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I thought this was an excellent post from “brewster” on the topic of communications. Here’s his conclusion:

“Ask the right questions of the right audience at the right time. As much time as you spend on crafting what you are saying, test it to make sure it passes through a filter of relevance to the lives of those who will digest the material.”

That should challenge us to ask a number of questions:

• Do I know who I’m trying to reach?
• Is my message for that audience?
• Am I so concerned with the reaction of others, that I’m not focused on the audience I’m trying to reach?
• Is my message being heard by the audience I’m trying to reach.
• Is the audience I’m trying to reach taking action as a result of hearing my message?

Check out the rest of brewster’s post and let me know your thoughts.

Seth Godin, author and speaker, as quoted on his blog (July 9, 2009)

If you are willing to satisfy people with good enough, you can make just about everybody happy. If you delight people and create change that lasts, you’re going to offend those that hate change in all its forms. Your choice.

Yesterday, I received a message from Matt, a pastor in Oklahoma City. Matt’s mom (we’ll call her “Mom”) lives in Greenville, South Carolina. As you know, NewSpring opened up a campus in Greenville last Sunday.

Matt explained that Mom is older than him. (Don’t think about that too long.) He even mentioned Mom’s specific age in the email message. (I’m not going to share it with you. There are some things you just learn through the years that women don’t want shared on blogs.)

Matt explained that he’s been following my blog and was aware of the upcoming Greenville campus launch. “I begged her to go,” explained Matt. He was aware, however, that this would be a stretch for Mom. As you might imagine, our music style really isn’t targeted to people Mom’s age. She reluctantly agreed to attend the service “mainly to get me off her back,” said Matt.

After attending the service Mom shared these comments with Matt:

• “The worship wasn’t my style, but it was done very well.”
• “It is awesome to see a church with that many young people in attendance. I’m all for whatever can reach 20’s and 30’s for Jesus.”
• “Perry was incredible. In front of us was a row of 13 to 18-year-old students. They were completely engaged even though he was on a screen.”

Here’s the best part of that story. Mom witnessed one of those young girls make a life-changing decision. Mom shared how the students were connected with the message and “one even gave her life to Christ.”

We recognize NewSpring isn’t for everyone. That’s why we are glad to be in communities like Anderson, Greenville and Florence where there are so many other great churches who can reach people for Jesus Christ that we can’t reach.

Now you know why we’re willing to make “moms” a little uncomfortable. We do that to connect with people like this young girl. It’s the type of risk we’re willing to take because we realize every life counts.

Earlier this week, I mentioned we had a gentleman visit our services this past weekend who had not attended church in over 30 years. Turns out there’s more to the story.

One of our volunteers, let’s call him Dan, greeted him and welcomed him to NewSpring. When Dan learned it had been some time since the man had been in church, he offered to sit through the service with him.

The experience on Sunday turned out to be a great reminder for Dan that every interaction means something. He shared how you never know when a simple greeting may lead to “a life changing decision.”

That’s exactly what happened. As it turns out, the man who hadn’t visited a church in 30 years heard the Gospel on Sunday in the middle of a message about sex. He accepted Christ. He got a new start.

At NewSpring, we expect people like this man to show up every week. When you have that perspective, it changes how you greet visitors at the front door and a whole lot more.

Yesterday at NewSpring, we revealed our new website. It was months in the making and it involved a team of staff and contractors who were able to capture our vision and turn it into a web strategy reflecting our brand. I know. Not every church has those resources available on their team to make that happen. That’s where companies like faithHighway come into play.

faithHighway is my newest site sponsor. They help churches design, implement and manage websites that reach the unchurched. And, whether we like to admit it or not, our websites are the first impression that most people will have of our churches. (Scary isn’t it.)

That’s one of the reasons I’m glad faithHighway has joined the team. For readers of my blog, they’ve set up a web page that includes a video explaining their services, testmonials from folks they’ve worked with, samples of previous site designs and the opportunity to receive a free CD and site consultation. Please welcome faithHighway to the team.

I’d like to thank all my site sponsors for their support. Though the current line up is full, feel free to contact me about other opportunities including the chance to advertise in my RSS feed.

And, now he’s joined the effort to find the man or woman who is called to ministry and is ready to become our IT Director. Here’s Perry’s take on things. As you can see, he understands the value of technology to reach people for Jesus. I can assure you, we’re not messing around. We have contractors lined up to outsource what we need to accomplish, but we’d rather have someone on our staff team serving beside us.

Here are some characteristics of the person we’re looking for:

• Loves Jesus and the mission and vision of NewSpring Church.
• Has the capacity to manage the church’s IT infrastructure including all network, hardware, software and help desk functions. This includes planning, purchasing, training, security and user support.
• Familiar with the challenges of managing IT functions across multiple locations.
• Has leadership and project management experience. We need someone who can lead the team and drive our technology strategy for the future.
• Likely has a degree in computer science, information technology or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience in the IT field preferably in a leadership role.
• Appropriate Microsoft and Cisco certifications demonstrating capacity to oversee these critical functions.

Is this your dream position? Or, do you know someone who is wired for this role? If so, contact Jennifer with your resume.

Just out of curiosity…

1. What was the last piece of direct mail advertising that caught your attention (your church doesn’t count)?
2. What was the direct mail piece advertising?
3. How did it catch your attention?
4. Did it prompt you to take an action?

And, if you can’t answer these questions, I’d like to know that as well. In other words, this is an all play.

“Tony Morgan has a way of sneaking up next to you, smiling, smacking you up-side the head, and then getting you to thank him for it. The boy is good.”

Patrick, that may be one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. For that, I declare this a “Happy Patrick Callahan Day.”

And, to honor you on this day, I’m sending you blog traffic…

Follow this link and tell Patrick he’s a swell guy.

I can assure you that we have been taking time to celebrate what God is up to in Greenville and Anderson in recent days, but we really don’t have time to pause. Last night, I was on the phone with a couple of guys from our team talking about preparations for our next campus in Florence, South Carolina. Because we’re still negotiating contracts for a location, I can’t reveal all the details yet. However, here’s what I can tell you about Florence:

• We’ve hired a campus pastor. Michael Brown has already moved to Florence and is on the ground running.
• We’ve hired the staff team that will help us launch the campus. That includes a full-time worship leader, a full-time children’s director and a part-time guy to help with logistics. Those guys are currently serving in Greenville and preparing for their transition to Florence.
• We’re going back to our portable roots. For the first six years of NewSpring’s existence, we were portable using various facilities on the Anderson University campus. We will be portable in Florence in a location we hope to announce in the next several days.
• We will be using the same video over IP technology that we’re using in Greenville to deliver live content to Florence. And, ultimately, we have plans to do something in Florence with video technology that, to my knowledge, no other church in the country is doing. (Sorry, can’t reveal details quite yet.)
• Michael has already connected with about 100 people in Florence who will be helping us launch. We’d like to at least double that number before our first service. You may contact him if you’re in that region and would like to help.
• I can’t give specifics, but we are “laboring” to nail down final details so we can launch in Florence in the next several weeks. (OK… I’m probably going to get in trouble for that one.)

Here’s what I can tell you, our team is committed to reaching 100,000 people for Jesus in the next number of years. We believe that’s God vision for our church. And, because of that, we are making decisions today that will allow us to have that kind of impact in the years to come. I don’t know where God will ultimately lead us, but I know the first phase of that vision includes:

• Anderson Campus: Perry will be live from this location.
• Greenville Campus: One multi-site model where we acquire and renovate a permanent location.
• Florence Campus: Another multi-site model where we are portable but use technology to deliver a LIVE experience.
• Second Anderson Venue: More details on this later, but Anderson is going to get the chance to see the next version of NewSpring Church. It’s going to be different than any other worship service you’ve ever experienced.
• Internet Campus: It’ll be live and it’ll be on-demand and it will connect people in community throughout the world.
• Two New Campuses in 2009: We’re going to be rolling out a third multi-site model that, to my knowledge, isn’t happening anywhere else. We are praying for the right leaders and the right locations. Let me know if God gives you wisdom on either of those two questions.

Back in the mid-90s, Perry prayed with a handful of guys for revival on the Anderson University campus. When they began praying, they had no idea God would ultimately build a church that would reach thousands. Today, we’re praying for that same kind of revival across our region. We think we may have a glimpse of what that might look like. But, honestly, I’m guessing God has something completely different in store for us. I can’t wait to experience what he reveals in the coming days.

LifeChurch.tv currently has 13 campuses in 6 states, and, according to recent reports, are looking to expand their presence near Nashville. The church is considering the acquisition of a movie theater that they will convert for hosting services and church office space.

The Tennessean reported recently that the Nashville campus is outgrowing their current strip mall location and they’re looking to expand.

“I think what excites me is the fact that we’re having to find another location,” said Andrew Statezny, the LifeChurch.tv campus pastor. “It’s exciting and scary, all in one shot.”

Check out the rest of the story.