November 8, 2005 | Issue #14
  

By Andy Williams
Microsoft and America's teaching churches have something in common. Really.

Without a doubt, Bill Gates' software company has a fundamentally different mission than U.S. congregations with something to teach other churches.

Where the two intersect is in their emphasis on intellectual capital and knowledge transfer.
Like Microsoft, teaching churches are knowledge resources. Consider them another "arrow" in the life-long-learning "quiver" of equipping for service. They contribute practical ministry knowledge in the form of cutting-edge information, resources, coaching, customized consultations and peer networks.

In a pilot project over the past five years, Leadership Network brought together a group of nine innovative U.S. teaching church leadership teams to learn from each other, stoke passions and hone skills for equipping the body of Christ.
Joy Leadership Center staff chart the future

Covering the map from Ohio to Hawaii and Dallas to Minneapolis, these teaching churches focus on everything from leadership development and church planting to video production, community service, preaching, counseling and worship graphics.

With a shared heart to advance the Kingdom, this group produced jaw-dropping results from 2000 to 2004--serving nearly 17,000 churches and sharing their ideas with more than 61,000 people. When you toss in 2005 projections and multiply attendance through Christian Communication Network satellite broadcasts, numbers reach into the millions.

For these churches--and others on the front lines--knowledge capital comes in the form of proven and practical ministry expertise developed over time. Much like software, "upgrades" often require...
American Churchgoers Want Programming and Quality
Why do American churches keep growing larger? Scholar Mark Chaves raised this question in his Nov. 4 keynote message...
 
Why Pastors Move On
A new Ellison Research study finds the average American minister has held a paid job in ministry for 19 years and has spent an average of 15.6 of those years as a senior pastor...
 
Muslims Turning To Christ
Baptist missiologist and author David Garrison says, "More Muslims have come to Christ in the past two decades than at any other point in history." (Religion Journal.com 6/13)
 
Americans Believe in Paranormal
A recent Gallup survey shows that about 3 in 4 Americans hold some belief in at least one of the following: extra sensory perception, haunted houses, ghosts, mental telepathy, clairvoyance, astrology, communicating with the dead, witches, reincarnation and channeling.  
 
Forums Planned for Senior Pastors
Leadership Network will be hosting several special forums next year for Senior Pastors.

Multi-Site Conference Hits a Grand Slam
More than 450 people from 100-plus churches
gathered in Naperville, IL on October 24-25 for a sold-out conference featuring some of the early pioneers in the rapidly expanding multi-site church movement.

This innovation briefing event was hosted by Leadership Network in partnership with North Coast Church (Vista, CA), Community Christian Church (Chicago, IL) and Seacoast Church (Charleston, SC).

The fingerprints of Leadership Network can be found all over the ministry of North Coast Church both our local church and our
ministry to church leaders and pastors around the country.

By working hard to get innovative church leaders from various denominations and faith traditions in the same room sharing on a peer-to-peer level, Leadership Network has consistently exposed me and my team to wisdom, spiritual maturity and just plain ol' great ideas that I would have never discovered on my own. For that, I (and my congregation) will be forever grateful.

Larry Osborne, Senior Pastor
North Coast Church
Vista, CA
www.northcoastchurch.com
Welcome to the Blog-o-Sphere
Leadership Network is entering the blog world with the launch of multisitechurchrevolution.com. Visit and bookmark the site for reviews on the recent Multi-Site Coast to Coast Conference, conversations about the movement, podcasts with multi-site practitioners and excerpts from Zondervan's June 2006 release of The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church in Many Locations by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird.

In the months to come, check out the resource pages on Leadership Network's website (www.leadnet.org) for links to blogs and podcasts from leading church innovators throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Printer Friendly Version