"Denomination" and "momentum" are two words that don't often go in the same sentence. That's why I think that St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, CA is a church to watch. Under the leadership of Richard Kannwhischer, the church has experienced 35% attendance growth in the last year. Rich brings strong preaching gifts, attention to strategic clarity and a highly relational leadership style to the team. In February, the church engaged with Auxano to keep the principle of "clarity first" at the helm of their growth. I have really enjoyed getting to know the team and will be blogging more about the church in days to come. Today I spent some time with Jon Bartarse the communications director. Jon's been executing a blogging strategy that is working well.
He built a blog at Highlightslive.com. that ties into the church's web presence. Folks at the church are encouraged, through a variety of sources, to share their stories on the blog. In particular, the blog attracts stories of missional service adn profiles the church's global engagement. But that's not all. They have woven the tool with sermon series, including a current series called Summer Road Trip. As people engage their summer vacation, they are encouraged to share stories of "God on the Move" in their lives. The Highlights blog is promoted well on the church campus and has a feed on the church's home page.
Jon is also the founder of ThankChrist.com, a simple but powerful little web idea dedicated to gratitude. Jon says that his gift is "not taking things for granted." The value was forged in his soul through dramatic 2-week life-experience in high school that brought a new appreciation for all God provides.