Portable Church Industries

What Every Church Planter Should Know…

portablechurch — Thu, 17 May 2012 08:00:47 +0000

You may have heard about our new ebook What Every Church Planter Should Know. It’s a collection of essays from top leaders, coaches & entrepreneurs geared towards brand new church planters.

These essays include advice on everything from church growth to financial planning to leadership to self-development. These essays were thoughtfully written by a collection of authors who have stood where brand new church planters stand today… on the brink of something amazing.

Our Incredible Authors (Alex Absalom, Neil Cole, Mark DeYmaz, Jason C. Dukes, Bill Easum, Ron Edmondson, Dave Ferguson, Doug Foltz, Jason Gerdes, Casey Graham, Kim Hammond, Jeff Harris, Andrew Hawthorn, Kenny Jahng, Matt Keller, Brian Koehn, Mark Lee, Eric Metcalf, Bryan Miles, Carter Moss, Tom Nebel, Dave Page, Steve Pike, Jonathan Robbins, Jim Sheppard) have some great advice for you.

You can download this book for free here, or purchase your own copy on Amazon.

How to Create a Generous Culture Before You Launch

portablechurch — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:35:02 +0000

Guest Post by Michael Lukaszewski from Giving Rocket

Too many church plants start well, but fall by the wayside in year two or three because of a lack of funding. After initial support dries up and the young church is left to grow on it’s own, it’s often too big a burden to bear. So the planter takes on a second job and the second team member has to relocate. The handful of people who were supporting the vision and funding the majority of the budget begin to wonder if their sacrifice is making any difference just as they get a postcard from their old church.

A church is a spiritual thing, but here’s a reality you must embrace: Money changes

things. When the money dries up, you have to make difficult decisions that affect the quality and quantity of ministry you provide to your community.

But money also makes ministry possible. Imagine if you could fully-fund the vision that God has given you. Imagine what would happen if you were able to see financial growth from the inside instead of watching outside support taper off. Imagine the possibility of leading generous people who are eager to meet the financial requirements of a growing church.

That doesn’t start when you have services, when you break the 200 barrier, or when you find a permanent location. Leading a financially healthy church starts before you even have a recognizable church. Here are some things you can do before you launch to create a culture of generosity in your young church.

1. Make it normal to talk about money. If it’s weird to talk about money early on, it’s going to feel weird to talk about money after you launch. One of the best things you can do is just make it normal to discuss money. It’s a Biblical subject, and it’s a practical subject, so embrace it.

Don’t apologize for talking about what the Bible teaches – make it normal to talk about money from day one. If people are going to jump ship because you preach a sermon on stewardship or boldly ask people to fund the vision, let them jump ship early int he process.

2. Lead your core group to give generously. I was talking to a church planter about the size and commitment level of his young core group, and he told me that while he had about 25 or so people in his core group, about half of them were still attending and giving to their home church. I told him his core group was half the size he thought. Financial support is one of the most telling signs of commitment level.

If your core group doesn’t give, they won’t give after you launch. There’s no generosity button people push that turn them into faithful supporters.

This is important because what your core group does early on, your entire church will do on a grander scale later on. Leading a generous church starts with a generous core team, no matter the size of the team or the place in the process.

3. Communicate clearly. From your prospectus and strategic plan, to communicating your needs to potential supports, to updating donors on what happened with the money, clarity is the key when it comes to communication. Too many church planters write flowery communication with Christian or church-planter buzz words that don’t mean anything to the reader.

Don’t make up a budget – do careful research and report the facts. Don’t label everything missions – clearly articulate where the money goes. Don’t thank all of your supporters – individually thank them for their specific contributions.

Used Equipment: Stillwater, MN — SOLD

portablechurch — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:00:09 +0000

The BONUS *used* mobile church system of the day comes to us from Oakridge Community Church in Stillwater, MN. Having just gone through a church merger, they no longer need some of their equipment. This equipment is listed in “Good” Condition and were originally purchased in 2004.

(6) Portable Church® Shelf Cases
(4) Portable Church® Kids Cases
(1) Portable Church® Table Cases
(1) Portable Church® Library Case
(1) Portable Church® 7′ x 24′ Trailer

There is other equipment included in these cases, some of which is as follows: Lights, Hangers, Table Coverings, Coat Racks, Tarp, Stools, Tripods, Tables, Vacuums, Ladder, and more!

This is a bulk sale – all equipment is being sold for $7,000. Interested parties can contact Jonathan (651) 439-4882 or online at pastorjonathan@mac.com.

Used Equipment: League City, TX

portablechurch — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:00:09 +0000

The third *used* mobile church system of the day comes to us from League City, TX. As they move into a building, they are selling their cases & trailers. This equipment is listed in “Excellent” Condition and were originally purchased in 2007.

(4) Portable Church® Shelf Cases
(2) Portable Church® Kids Cases
(1) Portable Church® Table Cases
(1) Audio Rack Case

This system includes premium sound system with Yamaha LS9 Mixer, Crown Amps, SLS Speakers & SLS Subs, (7) Stage Sections with 24″ Legs, Lighting System (no fixtures).

This is a bulk sale. For pricing & questions, contact Cameron Simmons for questions or pictures at (281) 794-9747 or online at csimmons@the-springs.org.

Used Equipment: Cranberry, PA

portablechurch — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:00:01 +0000

The second *used* mobile church system of the day comes to us from Northbridge Church in Cranberry Twp, PA. As they move into a building, they are selling their cases & trailers. This equipment is listed in “Good” Condition and were originally purchased in 2007.

(10) Portable Church® Shelf Cases
(8 to 10) Portable Church® Kids Cases
(1 to 3) Portable Church® Table Cases
(1) Backdrop Base Case
(1) Audio Rack Case
(1) Video Rack Case
(20) Play Panels
(2) Portable Church® 7′ x 24′ Trailer

This is a bulk sale – all equipment is being sold for $25,000. Interested parties can contact Jayson Samuels at (412) 874-3401 or online jayson.samuels@northbridge.org.

Used Equipment: Brighton, MI

portablechurch — Fri, 04 May 2012 05:00:22 +0000

Mobile Churches, take note: 242 Community Church is moving into a building and they’re ready to part with Portable Church® cases, trailers & a few pieces of equipment. This equipment is listed in “Almost New” Condition.

(10) Portable Church® Shelf Cases
(1) Portable Church® TV Case
(1) Portable Church® Audio Racks
(1) Portable Church® 7′ x 24′ Trailer
+ All of the equipment inside of the cases

PLEASE NOTE: These cases were purchased ala carte from Portable Church®. Used equipment includes a Trailer not supplied by Portable Church® and may include other such items not originally purchased from Portable Church®.

This is a bulk sale. Pictures can be found here. Interested parties can contact Kevin Davis online at kevin@242community.com.

Mobile Church Leadership Pack

portablechurch — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:00:41 +0000

We are pleased to let you know about one of the coolest FREE resources we’ve seen in a long time. Our friend, Rich Birch who has over 500 weekends of experience in leading in portable churches in a wide variety of contexts, has put together something amazing for the mobile church.

He has created a bundle of Digital Resources that will give you a short-cut to a better mobile church experience!

6 Weeks of “Done For You” Training Emails // Just do a bit of modification and send these out to your team on the Thursday before the weekend . . . a great way to train, motivate and equip your team!

3 “Surprise & Delight” Ideas // Looking for a way to thank your team? Do one of these simple and low cost events every month . . . your team will be bragging about how great it is to serve with you!

5 Essential Forms & Docs // These documents and forms are the core essential parts of the system for managing a portable church.

You can get this and about a dozen other free resources by simply subscribing to Rich’s KillerChurch email list. [Click here to subscribe now!]. Rich Birch has helped plant more than a dozen campuses in his short career… and we’ve been honored partner with him every time he needs us. He knows the portablechurch.com client and we encourage you to subscribe to his blog and download this today!

Our Top Links from 4/19

portablechurch — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:17:34 +0000

Team Twitter is working hard provide interesting and relevant information on mobile church to church planters, multi-site churches and friends of Portable Church® Industries (plus a few cool links from around the web). Here’s a list of our Most Popular Links from Last Week.

love churches, technology and making the local church thrive? we want to hire you! check it out here: http://ow.ly/a9jNc
get your church to THRIVE. http://ow.ly/9WoBj
360 view of norway. brilliant tourism pull. i wanna go. http://ow.ly/a9iVK
now hiring cool people: http://ow.ly/ain98
FREE eBook: what every church planter should know http://ow.ly/ak7Hw
You didn’t learn this stuff in seminary. Check it – http://ow.ly/9WrDQ
must have iPad apps for pastors http://ow.ly/9WkOt
26 fun macbook stickers. http://ow.ly/ailiW
win an iPad from Portable Church! http://ow.ly/ak7Ji
stop by at exponential conference! http://ow.ly/asxg1

Follow us on twitter here: @portablechurch, @kendramalloy, @kevintoddjones. If you’re not on twitter, fan us on facebook for updates.

Mobile Church: The Challenge of Getting the Word Out

portablechurch — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:31:31 +0000

So. You’ve decided to plant a church. You want to make sure people know about it. In fact, you want to broadcast a message to your entire community. Social Media? No problem… you’ve got that covered. Building One on One Relationships with people you meet? You’ve also got that covered.

… but how do you get Press Coverage? How do you contact and interact with your Local Media? How do you broadcast your story? How do you write intriguing broadcast messages that capture the attention of those who need Christ, or need to find a church?

Enter Kenny Jahng. As the Media & Innovation Pastor for Liquid Church, he helps this multi-site church broadcast their messages to the community at large. He’s helped other churches & organizations, too, through his organization, Big Click Syndicate. Remember the Adoption Story you heard about during the Super Bowl? Did you hear about the church that gave away a reverse offering (Liquid Church)? Those are projects of Kenny’s. He was able to tell a story that intrigued a nation, helped people and, in the end, brought people to hear the message of Christ.

In his session at the Portable Church® Workshop (Gilbert, AZ; May 16, 2012), Kenny will work through some of his techniques for telling a story, capturing attention and building relationships with your local media. You don’t want to miss it!

Have a question for Kenny? Email it to workshops@portablechurch.com

Interact with Kenny here
Read more about the workshop here
Register here