BillSimmonsLive

My Planning Rhythms

Planning is a big deal. You've heard it…when you fail to plan…you plan to fail. I think this quote is very true when it comes to leading a church.

Effectively leading a church of any size requires planning. God is into planning so don't tell me that we are just being "led by the Spirit". Planning is the act of a Spirit-led leader. Besides, we call it the Plan of Salvation.

Over the next couple of weeks, I want to share my thoughts and principles regarding planning. Let me start by defining my planning rhythms.

Short-Term Planning represents the next 12-15 months – The church calendar has natural rhythms that come around every year. We always know there will be an Easter; Christmas, and summer mission trips. Sunday is coming every week. I've yet to be surprised when a Sunday arrived. This is why we should constantly prepare for the next 12-15 months. What messages series will we preach? What outreaches and mission trips will we achieve? What staff needs to be hired? How will we recognize and appreciate our volunteers? How will we serve the immediate needs of our local community? How much money will the next year cost and how do we plan to invite new people to join us as financial partners (tithers)?

Mid-Term Planning represents the next 2-5 years – When planning, we should anticipate the impact of what we are doing now, will have on where we want to go next. Where do you see God leading in the next 2-5 years? What have we been doing that we need to stop doing? What are we not doing that we should be? If we are going to go where God is leading, what needs to change? What staff, facilities, finances, infrastructure, (and so much more) do we need if we are to get to where we are going in the next 3-5 years?

Long-Term Planning represents the next 5-15 years – Decades fly by a lot faster than I used to give them credit for. This might be a sign of my aging but the truth is still a reality. The world is changing at lightning rates of speed. Will our church change at the rate needed to keep up with the unforeseen changes our world will experience in the next 10 years? God already knows the future and desires for us to be prepared for it. What vision is God giving you for the next 5-15 years? Who are you sharing this vision with? What plans need to be in place to put your church on track for this vision to become a reality? What obvious challenges will need to be addressed? How will you plan to address them? The elephant in the corner of the room will need to be addressed.

Long-Range Planning represents the next 15-30 years – My personal email address is carpe2morrow@aol.com. This play on words is a mix of Latin and English. Carpe means to seize. My desire is to Seize Tomorrow. I think too many churches are behind the curve. But to just catch up with current times is insufficient. The modern day church desperately needs to get ahead of the curve. We need to seize tomorrow. Planning this far out requires church leaders to dream. Dream audacious dreams. Plan according to your God-given dreams. Slow the train down and realize that God does do a sudden work but more often He takes His time. If you believe your church will be around in 15-30 years, what do you need to plan for? What will it be like?

Start planning now, the future is on its way!

How do you break down the way you plan? Do you need help defining or refining your plans? Have you ever thought of using a coach?

I’m MAD…Are You?

I wish more people were MAD. I wish more members of SpringWell were MAD. I wish more students, parents, and whole families were MAD. I think if we were all MAD, our community and world would be a better place.

Are you MAD? I'm committed to MAD. It's why I do what I do. The purpose of my life is to Make A Difference.

Do you want to Make a Difference? Awesome…I knew you did. Here are some immediate ways you can Make A Difference:

• Join us Saturday morning for Servolution Saturday
• Invite Friends and Family to the Easter Service
• Sign Up to serve at the Brook Glenn Elementary Spring Carnival

We could just talk about MAD…..or we could actually go MAD.

I'm ready….Are You?

SpringWell 2011 Ministry Plan

January 2011 was a landmark time at SpringWell. For the first time in our history we were able to distribute a ministry plan that describes our recent journey as a church; where we believe God is leading us; updates our strategy; and determines our needed budget. Scott shared this document on January 16^th and we distributed it at the end of service. We have also posted the plan our web site.

I encourage you to check out the SpringWell 2011 Ministry Plan.

Spread the word! God is up to something at SpringWell‼

Leadership Development

 

 

 

I am obsessed with a passion to expand the leadership capacity of those I influence.

God (and Scott) began to really challenge me last fall with the above thought. As I envision 2011, my goal is to intentionally equip and empower those around me. As a Leadership Coach and Church Health Consultant with Legacy Coaching, I am passionate about serving pastors and church leaders to help them lead more effectively.

At SpringWell, my focus is with our Staff; Elders; Management Team; Church Health Team; Growth Group Leaders; and Serving Team Leaders. I consider these teams to be the CORE of our church.

Beginning tomorrow morning, I will start a four week leadership intensive with our staff. We plan to take two mornings a week for the next four weeks to focus on foundational leadership principles. I will concentrate on four leadership categories with four lessons each. The categories will be: Inward Leadership; Outward Leadership; Church Health; and Expanding Leadership.

If you serve at SpringWell and would like to participate with the staff in our Leadership Development, please feel free to do so. I realize the time of the training may not work for you. But if you can work it out, join us. Just call the office at 864.268.2299 and speak with Elaine. Let her know you are coming so we can have materials ready for you. Below is chart of all the topics.

Time Slot	Tuesday 01/25/2011 Inward Leadership	Wednesday 02/02/2011 Outward Leadership	Wednesday 02/09/2011 Church Health	Wednesday 02/16/2011 Expanding Leadership
9:00-10:00   10:30-11:30	What is a Leader?   360 Degree Leader	How to develop authentic relationships   How to be a better communicator	Being the Church in a Post Modern World   Developing Processes and Systems	7 Habits of Highly Effective People   Time Management & Project Management
Time Slot	Thursday 01/27/2011 Inward Leadership	Thursday 02/03/2011 Outward Leadership	Thursday 02/10/2011 Church Health	Thursday 02/17/2011 Expanding Leadership
9:00-10:00   10:30-11:30	Leading with My Personality   Stress in Ministry	Building Teams   Handling Difficult People	Volunteer Recruiting and Assimilation   Dealing with Change and Transition	Coaching 101   Being an Armor Bearer

2011 SpringWell Mission Trips

 
We are very excited to announce the 2011 SpringWell Mission Trips.

o  Washington, DC - July 24-30, 2011

o  Dominican Republic - May 21-28, 2011

o  Dominican Republic - November 5-12, 2011

Join us for a Mission Trip Information Meeting on Sunday, February 6th from 12:00-1:00 PM.

Check out the links below for trip details.

Download Washington DC Trip Packet 2011

Download Dominican Republic Mission Trip Packet 2011

 

Let it Rain! Let Him Reign!

Over the past several weeks, Scott and I have discussed prayer quite a bit. While on my trip to the Dominican Republic, I read Deuteronomy 28. I felt inspired to share with our staff how my prayers were challenged through these verses. I decided to create this video blog to share these thoughts with you as well. It is 18 minutes long but I hope you stick with me.

Special Announcement: SpringWell Business Network

I am very excited to announce the development of the SpringWell Business Network. The purpose is to:

• Identify and network business owners/professionals and entrepreneurs who attend SpringWell Church
• Provide attendees an online directory of businesses from SpringWell they can support
• Gather the network together periodically for leadership development luncheons
• Support our community with workshops that empower financial stability (i.e. budgeting and credit repair; education for first time home buyers; foreclosure avoidance; equip potential entrepreneurs in starting, managing, and growing a successful business; and much more)

If you attend SpringWell and own a business, I want to encourage you to place and add on the directory today. Visit this link.

It's FREE to advertise. There is an option to pay a fee so that you are listed as a first result in searches and so you can link to other networks, but that is not required.  If you choose to pay the fee, SpringWell does receive a portion of it. These funds will be used to offset cost for network luncheons and workshops.

Do Not Miss Sunday

This Sunday will be an incredible day at SpringWell. We start a new series: The Face of God.

YOU WANT TO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS!

If you have put someone's name on the prayer boards, now is the time to get them to a service.

Why?

• We have been praying for this specific service for months
• Our church-wide fast started this week…this has raised the level of expectation
• A special guest will join us to help illustrate the message
• Lives are going to be changed

Do not miss this opportunity.

Who will you bring?

Internship Announcement

 
I am very excited to announce SpringWell Churchwill begin an Internship starting August 1, 2010.

 

This intentional leadership development program focuses on helping interns discover their own call as a church leader, acquire specific skills relating to ministry, and form habits that will carry them into a lifetime of ministry service.

 

Interns will have the opportunity to receive practical training through one of two different internship tracks: General and Specific. Our hope is to give our interns a 30,000 foot view of the church in the General Track or detailed training in the Specific ministry related Track.

 

Interns will be fully immersed in ministry alongside a staff pastor who leads a specific area. That staff pastor will serve as your immediate supervisor and coach. Mentorship in the areas of spiritual formation and leadership development will be provided by the Executive Pastor. Your involvement will span everything from service tasks that are critical to the running of the ministry, to significant leadership opportunities designed to stretch and grow you, and then everything else in-between. While your focus will likely be on a particular ministry area, you will need to see yourself as a team player who is able to serve wherever needed. 

 

If you sense God calling you to an adventure that requires huge faith, this might be just what you are looking for.

 

Interns will raise funds as a missionary to our community. You will receive training and personal coaching to help develop partners and raise funds.

 Download SpringWell Internship Application

The Future of Spiritual Formation

I am so excited to announce that SpringWell Church is partnering with Monvee to be on the forefront of The Future of Spiritual Formation.

We will unveil this exciting web-based tool on Saturday during our CORE Leadership Retreat.

Monvee will assist those who desire to be a fully devoted disciple of Jesus Christ by developing a handcrafted personalized spiritual growth plan.

John Ortberg says, "Assembly line approaches to discipleship don't work, because everyone is uniquely wired. Monvee will help people own and design the way of life where they can experience maximum growth. People have a crying need to find a way to follow Jesus that is not mechanical or legalistic and that is concrete. Disciples of Jesus cannot be mass produced they have to be handcrafted."

One of our Core Values at SpringWell is Personal Growth. We believe every disciple of Jesus Christ must take personal responsibility for growing in character, emotional wholeness, and relational authenticity. This is why we feel providing such an innovative resource as Monvee meshes with who we are as a church. You are unique and God created you that way. Therefore, a cookie cutter approach to discipleship must be replaced with unique personalized plan, based on how you were created.

Monvee will be the perfect partner with our Growth Groups. Monvee will challenge you as an individual to take personal responsibility and Growth Groups will provide a relational environment for support, encouragement, and accountability. This is a powerful combination.

Monvee will be available to those not attending the retreat for a cost of $40.00. This will give you lifetime access to developing your personalized spiritual growth plan. You will be able to update your plan periodically based on the stages and seasons of your life.

You will hear much more in the coming weeks and months. We are thrilled to be ahead of the curve as we partner with the exciting innovation that is going to take the church and discipleship into a completely new level.

Dominican Republic Mission Trip Announcement

 I am so excited to announce SpringWell will be going to the Dominican Republic October 16-23, 2010 for our foreign mission trip.

We will be partnering with Missionaries Danny and Denise Stone who lovely lead Restoration Ranch. The Ranch is a residential home for abandoned or orphaned children.

We will serve this awesome ministry through a number of servant-evangelism projects. These include:

· Construction Projects

· Prayer Walking

· Children’s Ministry

· And much more

The trip will be open to all those 18 years old and up.

If you are interested in being a part of our team…. Download Dominican Republic Mission Trip Packet 2010

New Orleans Mission Trip Announcement

 
I am so excited to announce SpringWell will be going to New Orleans July 18-24, 2010 for our stateside summer mission trip.

We will be partnering with several ministries to impact the lives of those still devastated by the aftermath of Katrina.

We will serve this great city through a number of servant-evangelism projects. These include:

· Children’s Ministry

· Work a Day Camp

· Music Ministry

· Construction Projects

· And much more

We will be coming alongside Vintage Church (a church plant in the heart of New Orleans) and MissionLab as our primary partners.

The trip will be open to all those 12 years old and up.

If you are interested in being a part of our team….

Download New Orleans Mission Trip Packet 2010

Will You Partner with SpringWell Kidz?

We are so excited at SpringWell about the future of our Family Ministry. We have spent months praying about how to intentionally impact families. We have integrated all ages (nursery through 12^th grade) under one strategic effort.

On Sunday, August 16^th, Chip Joiner shared many of the things we are hoping to accomplish soon. I highly recommend you listen to the podcast. Also, checkout the SpringWell Kidz Facebook page to stay updated with happenings.

It is our goal in 2010, to totally renovate the Family Ministry Center and making it a place where Preschoolers, Elementary, Middle and High School Students can develop as fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ.

In the mean time, we have 5 small projects that need to be accomplished over the next month. They are:

1. Paint Building A (now the Family Ministry Center) – we are going to make this colorful. Can you say CRAYOLA!!
2. Signage – We want to place a large 20' x 11' sign on the front of the building with the new SW Kidz logo (Above)
3. Lighting – We need to brighten the large auditorium for preschool students on Sunday
4. Portable Walls – We are building portable walls to create a better environment for preschoolers
5. Update Audio/Video – The small auditorium needs updated for audio, video, and computer.

I would like to encourage you to partner with us in making this a reality. Here is how:

1. Pray – Pray for the families in our church. Our staff is committed to praying with you.
2. Serve – If you are not serving in a ministry consider serving in the nursery, preschool, elementary, or student ministry.
3. Give – Will you consider giving (above your tithe) an offering toward the above projects? The estimated cost is $5,000.

You can give here. Please put "Family Ministry" in the memo.

These are exciting time in our church. Let's partner together to impact a new generation of Christ followers.

Proud of Our Staff

Today was a great day at SpringWell. Our staff shined.

Chip Joiner, our Family Pastor, spoke and shared the new strategy we are implementing in our Family Ministry. Chip did a great job. It was clear he was well prepared and shared a strategy he has spent months praying and reflecting upon.

Todd Carpenter, our Pastor of Connection & Discipleship, led a Growth Group Leaders training event this afternoon. It was great to hear so many Growth Group Leaders share their experiences and prepare for our next semester. Todd provided the team of leaders with a great resource to help them be the best leader they can be. Todd has invested a great deal of energy to the success our Growth Groups and it is paying off.

Tracey Daniel, our Director of Communication & Information, shared during the Growth Group training as well. She updated the leaders on how to use the online tools we have available to register groups and organize them throughout the semester. Tracey has worked very hard behind the scenes to help us be much efficient and effective. We are definitely seeing the fruit of her labor.

I am blessed to have such great men and women on our team. It's great to have a front row seat when they shine.

Make sure you let them know how much YOU appreciate them.

Memories or Vision?

Yesterday, I heard Andy Stanley make the following comment: If your memories outweigh your vision....the end is near.

I found myself thinking about it most of the day. It caused me to pray and ask God to open my eyes to the grander vision he has for my life.

What is the grander vision God has for my…Marriage…Family…Ministry?

My blessing is my challenge. I am blessed to have great memories in each of these areas of my life. God has done some incredible things in my marriage, in my family, and through my ministry. The challenge is to not allow these memories to outweigh the grander vision God has for my future.

I plan to take some time over the next couple of weeks to seek God's grander vision. I am confident He has great plans for Renee and I, for my family, for SpringWell, and Legacy Coaching.

I look forward to sharing.

How about you? Do you memories outweigh your vision?

Core Values 3 of 7

 

Reproduction - Church growth is the result of growing people…growing people.

 

Today's core value is the direct result of transformation. We all reproduce what we are. The best church growth strategy is when changed people…change people. When growing people….grow people.

 

What are you reproducing? God has an expectation for each of us to influence the lives around us. What is your influence producing?

 

Here are a couple of scriptures that guide this value in my life:

 

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Matthew 28:19-20

 

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;    Ephesians 4:11-13

Scott Speak

Yesterday was a great day at SpringWell as Scott challenged the church with his vision for the coming months. Despite the economic times, we will continue to fulfill the Great Commission.

We celebrated the success of the GAIHN Project. We raised enough money to remodel the home and meet all its utility needs. Over 200 volunteers completed the project in 4 Saturdays. Scott started his message introducing the family who will live in the home for the next year. The following are additional highlights.

• Wow! Meeting Kimberly was amazing. Her life is impacted!
• Where do we go from here?
• #1 We will continue to serve!
• Mark 10:41-45
• Churches that want to be great must serve
• We must love people with no strings attached
• The way up…is down
• Unless I give myself away…I won't be like Jesus
• James 1:22
• Despite economic hard times…we will continue to do what God calls us to do
• We will do another GAIHN Home in 2009!
• Luke 4:18-19
• I will do the best I can to lead this with the principles of God's Word.
• #2 We will share the love of Jesus with those who are far from God
• Friends influence friends
• We want to influence the spiritual destination of the lost
• Acts 16:14-15; 30, 33; Acts 18:7 (Notice the words household and family)
• Bring your friends and we will share the Gospel every Sunday
• Plan to experience Christmas like never before…we will target your lost friends
• We are going to take the Gospel worldwide
• We will influence and train between 800-1000 pastors in Africa.

 

On October 19^th, funds will be raised for our Glocal mission projects. Glocal means we will go global and local with the message of the Gospel. Locally, we will target Christmas with three powerful Sunday services and an amazing Children's program for you to bring your friends. Globally, we will train pastors from Ghana and Nigeria.

 

Begin to pray about how you will support this offering. You can hear more from Scott through the podcast.

Legacy Coaching Web Site

I am so excited to announce that Doug Cowburn and I have gone public with our new web site for Legacy Coaching.

My blog is reaching people from several difference audiences.

• As a way connect and communicate with the members of SpringWell.
• To keep my family, friends, and ministry colleagues up to date concerning my life and ministry.
• To challenge and serve church leaders regarding leadership, church health, and change.

Legacy Coaching is just another way to help encourage and support church leaders. I plan to blog more about this in the future.

I would love to get your thoughts regarding the new web site.

Membership at SpringWell

It has been a great year at SpringWell. So many things have excited me. One of those things is how well our membership workshops have been. We have offered SpringWell 101 three times this year and have received 87 new members as a result. Wow!

If you haven't made the commitment to partner with SpringWell through membership, the next date will be Sunday, November 2^nd from 4:00-7:00 PM.

Staff Announcement

I am so excited to announce that SpringWell has hired Todd Carpenter as our Pastor of Connection & Discipleship. As the Pastor of Connection & Discipleship, Todd will be responsible for leading our assimilation process and discipleship strategy. Todd will lead the charge to connect people through our Home Groups, Serving Groups, and Care Groups. He will be working side by side with Tracey Daniel (Home Group Coordinator) and Dan Elmore (Care Pastor) as this team creates the best opportunities for everyone to connect at SpringWell. Our goal will be to connect every guest we can into at least one of these groups.

Todd will also take the lead in developing our discipleship ministry. This includes facilitating our SpringWell 101 through 401 membership workshops and Synergy Classes. Todd's responsibilities also include leading our Guest Service Teams each Sunday, as we do our best to create the best first impressions possible.

The Pastor of Connection & Discipleship position is a new role on our staff. Todd is "technically" replacing Dan Dather, who resigned in May. After Dan departed, we spent a lot of time redefining this position to meet the current needs of SpringWell.

Todd has been a part of SpringWell for quite some time and has stepped in a lot for Dan Dather during Synergy. We has planted a church and worked as an interim pastor in the past. He has recently served as the Director of Habitat for Humanity in Greenville. He has a military background and loves to hit the road on his bike. Todd is very organized and gets what we want this position to accomplish.

When you see Todd on Sunday, welcome him to our team.

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE AT SPRINGWELL!!

CORE Leaders

Last night we had our first CORE Leadership Summit. We had 80 volunteers participate in this very important gathering. This was great considering it was our first one and in the middle of summer.

Why CORE? We exist as an organization because of what our volunteers accomplish. We desperately need to be intentional about how to communicate, develop, and empower our leaders. The CORE Leadership Summit will help provide the following:

Community – Bring leaders together

Organization – Keep leaders informed

Relevant – Unite leaders around our values

Empower – Release leaders with purpose

If you missed last night, I created a webcast and went over the same items from our agenda. Check out this video to catch what you missed.

Scott Speak

It was great to have Scott back this weekend. His message focused on Confidence and how we can have it. Here are a few of the highlights.

• We waste so much time living in fear
• How are choking under the pressures of life?
• God wants you to live with confidence
• What are you insecure about?
• The fear of failure strangles your faith
• 1 Corinthians 10:12
• You need a strong confidence in God to live your potential
• How do we cultivate confidence in God
• Daniel 3
• Their confidence in God was bigger than your fear
• Learn to be confident in God's Word
• There is nothing that can replace having a Word from God that is found in the Word of God.
• October 1994 – Matthew 9:17
• December 1994 – Genesis 26:18-22
• God told me to dig a well.
• Spring = new and fresh; well = came out of Genesis 26
• Spring + Well = SpringWell
• We need the confidence that God is in control
• Daniel 3:16-18
• In 1995, we started SpringWell based on God's Word in 1994.
• In difficult circumstances you have to decide what you will believe
• Romans 8:28
• These situations allows our faith to soar
• Sometimes it's only in the fire that you can find God
• Real peace is not found in our circumstances but confidence in God
• Sometimes God delivers your from the fire
• Sometimes God delivers you in the fire
• God is all you need

Mission Trip Wrap Up

Last night I had the privilege to speak for Elliis at CCM. It was the last night for this team from Georgia. They have served all over Greenville making a difference in the lives of hurting people.

It really caused me to miss DC and all the trips we hosted when I directed The Mission. I love seeing lives changed through these type of trips.

Staff Field Trip

Today I took our staff on a field trip in place of our weekly staff meeting. Many of them had not been to the home we are remodeling for the GAIHN Project. We met up with Ellis Beddingfield and Danny Greene who are heading up the project. We had a chance to celebrate what God is doing, tour the house, and have a prayer walk on the property. We stayed about 1 hour and then went to lunch at 5 Guys. It was great to share, pray, and eat together as a staff. We really felt like a team today. Here are some pictures of the house we will remodel:

A Proud Day

I have been on staff at SpringWell for a little over eight months and today I experienced my proudest moment to date.

As a part of our participation in One Prayer, Scott chose to partner with local churches. Today was the first of 3 weeks of Scott preaching at other churches as those pastors preach for SpringWell.

Reggie Smith from Marathon-North spoke at SpringWell. It was our vision to celebrate the visiting pastor. I was so proud of how SpringWell supported and encouraged Reggie. The standing ovations (as Reggie was introduced) in both services were heartfelt and energized.

This is the beginning of something incredible. Churches actually working together must please God. I can't wait to see what the future holds.