Free Resources, Mobile Churches, Portability
Good news – Portable churches are meeting live again!
It has still been slow in coming but the momentum can be felt across the country now. Like light at the end of this COVID tunnel, our team are being asked by church planters and multisite leaders about what seems to be working. Many have been waiting and watching as others ‘go first’… we are now feeling that others are optimistic and taking the next step.
So here are 7 observations from the world of today’s portable church!
1. The new front door
Digital is a HUGE new front door to your church. People investigating a church start digitally. They used to just check out the website. Now through social media, they have easy access to what your church and see what it ‘feels’ like through your streaming services. And churches have upped their digital game!
However, it has been made clear that digital is not going to permanently replace live. It lacks the full expression and power of the church body. There will always be something significant in gathering live that absolutely cannot be replaced.
Looking forward: Do not fall back into the trap of making you digital audience a secondary focus. It’s a huge front door and a way many will continue to connect with you.
2. Be relevant more often than just on Sunday!
Churches are still seeing great success at connecting with the church through midweek ‘check ins’, vision casting and/or devotionals. Some have the lead pastor reaching out each week, mid-week, some mix it up having elders, other pastoral staff or leaders join in.
One church we spoke with recently talked about the great success they had individually calling their entire database to check in on everyone and they are planning to continue these check ins. They have been highly effective and is resulting in a deeper engagement by members and attenders alike.
Looking forward: Plan for a process of personal check in by phone, text or other form of communication throughout the year. Review the effectiveness regularly with the leadership team and be flexible as to what you want out of these touchpoints.
3. Digital is not naturally friendly to the friendly church
Some church leaders are ROCKSTARS at embracing those that walk through the doors and making them feel loved – like the long-lost friend they had not met yet. A hospitality driven church or pastor who is gifted with warmth, personality, and genuine deep-felt hospitality may not have gifts that translate digitally over a streaming network.
A church with a strong digital presence is likely aided by great performance – yes in worship, but even more so with the delivery of The Gospel. The problem is that there are a ton of performances for people to choose from.
Looking forward: To navigate the “phygital” balance well, churches are using the chat feature during services, having their best engagers asking deep/thoughtful questions, giving well thought answers, offering offline text connections to deepen budding relationships. A second yet equally effective opportunity is to host “First Time Visitor” digital classes – giving out $5-10 Starbucks cards (via the Starbucks APP). For example, if your church is strong in family ministry, continue emphasizing opportunities available through your digital channel. Drop off a note talking about being all about families and give them coupons to free sundaes at a local place for their family.
4. Consider new launch methods
Several church planting organizations are advocating that launching a new church digitally before physically is going to be a wave of the future. Simply put, a core team is developed using both face-to-face AND digital methods. That core team helps network and launch the digital expression.
Geo-target the city through social channels:
- Use to publicize what you are about and launch your interest meetings
- Use to showcase sample teaching
- Launch digitally and build momentum and attendance size
- After many months, then launch a physical expression
This is the Amazon strategy…. The church becomes well known and familiar digitally, and then launches a physical expression that is everything and more than the digital engagement promised.
5. Churches burdened with debt are moving out and going portable
While this offers a “church reset” of sorts, it also has great potential of reactivating people that have been lost in the pews.
6. Churches that were portable going permanent
While this makes our Portable Church Team sad… we also get excited that the portability strategy has been successful at developing great momentum – enough to plant long lasting roots!
The COVID Crisis has changed things. Some of those changes are good and some just are not! The real estate market for newly available commercial properties will see an up-tick as some businesses just won’t survive. Likewise, and unfortunately, some churches won’t survive as well. To that end, it is being forecasted that there will be an increased number of churches that will merge, most of which will involve worship facilities of some sort.
Many well-managed churches will be able to respond appropriately and make the jump into better facilities or into a multisite strategy.
7. Considering the venue as a tool
Soon, we will launch another blog that addresses various venue types that are working well when schools are just not available. The adage is true, “necessity is the mother of invention!” The need to meet again is getting churches to become innovative… thinking outside the box. Indeed, some facility-types (High School, Middle School, YMCA, Theater) are more ideal for meeting spaces. However, as these natural rental facilities aren’t available churches are considering and finding some amazing alternatives.
The shutdown has prompted many leaders in the church to consider the effectiveness of their ministry. There have been changes in leadership, ministry methods, discipleship, and evangelistic outreach. In some cases, there have been wholesale changes to financial fitness and the role that property plays as tools in the ministry. On the journey back to “normal” (whatever that was), churches are evaluating it all! As Peyton Jones from Exponential states “Churches are still born out of a desire to draw a crowd, but the future belongs not to churches that can draw a crowd, but churches that can penetrate one.”
What do you think? What are you seeing as new trends and future trends? Comment below!
Church Launch, Helpful References, PCI Church Plants, Portability
This post is specifically focused on what should be considered to reopen a church meeting in a portable setting.
It’s a confusing time we live in now – especially if you are a leader in the church. Generally, leading is very real work. Specifically, leading during a time of pandemic is simply exhausting. Why? Because in the decision-making process, pertinent inputs need to be considered for every decision that is made. When there is a plethora of resources available, the front-end researching to decision making can be intimidating and exhausting. Exacerbating the critical nature of the decisions is the extra care your flock is needing, as well as ALL the opportunities opened to share the gospel in a new way.
In this chaotic environment, it is essential first to be able to methodically determine what are pertinent inputs and what are not. There are a growing number of inputs that are necessary to consider if you are attempting to reopen regular gatherings of any kind. A sampling of what is available is found HERE.
But specifically, we have created a robust check list for those churches that are meeting in rented facilities (schools, theaters, YMCA’s, etc). As you work through your list, be intentional to lead with the spirit, to bless all and not be aggressive to assert “your rights.” What you decide to do and how you do it will communicate who you are and what you are all about.
1. Confirm that you will have access to your portable church facility. Speak with venue leaders:
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- Let them know you will be putting a reopening playbook together for all stakeholders.
- Ask them up front if they have any concerns they would like to be addressed.
- Confirm general parameters for use of the facility (dates, length of meetings, portions of facilities to be used).
- Assure them that you will review your finished playbook with them prior to dissemination.
2. Strongly consider what lasting impact your meetings will have on ALL stakeholders (members, attenders, volunteers, & landlords):
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- Will you be reopening environments in keeping with your vision, mission, culture, and developing brand?
- Will your engagement in this venue inadvertently change the vision, mission, culture and developing brand?
- Have you considered any undue or unusual burden your plan will place on venue staff or other stakeholders?
- Are you considering any “phased gatherings” that will provide momentum for The Big Reopen?
3. Reevaluate your rented facility for new uses to accommodate safe distancing protocols: *start small
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- Are there additional seating areas available for use that had not be used before? (If you met in a gym are there bleachers that could be utilized that were not used before? How about a track area above within a good sightline of the stage?
- Have you roped off areas of seating before that you can open back up?
- Are there additional rooms that can accommodate smaller groups?
- Use these rooms if the crowd coming back is smaller, then grow into larger rooms
- Or, use these rooms as on-site video venues to spread people throughout your venue
4. “Sell” the unique opportunity to be a “friend/true partner” to the venue. It is not your facility/space – Act like a guest! Make them thrilled that you are a part of their TEAM!
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- Communicate with owners of the venue regularly and often as you are building your re-opening plan.
- Ask for and listen for what needs to be done that will make the landlord most comfortable. Once you initiate the reopening journey with them (earlier) they will continue thinking about the journey you are both on. They will likely have new suggestions each time you check in with them.
- They too are in the process of their own reopening – figure a way to SERVE THEM in their process.
- Eventually, provide them with an extensive and detailed plan. The more thorough you are the more comfortable they will be letting you back in. The plan should include but not be limited to:
- Plan of occupation (Dates, times, parts of building to be used).
- Outline of how volunteers will be/have been reoriented and retrained.
- Plans for pre- and post- gathering sanitization of surfaces before, during, and after (Red/Green Signals).
- How unused areas of facility will be cordoned off or opened for use.
- How attenders will enter and exit the venue (process) as well as your expectations for how all attendees will behave while on the premises. How will they be welcomed and directed?
- Will there be any hospitality services? If so, what will that look like?
- Health precautions that will be required by attenders and volunteers (sharing resources with your venue will go a long way to affirming a partnership):
- Masks to be required or provided or both
- Temperature checks
- Sanitizer stations
- Safe Distancing Spacing guidelines observed (in all areas)
- Consequences for unwanted behavior
- Provide links to your website announcing your plans
- Plan to make the site better while you are there – and when you leave make it better than the way you found it.
5. Volunteers are essential – because they will likely be your front line, over communicate with them…
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- Learn who is going to return under the conditions you are establishing for reopening.
- Start with your plans to keep them safe.
- Using data, learn what is doable and sustainable for your first many services.
- Scale the reopening expectations in keeping with the size of your committed volunteer force – but keep a spirit of excellence.
- Be guided by number of available volunteers to create a “Won’t, Might, and Will” list for your opening months.
6. Just because meeting is permissible and legal does not mean your congregation is comfortable.
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- Take the pulse of your congregation with a poll like this one. Ask questions like:
- Preferred method of communication (email, text, call, etc)
- Ask what campus they attend (if applicable)
- Ask about their attitude toward in-person worship
- Ask about what precautions need to be observed to make them feel comfortable with returning to your setting
- Ask what attendance levels they would feel comfortable with
- Ask about their feeling about specific ministries reopening (children, hospitality, wayfinding support, etc.)
- Ask if they will be returning if you will be opening up on ‘xx week’ in the near future (from recent stories, expect a smaller amount than those that said yes)
- And/Or participate with Barna’s Church Pulse Weekly to take the temperature of your congregation and how it compares to the rest of the nation.
- Be descriptive of what your meeting time will look like in your rented venue. Setting up expectations will go a long way to accomplishing your goals.
- Think the phasing-process like getting into a cold lake for a swim – little by little until each part of your body becomes comfortable. Before you know it – everyone will be swimming and enjoying the purpose for which you are reopening.
7. Develop plan for those not comfortable with returning to a large group
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- Plan out your longer-term streaming strategy.
- Put together neighborhood gathering spaces in appropriate group sizes.
- Consider multiple venues (Portable venue PLUS outdoor Drive-IN style PLUS Video in Groups off site).
- Do a larger space “church in the field” outdoor service to accommodate unlimited social distancing (now’s your excuse to get that portable LED wall :)).
8. Phase in occupation of space – From street to seat, what should happen and when should it begin to happen, what will be the protocols when it does happen?
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- Load In/Load Out process review and training.
- Does way finding (signage) need to change – reevaluate entrance and exit points/processes.
- What aspects of hospitality need to be offered. What precautions need to be provided to volunteers and attenders.
- Create plan around procedures for (and procure) masks, temperature checks, gloves, sanitizer stations.
- What will children’s ministry environments look like? When will they open? Will they be phased in gradually?
- What other precautions will be taken?
- Attended door openers? Doors always open? Normal procedures?
9. Retrain your volunteers
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- Train volunteers on how to implement PPE.
- Reorient them to the facility.
- Explain and clarify what processes will continue as before and which will be changed.
- Give them confidence and extreme appreciation..
10. Don’t assume your venue will let you back in
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- Keep an eye out for other venues just in case.
- Look for smaller locations.
- Hotels, city centers, theaters, churches
- Here’s our Ultimate list of Venues (63 currently used spaces) to get you thinking.
Whatever you do – be determined to keep Jesus and the spirit of excellence at the forefront – not only your response to COVID 19. And if your church is already engaged in a playbook for reopening your portable facility, and you would like to share what you have assembled so far, feel free to post your documents and thoughts below.
As always, we are here to help. Connect with one of our team at 800-939-7722 or info@portablechurch.com
Free Resources, Multisite, Multisite Resources
For multiplication minded leaders in the church while deciding on where to church plant or launch your next church campus…
A wise decision-making process is most comfortable and satisfying when ALL of the information is available. Making fully informed decisions with “all hearts clear” speaks of the wonderful intersection of The Spirits direction coupled with real-time data.
When God’s hand is on a ministry, and leaders are challenged to accommodate the blessings of opportunity, DATA INFORMED (versus data driven) DECISIONS are a crucial part of stewarding the resources God is providing. For example, your leadership team sees your church is being blessed with new opportunities, and you are considering 3- 5 neighboring communities in which you believe God is leading you to launch a new presence. How do you decided where God is leading you next?
Our newly released resource, The Community Finder – A Campus Launch Dashboard is simply meant to be a tool that leaders can use to accumulate all relevant information to make bold kingdom-multiplication decisions. When a leadership team is considering where God might be leading them NEXT, this tool will help bring the data to the table of prayer.
This guide accumulates detailed data while walking you through these sections…
- Potential new communities/neighborhoods
- Target campus essentials
- People from sending campus
- Demographics of targeted community
- Facility detail
- Outreach ministry insights
The resource gives a brief explanation on how to use it by section, but then you are off to the spreadsheet for you to customize and fill it out according to your specific ministry. Download and start planning your next campus location, OR email our Multiplication Specialist Jeff at jeff.beachum@portablechurch.com. Get a personal online tour of the Dashboard and a 1 hour -no cost- consultation to get you on the right track to help you process through your next campus launch!
Complete this form to download the resource now!
Multisite
Whitepaper #2 on unique Multisite Strategies.
(See the first whitepaper featuring Life.Church here).
Manna Church based in NC was featured in Outreach Magazines Top 100 list on all three of their categories, Fastest Growing, Largest and Top Reproducing Churches. This is their incredible story discussing their multiplication strategies.
We sat down with Senior Pastor Michael Fletcher and downloaded his wisdom. We ended with this resource jam packed full of insight on how Manna Church through trial and error finally landed on a multisite strategy that works for their church and their unique calling. With a vision to see a church at every large military base, Manna has fine tuned their strategy to create 15 successful campuses across the US in addition to a number of home churches and more in the works. The ‘why and how’ they capture this vision is incredible.
Here are some of the main takeaways from this resource (to name a few).
In this whitepaper Micheal speaks to the challenge of ministering to members of the military due to frequent redeployment. All churches deal with turn over, but due to Manna’s high percentage of military congregants they experience much greater than average losses of people. Manna flipped the script and changed the high turnover rate instead into an average growth rate of 18%.
Another key lesson from the whitepaper is how they internally identify, train up and send new leaders to launch and run new campuses. They use a very unique approach that they have found great success with (you’ll have to download the whitepaper to see what it is :)). Pastor Michael also dives into the why and how launching ‘portable campuses’ is a key strategy of their growth and sustainability (and why they choose Portable Church®!)
Again, there is even more to the resource than what we’ve listed, but we hope this intrigues you enough to read this short, 6 page resource about one of the leading multisite churches in the United States.
*When our team sat down with Pastor Michael, we were so blessed and amazed by his perspective. And guess what… we recorded our conversation so you can listen and be blessed too! We weren’t expecting as much as we were getting so we started the recording a little late, but we strongly encourage you to check out this story and the recording. Let it inspire you to move into the unique calling God has placed on your church.
If your church is considering multiplying or adding another campus check out the video here and make sure you download the resource for the full story!
Complete this quick form for instant access to the Manna Church story:
Facility, Portable Church Systems, System Maintenance
Whether you’ve only had your custom Portable Church® Solution for a few months or you are prepping for your re-opening…
You love it! Your system has created an easy setup and teardown process for you and your team. You know exactly where everything is when you open your trailer on Sunday morning. A new volunteer can quickly catch on during setup. You love the flexibility of being portable!
So, how do you keep your awesome Portable Church® gear and system, well….awesome?
Here’s a quick rundown of the ways you can keep your system, facility, and community in great shape! Plus if you currently aren’t using the system due to shut down, now is the perfect time to go through this list!
Trailer Care
- Grease the trailer door hinges and continue on a regular basis.
- Check the wheel hub caps and grease if necessary.
- Check the battery and connections.
- Check the tire pressure, the wear on the tires, and the lug nuts.
- Get under your trailer and inspect the welds every six months.
- Verify that your Breakaway Switch and it’s battery work. See your manual for instructions.
- Inspect the torsion door assist springs and cable for fraying and wear.
Audio/Video Equipment Care
- Clean the projector filters. Continue cleaning every 2-3 months.
- If you don’t have a backup projector bulb, now may be a good time to consider one.
- Check all cables (A/C, mic, lighting, etc.) for loose connections. Most are repairable or may still be under warranty!
- For any piece of gear that has a fan, clean with a shot of compressed air.
- Clean the mixing console and keyboards (high-touch areas) with watered down Windex (50/50). Spray your towel (not your gear), then wipe down.
- Check the connections inside the racks to ensure connection points are securely mounted.
Case Care
- Look through every case and remove all the random unneeded items that don’t belong.
- Relabel, re-organize as changes are made.
- Check the case hardware to ensure they are working properly. Repairing now, saves repairing more later.
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Our cases are designed to easily grow along with you. Don’t be afraid to move shelves around to accommodate new items, or change the layout for increased efficiency!
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We love our cases! Call us with any questions or needs you have about them!
Kids / Community Care
- Clean and descale your coffee brewer with vinegar every 3-6 months.
- Clean all plastic toys with disinfectant and wash all fabric toys regularly.
- Re-organize and recycle/dispose of any items not being used in the Children’s Ministry cases.
- Free the goldfish! Vacuum the case interiors to remove any straggling snacks.
- Wipe down all community care equipment with sanitizing sheets.
- Restock consumables (baby items, coffee items, etc.).
These next two may take some creativity during lockdown, but once church is re-open in a venue and up to full capacity, these principles will be important.
Venue Care
- On your service days, show appreciation to any staff at the facility that might be working to ensure you have a great Sunday morning.
- During the venues regular work week, bring the staff or owners coffee, gift cards, and maybe even a food truck lunch!
- Write the leader, owner, or landlord of the facility a thank you note.
- Be mindful of the facility assets in all your activities. Leave everything the way you found it, if not better. If you damage anything, replace it without having to be asked!
- Consider asking the venue what technology or equipment they have been wanting but haven’t been able to afford, and then buy it for them!
Volunteer / Staff Care
- Throw a party for your team.
- Start doing a volunteer of the month celebration from stage or on social media.
- Take your volunteers or a team of volunteers to lunch, or bring in a special breakfast.
- Show the same appreciation to volunteers that you show to your staff, and vice versa.
- Call us for some great ideas about how you can develop a great team and culture within your church!
With proper care, your system should last for years! Be intentional about taking care of your equipment, and instill the same practice in your team. If you have had your system for several months, be mindful that your warranties will be expiring soon. Check for glitches, tears, or anything else that can be repaired or replaced under warranty.
If you have any issues with your system or have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us! And if you need to buy a few more items, check out our online store. We are here to serve you in all of your portable needs.
Helpful References
Our running log of helpful sites during the time of re-opening.
- Aspen Group
- Multistate (government relations firm)
- Cool Solutions Group
- Brotherhood Mutual
- Major re-openings announced:
- Notre Dame
- Simon Properties (49 malls)
- NFL
- MLB
- NASCAR
- SEC (All Colleges/College Sports)
- Stadia
- Barna ChurchPulse Tool
- Gospel Coalition
- NEXT Normal (Virtual Conference) – Exponential and Leadership Network bring you a 3 day virtual event with some of the churches thought leaders helping consider every aspect of the next normal the church will face.
Equipment, Technology
What makes a CODE Series solution different from others
It has been said that a person will decide within the first 4 minutes of stepping into your church building if they will return or not. However, today this goes beyond the physical experience within a building. The virtual experience is now the new “sticking factor”. Statistically, 27% of viewers will abandon a livestream after the first buffering wheel and another 40% after the second interruption.
It is increasingly clear that live streaming is going to be with us for a long time. At the beginning of this pandemic, churches were forced to rush into making quick decisions about live streaming equipment, service, etc. However, now that the rush is over, it is becoming clear that the viability of the solutions initially chosen is much more important and some initially thought. Live streaming is here to stay, even when we begin meeting in physical buildings again. Begin thinking of your live streaming experience as a campus… an extension of your church. Quality is just as important for your congregation’s experience at your virtual campus as it is at your physical campus.
The internet is flooded with different products, methods, services, etc. for live streaming production. This makes it very difficult to know what to look for and how to process the information being received. For those of you asking the question, “What makes the CODE Series solutions different from everything else?”, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to make an informed decision.
“One-Stop Shop” – compatibility from the start!
One of the biggest stresses when beginning live streaming is knowing where to begin, not only with product, but with a streaming service as well. The CODE Series is a full “one-stop shop” solution that includes, not only the equipment needed for live streaming (encoder, video conversion, audio embedding, camera, tripod, video switcher, multiview monitor, etc.), but integration to the Resi streaming platform as well.
Integrated Solution
The CODE Series solutions are integrated solutions. This means when you receive it, you don’t receive pieces and parts. We take care of the solution design, wiring, and configuration. With everything connected inside the rack for ease of use and deployment, it arrives to you it is ready to go. Even with solution that include a video switcher, multiview monitor, etc., these solutions are packaged and integrated to be deployed and used when it arrives.
Resi Streaming Technology
With all other streaming options, whenever there is packet loss on your internet connection, your viewers will face a buffering wheel. As mentioned above, after the second buffering interruption, 40% of your online viewers will have left your stream. Resi has developed the only solution which corrects for this issue by resending and correcting data on a 2-minute delay. This patented technology is called Resilient Streaming Protocol, which enables reliable streaming even on bad internet connections, and reduces streaming complaints by over 85% on average. This results in a much more stable online viewing experience that increases viewer retention and your online audience size over time.
For more information on Portable Church® Industries and Portable Church® solutions, please visit portablechurch.com. To learn more about the Resi streaming platform, please visit resi.io
To view all CODE Series streaming kit options, please click here.
Written By: Matt Groves, Director of Consulting
Church Launch, Church Planting, Facility, Mobile Churches, Portability
Looking at venues for your mobile church?
Choosing the right venue for your church launch is absolutely crucial! The venue for your mobile church not only plays a key role in determining how you engage the community, but also sets the pace for church growth. Ron Sylvia pastor of Church @ The Springs in Ocala, FL & church planter coach tells his planters “We shape our buildings and then our buildings shape us.” Which is exactly why we have put together 30 key questions that you need to ask when evaluating different venues for your portable church launch. Check these out.
Location & Accessibility
The church facility that you finally move into must be conveniently located in the target area, with adequate parking and easy accessibility. It is important that you ask the following questions:
- Is this facility easily accessible for families, single parents and visitors in general?
- Does the facility have adequate parking spots?
- Is it accessible via both stairs and elevator(s)? Is it handicap accessible and ADA compliant? Will it be easy for volunteers to carry equipment in and out of the building?
- Will the venue be conducive to reaching out and building community?
Facilities & Design
The layout and facilities available are also key factors to consider while reviewing potential venues to move into. Make sure you ask these questions:
- Is there ample space to fit the number of adults and children you are expecting?
- Is there more than one meeting space for adults and kids? Is there a backup space that can be used in case of maintenance or other issues?
- Does the facility have seating? Are there adequate seats with the capacity to handle future expansion?
- Does the venue come with a stage? If yes, what size? If not, is there a convenient location to set one up?
- How many restrooms are available? According to international standards, the minimum number of toilets per attendee in places of worship is 1 per 75 women and 1 per 150 men. Does the venue meet this requirement? How close are the restrooms to the main worship area?
- Is there a kitchen space for you to use?
- Is there a spacious lobby? Does it have enough room for greeting, welcome tables and signage?
- Does the venue have adequate lighting?
- Will the electrical capacity be able to handle all your equipment? Are there enough electrical outlets to plug in the audio and video equipment, lighting, coffee makers etc.?
- Is the air-conditioning/heater in working condition?
Cost & Affordability
A key consideration for launching a church in any venue is cost. It is imperative that you choose a venue that turns out to be an asset, instead of a burden on your finances. While portable venues already eliminate high costs and any ongoing or hidden expenses, it is still important that you ask the following cost-related questions:
- How much does the facility cost? Does it sit well with your budget?
- Will you need to pay for any additional services, facilities or personnel besides the rent?
- What are the landlord’s expectations regarding payment for any damage or repairs of equipment/venue?
Equipment & Setting Up
Setting up and tearing down equipment is an essential part of running a portable church. Therefore, asking these questions sooner rather than later can save your volunteers much headache:
- At what time is your team allowed to set up? And, by what time does it have to leave the facility?
- Is there any on-site storage space available? If not, will it be easy to load and unload equipment?
- If you have to bring your seats to the facility – will you be able to store them on-site?
- What existing equipment on the facility is available for you to use? If launching in a school, can you use the school’s projector and chairs?
- If asked to use another part of the facility on a weekend, will you able to move their equipment there?
- Can the facility be used mid-week or on special occasions?
Children’s Areas
Transforming a portable church venue into the perfect setup for your children’s ministry does not have to be difficult! Asking the right questions can make sure that kids, parents and volunteers remain happy:
- Will you able to section off the children’s areas for security?
- Is there a restroom that can be converted into an exclusive one for children?
- Will you be able to set up more than one children’s areas for different age groups?
- Will it be possible for you to accommodate more kids by either shifting around furniture or moving to another area/room?
Atmosphere
First-time visitors form opinions about your portable church as soon as they walk in! Therefore, it is important that you ask the right questions beforehand, so that their experience is a pleasant one:
- How do you feel when you walk into the facility? What is the aroma of the facility? More importantly, how do you think a newcomer will feel?
- Are you allowed to bring food and beverages into the building? Is the facility conducive for after-service coffee and snacks?
- Finally, one of the MOST IMPORTANT questions: Does the venue complement the vision of your church? Or, is it incongruous with the heart and mission of your church?
What other questions should churches be asking while looking for the right portable venue? We hope that this list of questions will help you find the perfect facility for your church. Our experts at Portable Church have helped hundreds of churches find and move into the perfect venues for their specific needs! Interested? Call 800.939.7722 and we’ll make the whole process a breeze for you!
Free Resources, Multisite, Multisite Resources, Portability
With 34 physical locations and 90 weekly online services, Life.Church is leading the way in multisite church! We have partnered with them on this brand new resource to give insight into Life.Church’s portable model and what makes their unique campus strategy so successful.
We have worked with churches of every size, denomination, from almost every state in the country. And like people, each church has their own unique DNA, voice, identity, and personality. We love working alongside churches helping them be exactly the church God has called them to be in a portable space. And in working with such a great variety of churches, we’ve seen churches forge new paths or put their own spin on campusing. We have found some so unique we (and they) are excited to share how God has been growing them! We are creating a series of mini-whitepapers looking at these churches and their unique styles of campusing/multisiting to inspire your own multisite strategy. And to launch this series – we are so blessed to be able to share about Life.Church’s portable model.
Life.Church has grown to become one of the largest churches in America with 34 campuses currently and more in the works. Besides the awesome leadership and work of this church to further the Kingdom of Christ, one of the things we love most about Life.Church is their style of multiplication. In our new resource, we dive into the very specific way that Life.Church utilizes launching new campuses in portable environments.
Life.Church’s multiplication strategy begins with identifying a city, then launching a new campus in it portably for about a year while they are building a permanent building. Once the permanent facility in the new city is complete they will bring the portable system back in house and get it ready to launch the next campus. This approach helps build momentum in the new city and gets people excited about the permanent campus.
In terms of “how” they do portability, they use a semi-truck to transport all of their gear and PCI cases. This is not something we typically recommend, but it definitely works for Life.Church because it is a part of their portability culture and they have the right processes place. Typically for most churches, it slows down the unloading process to use a semi-truck, however, there are other times it might make sense, ie if you have a loading dock at your location (the downside being if you move to a different location that doesn’t have one). Other answers to “how” Life.Church does portability are discussed further in our new resource.
Over the years Life.Church has really honed their multisiting strategy and they continue to have great success with it. In recent years and months, they have purchased more from us and they currently have 5 portable systems total that they can send out at a time. Amazing!
Fun Side Story – When we first started partnering with Life.Church in 2005, they placed an order for 2 campuses they were launching at the same time and then we didn’t hear from them for a while, about 12 years. We thought they weren’t happy and found a different solution. Then after years of silence, Life.Church called wanting more PCI cases! We learned their original systems were still in use, still in good condition and had been used to launch multiple more campuses (yay!)! We were, of course, thrilled they have lasted for so many years, and through multiple campuses.
This example is the heart behind all of the systems we design at PCI. Multiplication, maintenance-free, ease of use, right gear up-front, lowest cost financially as well as the lowest cost of volunteer time, burn-out and need to recruit so you and your team are more engaged with ministry than with portability! That’s a big deal to you and it’s what drives us every day!
We don’t just talk about this stuff in theory, we know from personal experiences. People on our team have done portability the “DIY” way and the system way and can testify that there is so much value in having a specific solution for portability, so can Life.Church. This is why the work that we do is so important to all of us at PCI, and why Life.Church uses the same cases they bought from us 15 years ago and continue to purchase our cases.
As you read Life.Church’s story on their model for portability, we hope it encourages you in your ministry and that you take away some new creative ideas you can apply to your own multisite strategy.
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Announcements, Church Planting, Multisite
New times provide new opportunities… Consults and a revamped process!
COVID-19 is shutting many things down, but the church is continually shifting, amping up, and thinking ahead for the future… In this future planning, church campusing and planting continues to drive forward!
Planning for 2020 was already strong headed into this crisis, and while there has certainly been a big pause while everyone figures out digital church for this moment in time… It is already being felt that when we emerge out of this, the Church is going to be even stronger and there will be more opportunities for plants and new campuses!
In fact we have set-up a half dozen new consultations in just the past week with churches looking toward the future. That is exciting news, and we feel it will continue growing in the weeks to come.
To help equip your future plans right now, we have completely revamped our virtual consultation process! While we have been doing virtual consults for over 25 years, we’ve made it an even better and more thorough experience for these times! Our entire consulting crew has spent the past 2 weeks pouring over the process developing a new systematic approach. New workflows, applications, virtual assistants, apps and pre-planning all the tools you will need for this experience.
With that said, if you can’t get into your venue right now – No worries, we have processes to work around that!
We believe strongly that the church is growing and that multiplication is going to be needed even more now. In response, we are wanting to offer greater access to our consulting services which allows you to save money now, focus your team on engaging community and setting you up with a system keeps volunteers happy and focused on the right things… the church body.
Watch
this video for details on what is included in a consultation, or engage one of our reps for even great detail per your exact vision!
Fill out this form, write us at info@portablechurch.com, or call us at 248-705-8660 to schedule your virtual consultation today!
*special discount no longer valid
In terms of “how” they do portability, they use a semi-truck to transport all of their gear and PCI cases. This is not something we typically recommend, but it definitely works for Life.Church because it is a part of their portability culture and they have the right processes place. Typically for most churches, it slows down the unloading process to use a semi-truck, however, there are other times it might make sense, ie if you have a loading dock at your location (the downside being if you move to a different location that doesn’t have one). Other answers to “how” Life.Church does portability are discussed further in our new resource.
Fun Side Story – When we first started partnering with Life.Church in 2005, they placed an order for 2 campuses they were launching at the same time and then we didn’t hear from them for a while, about 12 years. We thought they weren’t happy and found a different solution. Then after years of silence, Life.Church called wanting more PCI cases! We learned their original systems were still in use, still in good condition and had been used to launch multiple more campuses (yay!)! We were, of course, thrilled they have lasted for so many years, and through multiple campuses.
