I taught a couple of weeks ago on the subject that at times I doubt God.  I got to be honest, about a month ago I was doubting God on some things.  Not only was I doubting God, I was doubting my ability to hear from God.  God has given our church a vision to reach North Georgia with the message of Jesus Christ.  As we thought about the best way to reach our region, it became clear that multi-site was the best and most effective option.  The towns we are feel called to reach aren’t hotbeds for church planting so the ability to launch multiple campuses makes the most sense.

The first place we feel we can most effectively  reach is Jasper, Ga.  We have a ton of people coming from this city and the buzz in the town about us coming is off the hook!  We were ready to go.  We have the people, we have the money, and we THOUGHT we had a building.  That got shot down by the county and I got to admit, I started doubting whether I heard God right or not.

I have spent the last month praying through all this and God revealed something very powerful to me personally.  God was NOT telling us NO.  He was saying WAIT.  That is hard for me.  I don’t like to wait, but over the last month God has shown me that He knows best.  I probably should have already known that.

God is allowing us to strengthen the foundation of Revolution and play catch up on some things that will allow us to be more effective when the time comes (hopefully this fall).

• We are FINALLY getting some much needed systems in place.  I thought we were doing this towards the end of 2007, but I was wrong.  If we would have launched in Jasper on Easter, it would have not been good due to our lack of systems.
• We have restructured our staff.  We put an org chart together last year that didn’t reflect our DNA and values.  I worried about people’s feelings, more than putting together an effective org chart.  We are putting an org chart for our staff together now that will allow us grow to around 2500 people without having to tweak it.
• We are changing things in our worship area (no, Tim isn’t going anywhere).  The ability to reproduce musicians is huge for multi-site.  We don’t pay musicians (at this time), so going out and hiring some doesn’t appeal to us.  So we are making some hires, creating more team in our worship area, and recruiting musicians to be part of our vision.
• We are  making  reproducibility a value.  If we can’t reproduce it at every campus, we aren’t doing it at one.
• We are getting training.  I have talked to several guys doing multi-site and I feel very comfortable with it.  However, we have done a bad job getting our guys around those who are doing it.  In April we are taking our Lead Team Staff to the Multi-site Exposed Conference in Washington.  This will double as our Lead Team Staff retreat for 2008 and we will spend a couple extra day there doing some serious planning for the rest of the year.
• We are developing leaders.   Multi-site is all about developing leaders. We have some great people stepping up and taking ownership over some key areas!
• We are learning our equipment.  Sounds simple, but we have BMW equipment that we drive like a pinto.  We have brought in consultants to train us in sound (I know you can tell the difference the last few weeks), we are bringing in a consultant to help equip us with the cameras and video equipment we were given, and we are bringing in people to help us learn our lighting stuff.  We are also learning the church management system we have had for over a year.

These things might seem small to you, but they are huge to us.  God is using Revolution Church in CRAZY ways, but I truly believe He wants to do more through us and we had to make some system changes for that happen.

I don’t always like when God says wait, but He DOES know best and for that I am thankful.

Driving home from our Revolution Jasper meeting get me dreaming about multi-site.  The possibilities are endless.  We have said from day one that we feel God would have us launch locations in Jasper, Elijay, and Blue Ridge.  I joke that I want to retire in Murphy, N.C. so we have to launch a site there.

On the way home tonight I was thinking why should we stop there?  As we continue to outgrow the theater, i could honestly see us launching multiple locations in Canton.

• I would love to see a location in the Macedonia area.  There is nothing in this area and it is booming.  The problem is there isn’t many places to meet, but there are a few schools.  We have a large group already coming from this area.
• I could see us launching a Sixes Road location as well.  The area around BridgeMill is WIDE open. There is nothing in this area and Sixes Road is booming with growth.  I might have to make the band wear dockers in this area, but it is wide open.
• Heck, we actually have a possible location in Kennesaw that when complete will hold a few thousand people.  The owner attends our church and has already told us we could use it for a location.  The location is literally on Barrett Parkway about a mile from the mall.  If this door opened, I can promise you there would not be another church in America meeting in a location like this.

We started Revolution to change North Georgia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that is exactly what we plan to do.  Multi-site gives us the way to do it.

Tomorrow night at The Warehouse we are having an informational meeting about our Jasper campus.  If you are interested in hearing what God is doing as we get ready to launch our second campus, you will want to attend this meeting.  It starts at 7:00 p.m.

Email Mitchell at mitchell@therevolution.tv if you have any questions.

I have said since the day we launched Revolution Church that our vision was to reach the unchurched and dechurched of North Georgia. A lot has changed since we launched, but that hasn’t. We are a church for those who don’t do church and we don’t apologize for that one bit.

We’ve never been about buildings, land, programs, or even a certain way to do church. We are about those far from God.

It is with that mindset that I am able to deal with what happened at our County Zoning meeting and not sweat it. Tonight the Picken’s County Zoning Board deadlocked on giving us a special use permit for a location we have signed a contract on.

The short story is that landowner is in a dispute with the HOA from the subdivision beside our building. The HOA is NOT opposed to us meeting in the building and actually wants us over some of the places rumored to be wanting to move in. However, they wanted the county to not allow anyone to move in the buildings until the landowner did what he said he was going to do when building the building. This includes a new drive put in and some other minor things.

I didn’t figure thier dispute would affect us, but two of the people on the board decided if he lost our money that might motivate him to make the changes. It won’t. Two of the board members decided it really didn’t concern us and was a civil matter between the HOA and landowner. Since it was deadlocked that means NO decision gets made and we can’t build out. The ONE commisioner in the county now decides on the issue when he feels like making a decision. Chances are that could take about 4-6 weeks, meaning after building the building out, we could start to meet in the building in June IF he decides to let us.

We are crazy, but we aren’t crazy enough to launch a new campus at the start of summer when church attendance drops. So we decided instead of waiting to hear the ruling we are backing out of our contract.

It changes the play, but it doesn’t change the goal. We ARE launching a campus in Jasper, Georgia. The question is not IF, but WHEN and WHERE.

I can honestly say I am not discouraged or even mad. I really feel peace about it and I KNOW that God has something bigger and better planned for us to meet in. I am going back to the schools and asking again. I am going back to Appalachian Tech and asking again. I am calling on EVERY available building in the town and asking again.

God has not sent us the MO we have, sent us the people from Jasper we have, and provided the video equipment we have for FREE to NOT allow us to start a campus in Jasper. God is in control and I am excited about what He has planned.

Here is how you can help us impact Jasper with a church that is reaching those far from God:

• Pray!!! Continue to pray for Mitchell and our Jasper team, pray for a location, pray for the word to spread, and pray for God to do great things.
• Let us know of possible meeting places - It is possible you know of places we don’t. If you know of anything that could hold our crowd, let us know. Don’t assume we know about the place.
• Connect with your contacts - If you have contacts of any type in the area that could get us in the schools or the college, let us know. If you have contacts that own any empty buildings in town let us know.
• Keep spreading the word - My prayer is we are the largest church in Jasper BEFORE we ever hold our first service. Keep telling your friends, keep inviting them to our Canton location, get them to a Jasper Home Team, and keep the BUZZ going.

Tonight’s meeting isn’t a big deal. God has something planned and I can’t wait to see what it is.

Audibles always make the game a little more fun.

You are going to have to deal with lists over the next couple of days because I got a lot of thoughts on my mind.

As we get ready to launch our second campus, here is what is running through my noggin right now:

• I think the multi-site model of ministry is GREAT for a church like ours that has a desire to go into smaller towns where church plants might never go.
• Tonight we find out if we get to start our build-out at our Jasper location.  If we get the go ahead, we start construction tomorrow.
• Multi-site is all about branding.  I am blown away by the response in Jasper from people that already know about our church.
• Campus Pastor is the KEY role in the whole thing.  This person has to be a leader, but also a team player.  To be a campus pastor you have to be a very unselfish person.  You are leading, but you are not the primary teacher or vision caster.
• Worship is the second big role.  God has blessed us so much musically that we are fine for the short-term.  However, we need to bring another worship leader on staff asap.  Finding that person is such a key hire.  They will be under Tim’s leadership and have to fit in our with our team.  Artsy, Fartsy guys need not apply.
• We will probably NOT assign a worship leader to a campus.  Instead we will rotate them among all our campuses.
• Creating a buzz BEFORE you launch is EASY and IMPORTANT
• Doing a build out on a budget is stressful.  I think IF possible it is best to go portable.
• I think the second one is probably the hardest and most expensive one to launch.  As we launch our 3, 4, and 5th campuses, we will already have the video recording equipment so we will only need to buy equipment for that campus.
• Your mindest changes to leader reproduction quickly
• Reproducing has to become a core value in all aspects.  We are saying we have to reproduce EVERY aspect of everything at every campus or we won’t do it at any campus.
• I’m excited to see us change North Georgia with the gosple of Jesus Christ!!!

I was talking to a pastor the other day about innovation and innovative churches and we both agreed that there are VERY few churches that are innovative. There are some GREAT churches doing GREAT things, but are they truly innovative? I guess it depends on what you mean in regards to innovative.

For me, innovative means doing what no one else doing. It has noting to do with modern, technology, or how big you are.

With that said, here are a few churches in my radar that I consider innovative. (Just because I don’t consider a church innovative, does NOT mean that I don’t consider them an awesome church and that we haven’t been impacted by them).

LifeChurch.tv - Hands down the most innovative church in America. What they are doing with multi-site, providing resources for churches, the impact they are having online through internet campuses, YouVersion, and Second Life is amazing.

West Ridge Church - I had the honor of serving at this church on staff and I think it is a GREAT church. I’ll be honest, there is not much they are doing in regards to Sunday morning and Small Groups that is all that innovative. It is a GREAT church but you can find their style in many places and many churches doing it with more edge and better. So in regard to the way they do church they are not all that innovative. HOWEVER, what they are doing in regards to planting churches is AMAZING and VERY innovative. They are operating a church planting school, bringing in church planters, and sending them out. Off the top of my head, I would say they have started 12-15 churches since they started us 3 years ago. ALL of those churches are doing VERY well. That is innovative.

North Point - I think they are a very innovative church. They have created their own language, systems, and model for doing church that is SO unique to them that it is amazing. What they are doing with multiple campuses and strategic partners is very innovative.

Elevation Church - Another GREAT church. I have had a close up look at this church and there innovation is not found in their Sunday morning service (though that is awesome). To me it is in WHAT they do in a portable setting and the fact that they do it at TWO different places is what makes them innovative. Hands down, the best portable church I have ever been around and I have been around a BUNCH!!!

National Community Church - Again, to me there is nothing innovative about their services (let’s be honest, we all do Sunday morning church about the same way) but they vision they have and the way they are doing church is very innovative. They have churches spread out throughout the DC metro stops and they have built a coffee shop and operate a church in the basement in of it. They have done multi-site and on amazing budget. They motivate me.

Crossover Church - Hip Hop church in Tampa. Nuff said.

North Coast Church - I know they are not the most progressive group around BUT what they are doing with multi-venues is AMAZING There are those who do video church better and bigger but I don’t know if anyone does different venues more effective. VERY cool.

New Spring -  I think they do one of the BEST Sunday morning services around.  However, I wouldn’t call it innovative just because they are doing it better then anyone else.  I call them innovative because of what they have done in Anderson, S.C.  I have NEVER seen one church totally impact and change a community like they have.  You literally can’t go anywhere in that town where people don’t know them even those who haven’t been to church ever.  You truly have to see it to believe it.  If it is possible for a church to put a city on the map, they have done it.  Total community domination.

I could probably list a ton of other churches that I consider innovative but those are the ones I pay watch closely.

I am not a New Year Resolution guy, but I do think the start of the year is a GREAT time to set some goals and evaluate what is working and what is not working in your life.  I’ve been thinking a lot about my life lately and realize I let some things get me off course in 2007.  I’ve been thinking of the areas of my life that I am going to focus on in 2008 and to keep me accountable, I am going to post them for all of you to see.

Spiritual:

• Start EVERY day in the Bible and prayer
• Consistent Family Devotions
• Listen to at least 2 sermons from someone else a week
• Spend more time with my mentors - I did a BAD job of this towards the end of the year
• Lead our staff by example in spiritual matters
• Learn from others more
• Read 2 books a month

Personal:

• Lose 30 pounds
• Ride 100 miles a week on my bike
• Take a day off EVERY week
• Enjoy the adventure of life more
• Get away twice a year for a few days by myself to spend time with God

Family:

• Date my wife
• Spend more time with my children
• STAY off the computer when I get home from work
• Turn off my cell phone when I get home
• Become debt free
• Realize my family is my #1 ministry

Church:

• Lead Revolution without apology
• Pour my life into our staff
• Become MORE dogmatic aboout our vision (I feel I let some people and some things sidetrack that just a little)
• Love and appreciate our volunteers more
• Get back to investing in church planters
• Continue Revolutionary Love year around
• Launch a second campus
• Invest in Haiti Cheri with more than just our finances (not sure what that looks like yet)

We had our first Jasper informational meeting last night and I was BLOWN away.  We didn’t know what to expect and we were holding it at a funeral home, so the odds were stacked against us. :)  We had right at 50 adults there and there are PUMPED up about what God is getting ready to do in Jasper.

I am amazed at the buzz that is already taking place in Jasper.  Seriously, it is insane.  I found at last night that another church in town had a meeting where they discussed starting a contemporary service just because they heard we were coming.  Someone stood up in the meeting and told them not to bother because they had been to our church and there was no way they could do it as well as we do!!!

I never understood why other churches get upset when a new church is coming to town.  Last time I checked, we were all on the same team.  We aren’t coming to Jasper to reach their people so they have no need to worry.  However, we are coming to rock Jasper with the message of Jesus Christ!!!  So, the devil should be worried.

This Friday at 7:00 p.m. we are having our first informational meeting about our Jasper campus.  If you are interested in being part of the team that helps launch our new location in Jasper then this is a can’t miss meeting.

The meeting with be Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Roper Funeral Home (Yes, you read that right).  This will be our ONLY meeting at the funeral home and if there are viewings, we will be counting those people as part of our launch team.

To sign-up, contact Mitchell Harris at mitchell@therevolution.tv

I have a very open day today so I am going to take some time and knock out some posts by answering several questions we get on a regular basis.

I’ll start with this one:  What is Revolution doing to prepare for it’s second campus?

We get this question non-stop from other church planters and pastors.  I always feel bad when guys call us and want to know how we do certain things because the truth is we are very simple.  We don’t over-complicate stuff.  We don’t have systems in place, we aren’t great planners, and to be honest, we fly by the seat of our pants A LOT!!!!!!  Our staff excels at big days and we just have a knack for pulling them off, so we normally start thinking about an event right before it is time to do the event.

We have treated launching a second campus just like we would if we were launching a second service.  As of today, we are planning on launching on January 6th, 2008 (We are learning that could change due to building permits, inspections, etc.).  We have not had one meeting with those going to Jasper.  Yes, you read that right, we have not had ONE meeting.  We have our first meeting planned for November 30th and that will probably be one of two meetings we will do.

I understand that many churches do launch team meetings to prepare, but we don’t feel that is necessary.  The people we have going to Jasper are really an All-star team.  We have some studs that live in that area.  We have key volunteers in almost every area that live in that area.   They will do what they already do in Canton except they will do it in Jasper.  To me, it is like a second service.

These people already know our vision, they know our mission, they know our DNA, they know our vibe, and they know what we have planned.  Why complicate things with a lot of meetings about stuff we already know?

We are using our staff at Canton as “overseers” of the same ministires in Jasper.  For example, Tim is over worship at both campuses, Jenna is over children about both campuses, etc.  So we have spent a lot time internally planning for the launch in order to equip our people to serve and make the campus happen.

We will met with the people who want to help with that campus about twice and then we will launch that sucker and we believe it is going to make a huge impact in Jasper.

So for someone who is geared toward step by step directions and systems, our method probably would stress you out, but we thrive on it.