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    Contrarian Church Leadership, Proven but Surprising Leadership Strategies for the Church
    Contrarian Church Leadership, Proven but Surprising Leadership Strategies for the Church
    Contrarian Church Leadership, Proven but Surprising Leadership Strategies for the Church
    Ebook108 pages1 hour

    Contrarian Church Leadership, Proven but Surprising Leadership Strategies for the Church

    By Lee Powell

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    About this ebook

    Starting a church plant or leading a church can be hard. Every church plant or those with leadership responsibilities are looking to effectively grow their church. As Christians, we were commanded by Jesus to fulfill the great commission. The mission was simple when CedarCreek Church started in 1995, and it is still simple today. Move people to love Jesus, serve others and tell the world about Christ. Why not share the leadership, marketing and innovative knowledge that has been gained for the greater good of our mission to be like Jesus? At CedarCreek’s 15 year celebration, Bill Hybels proclaimed that what CedarCreek was experiencing was not normal for a church to experience. Most churches in America don’t get to witness as many life changes that they have been astonished by, ever!

    In this book, Lee will explain how God used him to grow CedarCreek into the 48th largest church in the United States, according to 2013 Outreach magazine. He will share many innovative ideas that worked for him and those that did not. This book is designed to inspire and encourage church leaders and church planters in their mission to grow the “local church into being the hope of the world”.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLee Powell
    Release dateMar 2, 2015
    ISBN9781310714061
    Contrarian Church Leadership, Proven but Surprising Leadership Strategies for the Church
    Author

    Lee Powell

    Lee Powell, the youngest of four, grew up in an unchurched home and lived a life that many would label far from God. His grandmother was the sole source of Christian influence in his life, and to this day Lee reflects back on the ways in which she played a key role in influencing his life for Christ. Life change really began in February of 1979 when Lee married his wife Joi. A few months later Lee found himself reading the book of Revelation, and through reflecting back on the words his grandmother shared with him, he made a commitment to follow Christ. After high school, Lee began his career and found himself at the retail giant Sears. Through success as a manager in several departments he moved up the corporate ladder and eventually found himself in the corporate offices of Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois. Throughout his successful career in the retail industry, Lee sensed a passion for ministry. In 1990, Lee felt called to leave and return to Northwest, Ohio where he accepted a job as youth pastor of Grace Evangelical Church in Oregon, Ohio. It was the summer of that same year, when Lee found himself in the Willow Creek Community Church Auditorium, and the vision for CedarCreek was born. In 1995, Lee, along with Steve Korn, co-founded CedarCreek church in Perrysburg. Lee holds an associate’s degree in Marketing from Owens Community College and received some of his religious training through Trinity Christian College in Dearborn, Illinois. He also earned 48 hours of graduate training at Ashland Theological Seminary, and is currently enrolled at Winebrenner Theological Seminary with hopes of completing his graduate work. Lee and Joi are avid ballroom dancers in their spare time and have been married for 30 years. They love spending time with their four children and six grandchildren.

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      Book preview

      Contrarian Church Leadership, Proven but Surprising Leadership Strategies for the Church - Lee Powell

      Church Marketing Works and Jesus Likes It: and Other Contrarian Church Leadership Ideas

      Copyright © 2015 by Lee Powell

      Smashwords Edition

      E-book services by ChristianEditingServices.com

      Distributed by Lee Powell and cedarcreek.tv

      For more information, visit http://cedarcreek.tv/

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever

      Without prior written permission from the publisher, except where noted in the text and in

      the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      This book is manufactured in the United States.

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1     Church Marketing Works and Jesus Likes It

      Chapter 2     Numbers Matter and They Matter a Lot

      Chapter 3     Facts Are Your Friend, but Facts Can Be Fickle

      Chapter 4     Listen to the Experts but be Leery of the Experts

      Chapter 5     Don’t Worry About Innovating, Instead Steal from the Best

      Chapter 6     You Don’t Kick Family Off the Bus…Usually

      Chapter 7     Don’t Promote or Hire the Most Talented People

      Chapter 8    Invite Dissenters to Leave and Don’t Let the Door Hit Them on the Way Out   

      Chapter 9  You Can Reach and Disciple a lot of People Without a lot of Money

      Chapter 10 You’d Think Pastoral Leadership Is About Showing People How To Live, When Maybe, Just Maybe It’s About Showing People How to Die

      Endnotes

      Chapter 1

      Church Marketing Works and Jesus Likes It!

      Can the words church and marketing be used in the same sentence?

      Most church plants launch with some form of advertising. I don’t believe I have ever heard a church criticized for that. But few churches use advertising beyond their initial launch. When churches do use advertising, some think they have violated some unwritten code: Thou shalt not advertise after your grand opening.

      Why the opposition to church advertising? What’s wrong with targeting unchurched people and inviting them to church through advertising?

      Before entering the ministry, I was on the marketing staff of a Fortune 500 retailer. The company spent 90 million dollars a year advertising just one division of the company—automotive aftermarket services and products. When was the last time you needed new tires for your car? For most, that need arises every few years. Yet the company I worked for ran full-color ads every week promoting tires, batteries, and a full range of services—ads costing over one million dollars a pop. The company knew plenty of people would need tires and services every week and wanted to present itself as a great option.

      It is the same with church advertising. When an unchurched person is facing a crisis, feeling lonely, or searching for fulfillment, you want to present yourself as a great option. Not versus other churches, but versus a myriad of other choices.

      We have discovered through surveys and numerous conversations that unchurched people give church a try for one of three primary reasons:

      1. Something is missing.

      2. Something is broken.

      3. Something has changed.

      When I meet someone in our lobby for the first time, without fail, I will ask people what brought them to the church. At this point I get one of three responses: (1) someone invited me, (2) I saw your ad, or (3) someone invited me and I saw your ad.

      Okay, then I edit their question. So someone invited you or you liked a commercial you saw, but why did you come? This is where it gets interesting! Their answers can usually be tucked into one of the three categories we just read. It just seemed like something was missing in my life. They may describe a childhood in which they grew up in the church and they were hoping the church had the answers to fill the void in their hearts. Others have described finding success, but missing happiness, hoping the church had the answer.

      Then there is brokenness. Time and time again people have stood in the lobby through tears telling me the mess they’ve made of their lives. The church ad or invite was a lifeline for some of them. It came at just the right time.

      There is brokenness, but not always of their own doing. An equal number have told me of these tragic losses of a loved one, a startling medical diagnosis or a crushing divorce. Coming to church after years of absence or having never gone was a grasp for hope.

      And then there is the group that has experienced a significant life change; a monumental change, like having a baby! People will tell me, I want my kids to be taught about God. Or a life change that causes some to consider church attendance, like a job change that leaves someone feeling overwhelmed.

      The point of all of this? When something is missing, broken or changed you want to be a viable, recognizable option.

      At our church, CedarCreek, we have been getting our name out there through advertising for 19 years now, and it's worked well for us.

      A Surprising Result

      Okay, now hold on to your seat for this one. Who do you think is more likely to be at your church two years later—the person who came because of advertising or the person who came because of an invitation from a friend?

      We survey our congregation twice a year and our data tells us people who come as a result of advertising are slightly more likely to be here two years later. Why is that? We think it’s because a person who comes through advertising comes on his or her own accord versus someone who is invited by a friend and comes out of obligation. At CedarCreek, nearly half (44 percent) of the 10,000 people attending come because of advertising.

      Early in the life of CedarCreek, we fell into a comprehensive church-wide marketing plan, including advertising, which has been responsible for 80 percent of our growth. We have grown 18 out of 19 years and were listed in Outreach Magazine (1) as one of America’s fastest growing churches the last eight out of nine years. (Ouch, that felt like bragging, but you needed the credibility.)

      *Note: 2009 shows a 2.8% increase for the year, yet Outreach Magazine (4) published us as one of the fastest growing churches that year. They used data through the spring of 2009 and indeed, we were up 600 from the previous year. Then we had a tough summer and fall because of closing a multisite at a high school and constructing a new building.

      The Big Push, Now the Big Invite

      We launched CedarCreek in a Holiday Inn hotel in Perrysburg, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo. You’ve heard of Toledo, right? How about the Mud Hens? Did you know Toledo is the eighth poorest city in America with

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