NewThing Church Values

Some have asked us what it means to plant with NewThing, which we think is a great question.  It has really forced us to articulate some of the founding principles that drive us to be so committed to the mission. Below you will find what we expect from one another within NewThing as well as what we believe to be true about this Jesus mission we are on together.

What We Expect from One Another

Reproducing Practices

A NewThing Church has apprentices at all levels in all ministries.

Reproducing Church

A NewThing Church lives out the values: celebrate, connect, contribute (Acts 2; Acts 4)
Gather together to celebrate what God is doing in their lives in the life of the church
Connect in small groups to fuel the mission as they do life together
Contribute to the mission of helping people find their way back to God through time, talents and resources

Reproducing Metrics

A NewThing Church measures what matters; has metrics in place to measure reproduction.

Reproducing Mission

A NewThing Church has a mission of helping people find their way back to God (Luke 15).

Reproducing Plan

A NewThing Church has a Reproducing Church plan.

Reproducing Community

A NewThing Church has Leadership Community; a gathering of leaders:
Vision – time where the Lead Pastor shares big picture, next initiative dream
Huddle – coaches meeting with their 3-5 leaders collectively
Skill – a training to equip a particular ministry or leadership skills for any ministry

Reproducing Generosity

A NewThing Church commits 10% or more of their income towards church planting.  Of that 10%, each NewThing Church contributes $5,000 a year towards the network of which they are a part.  Then the combined income of that network goes towards Leadership Resident grants, coaching and church planting – which is determined collectively by that network.

Benefits of Being in NewThing

Relationship: At the core of NewThing are friendships, accountability, networking and all that’s relational. Almost every NewThing Lead Pastor is part of the Network because they had a relational connect with someone who was already in the Network. Consisting of a group of 3-6 churches, each Network is led by one of the NewThing Pastors. These Networks connect monthly via phone and are conversationally structured around principles of reproducing ministry. Within this coaching structure the reproducing church grows! Twice a year everyone gathers together to share best practices, encourage, and challenge each other to see what’s next in the reproducing church.

Reproducing: The heart of NewThing is reproduction - reproducing leaders, artists, groups, teams, campuses, churches, and networks. Each NewThing church is committed to reproducing at every level of ministry and through any or all of the following:

  • Multi-sites
  • Church plants
  • Missional communities

This takes an intentional structure for developing leaders and artists through an apprentice model. NewThing churches also have monthly leadership gatherings designed to equip and empower all leaders of their respective churches. This program allows vision-casting, skill development, and coaching to ensure the continued development of a reproducing culture, driving the church forward.

Resources: NewThing churches have the opportunity to share in the collective knowledge and experience of all the pastors. From message transcripts to videos to training ideas, the availability of these resources help free up staff time to be able to continue to relationally drive the reproducing church faster and more effectively. Here a few of the resources available through this shared collaboration:

  • BIG IDEA – adult, student, and children topics including message transcripts, small group guides, series graphics, and more
  • Online database to track all levels of reproduction and ministry involvement.
  • Children’s Ministry Curriculum
  • Coaching
  • Leadership Development Resources including the Coaching Field Guide and
  • Apprentice Field Guide

Each church has the freedom to use these resources as they correspond with what God is doing in their particular church.

Residents: Leadership Residents are those who are being called to something significant and feel God is leading them toward being a part of the reproducing movement. NewThing is primarily seeking out residents who will become a:

  • Lead Planter of a new site or church
  • Lead Arts Planter

What does a NewThing Leadership Residency include?

An apprenticeship with a Campus Pastor or Lead Pastor at any NewThing church
Training on the fundamentals of leader reproduction Interaction with an online training experience that equips you to be a reproducing leader
An option to enroll at Wheaton Graduate School with 25% off an M.A. With God’s help, NewThing’s vision for the next 36 months is to recruit and place 137 Leadership Residents that will result in planting 100 new churches. Imagine the sheer force of hundreds of Spirit-led leaders and what God is going to do through them and the networks of churches they are a part of!