Over sixty IPHC church leaders gathered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, November 8-10 for the M-Initiative (a group of IPHC pastors with 500+ church members) hosted by New Life Church. With a focus on equipping the local church to grow and multiply healthy churches, megachurch New Life provided practical church growth models and strategies.
New Life demonstrated excellence through its hospitality, organization, and empowering culture. Every ministry works together as a unit to strengthen each other and the believers in the church. A unit model in ministry is very impactful as all ministries have the same goal to nourish and grow their age group or demographic. New Life church focuses on building solid disciples from birth to adults. They strive to Inspire, Equip, and Support all of their pastors and staff so that they may succeed as one unit, one body, one church. Many IPHC pastors hope to use this “unit” model in their local churches.
Host Pastor Brady Boyd opened the session Tuesday morning with “10 Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me 25 Years Ago.” He encouraged our IPHC pastors to mediate and use these ten things to improve themselves, their church, and staff.
- Share more of the responsibility.
- Trust is the currency of leadership.
- There’s usually an ounce of truth in every pound of criticism.
- We cannot talk about our church’s values and vision too much.
- I’ll only have as much spiritual authority as I am willing to submit to myself.
- Healthy departures allow for healthy arrivals.
- The stage is a privilege, but it’s not my identity.
- Sheep will always bite.
- The most difficult person I will ever lead is myself.
- I am not forsaking my responsibilities when I rest. It’s for the sake of my responsibilities that I rest.
In the afternoon breakout sessions, pastors from different ministries spoke about their roles and creating a successful ministry. Jon Egan, Worship Pastor at New Life, emphasized creating an integrity-driven culture in the local church. Egan stated, “Don’t put someone in a spiritual position based on pure physical talent.”
Other breakout sessions discussed children and young adult leadership, connections and volunteer processes, and finally, media and mass communication.
On the final day of the M-Initiative, our IPHC pastors gathered to debrief what they had experienced and learned. The topics of a healthy culture, having humbled leadership, and a body working as one unit consumed the conversations. Many said they will take more time to grow themselves to become better leaders for their congregation.
During the conference, local church pastors were encouraged, inspired, and challenged to reach the lost and build systems and structures for sustainable church growth. Pastor Josh Hannah said, “During the visit to New Life Church, it became apparent that they were very intentional about keeping a good balance between Spirit and systems. I enjoyed the emphasis on intimacy with God through worship and prayer. Still, while, yes, they were very focused on God and spiritual maturity, they were also very intentional about reaching into their community, chasing after the lost through systems. For me, it was a reminder that we must live in balance—natural and spiritual, faith and works, prayer and labor—So often, we think in terms of one or the other, but the Bible calls us to live out both.”
