Breakout Churches Thom S. Rainer

Jim Collins’ Good to Great

1) Why Good Is Not Enough “It is a sin to be good if God has called us to be great.” Breakout church criterion: At least 26 conversions a year since breakout Less than 20:1 conversion rate per year since breakout Had been declining for several years before breakout Broke out of the slump and sustained growth for years Slump, reversal, and breakout all took place under same pastor 13 breakout churches out of 52,333 (0.025%)

Innovation Acceleration Culture of Excellence Acts 6/7 Leadership VIP Factor ABC Moment Who/What Simultrack

Acts 6/7 Leadership Acts 1: Called Leader Acts 2: Contributing Leader Outwardly Focused Leader Acts 4: Passionate Leader Acts 5: Bold Leader Acts 6/7: Legacy Leader Knows of God’s call to ministry and has responded to that call Takes time to do the basics of the ministry well (preaching, teaching, and prayer) Seeks to lead church to ministry beyond the walls of the church Exudes a contagious enthusiasm for ministry which others gladly follow Is willing to take risks where success is only possible with God’s power Has a burden for a successful ministry beyond his own lifetime 98% 22% 14% 6% 3% <1%

Eight Keys to Acts 6/7 Leadership fierce biblical faithfulness long tenure confident humility acceptance of responsibility unconditional love of the people persistence outwardly-focused vision desire for a lasting legacy

The ABC Moment Awareness Leaders become aware that the church is not what it could be Belief Leaders believe that God can use them to turn things around Crisis Leaders persevere through the crisis that comes about with necessary change

The Who/What Simultrack Which is better approach: Identifying promising people and finding ways to get them involved Identifying positions which need to be filled and finding people who can do them

The VIP Factor Vision Intersection Profile Difference between mission and vision Leadership Passion Community Needs Passion/ Gifts of Congregation

A Culture of Excellence How many things can one congregation do excellently? Should a congregation do things it cannot do excellently? If a congregation cannot do everything, how does it decided what to do? “Not-to-do” lists How much freedom should leaders be given in their work?

Innovation Accelerators Are breakout churches innovative?

Big Mo or Blind Erosion? Number one factor in “Big Mo”? How can each of these factors lead to “Blind Erosion”? Appraisal based on institutional stability Theological indifference Ignorance Resistant Leader (Burned/Lazy/Theologically Weak/Wimpy/Praise-Seeker) Do churches plateau?