to 30 minutes in length. Topics include “The Secret to a Joyful Workplace” with Kris Boesch, “Four Tips to Learning Faster and Quieting Your Inner Critic” with Erika Andersen, and “Managers Fear Compassion — But Scientists Say It Makes Work Better” with Monica Worline. 3

READ TO LEAD

readtoleadpodcast.com

Read to Lead Podcast describes itself as “audio Cliff’s notes” for the nonfiction books leaders need to read about “leadership, business, personal development, marketing, career and entrepreneurship.” Hosted by Jeff Brown, episodes host conversations with leading authors and drop weekly, averaging 30 minutes in length. Topics include “The Science of Succeeding with People” with Vanessa Van Edwards, “How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter” with Liz Wiseman, and “Pursuing Your God-Given Purpose” with Paul Sohn. Final Note: Check out the Influence Podcast, a collection of inspiring and challenging conversations, aimed at empowering the entire spectrum of church leadership. Episodes drop twice weekly and are hosted on alternate days by George P. Wood and John Davidson. Make sure to listen, like, and review the podcast on iTunes! 20

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By Influence Magazine 1

Apps and tech that add to your life 1

UNROLL.ME

Are you frustrated by wading through an endless stream of email every day? Are ministry minutes being lost to email overload? Are you buried beneath a behemoth of spam? Today, email has evolved from a convenient way to communicate into a demanding, persistent tool that blurs the boundaries between the workday and personal time. Over 269 billion emails are sent daily, worldwide; 50 percent are classified as “spam.” Email should be a tool that serves us, rather than a form of slavery that controls us. Regaining control over our inboxes will help give back those precious ministry minutes that are lost every day. Unroll.Me is an email management app that saves you time and organizes emails the way you like. It gives you an inbox you’ll love and a whole new email experience you’ll wonder how you ever got along without. Unroll.Me scans your inbox and gives you the option to unsubscribe, “Rollup” the emails you wish to receive into a consolidated once-daily email, or keep them in your inbox. The subscriptions you add to your Rollup are no longer sent to your inbox but are included in a once-daily email, delivered how and when you want. For more information, visit unroll.me or download on the App Store. 22

XXXCHURCH.COM AND X3 CHURCH APP

Pornography addiction is one of the most challenging of all addictions. It is real but so is the freedom from it. Are you worried someone you love is into porn and hiding it? Are you a minister and in need of help? Consider these statistics from XXXChurch.com: • 64 percent of American men view porn monthly. • 18 percent of Christian men view porn weekly. • 75 percent of pastors are not accountable to anyone for their Internet use. • 80 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds are having multiple hardcore exposures. • 17 percent of women struggle with porn addiction. XXXChurch.com and its companion X3 Church app is committed to helping parents, individuals and ministers three ways. First, provide awareness of the wide-spread problem of sexual addiction. Second, commit to the prevention of sexual addiction. And third, commit to helping men, women and teens recover from sexual addiction. The X3 Church app gives 24-hour access to blogs, videos, and the latest news. The app provides at-yourfinger-tips information for men, women, parents, pastors and teens. The app is compatible with iPhone, iPad and Android. XXXchurch.com and X3 Church App are your resources for pornography addiction help.

BEHIND THE BUILD: THE FATHER'S HOUSE #wearevisioneering

DUOLINGO

If you are old school or new school, you will enjoy Evernote’s Penultimate, the best digital handwriting app that combines the power of natural handwriting and sketching into one very cool app. For individuals who prefer to write out their journal thoughts, class, meeting or sermon notes, rather than keystroke them, Penultimate is the app of choice. It brings the practice of pen and paper writing into a more productive and enjoyable digital experience. With Penultimate, you can work on any part of your Pastor Dave Patterson had a vision for The Father’s Location page. The zoom feature allows you to see your work up Vacaville, CA House to take people on a mindful journey of God’s close, and the app’s Drift feature enables the page to presence, move along with you, automatically adjusting to your no matter where they went on campus. Using a Divisions workDesign, pace. Envision, Build

verse from Exodus 33, every detail incorporated into the Penultimate also makes finding your notes easy. All design and architecture of The Father’s House helps tell Services your notes are searchable and automatically sync to a the story of God leading His people out of Egypt into a Master Planning, Architecture, designated Evernote folder. You can browse, insert, Interior Design, Construction life oflike. freedom. delete, duplicate and reorganize pages any way you

Penultimate worked closely with Adonit to create the Jot Script Evernote Edition precision-point stylus that makes the digital hand-writing experience what it At Visioneering Studios, we help tell the story of what God is doing in your church should be. through design-build services such as renovation, reconfiguration, expansion, and Pair Penultimate Evernote Premium or Evernew construction. Our team of Developers, with Real Estate Professionals, Architects, and Construction Specialists become trusteduploads stewards of story and space, focused note Plus foryour bigger and many other greaton creating a seamless journey to the cutting-edge worship environments you desire. features. This highly-rated free app is available on your iPhone’s or iPad’s App Store.

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PLAYBOOK : BUILD

BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE AND RELEVANT MINISTRY FOR WOMEN How to create a healthy culture for developing strong, mature women of God. K AY B U R N E T T

illary walks through the doors of the church, with no church background and no personal experience with God. Those reaching out to her will later learn of her brokenness due to parental neglect, along with drug and alcohol abuse. In her brief 19 years of life, she has already experienced a string of unhealthy relationships, as well as an abortion at the age of 16. She is hungry for love, answers and help. Barbara, a woman in her 60s, steps into a Sunday morning service with a live-in partner and a New Age lifestyle. She brings with her a jumbled mix of philosophies about God, vortexes, crystals and more. She has

a hunger for God, but needs truth to set her free and wash away the lies and false religions that have shaped her beliefs. Jennifer was raised in a wonderful Christian home. She has a deep personal commitment to Christ and a desire to serve in ministry and in leadership. However, she still needs friendship, mentoring, encouragement and accountability. How does the church prepare to reach and disciple women today, with the myriad worldviews, brokenness, and needs they bring with them? Every church that impacts its community will minister to women who are on a journey of seeking truth, women who are new

believers, and women in every stage of spiritual maturity. Our response as a church family cannot be one of pulling away from the messiness of our society today. Christ Our Example The Early Church experienced unprecedented revival, guaranteeing an influx of newly redeemed people with a plethora of idolatrous backgrounds, unhealthy habits, wounds that needed healing, and faulty worldviews that needed reshaping. Christ didn’t retreat from the messy people of His day. He reached them in love, while refusing to deny the reality of their sins. He met them where they were and spoke of a better way of life, a life that would provide a way out of the sin and into a strong and eternal relationship with Him. The Church today must follow His example. What Women Need Women want a vibrant life in Christ, but they often start their Christian journeys crippled by confusion and heartbreak. To provide opportunity for healing and transformation in the lives of women, we must offer intentional and strategic ministry geared toward women of all backgrounds. The question is, how can the Church lead them out of their former lifestyles and ways of thinking, and into transformation through Christ? A few needs of women are universal. Each one of us needs teaching in the Word of God (discipleship), love and acceptance (relationship that is real), and leadership that encourages and instructs us to walk out of sin and into a Christlike lifestyle (accountability). Relational Ministry is Foundational Learning to exercise spiritual disciplines is crucial for sustaining a godly life, and that knowledge comes through discipleship. Those best qualified to minister to and disciple women in a relational way are women. No matter their age, location, background, or marital or economic status, women thrive best within healthy relationships that encourage them to experience everything God offers. Healthy, relational ministry is a key foundation. In addition to these universal needs, women are looking for real help in the areas of their brokenness

Women want a vibrant life in Christ, but they often start their Christian journeys crippled by confusion and heartbreak. — not a glossed-over, Pinterest-style version of what it looks like to surrender our lives to Christ. They need Christian women who will authentically share from their own areas of struggle and mistakes, while not indulging their sinful choices. True love calls us all to higher standards, while extending love unconditionally. We must intentionally offer and facilitate pathways for women to walk into greater freedom and truth. We can begin by offering studies and support groups in the specific areas of brokenness we often see today. For instance, we can provide resources for overcoming addictions, divorce recovery, healing from the pain of an abortion, establishing healthy boundaries, managing money, and so on. Balance Relationship with Teaching If the church offer events with only lightweight, fun activities, we run the risk of producing women with shallow spiritual roots. If we lean on the teaching of the Word of God without intentionally investing in relational ministry for women, we run the risk of head knowledge without application. Soon the back door will be swinging, as lonely, disillusioned women make an exit, looking for a place where they can connect and get help with their life-controlling issues. To successfully build a ministry for women, we must fortify the core foundations of the Christian walk, while also intentionally providing pathways to inner healing and personal freedom. Women connecting with and leading women in these areas of focus through the power of the Holy Spirit will create a healthy culture for developing strong, mature women of God. Women joined together in these ways form a spiritually and culturally powerful and relevant group that God can mightily use. Kay Burnett is director of the national Women’s Department for the Assemblies of God.

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SHIFTING LEADERSHIP TRENDS IN A POST-CHRISTIAN CULTURE We need new ways where we become more missional and more evangelistic. To become these things, we need a shift in leadership. ED STETZER

t present, about 70 percent of Americans self-identify as Christians. However, that self-identification is declining. Rapidly. Over the past 20 years, self-identified Christians have declined by 1 percent per year as a share of the American population. (One study put the rate at a 2 percent annual decline, but it was an outlier). If the 1 percent annual decline holds, self-identified Christians will make up just 50 percent of the population in 20 years.

Brief Explanation Now that does not mean that 1 percent of the Christians in America leave the faith each year. It does mean that 1 percent less Americans describe themselves as Christians each year. Most studies, particularly the recent Pew Religions Landscape study, show the devout — which is you if you are reading this magazine — have remained pretty steady. So, the church is not collapsing. As such, the sky is not falling. However, the ground is shifting. Before (and still now, for a while), nominal Christianity reigned supreme. Now someone else is emerging. We call that post-Christendom. Post-Christendom Yesterday I walked through the Billy Graham Center Museum. As the executive director of the Billy Graham 26

Center, giving tours to friends visiting from out of town is one of the perks. As I was walking, I couldn’t help but reflect on how incredibly different the world is from when Billy Graham started his ministry. It wasn’t nostalgia; it was just a sense that how and why we lead is shifting. Just as Billy Graham led well in his time, we must do so in ours. The Previous Home Court: Deference Billy Graham was a leader in a time when people had a natural and familial respect for the moral authority of religious leaders. His leadership was naturally affirmed, and he lived and ministered within a culture where the clear majority of people considered themselves Christian. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, in 1990 around 86 percent of the entire American population self-identified as Christian. Within this

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landscape, Graham was an attractive, spiritual, morally committed male who represented what it meant to be an “All-American” in a way that God used. His voice carried weight with presidents and coal miners alike, and God sincerely used Graham to draw millions of people to Jesus and influence a generation. Yet many of the 86 percent called themselves “Christian” without being spiritually or confessionally active. To use our language, a whole lot of them called themselves Christians, but they had not been changed by Christ. Yet, even so, we had a home court cultural advantage. We just didn’t have as large of a team as we thought. There was an attitude of deference and acceptance, with only around a fraction of that professing population actually forming their lives around a committed Christian belief. The Current Reality: Greater Intellectual Honesty Since 1990, we have seen a huge statistical shift with the religious “Nones,” those identifying as not having a religious affiliation. “The most significant influence on American religious geography over time has been the increase in the Nones, or No Religion bloc. … nationally the Nones more than doubled in numbers from 1990 to 2008 and almost doubled their share of the adult population, from 8% in 1990 to 15% in 2008. Moreover, the Nones increased in number and proportion in every state, Census Division and Region of the country from 1990 to 2008. No other religious bloc has kept such a pace in every state” (ARIS Report 2008, pg. 17). The Oprah-fication of American spirituality has morphed cultural Christians away from a default of “Christian” to a default of “No Religion.” And, that’s increasing at 1 percent per year. So how do we prepare ourselves for the future now? To use a Gretzky-ism, how do we skate where the puck is going? The Shift in Leadership We Need For the second half of the 20th century, we had a statistically overwhelming number of people who confessed a “Christian” faith without consistent Christian practices and engagement. I don’t think this helped the Church. As our world becomes more secular (going public 28

The Oprah-fication of American spirituality has morphed cultural Christians away from a default of “Christian” to a default of “No Religion.” with practiced nonbelief ), it is forcing evangelicals to acknowledge the reality of what statisticians have known for a while. We are not a religious majority, but, instead, we are a convictional minority. As such, we need new ways where we become more missional and more evangelistic. To become these things, we need a shift in leadership. Leadership Shifts Part of the leadership shift is in how we approach and engage with the public sphere. Since the trajectories are moving in a more secular direction, Christian leadership will need to become bilingual. Two languages are emerging: the public sphere of secularism and the message of the gospel of Jesus. As evangelicals (and biblical values) become more marginalized, we need to learn how to speak powerfully from the margins as translators, holding even stronger to Christian practices while becoming better students of the world around us. As we move forward, we must do so with thoughtfulness and careful engagement. The message of the gospel is transcultural and transtemporal, and as the Christian faith becomes more marginalized in American society, I am confident leaders will rise to spur the Church to engage more faithfully on mission. As Billy Graham faithfully and proactively spoke and led in a Christian culture, we will see more godly men and women follow in his steps if they make a leadership shift for a post-Christendom culture. Ed Stetzer, Ph.D. is the Billy Graham chair of church, mission and evangelism at Wheaton (Illinois) College and serves as executive director of the Billy Graham Center.

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ARE YOU A MAN-FRIENDLY CHURCH? Here are three ways to help men win in your church. C H A D S TA F F O R D

n 2005, a church layman named David Murrow wrote a book titled Why Men Hate Going to Church. The title alone encouraged me to purchase the book, but the content changed my life. Murrow suggests that most American churches have unintentionally designed their ministries to reach only women, children and the elderly. According to Assemblies of God statistics, men and boys constitute 44.9 pecent of adherents, while women and

girls account for 55.1 percent. Compare those percentages to the 2010 U.S. Census, which found that the U.S. population is 49.1 percent male and 50.9 percent female. In 2010, when my family and I planted Coastal Church in Daphne, Alabama, we intentionally designed the church to appeal to men in as many areas as possible. As we studied and created the environment, we discovered that churches win men by helping men win. Here are three ways to help men win.

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I believe with all my heart that men want to engage with God as much as anyone else.

signage helps them avoid awkward situations and unwanted attention. Not only do we show visitors where to go, but we also help them learn what to do. Our worship leaders coach attendees on how to participate. We have found that saying, “Let’s clap our hands” or “Let’s lift our hands” helps engage everyone in the service.

Feed Them I live on the Gulf Coast, where food breaks down many barriers. Food helps people relax, and serving good food is a tradition we value in Southern culture. As a boy, I always felt hungry during church, and I quickly realized I wasn’t alone. One Sunday, my Uncle Larry’s stomach growled so loudly during the service people in at least three pews around us probably heard it. At Coastal Church, we serve free food and coffee every Sunday, at every campus. We serve everything from biscuits and gravy to breakfast casserole, and 70 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. We also serve a healthy option, but let’s be honest: I live in the Deep South, so no one eats it. When men thank us for the free food, we have a great opportunity to show them a return on their investment, replying, “You’re welcome, but honestly, you paid for it through your tithe and offering.” Our men love this response because they feel satisfaction in providing for others. So not only does serving free food lower barriers by helping men feel comfortable during service, but it also provides a healthy feeling of ownership.

Give Men a Reason to Come Back It’s been our experience that few people, especially men, give their lives to Jesus during the first visit. Therefore, getting them to return is a priority. When we do everything we can to help men relax throughout the service, we have already won some major victories by the time the sermon starts. So finally, we must connect men through the message. For our church, the delivery style isn’t as important as keeping the message short and relatable. We design the sermon notes so that men can easily follow along and know when the finish line is coming. When men feel confident the sermon will be brief, they are more likely to come back. I have been in church my whole life, and I have never heard anyone complain that a pastor’s sermons were too short. I have also learned that personal stories are more relatable when I poke fun at myself rather than trumpeting my achievements. Laughing at my shortcomings makes it easier for men to identify with the message and open up about their own flaws. Last year, 2,415 people — more than half of them men — gave their lives to Jesus across our three campuses. God is helping us help men win by reaching them with the gospel. How is your church doing in reaching men? You don’t have to do exactly what we do, of course. But you do need to determine what things will help you reach the men in your community. I believe with all my heart that men want to engage with God as much as anyone else. We clearly see in the Gospels how Jesus’ strong leadership, blunt honesty, and bold action mesmerized men. In the Book of Acts, men were drawn like a magnet to the Early Church. As church leaders, we must step in and help our men win.

Keep It Clear When someone invites men to church, they often say something like: “If I come, you guys aren’t going to do anything that will make me feel awkward, will you? Because I don’t have time for that.” Murrow says, “Most men do not possess the natural gifts to make a good churchgoer. They are not expressive, verbal, sensitive, don’t sing well, are not good teachers, don’t feel comfortable praying out loud, and hate holding hands with strangers.” Putting men at ease clearly begins with showing them where to go when they arrive on your campus. We believe a church can never have too much signage. Men hate asking for directions. Clear 32

Chad Stafford is lead pastor at Costal Church (AG) in Daphne, Alabama.

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PERSPECTIVES

Is Salvation a Requirement Is salvation a requirement for service in the Church? That’s the question in this issue’s Perspectives. Below, you will find two simple answers, “yes” and “no,” followed by some thoughtful, and perhaps compelling, reasoning. On the surface, it may appear the overriding motivation for eliminating requirements for

service is convenience. After all, if you are in need of volunteers, then wouldn’t it make sense to open the ranks to as many people as possible, whether they’re saved or not? But underlying this question is a deeper issue. There is an emerging viewpoint that sees salvation as a process instead of a moment. On

YES he doctrine of the “Priesthood of Believers” (see 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 5:10) means there is full access to God for all who have established their faith in Jesus Christ, the one, true Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14–16). That notion of priesthood also means that every believer has the right and responsibility to serve God, both in the church and in the world. However, this doctrine cuts both ways. Those who do not believe cannot be “priests.” To serve, there is an important prerequisite: having saving faith in Jesus Christ. Does that mean we should require anyone who wants to serve give their lives to Jesus first? I think it does. I see no way around it. People shouldn’t see this as a hindrance, but as an open door to salvation. Each time you meet to train your volunteers, how do you begin your session? Volunteer training should always include a call for salvation to solidify the ultimate commitment before taking

on any commitment of service. We should constantly engage volunteers on the question of their salvation, making sure they understand the responsibility behind the right to serve. Besides, if we aren’t

reaching our own volunteers, how do we expect to reach the lost outside the church? Put another way, the work of God can only be done by the people of God. Ephesians outlines the proper role of the five-fold ministry in the church: “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:11–12). The beginning of this passage speaks of the incredible duty Christ himself gives ministers. The conclusion gives the clear directive of the work of God: to build up the body of believers. But the middle of the passage tells us how to accomplish this. It is not solely by the work of the pastoral staff, deacons, missionaries or administrators. It is the work of the people. And not just any people, but God’s people. The people of Christ. From the parking lot to the platform, it’s all God’s work. And it’s God’s people who do God’s work.

ONE ONE ISSUE. ISSUE. TWO TWO PERSPECTIVES. PERSPECTIVES.

for Service in the Church? the one hand, discipleship as a process of following Jesus begins long before a person prays the sinner’s prayer or marks a decision card. On the other hand, it should be clear to each individual believer when and how he or she came to know Christ. It’s interesting that each of the following

two perspectives takes this deeper issue into account. Regardless of where you land on the issue, it is food for thought. And however you decide to recruit, train, and empower your volunteers, we should all be engaging in ongoing conversations with them about their spiritual well-being.

NO believe serving is an integral part of any discipleship pathway. And those pathways should be open to everyone who is seeking the Lord, no matter where they are on their spiritual journeys. Let me be very clear. The ultimate goal of any interaction with unsaved people in any environment of the church is salvation. That is what ultimately brings glory to God. But I have found that including people in their service to the church, rather than restricting them from serving, opens a doorway for their salvation. And that doorway is all about discipleship. The Great Commission makes it clear that discipleship is the key component of Jesus’ plan for the world. He never said to make converts or decisions, but to make disciples. And part of the discipleship pathway, as our Lord explains in Matthew 28:20, is “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” So, what has Jesus commanded us? “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and

to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). “[W]hoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26). Jesus taught us, through both His words and His actions, to serve others. If we are really teaching people to obey Him, whether they already have a relationship with Jesus or have yet to hear about Him, we must include this component of service in some way. Seekers who want

to get involved in their communities should have options other than serving in secular organizations. Seekers who serve in the church will be closer to hearing the life-giving message of Jesus. Obviously, there are some areas of service that are off limits to unbelievers. Only strong believers should occupy leadership roles in the church. Teachers and preachers must display genuine evidence of salvation. But not all areas need to require that high of a standard. If your church is working on a community service project — giving haircuts to the homeless, for example — can’t unbelievers help out? The key distinction is between representative roles and helping roles. The bottom line is that anyone can feel moved to serve. It doesn’t take a regenerated heart to feel compassion for someone in need. And when unbelievers fill that desire by serving others in a Christian setting, it opens their hearts to Jesus’ message. Ultimately, service will become yet another opportunity for salvation. 35

HOW ASSEMBLIES OF GOD CHURCH PLANTERS ARE FULFILLING THE VISION FOR CHURCH IN EVERY COMMUNITY IN AMERICA.

The

Influence

A HEALTHY, SPIRIT-FILLED

he focus of our cover story in this issue of Influence is church planting. “The Influence 10” is a representative cross section of the many outstanding men and women church planters in the Assemblies of God who are expanding the kingdom of God though church multiplication. Church planting is part of the DNA of our Fellowship. Indeed, church planting is part of my family’s spiritual DNA. In 1914, the same year the Assemblies of God began, a 24-year-old, Spirit-filled preacher felt called to start a Pentecostal church in Jeanette, Pennsylvania. His name was Ben Mahan. Without any funds or backing, he started the church by preaching on a street corner on the main street of town, Clay Avenue, on Saturday nights. Soon thereafter, with a small congregation gathered around him, they moved to rented quarters above a butcher shop on Clay Avenue. A few years after that, they bought the former Presbyterian church a few blocks away. By 1924, this Assembly of God was one of the larger congregations in the Fellowship, with about 300 people, and a church that had both a local and global vision. Why is that church important to my family? Because my grandmother, Clara, came to faith there, with her three daughters, and finally her 16-yearold son. That son grew up in a very dysfunctional home. His biological father died when the son was 2 years old. My grandmother subsequently remarried a widower with six children, bringing the number of children in the home to 10. The step-father drank and was abusive — especially toward the only son of his wife. The step-father put the boy to work in a glass factory when he was in the fifth grade, and pulled him out of school permanently when he was in the eighth grade.

By the time he was 16 years old, that boy was rebellious and running with the wrong crowd. But one Sunday morning, his mother asked him to walk her to church. When they got there, he agreed to her request to come inside. That day the boy responded to an invitation to accept Christ, and within two weeks he received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and a call to be a missionary to China. That boy would later be my dad. I never met Pastor Ben Mahan, but my family —now into the fifth generation — owes him an immense debt of gratitude. He planted a church that ultimately brought the gospel to my dad. I’ve often wondered, Would we even exist as a family were it not for Ben Mahan obeying the Spirit? Would the four churches my dad planted exist today were it not for Ben Mahan? Ultimately, that’s what church planting is all about. It’s reaching people like my grandmother, my aunts, my dad — and the generations that follow. I wish I knew the story of every Assemblies of God church planter who, like Pastor Mahan, listened to the Holy Spirit and brought the good news of salvation to lost people. Heaven alone will tell all the stories. We may plant churches differently today than standing on a street corner, but plant churches we must! Thousands of communities in the U.S. do not have the witness of a Spirit-filled, Spirit-empowered church. Therefore, we must be more aggressive than ever in our church-planting efforts. It is my prayer that the stories of church planters in the following pages inspire your faith and help you discern if God is calling you to plant a church in a community that desperately needs a healthy, Spirit-filled congregation. George O. Wood is general superintendent of the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri.

The

Influence hen J.J. Vasquez and his wife, Liz, sensed God calling them to leave their church staff positions and plant a church in Winter Park, Florida, they obeyed, even registering right away for a church planting conference. The week of the conference, they discovered more life changes were on the way: Liz was pregnant with their third child. However, their elation turned to sorrow when they later learned during a doctor’s visit that their unborn child’s kidneys were not forming. “You guys are in for a journey,” the nurse told them sadly. The couple prayed for God to heal their son, but the infant died a few hours after delivery in August 2015. As they worked through their grief, they blogged about trusting God in difficult times. They realized God was using their loss for His glory when a

J O U R N E Y C H U R C H / W I N T E R PA R K , F LO R I DA

woman who read the posts wrote to tell them she had decided not to abort her baby. “We selected the name Journey Church from that experience — out of recognizing the ability of our journey to impact someone else’s life in a positive way,” J.J. Vasquez says. “God can turn a dark, pain-filled place into someone else’s hope and miracle. That has been at the center of every sermon I preach.” The church planting

journey has been a walk of faith in other respects as well. With little outside funding, they left their jobs, sold their house, tapped their savings, and followed where God was leading. From June 2016 to February 2017, they lived without a salary. Yet they experienced provision in unexpected ways, such as selling their home in four days for $5,000 above the asking price. “From beginning to end, it’s been a complete God journey,” Vasquez says. Though the young Hispanic ministers initially wondered whether they would connect with the predominantly white, affluent, middle-aged residents

J.J. VASQUEZ

Trusting rusting God for the Journey

of Winter Park, the couple trusted God with their ministry as well. “Our skin color didn’t match, and our age demographic didn’t match,” Vasquez says. “We don’t blend in, but we’ve learned that loving people is the universal language and culture.” Vasquez says the differences have proven beneficial, both for stretching him and for attracting interest. In fact, when he tried toning back his exuberant preaching style to fit in with the region’s more subdued church culture, he noticed a decline in attendance. “I felt God was telling me to be myself,” Vasquez says. “I went back to who I was as a communicator and began to see attendance climb. At the end of the day, I’ve got to be me.” Vasquez says successful church planting doesn’t depend on a program, presentation or personality anyway. And it certainly doesn’t depend on perfect circumstances. It’s about remaining faithful, genuine and focused on Jesus — and trusting God for every step of the journey. J.J. Vasquez is lead pastor of Journey Church in Winter Park, Florida.

SAINTS COMMUNITY CHURCH / NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

WAYNE AND KRISTI NORTHUP

The Fellowship of His Suffering ven as many residents and business owners were leaving New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Wayne and Kristi Northup were making plans to relocate to the devastated city to reach the people. It was a step of faith that had started years earlier, in college at North Central University in Minneapolis, when the couple first sensed God calling them to New Orleans. After graduation, they led annual missions trips to share the gospel in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras. Then, in 2011 — six years after the hurricane and 14 years after hearing God’s call to New Orleans — they finally moved there to start Saints Community Church.

“Most people will go to places that are up and coming,” says Kristi, who serves as the church’s associate pastor and worship leader. “We were going to a city where half the population was gone.” The Northups knew launching a new venture in an urban area still reeling from disaster would be difficult. But the couple didn’t anticipate the personal storm they were about to endure. A few months after the church opened its doors, Wayne, who serves as lead pastor, became ill. It started with asthmalike symptoms that grew steadily worse. Over the next year, he experienced several bouts of pneumonia and underwent seven

surgeries. Finally, a pulmonologist told Wayne the local environment was causing his problems. “You have to leave New Orleans, or you’re going to die,” the doctor said. Lying in bed with a high fever, pneumonia, and a severe stomach virus, the 37-year-old pastor wondered whether he would survive long enough to fulfill his calling or raise his young children. “In that moment, a thousand lies of the enemy came rushing at me: You’re going to die; the church is going to fail; you’ll never reach New Orleans; God has brought you here to end your life,” Wayne recalls. “I cried out to God, and I heard the Lord say, ‘You’ve only known 50 percent of Me. You’ve only experienced the power of My resurrection. This is the fellowship of My suffering.’”

Wayne later learned the cause of his illness: a treatable fungal infection that is unrelated to his geographic location. His lungs remain compromised, but Wayne now manages his symptoms through medication and therapy. He says the trial has given him greater compassion for the people of New Orleans, all of whom have suffered trauma in some way. “I really gained empathy for people who are walking through hard times,” Wayne says. “That was when I became a shepherd.” Saints Community Church is steadily growing, with an average weekly attendance of 250 to 300 — making it an anomaly in New Orleans. “Some call New Orleans the church planter’s graveyard,” Wayne says. “Over the last 30 years, there has been little growth among the evangelical church here. What we’re experiencing right now is just tremendous.” “We didn’t have a call to plant a church,” he adds. “We had a call to reach a city. That call is the only thing that has kept us going .” Wayne and Kristi Northup are lead pastors of Saints Community Church in New Orleans.

The

Influence

ONE CHURCH / COLUMBUS, OHIO

GREG FORD

Better Together W

hen Greg Ford moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 2010 to plant a church, he went right to work — at the front desk of a fitness club. The job helped pay the bills, but it also provided an ideal setting for interacting with people from the community. “The club had 8,000 members,” Ford says. “It was the perfect job for a church planter. I never viewed it as a job, but as my church. I thought of myself not as a front desk worker, but as the pastor of that gym. I thought, I’ve got the biggest church in town; I have 8,000 members.” Ford also put in time at a golf course, while his wife, Shaylyn, juggled several part-time jobs. Through their work connections, the Fords came to know many unchurched people. And when they launched One Church (Assembly of God) at a school in 2011, some of those new acquaintances became their first attendees. The vibrant church appealed to local millennials, and attendance rose 40

”We needed what they brought, and they needed us.”

steadily. Most of the people were new to church, which created a constant need for experienced leaders and teachers. It also soon became apparent that the growing congregation needed more space and a permanent building. Meanwhile, Pathway Church (AG) across town was struggling, numerically and financially. The well-established church owned an attractive, spacious building in a prime location, but the aging congregation was having a hard time attracting young people. So, the leaders at Pathway Church approached Ford about merging the two ministries. After talking, praying, and working

with the Ohio Ministry Network, the congregations came together in 2016. Within a year, One Church doubled in size, and 500 people came to salvation. Last Easter, more than 2,300 people attended services. “That doesn’t happen without Pathway Church opening that door,” Ford says. “We gained a lot of people who had been serving Christ for a long time. They brought tremendous maturity and wisdom. We needed what they brought, and they needed us.” The seasoned Christians eagerly pitched in to help with mentoring, intercessory prayer and visitation ministries. And Ford and the younger

congregants were careful to honor these saints by sharing their stories and publicly thanking them for their service. “It’s a big mistake for my generation to disregard and fail to honor the work that has been done by previous generations,” Ford says. “Music styles, aesthetics and artistic styles are different from generation to generation. But when I see people who have led our Movement, I see heroes who have worked to build something, and I believe they are looking for someone who shares the same heart.” Greg Ford is lead pastor of One Church in Gahanna, Ohio.

L I F E C H A N G E R S C H U R C H I N T E R N AT I O N A L / FA I R F I E L D , O H I O

was 22 years old when I accepted Christ and first sensed a call into ministry. At the time, I was in prison for drug-related crimes. As a new convert, I didn’t completely understand what it meant to be “called,” but I was ready to learn. Two decades later, I’m still learning.. In 2006, I was serving as a youth and young adult pastor in my native city of Milwaukee when the Lord called me again — this time to church planting. One night, I had a strange dream. In the dream, my wife, Tiara, and I were moving to Cincinnati to start a new church. This was shocking because I had never even been to Ohio, and I didn’t know anyone there. I later had another dream: I was unloading rolls of sod from a truck alongside two white pastors. When we unfurled them, each roll was a different color. Together, they created a beautiful, multicolored field of grass. Tiara and I prayed and soon realized God wanted us to plant a church in Cincinnati that would serve a diverse community. Three years later, we relocated our family to the Cincinnati area, where we met Randy Rice, pastor of LifeChurch West Chester (AG), and Joshua Wotawa, the church’s associate

pastor. I immediately recognized them as the men I had seen in my dream. Pastor Rice shared his vision for reaching the city, and I told him of my calling to plant a church. I joined the staff and stayed there for nearly two years as we developed a strategy together.

community of Fairfield, a suburb just north of Cincinnati. Our congregation today is about 70 percent black American and 30 percent white, Asian, Hispanic and African. We’re multigenerational; we attract millennials, but we also have a lot of older attendees,

to lifelong Christians. We recognize there are deep divisions in our nation. We want to promote healthy relationships and be a place where allegiance to Jesus trumps any allegiance to race, ethnicity or culture. We want to cultivate an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and valued, no matter what they look like, where they come from, or where they are in life. Bringing together people with different perspectives and life experiences isn’t always easy. It takes intentional effort. It requires patience and a willingness to stretch and grow. Sometimes it takes sacrifice and discomfort. But when we come together under the banner of Jesus Christ, we get a beautiful picture of what the kingdom of God should be. This is the church God called me to serve.

and we have people in all different stages of their journey with God, from seekers and new converts

Warren Curry

WARREN CURRY

Called to Serve

In October 2011, we launched Life Changers Church International in the ethnically diverse

is founding pastor of Life Changers Church International in Fairfield, Ohio.

The

Influence

TRINITY CHURCH / HARLEM, NEW YORK

TAYLOR AND KRISTEN WILKERSON

Jesus t 24, Taylor Wilkerson had his future mapped out. A cousin of Teen Challenge founder David Wilkerson, he would soon graduate Princeton Theological Seminary and marry his fiancée, Kristen. The couple would honeymoon in Cambodia, where they ultimately planned to work full time in environmental and humanitarian projects. Then, a week before his wedding, Wilkerson received an unexpected invitation: Would he be interested in planting a church in New York City? Wilkerson might have turned down the offer immediately had it not come from his parents, Rich and Robyn Wilkerson, pastors of Trinity Church, a nationwide ministry based in Miami. The historic Glad Tidings Tabernacle church of New York had given Trinity a building in Harlem, just a mile from Columbia University, 5 miles from Times Square, and 10 miles from Wall Street. It was a former nightclub, previously owned by heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. Wilkerson’s

s NY

parents explained that this was a prime location for evangelizing the city, but they needed someone to do the work. “I pulled one of those classic Christian evasive tactics and said, ‘I’ll pray about it,’” Wilkerson recalls. “I did start praying about it, and started getting all these surprising confirmations.” Reading through one of his old prayer journals, Wilkerson came across an entry he wrote when David Wilkerson died. Pondering whether there was any ministry goal his cousin had not accomplished, he had written, “Would you fulfill any unfulfilled dreams through me?”

Wilkerson opened a copy of David’s book, The Cross and the Switchblade, and noticed the story started in Harlem. In the book, David prayed while walking the same neighborhood the church plant would serve. Yet David never based a ministry in Harlem. Wilkerson and Kristen recognized God’s call, though they didn’t understand what it would mean. “It sounded too cool — New York City, Manhattan, an old night club,” Wilkerson says. “It almost sounded too glamorous for it to be a God dream.” Once they arrived, the couple quickly realized there was nothing glamorous about it. Located

across the street from one of the largest government housing projects in Manhattan, the building’s windows were shattered, and it bore ugly scars from stray bullets. One morning Wilkerson found bloodstains in the snow outside the front door of the church. Alarmed, he notified authorities. The police confirmed there had been a homicide and informed him that cleaning up the sidewalk was the church’s responsibility. Trinity Church Harlem officially launched in spring 2016. A year later, Easter Sunday attendance topped 700. The growing congregation is diverse; it includes single moms who live across the street, as well as Wall Street bankers who commute to Harlem for services. But as Wilkerson scans the skyline of America’s largest city, the immensity of the unreached harvest field seems staggering. “There can never be enough churches,” he says. “This is one of the many neighborhoods in Manhattan. There are millions of people here on any given day — rich and poor — who need to know Jesus Christ loves them.” Taylor and Kristen Wilkerson are lead pastors of Trinity Church in Harlem, New York.

E L E M E N T S C H U R C H / S U M M I T C O U N T Y, C O L O R A D O

LEILA OJALA

Between the Rockies and a Hard Place

ith average temperatures in the 30s, 175 inches of snowfall annually, and elevations that hug the timber line, Summit County, Colorado, hardly seems like the ideal location for planting anything. It’s an especially harsh environment for church planting. The population is overwhelmingly millennial, unchurched, and transient, with more than 10,000 young adults coming to the ski resorts to work each winter and thousands more arriving

to play, party and smoke pot for a season. Even the year-round residents

seldom stay more than two years. And only 4 percent identify as evangelical Christians. “It’s a hard mission field,” says Leila Ojala, lead pastor of Elements Church in the ski town of Dillon. “It’s like planting in a parking lot. We have to dig it up before we can start planting seed.” Yet this rocky ground is where God called Ojala to put down ministry roots, and she is passionate about reaching the community. People here loathe religious pretense, but they are spiritually open and curious. They say what they mean, and they welcome differences. The outspoken 5-feet2-inches Ojala — an ethnic minority as a person of Indian descent and a minority in her profession as a woman pastor — says she can appreciate that. “We just really love the raw honesty, authenticity and transparency,” says Ojala, who serves alongside her husband, Eric, the church’s executive pastor. “This is so far above sea level that some people say they can’t breathe. I can breathe better here because there’s so much honesty.” Though many of the locals have a low opinion of church, the congregation is gradually growing through relationship

building. The transitory lifestyle of the area means few people have relatives nearby. In fact, Ojala says 95 percent of attendees do not have family members within 50 miles. Elements Church offers them a family culture and a place to call home, and seekers are responding to that. “The beautiful thing is that people want that,” Ojala says. “Some have never experienced it. Many are here because they’ve run away from their families. We want to gain the capital to speak into their lives with the gospel.” It’s an uphill struggle at times, but every victory, every changed heart, makes it worth the effort. “How we measure success is based on what God is telling us instead of what other people are saying,” Ojala says. “Success is seeing individuals become disciples of Christ, and disciple makers, as the kingdom of God grows in and through their lives. What gets me up in the morning is not that I get to be a church leader, but that I get to be a part of a disciple-making movement — reaching the world from these mountains.” Leila Ojala is lead pastor of Elements Church in Summit County, Colorado.

Leadership team at Elements Church.

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“I honestly think that one pilgrimage to the Holy Land is probably worth ten years of sermons.” ~MARK BATTERSON

ISRAEL

GREECE

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NEW BIRTH CHURCH / KISSIMMEE, FLORIDA

GABBY MEJIA

Offering Help and Hope to the Homeless

abby Mejia grew up in a church planting environment in the Bronx, New York. His parents, immigrants from the Dominican Republic and Cuba, planted more than 35 churches in New York City and the Caribbean. Mejia and his wife, Petry, have planted churches in Florida, New York and Texas. Their latest project, the Hope Center in Kissimmee, is at the heart of New Birth Church, a diverse congregation that offers weekly services in English and Spanish. Launched in 2014, the church grew from 35 to 450 in its first six months.

Why did you start the Hope Center? We wanted to be a church that focuses on the hurting. One thing Florida has is a lot of churches. But when we looked at the environment in Kissimmee, there is a lot of poverty and homelessness. We wanted the highlight

of our church to be reaching the poor. A month after we bought the church property, we started doing a food pantry. Twice a month, we’re giving groceries to an average of 150 to 175 families. Every Friday, we’re feeding, praying with, and passing out blankets to the homeless, and inviting them into our facilities for showers. What sacrifices have made this possible? We invest thousands of dollars a month into our

community. All our campuses have buildings except the main campus, which meets in a school. We bought a facility where we provide the homeless showers and a place for at-risk youth, but we don’t have a permanent meeting place for the church. I don’t want to stop doing the work to pay a mortgage. We know we aren’t

defined by a building but by the work we’re doing in the community.. What has happened through these outreach efforts? We have over 17 members in our church who were homeless but are no longer homeless. One of them even works in maintenance for our church now. We’ve focused on the broken and seen amazing results. A lot of people who are coming to the pantry are then coming to services.

Every time we do pantry, we preach and see conversions. We have had 627 conversion in one year and five months. Our greatest work is this harvest of people. Gabby Mejia is senior pastor of New Birth “Place of Hope,” one of the fastest growing churches in Central Florida.

PLANT SEEDS IN THE SOIL OF ETERNITY

When we focus on what Jesus called us to, the next generation will become Gospel-Centered, Spirit-Empowered, and Personally-Responsible for the mission of God.

Heath is the senior director of the Assemblies of God Youth Ministries. With a growing global platform, he also chairs the World Assemblies of God Fellowship NextGen Commission and cochairs Empowered 21’s Next Gen Youth-leaders Network.

1.855.642.2011 • MyHealthyChurch.com

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C I T Y C H U R C H / I O W A C I T Y, I O W A

It has the effect of instantly subverting their expectations and creating curiosity about what CityChurch is all about.

HEATHER WEBER

Sowing Seeds in America’s Heartland n September 2016, Heather Weber and her team launched CityChurch in downtown Iowa City, one block from the University of Iowa campus.

experiences in contexts outside of organized religion. We’re talking eastern mysticism, chanting and transcendental meditation, as well as seeking spiritual fulfillment through social justice initiatives. How does this postChristian reality shape your ministry approach? People describe our church environment as welcoming and humble, in that we’re not trying to force religion on anyone. I often say that we started CityChurch so that people who are followers of Jesus can come together with people who are exploring faith in Jesus and that our Sunday morning services are for anyone — wherever they are on their spiritual journey. This vibe is important to our context. What is your greatest challenge? Our biggest struggle so far is the high turnover typical of a college town. A lot of people are just sort of in flux in life. It’s relationally

Naomi Shanti

How would you describe the spiritual climate in your community? Iowa City is a college town and home of the University of Iowa, one of the top party schools in the nation. Sixty percent of the people here have no religious affiliation, and many of those who do aren’t going to church most weekends. Despite not being a superreligious town, there is a large movement of what I think of as the alt-spirituality movement, with a lot of people seeking spiritual

What have you learned through your church planting experience? I was at a conference receiving prayer before I planted, and the guy who prayed over me said, “Church planting is easy when God is your Father.” I’ve carried those words with me.

hard to lose people, and it’s also challenging to fill the places where they so faithfully served on Sunday mornings. How do people respond to you as a woman pastor? I think my gender has been disarming to those in our community who might have stereotypes in their head about church leadership and church. I’ve met people who’ve said approvingly, “You’re the pastor? Young. And a woman.”

The biggest challenge isn’t growing a church; it’s learning how to rest in the fact that God is a good Father and is more invested in growing His church than we can comprehend. I’m not suggesting that we don’t put our best efforts into our callings, but that we do it knowing we aren’t in control of the outcome. That part is God’s job. Heather Weber is lead pastor of CityChurch in Iowa City, Iowa.

The

Influence efore he became a lead pastor and church planter, there were two things Scott Obremski prayed: that he would never become a lead pastor and that God wouldn’t call him to plant a church. Obremski laughs about it now. The lead pastor of Summit Park Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, says God has a way of delivering unexpected blessings. “I didn’t have a lifelong dream of leading a church,” Obremski says. “I just wanted to be obedient. It’s been a rocket ship of a ride in a lot of ways. And there’s been a grace from God that I don’t know how to explain.” Obremski was formerly the worship pastor at James River Church in Ozark, Missouri. He had served on staff for 12 years and loved the church, the people and the community. But during a Florida vacation with his family, he visited a church and heard the pastor recount the congregation’s beginnings as a church plant. “I felt like God was saying, ‘This is what I want you to do,’” Obremski says. “I remember thinking, No, not a church plant. We knew how daunting of a task planting a church could be.” Obremski and his wife, Jen, nevertheless made it

S U M M I T P A R K C H U R C H / L E E ’ S S U M M I T, M I S S O U R I

a matter of prayer, and concluded God was calling them to plant a church in the Kanas City, Missouri, suburbs — an unchurched area paradoxically situated on the edge of the nation’s Bible Belt. James River got behind the vision, providing

SCOTT OBREMSKI

Unanswered Prayers, Unexpected Blessings

prayer, generous financial support and other resources. More than 40 people from James River relocated to Lee’s Summit to help launch the church in fall 2013. Summit Park Church started in a community center, with more than 300 people in attendance the first Sunday. It now has a permanent facility and a weekly attendance of 1,300. Last year, more than 500 people accepted Christ. “What thrills us is seeing individual lives changed, one after another,” Obremski says. “These people who were

away from God have found a faith. They’re excited about what God is doing in their lives.” Looking back, Obremski is thankful God didn’t answer his prayer to keep him from the work of church planting. “As great as our ministry experience was, I didn’t know we could experience God in this way,” Obremski says. “I just feel like God’s hand has been on this from the very beginning.” Scott Obremski is lead pastor of Summit Park Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.

C H R I S T I A N L I F E A S S E M B LY / L U B B O C K , T E X A S

no longer have a Spiritfilled gospel presence. This is our mission field. I am the senior pastor at Christian Life Assembly of God in Lubbock, Texas. We are a growing church in a vibrant city, but we have a burden to reach the forgotten rural areas in our

receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The demographics of West Texas have changed over the years, but the life-changing message of salvation is the same. In the Dumas and Cactus areas, we are reaching immigrants and refugees

every language group in that area. Two principles propel us in our church planting efforts: Every town counts, and every person counts. McLean, Texas, has just 800 residents. But we have a church there with an average weekly attendance of 130. The Book of Revelation talks about God storing up the prayers of the saints.

through Lifepoint International Center Church. People from more than 20 nations reside in these small towns, and they are coming to know Jesus. We work with government agencies to offer English language classes for this diverse population. It is opening doors for us to share the love of Christ. We’re in the process of planting a Congolese church, and we are believing God to start other churches that will reach

I believe He continues to answer the prayers that went up for these towns decades ago, and we’re reaping the harvest. The soil is still fertile, and God is still working. You see, every community, every family and every soul matters to God. And what matters to Him must matter to His people.

Pastor Murdoch meets with Congolese students.

JOHN MURDOCH

Redigging Old Wells n the early part of the 20th century, an oil boom came to West Texas. With it came new communities. Ministers came, too — some of them from the Assemblies of God. These pioneers of the faith travelled from town to town, spreading the good news of Jesus wherever the oil wells appeared and the people put down roots. That’s how many of our rural churches began. But over time, the towns declined, and so did the congregations. Along roads where few people stop anymore, these former places of worship are now empty — and silent. Tragically, the residents of those small communities

backyard. Since my wife, Sue, and I started together in ministry in 1972, more than 40 rural churches have closed. God is calling us to redig the old wells of revival so the oil of the Holy Spirit can once again flow in these places. Since 2009, Christian Life has planted six rural churches, and they are all thriving. The smallest has an average weekly attendance of 60, and the largest runs 175. In these six churches, there were more than 100 water baptisms last year. The Word of God is transforming lives week after week as people come to Christ and

John Murdoch is senior pastor of Christian Life Assembly in Lubbock, Texas.

The

Influence Conclusion hurch planters, like the ones you just read about, are the reason the future of the Assemblies of God remains so bright. These “Influence 10” are just a few examples of courageous men and women throughout the AG who are taking radical steps of faith to reach people with the gospel through the life-giving ministry of the local church. Countless other stories of successful church planters can be told who believe, as we do, that the Church and gospel of Jesus Christ is still the hope of the world. During the past 103 years, God has used the AG in amazing ways to expand His kingdom through the local church. The page is now turned on the next 100 years, and we are encouraged by many things. The AG USA is now more than 42 percent ethnic minority, 40 percent of adherents are under the age of 25, and nearly 3,000 new churches have been planted in the last 9 years. As tremendous as these statistics are, we are also facing unprecedented challenges. Our country continues its rapid moral decline, 43 percent of Americans are unchurched, and 80 percent of all churches are plateaued or declining. Furthermore, with nearly 30,000 communities in America, only 13,000 of them have an AG church, and only 4,000 of those churches are growing. Thousands of communities still need a Spirit-empowered church. Our job in America is far from done. This is our defining moment. In the face of these challenges, we need to remember who called us, what He called us to do, and most importantly why He called us to do it. We’re believing God for a healthy, Spirit-filled church in every community in America and healthy, faith-filled, courageous leaders willing to lay it all on the line to start new churches. To that end, the Church Multiplication Network exists to equip, fund, and network church planters and leaders, to partner with districts and networks and local churches to develop leaders, plant churches, and build on the culture of multiplication that has defined

the Assemblies God. As a Fellowship, we also need to be more strategic in church planting. How can we work together to make sure we reach every urban, suburban, and rural community that needs a healthy, vibrant gospel expression? CMN believes every church can play a part in multiplication, whether through multiplying disciples, leaders, churches, or impact. CMN stands ready to serve those who feel stirred to plant a new church, leaders who dream of multiplying their ministries, and existing churches wanting to play a part in expanding the Kingdom through church multiplication. If that’s you, here are some next steps to get involved: • Go to iwanttoplantachurch.com and learn some basic information about church planting. • Connect with a CMN rep in your region. For a listing, go to iwanttoplantachurch. com. • Register to attend a CMN Launch event for coaching, training, and the practical tools, resources, and relationships every church planters needs. The task ahead is overwhelming, but the One who hung the stars is faithful and will show us the way. God wants to continue growing His family by multiplying His church. We must pray, believe, and work like never before as we embark on the next 100 years. More souls saved! More lives changed! More people coming to Jesus! The vision is big, but we’re thankful Jesus can do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine! Chris Railey, D.Min., is the executive director of Influence Resources and the senior director of leadership and church development ministries for The General Council of the Assemblies of God, USA. The profiles in this article were written or edited by Christina Quick, assistant editor of Influence magazine.

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FEATURE

BACK TO THE ALTAR:

RETURNING TO THE PLACE OF DIVINE ENCOUNTERS

IF THE ALTAR REPRESENTS A PLACE OF SACRIFICE, SURRENDER AND ENCOUNTER, SHOULDNâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T WE LEAD THE WAY IN REVIVING IT? SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ

FEATURE

rowing up in a Pentecostal church shaped my spiritual journey from an early age. It was a colorful world where the music was distinct, the tambourines drove the rhythm, and the whole worship experience served to get both the blood moving and the people praising. The preaching was passionate and the testimonies sincere. But there was one thing in our church that stands out above all other memories of my spiritual upbringing: the altar. Every service began and ended at this special place. I remember seeing all the church mothers entering the sanctuary early with the intention of spending a few moments at the altar before worship even began. Some of them arrived after the worship was underway but still went and knelt there. As a child, I often wondered whether they all needed to repent for the week’s transgressions. As I matured, I realized that those mothers, and a few fathers as well, knelt at the altar to prepare their hearts to receive what God had for them on that particular day. Their intention was to prepare the environment of their hearts as they prepared the environment in the room. I also learned that people went to the altar after the sermon for a variety of reasons. Some came forward for repentance. Others walked down the aisles to pray for healing, to seek more of God, to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, or to ask God to intervene in anything from a common problem to a desperate situation. The altar was a place of personal encounter. Growing up around an altar taught me that God wanted me to desire more of Him and that I could draw closer to heaven from a posture of prayer. So many of our personal encounters with Jesus and the power of the Spirit occurred at the altar. We came to Christ there, we were baptized in water there, we were called to ministry there, and we received the baptism in the Holy Spirit there. Some of us even got married at an altar. People led worship near the altar and invited others to come and worship. The altar was the great unifier. We used to say the ground is level at the foot of the cross. It seemed the ground was level at the altar as well; how you came was not as important as the act of coming. The congregation viewed the altar as a sacred space, and to this day, I respect the altar as such. However, I’ve noticed that altars aren’t as common 54

If the altar once represented the time and space for encountering God, I can’t help but wonder: How and where do we meet with Him as a Body today? as they once were. Some churches no longer have the space for them. Others juggle multiple service schedules that leave no time for extended worship and intercession around the altar. Still others are designing their sanctuaries with fewer religious symbols to put unchurched attendees at ease. While these are valid perspectives, I believe many churches today are missing out on something significant. If the altar once represented the time and space for encountering God, I can’t help but wonder: How and where do we meet with Him as a Body today? While many Pentecostal churches have done away with the elements that make room for these transformative interactions — activities that include altar calls,

Sunday evening services, and Wednesday prayer services — few have provided viable alternatives. Admittedly, the altar call is a product of the modern evangelical church. Historically, 19th-century preachers like Charles Finney were among the first to invite people to come to an altar and profess faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Neither the altar nor the act of walking down the aisle changed lives, of course. But this evangelistic method provided a platform for people to proclaim their commitment to a God of transformation. In churches across America and around the world, the altar became a place for decision, encounter, worship, sacrifice, reflection, repentance, change, confession, declaration, accountability, celebration, revelation, empowerment and passion. Time at the altar reminded us that Jesus meets every need and is worthy of all our devotion. We approached the altar as the living sacrifice the apostle Paul describes, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1–2). It seems we are losing the altar. I’m not talking as

much about a carved piece of furniture as the time and space carved out in our services and our lives for encountering God. Worse, we’re in danger of allowing other altars to replace it. Make no mistake — our culture has its share of alternative altars, places where people encounter, embrace, and offer themselves to idols of materialism, voyeurism, consumerism and narcissism. The world builds these altars to establish new norms born out of darkness. And the advocates of moral chaos craft ideological constructs to facilitate encounters with the gods of decadence, relativism and apathy. Nevertheless, just as Gideon built the altar in the presence of the altar of Baal (Judges 6:24–25), we have an opportunity to reintroduce both the corporate ecclesiastical altar and the domestic home-based altar to a generation desperate for an authentic encounter with the risen Lord. A Call to Meet with God The word “altar” appears 384 times in the New International Version of the Bible: 361 in the Old Testament and 23 in the New Testament. Under the old covenant, altars were central to honoring God. They were places for making sacrifices, presenting offerings, commemorating festivals and establishing covenants. The altar represented not only sacrifice, but also worship and 55

FEATURE divine intervention leading to transformation. The stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Elijah and others capture both the sacrificial and transformative dynamics surrounding altar experiences. At the altar, terrestrial beings connect with the God of the universe. That theme continues into the New Testament. The Book of Revelation speaks of a future time when an angel offers the prayers of Christ’s followers on a golden altar before God’s throne in heaven (Revelation 8:3–4). May this generation’s prayer and praise, poured out in corporate and private moments of deep intercession, rise up to the very throne room of God. The construction of a 21st-century altar begins with this foundational theological pillar: An encounter with God is essential to Pentecostal spirituality. We are people of the Spirit. We believe God has called us to be Spirit-empowered (Acts 1:8), Spiritfilled (Ephesians 5:18), and Spirit-led. Shouldn’t we seek constant encounters with a God who still saves, delivers, heals and transforms? And if the altar represents a place of sacrifice, surrender and encounter, shouldn’t we lead the way in reviving it? A Public Declaration Growing up, I understood that approaching the altar at the end of a service represented a transparent, authentic, genuine response to God. Church-based altar calls and services depict a public expression of faith, humility and commitment that run counter to a world full of facades. Responding to an altar call requires self-denial. It involves a deliberate choice to ignore the possible critics and embrace all God has without regard to the opinions of others. The altar call invites individuals to make decisions, accept God’s terms and experience His life-changing power. A Teaching Opportunity A desire to leave a spiritual legacy for our children should further motivate us to rebuild a sacred space for altar experiences. Where people encountered God in Old Testament times, they constructed altars for the perpetual recollection, so their children and children’s children would never forget what the Lord had done. Consider the account of the Children of Israel crossing the river Jordan to inherit the Promised Land. 56

“In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (Joshua 4:6–7). We are the children of the Cross, ambassadors of the empty tomb and spiritual heirs of the Upper Room. Our Pentecostal DNA includes a genome for transmitting to our children and our children’s children the fact that God still meets with us (Acts 2:39). Yet we have become more like Gideon, hiding in a winepress rather than taking up our inheritance (Judges 6:11). God is calling us to emerge as mighty warriors, with a new identity and a fresh passion to do His will — a passion that began at the altar. A Sacred Space People today are desperate for a sacred space where God’s love, truth, grace and mercy can change a sinner into a saint, sorrow into joy, mourning into dancing and ashes into beauty. A divine encounter brought Gideon out of his winepress and into the realization of his calling and mission. Gideon’s first response was to build an altar, which he called “The Lord Is Peace” (Yahweh Shalom). According to Strong’s Concordance, the Hebrew word shalom refers to completeness, wholeness, health welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, and the absence of agitation and discord, where nothing is missing or broken. That same night, the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it” (Judges 6:25). Likewise, I believe God is calling us to construct spiritual altars — to mark out sacred spaces, both at home and at church, for countering the darkness of the world around us. It isn’t easy going against the cultural grain. Gideon’s own father built the altar to Baal, going along with the ideas of the day rather than standing up to them. But Gideon razed this altar of falsehood and fear and constructed an altar of faith. At the end of the day, two altars cannot occupy the same space. We don’t get rid of what’s wrong to embrace what is right. We embrace what is right to

get rid of what is wrong. Religion says, “Do away with sin to experience God’s power.” God says, “Accept My power to take away your sins.” The altar is the quintessential place where we receive God’s grace to live victoriously in a fallen world. The altar is not just a good idea; it is a spiritual necessity. In a world of altars dedicated to selfishness and immorality, God once again issues a clarion call to the Gideons of this generation to meet Him at an altar of attentiveness and submission, to hear His message and carry out His mission. Is There Time or Space for an Altar Service? An authentic encounter with God is the “end” worship services seek. Altar calls represent one of the means in reaching that end. Now that so many churches

THE FAMILY ALTAR hat about the individual altar? In the age of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Netflix, it takes an intentional effort to log off and tune out so we can encounter God at home. It is worth the sacrifice, however. The family altar — a designated time and place at home where the family comes together to pray, worship and experience the living God — is like a firewall against Satan’s schemes. Show me a family altar, and I will show you an atmosphere of faith and a house where God’s presence resides. While a daily family altar is wonderful, perhaps a more realistic starting point is setting aside one day per week. Designate a specific time and

program their services down to the minute, the question arises: How do we create moments of encounter in the worship service? It begins with intentional allocation of time and space. Altar services and experiences require moments in the program that allow for them. They also require a designated physical area. Leaders can provide intentional structure that still leaves room for the sovereign work of the Spirit. Not every altar time will look the same, of course. Just as diverse people coalesce around the fundamental truths of our faith, diverse churches and ministries can commit to an altar element in the service without engaging in a rigid religious practice. The language we use during our services can help

place at the home where all (and I do mean all) members of the family gather to worship, study God’s Word, pray and experience the power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. A 30-minute session with younger children or a 45-minute session with older children creates a healthy space for a viable and measurable encounter. Parents must be careful to avoid creating a harsh religious setting that demands participation. Rather, they should model a sense of anticipation by sharing personal testimonies of altar times and inviting members to experience God together. Family altars do require some planning and structure, however. Consider these suggestions for bringing the family together. Allot time. Although we live in a world where things constantly change, setting and keeping an appointment to meet God will make a lasting impression. Designate a specific place. Where you meet to construct the spiritual altar in the house matters. Avoid places where there are a lot of distractions.

Switch off electronics. Turn off cell phones, televisions, social media, etc. Teach kids that when they give God their undivided attention, He will give them His. You might describe this as “FaceTime with God.” Don’t just talk; listen! Allow time for God to speak. A moment of reflection, meditation and silence can lead to a word of wisdom, a word of knowledge or a gift of faith. Be open to praying in the Spirit. Don’t forget the oil. Although some see this as archaic, anointing with oil is biblical (James 5:14). I believe and have personally experienced a powerful change in my house when we periodically anoint not only our family members, but also our rooms with oil. The beauty of family altars is the glorious promise of a God who shows up when we call on His name (Matthew 18:20). For single parents, couples with or without kids, and every other type of home, the family altar enriches the faith narrative with the ability to live out the words of Joshua: “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). — Samuel Rodriguez

FEATURE call attention to the sacredness of these moments. Referring to the congregation’s meeting place as a sanctuary instead of an auditorium or calling the front area an altar instead of a stage reminds people to prepare their hearts to enter the presence of God. Again, I’m not suggesting a rigid or legalistic approach. I’m merely suggesting the use of language that points to the importance of time with God. Words matter. When it comes to working an altar time into the schedule, there is no one-size-fits-all approach. The main altar service in the church where I grew up took place at the end of the service, but prior to dismissal. Today, I serve as lead pastor of a diverse congregation with multiple campuses. At some of our campuses, we use the traditional model of creating space at the end of the service for an altar call. We call on our elders, deacons or ministers, and they stand facing the congregation. Subsequently, we invite all those who want to “get right with God” or those seeking healing, the baptism in the Spirt, or freedom from addiction, fear, sin or failure to approach the altar. In addition, that space is available for those desiring to spend time with God in response to that day’s message. At other campuses, just prior to dismissal, we announce that after dismissal we will “open up” the altar for prayer, salvation, deliverance, healing and personal encounters with God. Further, moments arise when the Spirit leads us to invite people in need of healing or intercession for family and children to approach the altar prior to the message. Our philosophy reconciles the prophetic with the practical, the cognitive with the affective, and the experience with the essentials of our faith. To that end, our core value as it pertains to the service and the altar experience is best captured in this critical Bible admonition: “Do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). A challenge arises when churches conduct back-to-back services. This requires a nuanced approach with intentional allotment of a time germane to the altar objective. In our campuses with multiple services, we designate 10 minutes at the end of each service for altar response. We biblically define the altar invitation to engage newcomers and remove any possible angst. Parenthetically, a Christ-centered, Bible-based, Spirit-empowered altar experience does not provide space for expressions that do not line up with Scripture. 58

It provides space for a transformative experience and an encounter with Jesus through the Holy Spirit, resulting in a life that reflects the Word, not the weird. Keep the Fire Burning From Noah to Moses, Gideon to Elijah, courageous and convicted people in Scripture designated a specific time in a specific place for a special encounter with the Sovereign God. As Pentecostals, we must remain committed to embracing God’s love, exploring His truth, encountering His presence and expressing His glory. More than ever, our faith, our children and our world need us to return to the altar — both at church and at home. The God who makes His altar in our hearts compels us to pursue Him and glorify Him so we can change the world in Jesus’ name. “The fire must be kept burning on the altar continuously; it must never go out” (Leviticus 6:13).

Samuel Rodriguez is the founding and lead pastor of New Season Christian Worship Center (AG) in Sacramento, California. He serves as the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization.

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HOW TWO LEADERS ARE TURNING MEANINGFUL EXPERIENCES INTO LIFE-CHANGING ADVENTURES.

The Heart of DICK FOTH

Spiritual Parenting A N D M A R K B AT T E R S O N

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piritual parenting is not optional; it’s mandatory. We can never reach our full potential without someone pulling it out of us and pushing us past our limits. And as we age, mature, and push past those limits, we can’t fully realize the great dreams God has put inside us without also helping someone else push through their own process of dreaming and realization. It’s two people committing to spend time together, sharpening and shaping each other. It’s so much more than mentoring. If we had to describe our 20-year friendship in one word, it would be “osmosis.” I (Mark) like to tell people I’m 17 percent Dick Foth. I totally made up that percentage, and I’m not sure it’s possible to measure mathematically the influence one person has on another. But I know this for sure: I wouldn’t be who I am today without him. He’s been nothing less than a spiritual father to me. Over time, I’ve assimilated his priorities, perspective, and probably a few idiosyncrasies. Shared experience infuses life and energy both directions. I (Dick) in jest tell folks that I’ve suggested quite a few things to Mark over the years, but he has only done a few of the things I told him. I, on the other hand, do almost everything he suggests and have profited enormously. In all seriousness, to watch my younger friend grow in loving God and his family makes me want to intensify my experience with God and be a better man. Our father-son friendship is not the means to some other mission. Our friendship is the mission. It is an end and a beginning in itself. We believe people don’t plan spiritual parenting relationships. They discover them — through time spent together, meaningful conversations, and shared adventures. Unlike a biological parenting relationship that grows in an environment of responsibility, the bond between spiritual parents and children arises from the relationship, since the connection is purely voluntary and requires commitment. Our culture is so anti-authority, and so many biological fathers are absent from so many homes. It’s in that context that spiritual parenting is vital. The biological parent-child relationship is the more important one, of course. But truthfully, how many parents are intentionally discipling their children, especially into adulthood? One of our dreams is to help a million dads disciple their sons over the next several years. That 62

means biological fathers can take on the role of spiritual fathers, and the same is true for mothers as well. That’s how men and women become men and women of God. How We Got Started Our paths crossed around 1993 in Washington, D.C. when Dick and Ruth were working behind the scenes with the National Prayer Breakfast and the halls of power. Meanwhile, Mark and Lora had just moved here to plant a church. But our connections ran deeper than that and were the real reason we got together. Years earlier, Lora’s parents, Bob and Karen Schmidgall, were gathering a congregation in

There is a passion point connected with being in someone elseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life at a spiritual level, and it comes from spending time with each other. Naperville, Illinois, around the time that Dick and Ruth were doing the same near the University of Illinois in Urbana. We all connected immediately, and

a friendship formed and remained strong even after years and transition separated us. With Thanksgiving around the corner, the older couple invited the younger couple over. Spurred by that initial connection of in-laws, we all shared turkey and cobbler and laughter. But we shared more than that. We shared hopes and dreams that were just getting started, for a church plant in the urban area and fresh leadership that could change the shape of the city. Mark and Lora walked away from that one little encounter feeling loved and cared for. And Dick and Ruth felt reenergized by the zeal and passion of fresh ministry. After that first meal, we realized this was something we wanted to do more often, and that we 63

FEATURE wanted to spend more time together. But what connected us was the passion we shared, for ministry and for this city. Passion is contagious! There is a sense that some part of our closeness comes from loving the same city and loving the same Jesus. Being a Spiritual Child When you are young and dreaming the dream, you need the input of godly people who have been there. And when you are a 25-year-old inexperienced pastor, you need someone who believes in you more than you believe in yourself. Knowing that you have people supporting you and willing to dream with you makes an incalculable difference at any stage of life and ministry. That was the real impetus for us to get together, first in ministry, but then in a deeper, richer way. In the early days, we called it mentoring, but there was never a tight structure. We just followed the ebb and flow of life. We felt we were shortchanging it when we called it mentoring. It was so much more than that. It was spiritual parenting. And this is the tricky part, because you can’t provide five easy steps or a simple outline for how to be a spiritual parent or a spiritual child. It starts out as a friendship. There must be a younger person in the equation who is humble enough to realize the need to borrow some wisdom from someone who has more experience. And then it takes someone who has made more trips around the sun and is willing to spend the time and energy with someone who is younger. But it’s not age that makes the difference; it’s experience. The child in a spiritual parenting relationship needs to be hungry to learn — hungry enough to seek out someone with a wealth of wisdom who is willing to put it on loan. That means you must invest the time and energy to find the connection and then keep that connection going. The spiritual child also must find someone he or she can genuinely honor, look up to and respect, in the same way the Bible instructs us to honor our biological parents. The spiritual parent must find someone with potential, someone who will respond to affirmation, and an investment of time and energy. When that happens, when those two meet in the middle, something profound can happen.

WHAT’S A FRIEND? ’ve heard deep friendship defined as two people sitting together for hours in silence without feeling awkward. For a guy like me who finds it pretty tough to sit in silence for too long, that sounds incredibly hard! But beyond introversion or extroversion, the ability to sit in comfortable silence with someone is a pretty obvious example of feeling fully at home with another. There isn’t a need to entertain or be entertaining, just spending that time together is enough. It is a kind of quiet knowing. So the question is, How can we get to that place with loved ones, co-workers, or neighbors? Doesn’t it make sense that, if God designs us for relationship, real friendship is fed by a growing experience of God’s love? When we know down deep that we are loved, accepted, and affirmed by the God who created us and knows all about us, we are free to give ourselves to others. Why is that idea so pivotal for human relationship? If we are not experiencing God’s love, we will always be seeking from others what only God can give. They will always fail us because we have expectations from the friendship that they cannot meet. Henri Nouwen, the scholar, mystic, and — in his later years — caregiver, elaborates on this point: I discovered the real problem — expecting from a friend what only Christ can give … Friendship requires closeness, affection, support, and mutual encouragement, but also distance, space to grow, freedom to be different, and solitude. To nurture both aspects of a relationship, we must experience a deeper and more lasting affirmation than any human relationship can offer … When we truly love God and share in his glory, our relationships lose their compulsive character.

Adapted from Dick and Ruth Foth, Known: Finding Deep Friendships in a Shallow World (New York: WaterBrook, 2017). Used with permission.

Being a Spiritual Parent The one who feels like the child should probably be the first to acknowledge the spiritual parenting relationship. It would be weird for someone to say, “I’m a spiritual father to you.” You probably wouldn’t say that. It’s much more natural to say, “I feel like you’re a spiritual father to me.” The younger one must recognize the 65

STRONG ENOUGH TO LAST

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GENERAL EDITOR, DICK GRUBER

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FEATURE part that the older one plays in his or her life. Spiritual parenting isn’t so much a position as an ongoing interaction. It’s about sharing — sharing your life, faith, wisdom, friends and influence. Loving is sharing, and that’s always at the heart of the spiritual parenting relationship. Spiritual parenting honors the fact that we are spiritual creatures. We live in a culture that seldom acknowledges that. In fact, it often works against it. The biblical model of a man or woman investing in a younger man or woman — like Elijah with Elisha, Paul with Timothy, or Naomi with Ruth — goes beyond our modern concept of mentoring. It is spiritual in nature. It recognizes God’s design and divine plan. What is true about biological parents is true of spiritual parents: They always want their children to be better, not just in terms of having better things or greater experiences, but in terms of achievement and advancement. That point in a relationship where it shifts from “John is Fred’s son” to “Fred is John’s dad” is where the power of spiritual parenting becomes evident. The spiritual parent can see the investment of time and energy, and perhaps even money, beginning to pay off. As he or she cheers from the sidelines, a parent has a different perspective than anyone else on the field or in the stands. Once you’ve benefited from a spiritual parenting relationship, you begin to feel the responsibility to do for others what someone has done for you. You see the power in it, so you want to reproduce it. Maybe you are in your 40s and feeling like you’re the one who needs a spiritual parent. Or perhaps you have a spiritual parent, but you see younger people who are looking for the same thing. You may not feel capable or adequate to enter that role, but those who are younger or have less experience can gain so much from interacting with you. Don’t view it grudgingly as an obligation, but consider it an opportunity to pay it on to the next generation and build God’s kingdom. In today’s world, there are many sons and daughters looking for spiritual moms and dads, but not enough experienced Christians are stepping up. Some might be wary of a generation that speaks a different language, navigates the latest technology with ease, and expresses bold new ideas. But if the older people of faith among us would keep their antennae out when somebody asks a question or invites them to have

SPIRITUAL PARENTING: CREATING EXPERIENCES FOR A LIFETIME ur experiences shape the way we think, the way we interact with each other, and the way we live. They add richness, depth, and meaning to our days. Who we experience them with is as important as the lessons we learn or the memories we collect. That’s what spiritual parenting is all about. Relishing the who of the adventure in the midst of it. In their book, A Trip Around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime, Mark Batterson and Richard Foth reflect on the value of shared experiences. “Our lives are not just measured in minutes. They are measured in moments — moments when the minutes stand still. And it’s those defining moments that define our lives! Life becomes an adventure when we start seeing the miraculous in the mundane. When we put feet to our passion or bear-hug a new challenge, it changes our outlook on life. God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. Each trip around the sun has been carefully choreographed for us by the Creator of the universe. We just need to take His cues.” — Mark Batterson “The gift of experience is priceless. Ruth and I decided early on in our marriage that if we had to choose between giving our kids experiences or things, we would give them experiences. They could always get things. Who knows what dreams can take root in your children’s hearts when you choose to live your life adventuring? Who can fathom what new hopes will be born when you choose to experience life instead of just get through it? What relationships will be formed and continue to grow and flourish throughout their lives? How do you quantify the impact of exposing your children to history, relationship, and good food all in one shot?” — Richard Foth

The above quotes are taken from Mark Batterson and Richard Foth with Susanna Foth Aughtmon, A Trip Around the Sun: Turning Your Everyday Life into the Adventure of a Lifetime (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2015). Used with permission.

coffee, we can begin filling roles that might otherwise remain empty. That’s a huge opportunity! A key piece of spiritual parenting that is easy to overlook is that in most contexts the older will learn 67

FEATURE from the younger. We might miss that because we think of it only in terms of, What am I bringing to the table? But from another perspective, interacting with younger people can help keep us young and increase the vitality of our ministries. When Roles Reverse Our relationship has been a two-way street, even from the beginning. That’s because we’ve never been about sharing a curriculum but about sharing experiences. Whether it was going to the National Prayer Breakfast, eating in the Senate Dining Room next to Muhamad Ali, or just spending time together in the Colorado Rockies, it wasn’t about what one of us could do for the other, but what we could do together. It is doubtful that an instructor would lay down his or her life for a student, but there is no question a parent would make such a sacrifice for a child. And the same goes for a child with a parent. There is a passion point connected with being in someone else’s life at a spiritual level, and it comes from spending time with each other. You begin to accumulate experiences together. The gift of experiences is priceless. You invite someone into your world to see what you’re all about, and, over time, you build a bond that gets stronger and stronger. For spiritual parenting to work in both directions, you must believe that the other person has something to contribute to your understanding of life and the world around you. That’s a big piece, and it takes some humility on each side of the relationship. But once you realize that another person can teach you better than any book or conference or program, you begin to see the potential in anyone you encounter to broaden your horizons. Again, the spiritual parenting relationship takes it to a different level because it is spiritual in nature. You develop a connection over time from shared experiences and realized goals that allows you to call each other out. Such exchanges aren’t combative or confrontational, but they come about naturally as you gain permission to ask tough questions and security to provide honest answers. In an environment of respect, those conversations can flow in either direction. It’s about strengthening each other through honor. You sharpen each other like two pieces of iron because there are always areas in which one of you is strong and the other is not, and vice versa. It becomes natural, then, for the roles to reverse sometimes. 68

Because spiritual parenting is a relationship, it happens over dinner, on an adventure together or through conversations. Like a biological child-parent relationship, commitment is important, but it’s not as easily defined. You may meet once a week on a Saturday morning over coffee. Or you may catch up once a quarter as time allows. Either way, you make a commitment and are willing to invest time, effort, and resources to make it work. In other words, you must want it. And you believe it’s well worth it. When you surround yourself with people you admire, who live life in a way that inspires you, they start to rub off on you. It goes both ways. As a younger person looking for a spiritual parent, you find someone you greatly admire whose success you want to replicate. And as an older person, you’re looking to pass on the torch. In reality, you end up carrying the torch together. And what you do can outlive you.

Dick Foth is an author, storyteller and popular speaker. He is a former pastor, Bible college president, and life coach in business and government.

Mark Batterson is a New York Times bestselling author and lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C.

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AN EIGHT-WEEK STUDY FOR LEADERSHIP TEAMS

Week after week, you invest time and energy into making every Sunday count. But you also have to think about staff meetings, board meetings, and meetings with key volunteers and other church leaders. Juggling so many meetings can seem overwhelming, especially as you think about developing the leaders around you. Effective leaders are continually looking for great leadership content they can use to develop and mentor other leaders. Make It Count is a powerful, little tool to help you accomplish just that. Each Make It Count lesson is easily adaptable for individual or group discussion, allowing for personal application and reflection among your ministry leaders and lead volunteers. The lessons are useful as devotionals in board and staff meetings and in 70

departmental meetings with your lead volunteers. Studying and growing together is key to building strong and healthy relationships with your team members, and it is a necessary component to building growing, flourishing churches. These lessons can help you make each moment count as you lead and develop the leaders around you. The following eight, easy-to-use lessons on maximizing your growth as a leader are written by Stephen Blandino, lead pastor of 7 City Church in Fort Worth, Texas (7citychurch.com). He planted 7 City Church in 2012 in a thriving cultural arts district near downtown Fort Worth. Stephen blogs regularly at stephenblandino.com and is the author of several books, including Do Good Works, Creating Your Churchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Culture and GO! Starting a Personal Growth Revolution.

LEADERSHIP GROWTH: 8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER STEPHEN BLANDINO

t’s no secret that growing churches need growing pastors. Maximizing our growth as leaders has a multiplying effect that reaches far beyond ourselves. The same was true of Jesus. Luke 2:40–52 provides a vibrant picture of Jesus’ growth. Verse 52 declares that “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” This is the only glimpse we get of Jesus between the events surrounding His birth and the start of His ministry. It’s as if God paused time to give us a peek into the Son of God’s activities during decades of silence. The focus? Growth. Jesus grew. If the Son of God “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man,” how much more do we need to grow as leaders? An old Irish proverb says, “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” You cannot delegate your growth. It must spring from an ownership mentality, not an outsourcing mentality. You can’t outsource your growth to another leader, a staff member, a volunteer or a friend. Leadership begins by leading yourself. In the following lessons, we explore eight keys to maximizing your growth as a leader. As you read each lesson, discuss the questions, and apply the principles to your life, you will notice an immediate uptick in your growth as a leader. This isn’t theory but practical steps to help you become the best leader you can be.

Editor’s Note We are pleased to make available the Make It Count Discussion Guide in a downloadable PDF, available through the “Downloads” button on Influencemagazine.com. Each lesson in the PDF Make It Count Discussion Guide is partitioned into a Leader’s page and Team Member’s page. The Leader’s page corresponds exactly to the material found in this print issue of the magazine. Print multiple copies of the PDF Discussion Guide for all your ministry leaders and the team members they lead in your church or organization. Key words and concepts are underlined in each lesson on the leader’s page. These underlined words and concepts correspond to the blanks spaces found on the team member lesson page. Team members can fill in the blanks as you progress through the lesson material. We trust these lessons will help you make each moment count as you lead and develop the leaders around you.

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8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER

Embrace a Growth Posture Assess: On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rank your commitment to grow your leadership potential over the last 90 days? Insights and Ideas eaders carry a heavy responsibility. The decisions leaders make and the actions they L take have a ripple effect on the people, organizations and churches they lead. That’s why, as author and pastor Bill Hybels says, “When the leader gets better, everyone wins.” The leader wins, the team wins, the church wins, the city wins and the kingdom of God wins. Maximizing your growth as a leader is essential. The starting place for your growth as a leader is to embrace a growth posture. A growth posture is a lifelong learning mindset. Basketball coaching legend John Wooden often said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” We cannot afford to coast, and we cannot fall prey to our own “expertise” as a reason for why we no longer need to grow. The moment you “arrive” is the moment your decline begins. Jesus demonstrated a lifelong learning posture. Even as the Son of God, Jesus understood and actively embraced a mindset that would help Him fulfill the mission His Father sent Him to fulfill. Luke 2:40 says, “The child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.” Verse 52 says, “Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Jesus’ growth exhibited three characteristics. It was intentional. Spiritual growth didn’t just happen. It arose from fellowship with and obedience to God the Father. We must be intentional about cultivating healthy habits that facilitate growth. It was continual. Jesus modeled the way to grow spiritually throughout life as He spent time with His Father (Luke 11:1) and always did the will of His Father (John 8:29). It was valuable. Jesus’ growth wasn’t random or haphazard. He didn’t waste His time learning or growing in areas that didn’t matter. His growth focused on the most valuable areas of life. He grew mentally, physically, spiritually and relationally. Philosopher Eric Hoffer once said, “In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” That’s a sobering statement. A growth posture should never have an expiration date. Just because you graduate school doesn’t mean you should graduate learning. Keep growing. Reflect and Discuss 1. Why does our personal growth as leaders often get neglected? 2. Which of the three characteristics of Jesus’ growth is your greatest struggle? Why? 3. How does Eric Hoffer’s quote challenge you? In what ways do you need to upgrade your leadership through learning and growth? Apply Leaders understand that before they can lead others, they must first lead themselves by embracing a healthy growth posture. This week, read Luke 2:40–52 in two or three different translations of Scripture. What stands out to you about Jesus’ growth mindset? After studying this passage, commit yourself anew to a lifelong learning posture so that your leadership can be its best. Remember, “When the leader gets better, everyone wins.”

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8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER

Develop a Growth Plan Team Review: What did you learn from studying Jesus’ model of personal growth in Luke 2:40–52? Assess: How clear are you about which areas of your leadership need growth? Insights and Ideas well-worn statement often tossed around in leadership circles goes like this: If you A fail to plan, you plan to fail. I know it’s overused, but it carries a nugget of truth for our growth as leaders. Without a plan, our growth will stagnate. As the old formula goes, “Track + Action = Traction.” A leadership growth plan provides the track to run on. I like to refer to this growth plan as a “Growth TRAC.” A Growth TRAC is how you create, implement and monitor your own plan for growth. Four ingredients are required to create a healthy Growth TRAC, and a question accompanies each ingredient. Target: What are my growth goals? A good Growth TRAC begins with a clear and specific goal, or target, that provides direction for your growth as a leader. People often set goals in their areas of weakness (or liabilities), but a healthy Growth TRAC focuses attention on growing your leadership strengths, too. Roadmap: How do I plan to grow? Once the target (or goal) is clear, you need a specific plan to help generate your desired growth. A good roadmap generally includes training, resources, relationships, and experiences that will lead to the growth you desire. Accountability: Who will hold me accountable for my growth? Most of us have great intentions, but we usually need someone in our lives to ask us the hard questions. Find accountability partners who will ask you about your progress with your roadmap as you endeavor to take steps toward your target. Checkup: When and how will I evaluate my growth progress? Finally, schedule monthly or quarterly checkups to evaluate your growth as a leader. Include your accountability partner in this evaluation, and look for clear and measurable improvements. If you create and follow a Growth TRAC each year, your leadership growth will compound over time, ultimately delivering greater impact in the church, ministry, or organization you lead. Reflect and Discuss 1. Have you ever created a plan for your growth as a leader? If so, what did it look like? 2. What is one area of your leadership you need to grow in this month? 3. What resources might help you grow in the area that needs improvement? Apply This week, create a Growth TRAC for one area of leadership in which you want to grow. Set a clear target (or goal), along with a solid roadmap (with training, resources, relationships and experiences that will help you grow). Then secure someone to hold you accountable, and schedule a checkup on your progress. (For a resource to help you create a Growth TRAC, download my free e-book, How to Create a Plan for Personal Growth, at StephenBlandino.com.)

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8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER

Enlarge Your Growth Environment Team Review: What did you include in your Growth TRAC to help you grow as a leader? Assess: Who or what in your environment (at home, work, etc.) has been most pivotal in helping you grow? Insights and Ideas ebrews 5:11 says, “We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you H because you no longer try to understand.” Listening is essential to our spiritual growth. Without it, we become dull, stubborn and ineffective. Likewise, listening is paramount in our growth as leaders. Failure to listen stunts our growth, but a subtler danger is equally debilitating: always listening to the same people. To maximize your growth as a leader, you must enlarge your environment to include voices outside of your normal growth inputs. Constantly drinking from the same leadership fountain can result in the disease of “mindless mingling.” Mindless mingling occurs when the thinking life of a leader experiences a deficit in knowledge or relationships. In other words, what I know, who I know, and who I listen to limit how I think. I become mindless because I mingle with the same people and draw from the same pool of knowledge. Author and pastor Andy Stanley captured the essence of this concern when he said, “If you are surrounded long enough by people who think like you think, you will become more and more certain that’s the best way to think.” One cure is to enlarge your growth environment in three ways. Enlarge your network. Begin building relationships with people outside of your church, field or denomination. You’ll quickly discover how much you don’t know when you look beyond your bubble. Enlarge your resource pool. We all have our favorite authors, podcasts and blogs. Lift your eyes to see what else is on the horizon, and don’t be afraid to look outside of your field of study. Some of the best learning comes from disciplines outside your area of expertise. Enlarge your experiences. We tend to drift toward the path of least resistance. Look for ways to broaden your experience by attending new conferences, classes, and events, or pursuing new degrees. What can you do to put “new” back into your leadership growth? Enlarging your growth environment will feel uncomfortable. We prefer being in rooms where everybody knows us — or even admires us. It’s hard to pursue environments where you’re suddenly thrust into anonymity. But unfamiliar environments often hold the gold you’ve been trying to mine in your current environments. Take a risk. Enlarge your growth environment. The width of your environment determines the depth of your development. Reflect and Discuss 1. In what ways have you grown too comfortable in your current growth environment? 2. What could you do to enlarge your network, resource pool or experiences? 3. What is one thing you could do this week to enlarge your growth environment? Apply Do something new this week to enlarge your growth environment. Connect with a new leader outside of your church or denomination. Start reading a book by an author you’ve never read. Sign up for an event you’ve never attended. Pick one thing, and start today.

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8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER

Access Growth Resources Team Review: What specific step did you take last week to enlarge your growth environment? Assess: What resources do you regularly use to help you grow as a leader? Insights and Ideas he apostle Paul was nearing death when he wrote his second letter to Timothy. Paul T celebrated the fact that he had fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. Then he made a special request: “When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). As most people near the end of life, their final requests tend to ease their regrets, restore their relationships or comfort their weakening bodies. But not Paul! He refused to toss learning and personal growth in the backseat just because his days were numbered. His books were among his final requests. He wanted to continue growing to his full potential right up to the end of life. As the old saying goes, “Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to God.” Paul maximized his potential because of his commitment to growth, and he honored God because of it. Resources play a critical role in our growth as leaders, and today’s technology makes it easier than ever to access a broad range of resources. With all the books, podcasts, webinars, blogs, downloads, apps, TED Talks, magazines, assessments, and other tools available today, we can access a gigantic library of helpful content — much of which doesn’t cost a dime. As you choose content to help you grow, ask yourself three questions. The technology question: What technology am I not currently leveraging for my personal growth and development? The time question: What am I doing to maximize my down time for my growth as a leader? The travel question: How do I use my travel (daily commute, airline, etc.) for my growth as a leader? According to research from Gallup, the average round-trip daily work commute is 46 minutes. Do the math. That averages 230 minutes per week, over 15 hours per month, and nearly 200 hours per year. Between ages 22 and 65, you may have more than 8,000 hours of personal growth potential sitting in your car. How are you using that time to grow as a leader? What are you listening to besides the radio? Reflect and Discuss 1. What are the two best resources you regularly use to grow as a leader? 2. Which of the three questions (technology, time, travel) needs more of your attention? 3. What is the last leadership insight or idea you learned from a resource you still have not put into practice? Apply Take two steps to apply what you’ve learned. First, do a quick audit of your technology, time and travel. How can you regularly leverage these opportunities to grow as a leader? Second, discuss with your team, a coach, a co-worker, or friends the best resources they use to grow as leaders. Choose at least one of those resources this week to help you grow in your leadership journey.

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8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER

Pursue Coaching Relationships Team Review: What new resource did you access last week to help you grow as a leader? Assess: Whom do you meet with regularly to help you grow as a leader? Insights and Ideas eaders often use books, conferences and online tools for growth while overlooking L coaching. Yet Scripture places a high value on mentoring-type relationships. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” And the apostle Paul challenged Titus to mobilize older men and women to mentor and invest in younger generations (Titus 2:3–8). Coaching doesn’t have to be a long-term, time-intensive relationship. In fact, that’s a good way to scare off a potential coach. You can benefit from coaching simply by inviting a pastor to lunch and requesting permission to ask him or her a handful of leadership questions. Nothing beats outside perspective when you’re bumping up against a growth lid. So, what exactly do coaches do? The best coaches take A.I.M. at your leadership potential by offering three things: Assessment. Coaches don’t usually begin by rattling off answers to questions you never asked. Rather, they take time to understand you, your needs, and your situation. Context is important, and good coaches ask questions to assess what you’re going through. Insight. Once a coach assesses your situation, he or she will offer some practical insights in two ways. First, a coach will ask questions that cause you to dig deep for answers. Rather than handing you solutions on a silver platter, he or she will likely ask questions to help you uncover the solution for yourself. This process creates more buy-in to the solution. Second, at strategic moments, coaches will offer their own breakthrough insights to help you move forward. This combination of asking questions and offering breakthroughs allows the best insights to emerge. Motivation. Finally, good coaches are encouragers. They see potential in you and motivate you to become your best. Coaches don’t do the work for you, but they encourage you, pray for you, and cheer you on in the journey. When a coach takes A.I.M. at your potential, growth is nearly inevitable. In addition to pastors, there are a number of ministries that offer helpful coaching. Organizations like CourageToLead.com, Vanderbloemen.com, AGCoaching.org, and UnstuckGroup.com provide great coaching for ministry leaders. Does it require an investment? Certainly. But it will be worth it. Reflect and Discuss 1. Why do you think coaching is so underutilized in leadership? 2. If you ever had a coach help you grow as a leader, how was it helpful? 3. How can you serve as a coach to develop other leaders? Apply Identify a leadership area where you need coaching. To help you find a coach, list the names of other leaders you know who might be willing to meet with you (don’t assume anyone is too busy). Request a coffee or lunch with them in the next two weeks if their schedule allows. Honor their time, buy their lunch, and bless them any way you can. If you don’t have any coaching options, ask a fellow pastor or leader for a recommendation. Sometimes the best coaching relationships begin through a friend’s introduction.

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Welcome Candid Feedback Team Review: Whom have you asked to coach you? Assess: On a scale from 1 to 10, how open are you to receiving candid feedback from others? Insights and Ideas andor is a difficult but essential part of a leader’s growth. Candor is the process of welC coming brutally honest feedback into your life, leadership and ministry without getting defensive. Every leader has blind spots, and without candid feedback, these blind spots will undermine your performance and growth. Too many churches and organizations let bureaucratic red tape and an overwhelming fear of conflict paralyze them. In the end, the organization calcifies. The same thing can happen personally. An unwillingness to hear the truth, face the facts, and adjust our sails lead to a personal plateau and eventual decline. Here are four keys to receiving candid feedback in a healthy way. Seek out trusted advisors. Many people will give you their two cents on any issue you present to them. That’s not what you’re looking for. You need trusted advisors who have your back and believe in you. At the same time, you’re not looking for “yes” men or women. You need people you trust to speak hard truths into your life. Ask for feedback. Most people don’t offer candid feedback until two things happen. First, they must feel a sense of safety in the environment. If the culture is toxic, people will keep their mouths shut for fear of having an embarrassing exchange in front of their peers — or losing their job. Second, you must ask for feedback. When a leader humbly seeks honest feedback — the good, the bad and the ugly — it gives the team permission to offer important insights and perspective. What are you doing to give that permission? Don’t get defensive. If you ask for feedback and then respond with a defensive posture, it’s game over. Candid feedback requires tough skin. If you can’t take it, don’t ask for it. Just remember if you don’t ask for it, you’ll never maximize your leadership potential. An unwillingness to receive feedback will always drive leaders into a false reality. Balance candor and care. People have feelings. When providing candor, balance it with genuine care. This tension is easy to get wrong. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes. Work hard not to cross the line, and if you go too far, quickly and sincerely apologize. Do everything you can to protect the relationship in a healthy way. Facts are ultimately your friends. Even when those facts are difficult, they are the starting place for change and growth. They define our reality. Welcome the feedback. Go searching for it. Reflect and Discuss 1. How do you typically respond when people give you candid feedback? 2. Would your spouse, co-workers or friends agree with your assessment? 3. What can we do to create a more trusting environment that balances candor and care? Apply Take a few minutes to consider two questions. First, how will you create an environment of candor and care in your area of ministry? Second, from whom do you need to seek honest feedback, and when will you do this? Candid feedback is essential to your growth as a leader. Embrace it.

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8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER

Expand Your Vision

Team Review: From whom did you seek candid feedback last week, and what did it reveal about potential growth areas in your life? Assess: How passionate do you feel right now about your vision for your area of ministry? Insights and Ideas e’ve been talking about important steps to growing as a leader. Each one plays a critiW cal role, and each one will expand your thinking. However, there’s one strategy that really ups the ante: expanding your vision. Between you and your vision is a gap, and the only way to close that gap is to grow from the person you are today into the person you need to become. Until you close your “growth gap,” the dream will remain trapped in your imagination. However, some leaders have already reached their dream, and now they’re living in maintenance mode. They’re coasting. The key to breaking out of this holding pattern is to dream bigger dreams that require bigger growth. When you expand your vision, you’ll simultaneously discover a new growth gap. You’ll suddenly realize what you must change, how you must grow, and who you must become for your new dream to come true. If you find yourself in a growth slump, maybe it’s because your dream is too small. Perhaps you’re coasting, able to get by on who you’ve become, and how you’ve already grown. The only way you’re going to bump up the level of your leadership is to bump up the level of your vision. Higher dreams demand higher leadership capacity. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (KJV). But so does the leader. Leaders without vision — or with easy, tiny or comfortable visions — drift into mediocrity and never rise to their God-given potential. Don’t let yourself go there. Dream big. Stretch. Put yourself in a place that demands that you grow. God called you and prepared you to lead boldly. See beyond where your church is today, and begin leading to the place God is calling you to go. Let the words God spoke to Joshua stir your soul and inspire you to go further. “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. … Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6,9). Reflect and Discuss 1. How much growth is your current vision demanding of you as a leader? 2. If your leadership has outpaced your vision, what do you need to do to expand your vision? 3. How does God’s command to Joshua to be strong and courageous inspire you? Apply Spend this week in prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit to expand your vision. As He begins birthing new vision within you, ask Him to reveal how you must grow as a leader to realize the vision. Then make those growth steps part of your Growth TRAC.

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8 KEYS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR GROWTH AS A LEADER

Raise Your Pain Threshold Team Review: What fresh vision has God started stirring in your soul? How must you grow as a leader to see that vision realized? Assess: What kind of pain in leadership causes you to pull back, stop leading or stop growing? Insights and Ideas amuel R. Chand observes in his book Leadership Pain that when your leadership S doesn’t produce pain, you’re likely in a season of “unusual blessing,” or you’re not making a difference. According to Chand, growth equals change, change equals loss, and loss equals pain; therefore, growth equals pain. Pain is part of the price you pay to lead. When you can no longer handle the pain, you’ll stop growing. You will hit a ceiling in your leadership, and your church will stop moving forward. Your pain threshold must increase concurrently with your organization’s growth. As Chand notes, “You’ll grow only to the threshold of your pain.” Growing your vision demands that you grow your leadership. But it simultaneously demands that you grow your pain threshold. Bigger vision is painful. It hurts. It requires harder, more painful decisions. It produces more stress. It increases conflict. And even though the vision is from God, not everyone will be excited about it. Instead of retreating or searching for a path of least resistance, you must decide to grow through the pain. In Matthew 17:21, Jesus clearly noted that prayer and fasting are crucial for winning the greatest spiritual battles in life. In other words, the greatest spiritual breakthroughs come at a higher price. The biggest victories require the highest pain threshold. How do you need to grow as a leader so you can handle the pain that comes with a growing organization? Growing through pain thresholds requires four types of reserves. Spiritual reserves. Spend time with God, take spiritual retreats and observe Sabbaths. Mental reserves. Seek out training, resources and coaching. Emotional reserves. Develop a network of support from counseling, coaching, friends and family. Physical reserves. Exercise, and eat a healthy diet. What are you doing to develop your spiritual, mental, emotional and physical reserves so you can navigate the struggles of leadership? Reaching your full potential and accomplishing the fresh vision God deposited in your soul will demand more from you. Grow your reserves so you can grow through your pain threshold. Reflect and Discuss 1. What is the most painful part of leadership for you? 2. What can we do as a team to provide more support and encouragement so we can successfully navigate the pressures and pains of leadership? 3. What personal practices and disciplines do we need to embrace to raise our own pain thresholds? Apply Develop a plan to raise your pain threshold. Determine what you need to do personally to build spiritual, mental, emotional and physical reserves. Relationships will be an important part of this process. Whatever the case, don’t ignore your pain threshold; otherwise, it will become the lid on your leadership. Choose to grow through it.

THE FINAL NOTE

5 AG Stats You Need to Know By Influence Magazine

The Assemblies of God (USA) experienced its 27th consecutive year of growth in 2016, with 3.24 million adherents and 2 million in major worship service attendance. In 2016, the AG saw an all-time high of new church plants and water baptisms and a 16 percent increase in Spirit baptisms. A new AG church is planted in the U.S. every 21 hours.

Whereas the U.S. population is 39 percent racial or ethnic minority, the AG is 42 percent. In 2016, the African-American percentage of the Fellowship topped 10 percent for the first time.

Growing:

Diverse:

Young: 54 percent of the Fellowship is under 35 years of age, and over the last decade, its millennial population has grown by 11 percent.

Global: The World Assemblies of God Fellowship encompasses 68.5 million adherents in 367,287 churches served by 392,018 ministers and meeting in 256 countries, territories or provinces.

Evangelistic:

Every 37 seconds, a person comes to Christ through an AG church or ministry somewhere in the world. Every 95 minutes a new AG church is planted somewhere in the world.

These statistics are a reason to thank God. However, in the words of former AG World Missions Executive Director Loren Triplett, “We dare not measure our success against anything but the unfinished task.” And so, let us recommit ourselves to do, in the words of the 2nd AG General Council, “the greatest evangelism that the world has ever seen.”

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