The 24-SEVEN church plant is about to launch a second campus – and Steve Leddy & Matthew Gamble (Adventist planters in Seattle, Washington) say the third will open soon. I was interested in the way they formed their core team for 24-SEVEN. They first figured out their vision, mission, values, etc. Then they met with groups of 4-6 people whom they believed may be interested. They shared their vision – and if they felt the people in that group would be right for the core team – they invited them to: (1) pray that God would guide them to decide whether they would be involved, (2) pray for Steve & Matthew – for they would face ‘attack’, and (3) refer them to others. In a period of 8 months they talked with 200 people – and by launch date they had a core team of 80. They did not introduce all they were interviewing to each other, for they did not wish to create a close knit dependent group. They have a vision of 7 campuses in 10 years with 1,000’s of believers. Since launch they have focused upon empowering people to cultivate ministries – doing what they love to do.
Greetings Peter!
It was great having you here in Seattle and being able to connect. While we made quite a few errors in the development of 24-Seven Ministry Center, one thing that we did right was developing the core team. I can honestly say that the 200 number is on the very conservative end. We went through 11 generations of referrals through the course of the 8 months. Not only did it help us establish a great, hand picked team that was centered around the same vision and DNA, but it also helped us to build momentum and awarness of a new church coming to town.
Blessings to you and your ministry!
Matthew Gamble
Teaching Pastor
24-Seven Ministry Center
Seattle, WA USA
[email protected]
Hello Matthew. It was certainly good catching up with you and Steve. I am sure other bloggers will appreciate catching up with ministry ideas from 24-Seven. Blessings. Peter