Growing a simple church into the Christ-honoring, love-driven, life-transforming, multiplication-minded powerhouse that God intends requires expert builders who work closely with the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:7-17). Lots of things can (and do) go wrong that leave a church fractured, render it irrelevant or dissolve it entirely after a short run. That’s one reason why so many instructions and corrections were included in the New Testament epistles. And why it’s important for us to think both biblically and practically as we plan, launch and develop our churches.

Over the past several years of learning by lots of doing and debriefing, I have identified seven factors that sharply influence the quality and long-term prospects of a simple church. These highlight the “essence” of what I believe it takes to build something extraordinary from the ground, up: a spiritual temple in (and through) which God can be revealed (2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21-22).

1. E mbraced identity
2.
S piritual formation
3.
S hared responsibility
4.
E ngagement guidelines
5.
N on-negotiable D2NA
6.
C ollaborative coaching
7.
E lders (in training)

Overview - The Essence of Extraordinary

Download - The Essence of Extraordinary