Owning a trailer is serious business. While it makes portability a breeze (and you know we love that here at PCI), our trailers bear the brunt of a great many things, the weather included, and so it also deserves some loving care every once in a while. Although to do so isn’t exactly a walk in the park, PCI has got a few tips and tricks to keep your trailer maintained and looking as good as new every time.
In this video, Jesse walks us through the bits and bobs that you’ll have to account for to avoid the buildup of rust, dirt, and dust, which includes the maintenance of the following:
Your door hinges
Your Zerk fittings
Lock upkeep
Your electrical connections, and
the hitch
Jesse also introduces us to the owner’s manual, which should come with your trailer kit; and although everybody dreads having to flip and read through the entirety of the manual much like they would the terms and conditions of an agreement, Jesse asserts very clearly the importance of the owner’s manual in taking your trailer for its annual check-up.
Know someone who owns a trailer and might find this video useful? Share it with them!
Have further questions about trailer maintenance? We’ve got you. Contact us now and book a call today!
Practice due diligence when you consider these top tips for choosing your portable church sound system.
A church’s sound system is one of the most critical tech components that must always be up to scratch in order for the church to serve its people effectively. It’s one of those systems that, when in place and working, no one really thinks about but when it’s not working well, everyone notices.
It can be difficult to know where to start and what factors are most important to consider. It’s always wise to consult what other churches are doing and the pieces of equipment that they find most important. For example,
TOP TECH CHOICES FOR PORTABLE CHURCH SOUND SYSTEM EQUIPMENT
“[They’re] especially useful in illustrations using props and just communicating with hands/body language in general. I love the freedom of movement a wireless headset mic provides.” Levi, Lead Pastor atwww.evangelup.org.
Or audio amplification/PA systems because
“A microphone can be plugged into it directly for smaller setups and you can feed larger setups to it. A good PA can be ‘make or break’ for a system. Lyrics can be put on people’s cell phones via a webpage. So audio is the most important piece of tech for portable applications to me.” Paul, Production Director atchaseoaks.org.
In your case, you’re probably looking for a portable church sound system, which requires a few extra considerations. This may seem obvious, but portability is one of the key factors to consider when choosing a portable church’s sound system.
This doesn’t just mean that the sound system must have wheels attached to it. No. You’ll want to consider whether the whole system can be easily organized and fit into your overall portable procedure each Sunday.
PCI cases have been cited as a top choice because they’re made specifically to be organized and fit with portable church practices. They’ve been pinpointed as critical to the portable church experience:
“I have been doing portable church for 15 years in multiple states, in different churches, and in wildly different roles. While brands of AVL gear matter and some gear is better than others, nothing has been more critical to making AVL excellent in my ministry experience than PCI’s design of their cases in every environment but especially in the AVL world … I’ve done portable AVL without PCI and I will NEVER do it again.” Jody, Campus Expansion Coach/Campus Pastor atcypresschurch.tv.
Over time, your portable church teams will have their favorite pieces but what’s most crucial is to receive advice on what to look for when you’re choosing your sound system equipment. There is just no use in winging this and having to needlessly use church resources. In this article, you’ll find some valuable tips for choosing your portable church sound system; tips that have been curated by professionals in the portable church field.
5 Pro Tips For Choosing Your Portable Church’s Sound System
1. It’s okay to keep it simple
Most churches will achieve success with a simple system. It will be more cost-effective but also more user-friendly since not everyone on the AVL team will have the same expertise.
Indeed, as your church grows or your church’s needs expand, you can look at more complex systems, but cut the stress of managing an elaborate setup by keeping it simple with your portable church sound system.
2. Look for good value for your dollar
When it comes to 99% of the attendees, they will not hear the difference between the high-end model and the less-expensive model. Most people’s ears aren’t tuned that carefully.
That’s not to say that a better system isn’t powerful and effective, it’s just that price matters and, depending on your budget, a less elaborate model is usually good, too.
When choosing your portable church sound system, you’ll want to weigh up what you’re getting for what you’re paying and consider whether your church truly needs a more expensive setup.
Whether you settle for a simple setup or something more complex, your portable church sound system must be durable. In both cases, your sound system must be able to serve your church for a good amount of time before it needs repairing or replacing.
Also remember that your sound system will be part of a portable church setup, which means that it needs to weather weekly handling when it is set up, packed up, and then transported. This is a key factor to consider when looking at its overall durability.
Whether simple or complex, you’ll be dishing out money needlessly if you don’t consider how durable the setup is before purchasing it.
Picture this: You’ve purchased your new portable church sound system. Your team is impressed with its quality and you managed to find a great deal on it. But the one problem is that it is way too cumbersome to set up, tear down, and transport every Sunday. The sound system becomes your team’s least favorite component to transport and suddenly, no one is quite as impressed with the system as they were when you first invested in it.
Make sure that your sound system is easily transportable because this is an integral part of your church’s character. Your church is a portable church and unless something drastic changes, you won’t be able to change this characteristic.
5. Use well-known brands with good track records
Amidst the excitement of purchasing a sound system for your church, you’ll probably feel like doing extensive research is way too tedious. It’s normal for you and your team to want to get to the part where you hand over money and receive the sound system.
But it will stand you in good stead if you use well-known brands with good track records. This means that you need to do some extensive internet research about other people’s experiences with the systems you’re looking at.
As mentioned, the internet is the best place to start with just keying in the system’s details and seeing what people have to say about it. But another good option is to call up leaders from other churches and ask them what system they use and their experience with it. Try to call up people who have churches with similar requirements to your church.
This is another point that can easily go ignored but when your team is having trouble understanding how to set up your brand new sound system, you’ll want someone to talk to. Even more important, is that you’ll need good customer support in place if your system happens to have a fault or you’re due some repairs.
No one wants to get to these points, needing to reach out, but find that the company you purchased from truly does not care about their customers after they’ve received their money.
When you’re researching your brand and track records, you can include researching customer service, thus saving you time and energy.
CHOOSING YOUR PORTABLE CHURCH SOUND SYSTEM REQUIRES DUE DILIGENCE
The list above boils down to you and your team honoring your church’s resources and trying to cover as many bases as possible. Due diligence goes a long way when it comes to choosing your portable church sound system and if you stay the course, you’ll not only be more likely to reap the rewards of a good sound system, but you’ll know that you made every attempt to make a wise and informed decision on behalf of your whole church body.
With new twists on old ideas, welcome guests with these church lobby ideas.
Churches everywhere are getting creative with their unique way of saying “Welcome” to church visitors and guests. With inviting solutions in their lobby and welcome areas, they’re discovering new ways to express hospitality with sincerity.
Some churches have mastered the inviting coffee bar or comfy seats and tables, and others have given trusted ideas a new twist. Here’s a peek at some of our favorite ideas that you can borrow for welcoming guests into your church, too.
4 Inviting Church Lobby Ideas That Welcome Guests
1. Unmanned Coffee Station
Welcome guests with a coffee station in your church lobby.
We’re all familiar with the welcome area disguised as the coffee bar, right? It’s the act of churches positioning friendly workers behind the coffee-filled air pump to offer a lighthearted greeting to partakers.
The churches shown in the images here have shifted their thinking and, instead, are leaving coffee and beverages in a central location without a volunteer. With plenty of greeters in the lobby area to offer help if needed, churches want to offer this small gift of coffee or tea with no strings attached whatsoever.
For those of you who are comfortable in church settings, this distinction is hardly detectable. But the nervous visitor will appreciate getting caffeinated without having to make any eye contact or small talk.
This church lobby idea for a bigger welcome is subtle; the next one is not.
Looking for a simple coffee station solution? We love these bistro carts.
Welcome guests with an unmanned coffee station in your church lobby.
2. Kids’ Play Area
Welcome young guests with an inflatable bounce house.
There’s little chance visiting kids will be begging their parents to head back to the parking lot once they set their eyes on a bounce house, play area, or full-size play set!
Whether you rent a bounce house for your September kickoff or you purchase one to pull out every Sunday, inflatables area—and not just for kids.
Talk to your local rental facility and you’ll discover inflatable obstacle courses, basketball games, shooting ranges, and more.
Welcome guests outside of your church under an inviting tent.
What about skipping the lobby “welcome” altogether?
These churches have found a creative way to minimize a visitor’s fear of walking through the church doors: they’ve simply moved the entrance.
Of course, this kind of setup is most conducive to warm climates or summer seasons, but the philosophy behind it can be applied all year long. Rather than make a visitor do the work of coming into an unfamiliar place with hidden participants, these churches have brought the initial welcome area outdoors..
Imagine pulling up to this church venue as a guest and seeing people under the tent who look like you and are smiling and available for questions. What a relief to an uncertain visitor.
Welcome church guests with a menu directing visitors to the common areas.
This is not a new idea but unfortunately, it’s sorely underused.
Can a trepidatious, visiting single mother pulling her three young children into church get where she needs to go without searching for help? Imagine that scenario when choosing and designing signage for your church venue.
With just the basics displayed, guests should be able to grab a coffee, drop off kids, head to the worship area, and use the restroom without the hassle of asking for assistance. Does your church have clear menus placed around the facility?
Welcome church guests with a menu directing visitors to the most common areas.
INVITING CHURCH LOBBIES COMMUNICATE ALL ARE WELCOME
These are some thoughtful ways of expressing hospitality within a church’s lobby, but that’s not the only way to say “You Are Welcome”. Even subtle elements like available hand sanitizer, clear signage, and a strategic layout will communicate a visitor-friendly message to guests and members alike.
Learn how to efficiently put away your play panels.
Having trouble putting away your play panels? We’ve all been there. Luckily, this video is perfect for those who find putting play panels away at the end of the day to not be the easiest of tasks.
Play panels do wonders in child-proofing sections of a room or an area off. Whether for the purposes of general cleaning or it just so happens to be the end of a church day, PCI has just the trick for storing these play panels, but there are some things that you need to know before you go about doing it.
In this video, Jesse gives us some tips and tricks on how to put regular play panels away.
But, how about for play panels where the smaller ones are attached?
That doesn’t mean that you have to remove the smaller panel, though (who has the time to reassemble the panel together all over again for the next day, anyway?).
Find out the easiest way to store these kinds of panels when you watch the video here.
Make sure to share this video clip with your volunteer team and save time packing up these play panels.
Do you have questions about your storing your play panels? We’re here to help! Give us a holler and book a call today.
Not unlike today’s churches, church planting in the Bible was built on evangelism, discipleship and training.
Of course there was church planting in the Bible, but it looked very different from our methods today. Though, just because church planting did not include facility leases and curb signage does not mean it wasn’t happening. And not only did it happen, it was the method by which God chose to expand His group of followers.
Keep reading and explore with us the core components of church planting in the Bible and how it translates into today’s world. Stick around until the end and you’ll see how our portable church plants embody these principles in their own unique ways.
What acts demonstrate church planting in the Bible?
1. Establishment of a local body of believers
The most popular church planter in the scriptures is the apostle Paul. He spent his adult years traveling through areas establishing local bodies of believers.
Though popular counts attribute around 14 churches to Paul, an article by Neil Cole on churchplanting.com says:
“…there are some churches started that were not necessarily mentioned as churches in the New Testament… He probably started close to 20 churches himself, with many more born out of those by his apprentice leaders.”
Here’s one example of his church planting work from the Bible:
“They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.” Acts 14:21–23
All of the components of church planting are seen here—evangelism, conversions, discipling, and encouraging. Nothing new to us in the 21st century, right?
2. Sharing of the message
Evangelizing is a critical purpose of planting a church. Sometimes this word takes on a negative context—one that conjures up feelings of pressure. But the heart of evangelism is compassion and care and, as Paul puts it, an inability to NOT share the good news. 1 Corinthians 9:16 says:
“For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”
He was obeying Jesus’ command from Acts 1:8 by acting as a “witness”:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
There’s no doubt that evangelizing was part of life for these believers—inside and outside of the faith gathering.
Through discipleship, we discover who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him. The very purpose is to become more like Him! Through this refining process, we learn to love our brothers and sisters in the faith and grow in maturity and wisdom.
Paul says it this way:
“Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” (1 Corinthians 14:20)
And just in case that’s not convincing enough, let us recall the very words of Jesus:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Conversions open the door, but discipleship is the road that takes us on incredible journeys of faith and hope in Christ. Church planting in the Bible is clear on this point.
Have you read Luke’s words on the cost of being a disciple lately? Find it in Luke 14: 25-35.
4. Training of leaders
Once individuals have become disciples of Jesus and have matured in the faith, some are appointed to take on leadership roles within the establishment. Read the words of Titus 1:5:
“The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”
Church life included organization and order within the establishment. Eventually, those bodies of believers would then spearhead additional church plants, and the work would continue.
Out of these efforts, an entire movement was propelled and—of course—is still going strong today.
3 Looks at Biblical Church Planting Being Reflected in Churches Today
1. Training leaders at Northridge Church in Rochester, New York
In this podcast, church leader Nate Miller talks about the lessons learned from training leaders and launching campuses as a 125 year old church!
2. Evangelism within the community at Celebration Church in New Orleans
John Frady is in leadership at Celebration Church in New Orleans. In this interview, he reflects on how their church is reaching out to the community and how being a portable multisite church has helped them go further, faster.
3. Discipling believers at NorthRidge Church in Michigan
We had a blast helping NorthRidge Church go multisite. In addition to sharing the gospel message and training leaders, we get excited to see churches put an emphasis on discipleship.
At NorthRidge in particular, attendees have several opportunities to grow in their faith, including care and affinity groups, classes, and service options. (Hear about this extra large church’s journey to multisite and their experience going portable in this fascinating interview.)
CHURCH PLANTING IN THE BIBLE LOOKED NOT UNLIKE TODAY’S CHURCHES
How cool is it to see the thread of church planting connect today’s emerging churches to the ones that were born out of Paul’s work thousands of years ago?
Our methods have (and should!) changed greatly, but our message remains constant: To know Christ and to make Him known.
How is your church making that happen? Share your ideas with us!
Want to make sure these timeless church planting principles are reflected in your church? Book a free 20-minute call with one of our experts and we can point you in the right direction. We’d love to help.
Use these tips for determining the best portable church chairs to purchase and potentially save your church thousands.
Purchasing equipment for your portable church can be both an exciting and stressful time. The vision of your new church is finally materializing and buying all the things that will make it come together is a sign that you’re nearly at your launch date. However, you also have to consider your budgets and manage the money you have as wisely as possible.
To most people, researching and then purchasing the required sound system and lighting rig is substantially more interesting than carefully selecting which portable church chairs are best for your setup. But if you think about it, your church’s chairs are one of the most important collections of equipment.
As you already know, choosing equipment for a rented space is vastly different from choosing for a permanent space. And this also applies to your choice of church chairs. We want you to be as well-informed as possible when purchasing your portable church chairs, so use these tips to determine the best chair for your portable church.
3 Ways to Find the Best Portable Church Chairs
1. Choose a durable chair
Your visitors and attendees want to feel confident sitting in the chair that’s waiting for them. This is why it’s important that the chairs you choose are sturdy and durable. No one wants to experience that dreaded “crack” sound or have a chair collapse under them.
The chairs PCI recommends to its church plants and multisite customers boast an 800–1,000 lbs weight range. The plastic used for these chairs is both durable and comfortable, which is a combination that should not be overlooked when it comes to providing seating for people who will need to be seated for long periods, week after week.
When looking for portable church chairs, think of the volunteers who will be unpacking them, setting them up, taking them down, and then storing them every week.
It’s one thing to unfold a heavy and difficult chair, it’s another thing to have to do this 400 times when setting up and 400 times when tearing down.
Take care of your volunteers by choosing a lightweight and easy model to transport, even when using a dolly. This will not only show that you care about your volunteers but also demonstrate that you believe that equipment costs are secondary to your people’s health and happiness.
3. Determine the size that best fits your portable church trailer
Logistics are a crucial part of your church plant since they involve moving equipment into and out of your rented space.
Some churches dedicate entire trailers to their seating arrangements. But this is often because their chair choice was based on a lower cost rather than looking at how efficiently they could be stacked and stored.
Although some chairs come in at a lower cost than others, it is important to also look at the cost of using space inefficiently. If your team is willing to purchase fractionally more expensive seating, then it is likely that you will not need a dedicated trailer for chairs.
With lightweight chairs that can be stored efficiently, churches often find that they can stow their seating solutions with other equipment and, therefore, save thousands of dollars by not needing an entire trailer dedicated to chairs.
TRAILER STORAGE
It’s also worth factoring in if your church will need to pay to store your trailers every week. The price of storage can vary greatly based on your circumstances. Many churches buy a trailer and leave it in a free spot. Some pay for a trailer parking place. In the space they rent, some churches have access to on-site storage. In any event, you should be aware of the upfront and continuing costs of storage in order to assess how your equipment choices will affect cubic volume.
Many cheap chairs also lack durability, which means your team will constantly be repairing or replacing each week, especially if you have a large number of chairs in your Portable Church system. Additionally, chairs that are cheaper are often too big and too heavy to be stored efficiently. And so, when a consultant recommends a seating solution that is slightly higher than other options, it is worth doing your sums and factoring in the cost of storing the chairs, too.
FIND A BALANCED SOLUTION WHEN YOU SELECT YOUR PORTABLE CHURCH CHAIRS
There are plenty of great options on the market for portable churches but the key is to find a balanced solution. You need to look for a seating solution that fits both your budget and doesn’t end up costing your church even more money to store it all.
A good measuring stick to use when you do your research is that it is possible to store upwards of 675 chairs on one trailer if you have the right chair. With this information, you can evaluate your options and get a good idea of which is best for your church setup.
Learn how to securely install your play panels for your kids’ ministry room.
Ideal for volunteers who are just learning how to child-proof a certain section of the church off, this video delves into a number of tips and tricks on safely setting up your play panels for your kids’ ministry room.
When it comes to children, everyone (and we mean everyone) can agree on one thing: they are little tornadoes day in and day out. When children tend to find themselves in dangerous and even life-threatening situations on account of their boundless curiosity, it only seems right to minimize that danger by keeping them away from the things that can cause even the remotest of harm. Fortunately, PCI has just the solution for effectively child-proofing a room, but there are some things that you will have to take note of first.
How to Set Up Your Play Panels
In this video, Jesse walks us through the step-by-step process of setting up a play panel wall:
Play panels come with two clips on one side that you push out.
To fix two play panels together, you simply line them up and clip the panel into place.
On the matter of wobbly walls, Jesse introduces us to the sand-filled “feet” that go onto the base of our panels.
The “feet” cannot be placed too high otherwise, the panel will wobble.
What we want to do is to place the “feet” down a little lower until you can place your fingers underneath the panel.
When it comes to removing the “feet”, there’s no need to perform fancy maneuvers of whatever kind just to get them off. You only need to step over, kick backwards, and *pop* — off it goes.
Help a struggling volunteer out by sharing this video with them.
Create more (or less) space in your venue with these four portable church dividers.
The venues that portable churches inhabit are seldom designed with the needs of churches in mind. Churches are ever-evolving with their space needs and there are very few buildings that can provide everything without needing alterations.
Over decades, churches have devised ways for creating more (or less!) space in their venues. And now, there are some excellent options, specifically designed with portable churches in mind.
Flexibility is a keyword when it comes to portable setups and when it comes to creating spaces, flexibility is crucial. There are several portable church divider options and various ways to use each of them. Here are our Top Four Best Portable Church Dividers.
4 Best Dividers for Portable Churches
1. Pop-up walls
Pop-up walls are cost-effective and take only a minute to set up. They come with your chosen design on them, which means that you can either choose them to come in a plain color, an attractive pattern, or with your church’s branding on them.
If you purchase PCI’s pop-up walls, the advantages include that they’re lightweight and very easy to carry and transport, they are reusable i.e. you just need to update the fabric and use the original frame, the frame has a manufacturer lifetime warranty, and you can order either straight or curved setups.
Portable Church Cases are not only for safely transporting portable church equipment. With a bit of creativity, they can also serve as great dividers when you need to section off areas.
Rather than having to find places to store your cases on a Sunday, you can use them as portable church dividers. Generally, they have carpeted sides, which means you can easily attach temporary signs or fabric to them with velcro and totally hide the fact that they are, in fact, cases.
With cases already being in the venue, this could even reduce your packing up time, because you don’t have to walk too far to fetch them after your Sunday service.
These are highly effective portable church dividers because they span from the ceiling, down to the floor. They are also very easy to set up and an extremely safe option.
With the use of magnets, your team can create wonderful spaces within your portable church venue and not have to worry about this kind of divider being knocked over.
Additionally, scuba walls can be very long, and shorter ones can be overlapped to create extensive walls. Scuba walls also take up very little space when storing them, which is an added bonus for portable churches.
Learn how to set up your scuba wall safely with this short clip.
4. Pipe & Drape
Pipe and drape is the best option for venues with high ceilings and when kids won’t constantly be in contact with the drape.
Putting up scuba walls requires your team to be able to reach the ceiling and conform to the ceiling’s metal components when creating a space. However, with pipe and drape, you can create any size space, anywhere you want.
For events that require some extra creativity and setting a special scene, going with pipe and drape is best. Depending on the drape options you have, you can create some wonderfully colorful, dramatic, or even glamorous spaces that cater to what your church event needs. But when it comes to your weekly church needs, simple drapes are all you need to create more, or less, space for your people.
A COMBINATION OF PORTABLE CHURCH DIVIDERS IS KEY
With a good dose of creativity, many churches use a combination of the dividers recommended above. It just takes your team to evaluate the spaces needed and how best to use the various divider options on hand. What is great is that you can build your stock of dividers with time and none of them are permanently placed, which means that you can always be making adjustments and improving the venue that your portable church inhabits.
Affordability, professionalism, and ease are available in each of these recommended presentation software platforms.
New church planters like hearing which software other launches and multisites have chosen and why, so we decided to go straight to the trenches for the best answers.
We asked our network of church planters, AVL techies, and ministry leaders which software they prefer for projecting lyrics, announcements, verses and more, and they answered. Here, we’ve compiled the best of best advice for you.
3 Most Popular Presentation Software Platforms Recommended by Church Planters
1. OpenLP
OpenLP is an open-source presentation platform created for use in any church, either large or small. Since it’s offered at no cost, you can skip the hassle of subscription costs. But just because it’s free doesn’t mean it lacks power—this software offers a wide variety of features that will greatly benefit your worship service.
Pastor Dan from Dallas, Texas, has been using OpenLP for 2 years and appreciates the ease of use, engaging presentation options, and—of course—the price.
REMOTE USE OF PRESENTATION SOFTWARE PLATFORM
Did you know that you can control your presentations from anywhere using OpenLP’s first-of-its-kind remote system? As it’s described on its site:
“With a built-in web app, you can access your service from any network-enabled device that has a browser and a touch screen. Change slides, or even change what is currently presenting from your phone. Search for songs, Bible verses, images and more without needing to touch the computer.”
When it comes to a recommended presentation software platform, it looks like Evangel Community Church in Houghton, MI, has found its solution in Faithlife’s Proclaim.
As Discipleship Pastor John Mohrbacher says, after 5 years of using this presentation software, he has found it to have the following perks:
Simple to sync across different devices
Mobile connectivity
Intuitive functionality
Laurel Givens, one of the volunteers on Evangel’s media team, also endorses Proclaim, saying its “ease of use, lots of features, and ability to pay one price for multiple users” makes it an easy choice.
No drum roll needed since this is by far the most popular and recommended presentation software platform on the market: ProPresenter.
The vast majority of our responders sang its praises. Here’s a small sampling:
PROPRESENTER’S EASE OF USE
Michael Pigg, Pastor of Wayfinders Church in San Marcos, TX appreciates ProPresenters “ease of use, CCLI and multiple track integration.”
Similarly, Associate Pastor Preston Jones reported the software is “easy to learn, customizable and professional.” It’s the chosen presentation software at his Tuscon, AZ church, Living Branch Church.
Keith Baldridge, the lead pastor at Living Stone Church in Broomfield, Colorado had this to say about the software:
“ProPresenter makes you look super professional! The clean design…helps to keep our people engaged. We love it because it’s easy to train new volunteers, run slides and even edit on the fly. ProPresenter makes presenting on two separate side screens and a confidence monitor a breeze! Personally, I love the confidence monitor because I’m able to see and even read from the current slide and even see the upcoming slide next.”
Joe Adams, the lead pastor at Colorado Springs’ Manna Church, chose ProPresenter because it’s an industry standard and integrates with LED Wall/Projectors. In full disclosure, he also adds: “Even though it can have some bugs, it’s got a robust troubleshooting history.”
Campus Expansion Coach, Jody Pickett from Ohio’s Cypress Church, leans into the fact that ProPresenter is well vetted and supported.
“Anytime I hear of a product that most churches are using I work really hard to stay with that family. It is so helpful to know that it is tested and reliable. Most of my church connections outside of my own use ProPresenter and are one easy phone call away if I have any issues … ProPresenter has made the visual experience in every church I have served in better because it’s so darn easy to use and has few limits.”
Finally, Lead Pastor Matt Shetler of Colorado’s Lakewood Vineyard has a similar endorsement:
“Many churches use it so there’s great ability for other churches to provide support, training, etc.”
In addition, Pastor Matt and his team appreciate the affordability and ease of live streaming.
Clearly, ProPresenter’s popularity and support are a benefit enjoyed by many churches who recommend this presentation software platform.
RESEARCH AND COMMIT TO YOUR PRESENTATION SOFTWARE PLATFORM
There you have it. ProPresenter was the favorite among responders, but there are plenty of benefits to looking into other options like OpenLP and Proclaim. Like one of our responding church planters said when it comes to recommending a presentation software platform:
“Set your production vision, do your research, and stick with what works for your church.”
What software are you currently using? It’s not too late to contribute to the conversation! Drop a comment and let us know.
Flexibility in church planting is key. Embracing this fact will mean fewer surprises along the way.
When Wayne Northrup, Senior Pastor of Saints Community Church (SCC), set out to find a rental facility for his mobile church, he didn’t think that it would be difficult, nor did he anticipate being rejected more than 50 times.
After all, he’d been a traveling evangelist for years. How much harder could this be? Before SCC found a home, he would have visited and had talks with more than 50 facilities in and around New Orleans — that’s how hard it could be.
It is crucial that church planters continuously learn from others who have gone before them and make every effort to avoid the mistakes that others have made. This helps set a solid foundation in our own church planting journeys. In this article, you can read about Wayne’s challenges and victories, and seize this opportunity to boost your church planting knowledge.
How Rejection Develops Flexibility In Church Planting
Northrup never imagined he’d be a church planter – he was quite comfortable being a traveling
evangelist. However, since visiting New Orleans in 1997, his fervor and passion for the city had grown; he couldn’t get New Orleans out of his heart.
Eventually, Northrup relocated and answered God’s call to plant a church in New Orleans. He was supported by the Church Multiplication Network, which meant that he was well-mentored and well-versed in the required next steps:
Photo courtesy of Saints Community Church / Instagram
Challenge: Pitching a new concept
In New Orleans, the concept of a church renting a building was virtually unheard of by everyone Northrup talked to.
“Once I explained it to them, they could understand not wanting to have a mortgage, but that didn’t mean they wanted to rent to me,” he said.
For Northrup and SCC, that meant they weren’t just pursuing a meeting space, they were pursuing a new concept for their area of New Orleans. However, Northrup was confident that after visiting 3–4 buildings, one of them would want to work with SCC.
He was quickly turned down by a local public college but soon after, a Junior Achievement Center (JAC) that was kid-friendly, in a great location, and had ample parking, agreed to rent their building to SCC for church on Sundays.
Northrup, his wife Kristi, and the rest of his launch team set about making plans for their first preview service in May.
“Our plan was to have four preview services – one in May, June, July, August, and then an official launch in September.”
Everything was going according to plan until three days before their first preview service. Northrup received an email from the JAC stating some concerns and ultimately denying Saints Community Church the facility for the church.
“I was so disappointed,” said Wayne. “I called them and basically begged them to change their minds.” Their answer was a resounding no.
Northrup began hitting the pavement and approached every facility he could think of that would accommodate church services and gatherings. Public schools, community centers, public parks, private schools, outlet schools, banquet halls, hotels, movie theaters, and even a garden conservatory were approached by Northrup.
By the end of his endeavors, Northrup had been turned down by no less than 22 places. But Northrup remained unfazed.
Finally, a funeral home agreed to rent their facility to SCC. However, after much consideration, they turned down the offer. As Northrup explained, “This is already a very superstitious city and we just can’t ask people to come to the same place they said goodbye to their aunt last week.”
It was back to the drawing board for SCC. Eventually, Northrup started looking outside of the Lakeview area that they had originally targeted. But the further they went out of the city, the more they got turned down.
Photo courtesy of Saints Community Church / Facebook
Challenge: Keeping focused
By this point, Northrup’s confidence was waning. At the weekly launch team meetings, Northrup could tell his team was getting antsy about not having a meeting place. He kept his concerns under wraps and kept repeating “God is in control. Don’t even worry about it” to his launch team.
SCC missed its first and second scheduled preview services, yet Northrup was determined to keep searching. “Going backward wasn’t an option,” he said. “We were going to launch this church.”
Challenge: Identifying the spiritual battle
Northrup soon identified that the struggle was bigger than just finding a building. It was spiritual. He felt that if he wasn’t spiritually aggressive, he would never overcome the natural suspicion and inherent opposition the New Orleans community had towards Jesus.
When it became apparent SCC would also miss their preview service in July, Northrup was tired, humbled, and frustrated, which led him to make an unusual decision. Northrup stood up at a Sunday night launch team meeting and announced his resignation.
He said, “I’d like to resign as the Senior Pastor of Saints Community Church. I’m turning over the leadership of this church. Our new pastor is Jesus.”
Northrup’s bold move unleashed authenticity and vulnerability that had not yet been seen in their launch team meetings. “It unleashed everyone’s struggles, not just mine. It was a real God moment,” proclaims Northrup.
Break-through: Flexibility in church planting is key
A few days after his “resignation”, Northrup stopped by a Middle School near their rental home in Metairie. “It was a building I drove by every day, but I didn’t even consider it because I had been turned down by every single public school,” he said. On a hot summer’s day in July, Northrup filled out a Facilities Request Form, with no great expectations.
Two days later, he got a call from the school’s principal. He was not only interested in renting out his school to SCC, but had already had it cleared by the school board! SCC finally had a home and not a moment too soon.
Northrup only had one week to get together his official advertising blitz for the community if they were going to keep their October launch date goal. On October 2, 2011, Saints Community Church officially launched in TH Harris Middle School in Metairie, LA.
