We will keep the blog live and all old posts will be archived and searchable. But all future insights into the how and why we do things the way we do at Elevation will be done through guest blogs on our Pastor’s blog:

stevenfurtick.com

You can also check out one of the many Elevation staffers who update their blogs regularly. Here are the links:

Larry Hubatka

John Bishop

Wade Joye

Ryan Hollingsworth

Chris Brown

Mack Brock

Signing off.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor

But having multiple locations (especially if they are portable) is not glamorous. Here are a few questions that I would think through before adding campuses:

Are we at capacity at our current location?

1. Would adding another location open seats up at our current location? (Would it cannibalize our current site?)
2. Is God leading our church toward a strategy of having multiple locations?
3. Will we use video or live preaching?
4. Not all Pastors are right for video, is ours?
5. What is the density of our current campus related to where we want to add another campus?
6. Can we add another service where we are and get the same effect?
7. Do we have the leadership to pull off another campus?
8. Will another site be a step of faith or foolishness?
9. What would you define as success for another campus? Define this by using metrics for attendance, salvations, giving, etc.
10. Will another site make us more effective at reaching people for Christ?

Those are just a few. Multiple locations is very effective but also trendy. Asking the right questions beforehand may keep you from making a mistake or confirm the direction God is leading his church.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor

I’ve found myself, on occasion, wishing that there was a one-size-fits-all method for communicating that I could employ to keep everyone in the loop at the same time.� But for now, it is a struggle to stay on top of everything I need to say to everyone I need to say it to.

So here’s where I currently fall on this communication learning curve:

If there are multiple ways to say the same thing to the same person or group I take advantage of as many ways as possible.� (Call them, email them, write a blog about it, send them a card, set up a meeting, carve it in a block of wood and leave it in their car etc…)

• I am learning that I need to 1) tell them the information, 2) ask them if they need clarity and 3) follow-up again down the road to make sure they got it.
• There are a lot of things that people are going to get frustrated about, but being “kept in the loop” is generally not on the top of their list.� And, most people aren’t going to fault you for trying either.
• Information is power!� So, as a leader whose sole purposes are to 1) empower the people I lead and 2) stay in step with the leaders I follow, I need to hand out information as often and as fast as possible.
• When I say the same thing in the same way every time I say it, it gets lost in the monotony so I try to change it up and make it interesting when I can.

Whatever information you currently have that could be remotely helpful to someone else, go ahead and give it away.� If you’re worried that by giving it away you may loose your edge or fall behind, get over yourself, you’re not that important and neither am I.

John Bishop, Ministries Pastor

In honor of the loyal readers, I want to open up the blog to questions. Ask away. Anything you want to know about who, what, where, when, and why we do what we do at Elevation. Please send all questions to syates@elevationchurch.org. No promises we’ll answer it on the blog. It may be easier to just email you back. We are just looking for some topics to blog about that is relevant to the readers. Thanks.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor �

June 1st was a thing of beauty (you take the good). It was a day that makes you think the church can remain portable forever. Everything from set up to tear down went perfect. The stage looked great, Pastor preached the house down, 146 people gave their lives to Christ. It was just an all around great day.

We had 4 separate groups of church planters in on our Backstage Elevation tours on the 1st and we made it look easy. Sometimes you can give the wrong impression of a portable church when everything goes right.

Then June 8th happened (you take the bad). It wasn’t a disaster by any means, but it was a day that we got some crisis management practice. It started with the air conditioner being broken at one of our campuses (a high school) on the hottest day of the year. We made the adjustment and got 800 bottles of ice cold water for people along with a big fan and nobody passed out.

We also had a guest Worship Leader that came in unprepared. No big deal, fortunately we had our Worship Pastor available to fill his shoes.

Well, then 10 minutes before our first service (8:30 at the other H.S. campus with AC working), our $35,000 switcher decided to reset. That meant that all inputs to the device had to be reset. The net effect was we started late, lost our center screen and TV’s onstage for the first service and had to cut out a song to get the service out on time.

We thought we were through the worst of it all and then our generator that powers our production trailer shut off for no reason 1 minute before Pastor finished his sermon at 8:30. This caused us to loose power to all video equipment. This happened during the service that we have to get right because we play that sermon back at our second campus. Since it only cut off 1 minute of the sermon we were able to have a live person take over when the tape cut off when played back and it seemed to work well.

The generator shut off again during the 10 O’clock service which forced us to use the same sermon that was cut off 1 minute short for all the video sermons of the day.

Finally, we had a normal 11:30 service. This was after the generator cut off during 2 services and the other 2 services down the street with no AC had a video sermon that was cut 1 minute short. We thought we would coast through the rest of the day. Only the 1 PM service to go and Pastor was live.

That is as long as the camera operators have eaten and not given blood. Just minutes before Pastor was going to close the last sermon of the day, our camera operator who was fasting and had blood taken that morning passed out (the camera was live) and came crashing to the floor in the back of the auditorium. The audience watched the screens and saw it all through the camera which ended up on the floor facing the ceiling. The EMS came and took her to the hospital where, fortunately, all tests were negative.

So she was OK and in the end so was the Sunday and the church. But it was definitely not the way we planned it out in our production meetings. And it was certainly a little different than the week before.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor� � �

As little as I know about cars, I do know that the transmission of a car should be something that I never think about. The whole purpose of the transmission is to cause all of the moving parts of the engine to line up perfectly with all of the moving parts of the wheels and axles so the car can continue to move forward. When that doesn’t happen smoothly, you have problems…

At Elevation Church, Pastor has prepared us very well for our past ‘shifts’ as well as the fact that in order to grow we will always need to prepare for the next ‘shift’ that’s coming soon.

If you’re committed to forward motion then you will have to learn how to shift well. Here are some practical things that I have picked up from my personal shifts and by observing the successful shifts of those around me.

o Let your first reaction be “Yes, and thank you.”

o You have to be committed to the belief that the shift you’re experiencing is best for you and the church. Receive it well. Even if you’re overwhelmed by the new responsibilities or discouraged by the change.

o Avoid the temptation to make it personal.

o If you make a “promotion” personal you may get conceited. If you make a “demotion” personal you may get deflated.

o Adopt a position of redeployment.

o Don’t ever let yourself or those you work with start to believe that the job their doing today is the job they will be doing in a year or 5 years from now. You don’t know what changes will need to take place down the road to continue to achieve the vision of the church. The priority is the mission, not your position.

o Keep a tight connection with God.

o I believe that God wants you operating in your sweet spot more than you or anyone else. He’s got things under control even when they seem like they’re spinning out of control.

We will all experience shifts. Those of us that learn how to shift well will always contribute to the forward motion of the vehicle we are a part of.

John Bishop, Ministries Pastor

• The purpose of all reports is to give data that will allow us to see weaknesses in areas that need improvement.
• All detailed reports should contain a cover sheet that gives a “flash” of the primary takeaways from the full report.
• Most reports that are done on an ad hoc basis should not paint a positive picture of a ministry area. The report is done in an effort to improve that area of ministry.
• Ongoing weekly reports will be done in an effort to keep a pulse on the health of the church.� Any fluctuations in these numbers will indicate there may need to be more of an investigation or there may be something that was incorrect.� These reports are to be done, always factoring out any abnormal Sundays or abnormal numbers that would paint the averages in a more positive light.
• Reporting and survey type data that is performed to investigate a system is to be done in a manner that would allow the responsibility to be felt by the church and not the individual.
• Any action steps for improvement that are extracted from a report are to be translated into goals that are monitored by supervisors.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor

First we’d break up into teams, different sizes, didn’t matter. Everyone would get the same set of props and you would have 15 minutes to come up with a skit of some sort. Only rule, you had to incorporate all the props.

The variety was ridiculous, and it was great to see how there were so many different applications of the same props.

I have a belief that it’s not always about what you can do. Or even about what you can plan. (Don’t get all crazy, those things are still important.

Just because I’m a Creative doesn’t mean I’m wearing a dirty tee and laying on the ground under my desk drinking Sbux in honor of the creative process.)

Sometimes it’s about how far you’re willing to stretch what you think you’re capable of. Or pushing past what you think is a good idea, especially when it’s yours, for a great idea that might come with a little more work, investigation or conversation.

Press on. Work hard. Think bigger than you.

Larry Hubatka, Creative Pastor

We hope it will shed some light to other church planters on what exactly we do (ie what meeting each staff member is in, how they spend their day, etc.). I think the other takeaway will be just how much fun we have together.

So check it out as we expose the midgets behind the curtains running Elevation Church.

Chunks Corbett, Executive Pastor

We followed the example of many similar churches and placed the Worship Department under the Creative Department in our org chart. Our Creative Pastor is now responsible for everything that happens within the main worship experience. As the Worship Pastor, I report to him. The Creative Pastor is now able to focus on the big picture of the worship experience and how every element works together. This structural change has brought a great sense of unity and cohesiveness to the department.

Practically, this shift has changed the way we brainstorm for each series. Previously, the worship leaders would bring final set lists and performance songs to the table and the creative team would bring video ideas, stage set ideas, etc. There was no effective collaboration and we did our best to reconcile the two plans and make them work as one. Now both teams participate in every brainstorming session together.

In our initial meeting that occurs 50-60 days out from a new series, every idea is put on the white board. No one is allowed to shoot down any suggestion. We cover every element from set design, sermon takeaways and song ideas. We also invite people from other departments to contribute in these meetings. Our graphic designer might suggest a great performance song while one of the worship leaders brings a cool video idea to the table. We then have a follow-up meeting one week later to talk through which ideas are worth pursuing. Tasks and responsibilities are then delegated out to the appropriate people.

The Creative Pastor now has the ability to “land the plane” in these meetings and make decisions when we don’t all agree. As a result of these changes, we have seen new levels of creativity within our worship experience.

Wade Joye, Worship Pastor