Mike Foster and Ethur have created a new project called the Junky Car Club that promotes:

Living with less so we can give more.

I recently joined with my ’93 Plymouth Voyager after learning about the club from Mark Batterson, who is also a member with his ’95 Ford Taurus. Sign up today to receive a free membership kit that includes a bumper sticker and membership card.

Leadership Network has launched a new blog about the digital church and has been kind enough to invite me and many other tech-savvy bloggers to weekly share their thoughts on technology and the church. It is a blog created to help you keep a pulse on technology and learn how to use it effectively. Visit digital.leadnet.org to read the latest posts.

Perry Noble of NewSpring Church (Anderson, SC) recently shared eight things he thinks every church worship leader should know.

1. When you are singing… OPEN YOUR EYES!
2. You are not the preacher – SING!
3. Surround yourself with talented people.
4. Write songs.
5. Go to concerts.
6. Read Scripture.
7. Work in unison with the pastor.
8. Place God’s vision before your own.

For additional thoughts by Perry on each tip, read the full post on his blog.

Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) is starting a new sermon series this weekend called ineedtochange.com that will challenge people to consider how they need to change for the better. Here 7 ways they are promoting it:

1. Sermon Website
   They launched a website, ineedtochange.com, where people can post their thoughts and read what others have submitted.
2. Online Guerrilla Marketing
   The website includes a guerrilla marketing page that equips visitors with downloadable flyers, web banners, and desktop wallpapers to help spread the word.
3. Short Films
   They created short films to show during the weekend services and on ineedtochange.com.
4. Promotional Packets
   During weekend services, they distributed promotional packets with flyers, clothing iron-ons, and tips for supporting the sermon series.
5. Billboards
   They placed billboards around high-traffic areas of Dallas/Ft. Worth and Miami.
6. Direct Mail
   They notified nearby homes about the sermon series with a mail piece.
7. E-Invites
   Fellowship Church’s website and ineedtochange.com feature e-invites.

For more church marketing ideas from Fellowship Church, read our previous post about how Fellowship Church marketed the launch of their Miami campus.

[via Creative Leader Newsletter]

Mark Batterson is the senior pastor of National Community Church, a multi-site church in Washington, D.C. with 4 campuses located at Union Station, Ballston Common Mall, Georgetown (new), and Ebenezers Coffeehouse. Mark is also the author of ID, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and Right-Brain Church (’08 release).

ABOUT NATIONAL COMMUNTIY CHURCH

Year Began: 1996
Locations: 4
Weekend Services: 8 by October
Attendance: 1,250
Staff: 19 :: 1/66 attendees
Volunteers: 350-400 :: 1/3 to 1/4 attendees
Primary Audiences/Lifestyles Reached: 73% single twenty-somethings :: 25% unchurched :: 50% dechurched

10Q WITH MARK BATTERSON

1Q = What values and beliefs unify National Community Church’s staff and drive their performance?

We have a dozen core values.  And a few of them have really become touchstones for the way we do church:

• Everything is an experiment.
• Irrelevance is irreverence.
• Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you.
• The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet.
• Expect the unexpected.
• Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it.

2Q = What is National Community Church’s chain of command from the senior pastor to the church volunteers?

We have intentionally avoided bureaucracy like the plague!

We have an executive leadership team that functions as the board. For what it’s worth, it is a combination of staff and non-staff. We made a decision early on not to discriminate against those who are trained and called to full-time ministry. It didn’t make sense to us. So staff can serve in the highest decision-making capacity at National Community Church.

We also have a stewardship team that provides financial accountability. The staff comes up with the budget, but the budget is approved by the Stewardship Team.

3Q = For big decisions, what is National Community Church’s decision making process?

We don’t vote on anything except ratifying our Stewardship Team and Executive Leadership Team. We do, however, survey our congregation like crazy! But it is a different psychology and vibe. We get great input that is invaluable. But it’s not political.

We really let our leaders lead–all the way from the Lead Pastor to Small Group Leaders. We expect our leaders to get a vision from God and go for it. We have checks and balances in place, but we have a very empowering culture.

4Q = How does National Community Church market itself?

86% of NCCers come to National Community Church for the first-time because of a personal invitation. Because of that, we do lots of invite cards to help turn our attendees into inviters. Our motto is that church is a tag-team sport. When NCCers walk in they tag me and our creative team and say “go for it.” When they walk out we tag them and say “go for it.”

We also do direct mailings, outreach events, and our coffeehouse on Capitol Hill is probably our greatest marketing tool.

5Q = What is the most effective thing National Community Church has done to reach people?

While I love our creative sermon branding, I honestly think our servant evangelism is the engine that drives us. But the key is having lots of entry points. Alpha has been a big entry point for us. So has our podcast and webcast. Even my blog is a touch point for people who are checking out NCC.

6Q = You have mentioned before that National Community Church reaches mostly single twenty-somethings and has a high yearly turnover rate. Since your time to reach these students and young workers is limited, what does NCC do to create meaningful relationships with them in such a short amount of time?

We do small groups in a semester system which allows us to heavily and creatively promote groups three times a year. We also do connection points after our services where we encourage people to:

1. plug into a small group
2. plug into a ministry

We really try to keep assimilation streamlined and simple!

7Q = What is your leadership style?

I think I’m a team leader. I played sports throughout high school and college, and I probably function the same way. I try to motivate our team and then let go. I used to micro-manage, but as National Community Church has grown, it’s impossible to know everything about everything that is going on so I’m trying to do less so we can do more!

Our structure at NCC has been very flat, but we’re discovering that an organization shift is absolutely necessary for us to go to the next level and maintain sanity. I had eleven direct reports last year. With some of our restructuring I now have five.

8Q = Who has influenced you the most as a leader?

Honestly, my father-in-law, Bob Schmidgall, has had the greatest influence. He planted and pastored one church in Naperville, Illinois for 30+ years. I saw the impact of longevity! He set an example I’m trying to follow. Lord willing, I’d love to pastor one church for life!

I also have my fair share of guys I really like and look up to–Erwin McManus, Craig Groeschel, Andy Stanley, etc. So grateful for the great teachers and leaders that are pastors to pastors!

9Q = What resources have had the biggest impact on how you do ministry?

I used to read 150-200 books a year. And I still read about 75-100 books. I’m reading a little less now that I’m writing a little more. But I honestly think it is the cumulative effect.

I’m also a big believer in conferences. In fact, we take our entire staff to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta every year.

And I love doing recon at other churches. It keeps us from becoming a closed system.

10Q = What is the best advice you have for church leaders?

You have to be yourself. You have to keep learning. And you have to have fun.

And don’t worry about church growth. Focus on personal growth. If you keep growing personally, you won’t have to worry about church growth!

Be sure to check out Church Relevance’s “10Q” category to read previous 10Q interviews.

Perry Noble is the senior pastor of NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC.

ABOUT NEWSPRING CHURCH

Year Began: 2000
Locations: 1
Weekend Services: 4
Attendance: 8,000
Staff: 80 :: 1/100 attendees
Volunteers: 2000 :: 1/4 attendees
Primary Audiences/Lifestyles Reached: singles in their mid 20’s and young families in their 30’s and 40’s

10Q WITH PERRY NOBLE

1Q = What values and beliefs unify NewSpring Church‘s staff and drive their performance?

We have a desire to make the name of Jesus Christ famous… and we believe that will happen as the church continues to become the place that HE originally designed it to be. We believe in excellence AND the power of God—which means we are going to do all that we can, knowing that without God’s help that we will fall incredibly short of doing anything significant.  

2Q = What is NewSpring Church’s chain of command from the senior pastor to the church volunteers?

We are a staff led church. Currently we have a senior management team that I, along with five other guys, serve on. They, in turn have direct reports, and many of their direct reports also have a staff working with them. It really is easier to see on an org chart. 

3Q = For big decisions, what is NewSpring Church’s decision making process?

We pray like CRAZY and BEG God for wisdom— then our senior management team meets and makes the decision. No business meetings! 

4Q = How does NewSpring Church market itself?

We have tried just about everything from television commercials to billboards to newspaper ads, but we keep coming back to the BEST way to market a church is to, week after week, deliver an excellent presentation… and people will go and tell their friends about it and invite them back the next week. 

5Q = What is the most effective thing NewSpring Church has done to reach people?

About once or twice a year I will teach on the subject of evangelism and why it is so important to tell our lost friends and family members about Christ. At the end of that message, I will challenge people to invite their friends the next week because I will be presenting the Gospel. EVERY TIME we do this, we have record numbers show up the next week! 

6Q = What is your leadership style?

I would say I am a “trust the guys around me to get it done” kind of guy. I love casting vision, and I will lead through that process, but many times I get out of the loop in regards to the specifics. 

7Q = Who has influenced you the most as a leader?

OK, I know that JESUS is the spiritual answer… but other than HIM I would have to say… wow… this is tough… currently either Andy Stanley or Craig Groeschel. 

8Q = What resources have had the biggest impact on how you do ministry?

Anything that Hybels writes on leadership!!! 

I LOVE the C3 conference at Fellowship Church, I go just about every year. And Catalyst is a great conference as well. 

9Q = What is the greatest ministry lesson you have learned?

Ministry takes WORK. The people who sit around and “wait on God to do it all” are still sitting and waiting! 

10Q = What is the best advice you have for church leaders?

DO EXACTLY WHAT GOD HAS CALLED YOU TO DO! Don’t screw around with His vision… we will one day stand before God and be held accountable by HIM… not some board of deacons or elders.  

Be sure to check out Church Relevance’s “10Q” category to read previous 10Q interviews.

Open Mind Research and OTX Research studied kids ages 13 to 19 and discovered:

What Defines Them

• 44% say music defines them 
• 39% say family defines them
• 38% say moral values define them

About Marketing

• 32% rank TV advertising as the most influential form of media
• 28% rank magazine advertising as the most influential form of media

Brandweek highlighted the research, which also investigates the effect of brands on teenagers. Their article includes the following interesting quote by Anastasia Goodstein of Ypulse:

Teens are going through a stage in their life where they are figuring out who they are. As they change their own identities multiple times, the brands adjust along with that. They can be completely in an Abercrombie phase and they switch to another group of friends, get into Emo music and are shopping at Hot Topic instead.

While teenagers may be in a fickle state of trying to find themselves, it is notable that, at the core, they still view their family and moral values as major influences that define their identity. I believe that their values essentially remain the same despite their lifestyles changing from subculture to subculture. They are still receptive to hearing the values of the Bible but are most receptive when those values are communicated in a style that is relevant to their own.

Six new websites have been added to Church Relevance’s list of the top 75 church websites, and Central Christian Church (Mesa, AZ) has launched a redesigned website and remains on the list. See their screenshots below.

Central Christian Church (Mesa, AZ)

Champion Forest Baptist Church (Houston, TX)

Cornerstone Fellowship (Livermore, CA)

Long Hollow Baptist Church (Hendersonville, TN)

Southridge Community Church (St. Catharines, Ontario)

Vinelife Church (Longmont, CO)

Woodmen Valley Chapel (Colorado Springs, CO)

For more great church websites, check out the top 75 church websites list.