KevMcCord

Six Years At Oasis

Back in 2003 my family moved to South Florida to serve at the Church of Pembroke Pines under the leadership of Founding Pastor Guy Melton.  Along the way the name changed to Oasis Church of S. Florida, we added a second and third campus, and we started 7 Nights of Worship.  My job through all of this was to provide leadership to the support teams in a rapidly changing and growing church.  I was fortunate to be part of the strategic planning process that took our church into these uncharted waters!  I know of no church that is more unique, diverse, exciting, and risk-taking than Oasis.  None of that would matter if Oasis were not committed to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with South Florida. My time at Oasis has been incredibly rewarding.

This Sunday, November 29th, will be my last weekend as Administrative Pastor at Oasis Church.  This comes as no surprise to me or Pastor Guy.  I started at 4 days a week and steadily decreased my time in the office until I was only spending a single day each week onsite.  During my entire 6 year tenure I've worked supporting other churches through my company, Think Ministry Inc.

The time has finally arrived for me to transition off of the staff at Oasis Church.  Starting in December I will be a regular member of Oasis Church.  The opportunities we have at my new company require my full attention in the coming months.  I would appreciate your prayers in this endeavor.  I'll blog more about it in due time.

Meanwhile, I feel blessed that I do not have to say good-bye to Oasis!  Suzie is still the KidsWorld Director.  We will still participate in the church, but I am saying good-bye to my duties, responsibilities, and privileges as Administrative Pastor.

For those of you who have supported and ministered alongside of me at Oasis I want to say a sincere thank-you!  To the staff at Oasis Church, I will miss the fun meetings and regular interactions.  I intend to be that guy in the church who cheers you on!  I know your calling and your passion and how hard each of you work to make Oasis the excellent ministry it is.

In Christ,

Kevin

The Multi-Church Site

There is a new phenomenon in the church world called "Multi-Site Church."  One church meeting in many locations.  Ok, the Catholic church has done this for centuries, but they didn't have a cool name or HD video to "pipe in the pope" weekly.

This post is not about multi-site churches.  It's about "Multi-Church Sites."  Cheap retail space in strip malls creates interesting neighbors.

I regularly drive by a shopping center that really illustrates a multi-church site.

I maintain that the above arrangement would be IMPOSSIBLE if the church in the middle wasn't 7th Day Adventist.  As it is, I would say that it takes great faith and spiritual maturity to share your parking lot with another church.  The chorus for "I stand in awe of you" is running through my mind.

The Uncool Offering Envelope

Pre-printed, personalized, church offering envelopes (PPPOEs) don't get ridiculed enough.

These silly little envelopes can make the coolest church look lame.  They slow down contributions entry.  They offend the not-so-dearly departed.  They make the communications department interact with the accounting department when a change is needed.  Those two departments should never meet, at least, not alone.

Let me state as a matter of opinion that a church's coolness is enhanced by whether and how it uses PPPOEs

1. Coolness Killer = Dear 1st time giver, your personal, numbered envelopes will arrive next week.  Death or excommunication will take you off the list.
2. Coolness Handicap =  Personalized, numbered envelopes are available upon request.  Generic envelopes are in the seats.
3. Coolness Neutral = We have generic envelopes at the info center in the lobby.
4. Coolness² = Never seen 'em, don't have 'em.  Try the church down the road. 

Somewhere there is a church so ultra cool that no PPPOE has ever been printed or mailed.  Where are you oh fabled church?  Oh, wait, that awesome church does exist.  It was my former church (http://www.chaseoaks.org).  How I miss the carefree days when we just raised our eyebrows quizically when another church would ask us how we handled our PPPOEs.

I've seen some churches make great use of PPPOEs.  I've also seen some pretty nifty pocket protectors.

True confession I'm responsible for putting thousands of people on PPPOE mailing lists. My mansion in heaven is probably the uncoolest color they have available.

PS.  I know all the arguments for PPPOEs.  I don't care.  They aren't cool.  If your church isn't trying to be cool then you get cool points for that, but having PPPOEs probably takes away those cool points.

PPS. I'm warning you not to get all worked up and try to get rid of pre-printed, personalized offering envelopes.  Start with something like the organ or the hymnal or the choir robes.  Trust me, they'll be easier to get rid of than the founding member's PPPOE.

Campus Pastor Hat Removal Ceremony

For the past 10 months I've been the interim Campus Pastor at Oasis Church's North Miami Location.  I was stretched and blessed by the experience.

It has been a true joy holding things together until God brought us a leader who was able to plant roots in the city of North Miami.  On August 23rd I will formally hand Pastor Jack Hakimian the batton of leadership.  I'm excited to see this campus enter a new stage.

Jack is going to tell people about Jesus and call them to put their full faith and trust in Him.  Jack is going to discple people and challenge them to use their gifts.  Those are his gifts!

I'm looking forward to returning my own focus to organizing ministry.  That is my gift!  I'm fortunate to have the title of "Administrative Pastor" to use my gifts. 

Each of us can serve for a period of time outside our area of gifting.  I had the relationships and the passion to serve as Interim Campus Pastor, but my unique gifting is to see the over-all church functioning smoothly.

Because Jack jumped in with both feet over the summer, not much is going to change in NoMi.  It is going to remain my primary worship location, but I plan to visit our Pines and Hollywood locations a bit to catch up on relationships.

One upside for me is that I should have a bit more time to write on my blog!  Writing is a positive outlet and a way to gather my thoughts.

Multi-Site Church: Ministry Directors

In a multi-site church there are generally ministry directors (aka leader, pastor).  This is someone who is tasked with leading a ministry department.  The department may be children, youth, worship, small groups, discipleship, etc.

Once a church has 3 or more sites, the ministry director may find her role changing.  This is normal, but the transition can be painful.  Someone who was really great at leading a department on a single campus may not easily re-cast their role in a multi-site environment.

My wife directs a children's ministry at a multi-site church.  She and I recently discussed the following four major responsibilities and four major phases in supporting a campus at a multi-site church.

Responsibilities of the Ministry Director with regards to a Campus.

1. Train the Team
2. Resource the Campus
3. Encourage the Team
4. Maintain Church Standards

You will notice that Recruit and Overseeare both left off this list.  These tasks are better delegated to a Ministry Coordinator who is assigned to that campus.  Both the campus pastor and the ministry director should assist the ministry coordinator in these efforts.  While it is optional, I believe the ministry coordinator should report directly to their Campus Pastor while maintaining close ties with the Ministry Director.

Phases in the life-cycle of a Campus

1. Pre-launch / Expansion
2. Post-launch
3. Maintenance
4. Crisis (could be departmental or campus-wide)

Levels of Effort for the Ministry Director with regards to a Campus should be adjusted for each responsibility depending on the phase the campus is in.  The following matrix illustrates one possible allocation of effort.  Don't get caught up in the allocation.  It is subjective and it matters how you define the responsibilities.

Before allocating your effort, define the responsibilities and phases for your church.  By defining these, it will be easier to understand if a campus is being fully supported in a manner appropriate to the reality of that campus.

NoMi Campus Pastor Email

Below is the email I sent today to the folks who participate at Oasis Church North Miami.  I write the email to encourage, to create a bridge for conversation back to me, to drive traffic to articles on the website, and to make myself accountable for putting articles on the website.  I consider this email personal communication between me and the people I am priviledged to serve and worship with.  I include my cell phone number making myself accessible to everyone regardless of whether they might abuse my time.  No one has. 

Dear NoMites, 

This week I need an Easy Button.  Everything just seems to be taking a little longer and getting a little more complicated.  To make matters worse I'll be alone since Suzie and Mason have gone to Texas without me.  The fast food industry is about to get a Kevin McCord stimulus.

No matter what else is happening, I enjoy writing you this email.  Sharing with you what God is doing at Oasis Church NoMi is a very important part of my week.  I'm very thankful to those of you who read it.  Those who take the time to respond brighten my day!

We had a great service last weekend.  There were at least 12 guests from many walks of life.  We saw three believer's follow Jesus in baptism.  There are a couple of fresh articles on the website this week.  Don't miss them!

• Oatmeal Alarm
• Doug, David, and Samantha
• Meet the Johnsons
• Chalk It Up!

Don't miss Gary Means.  He's a professional Chalk Artist who will share his gift with us as he creates from scratch a work of God-glorifying-art while we worship THIS Sunday, March 1!

I hope you realize how important you are to God.  Remind yourself and someone you know that you were fearfully and wonderfully made.  Start your day by affirming that the God of the universe sacrificed Himself in the person of His only begotten Son so that you and I could be reconciled to him.

May you recognize that the God who saved you from death and destruction is present in your life each and every moment.

In Him,

Kevin McCord
Oasis Church
North Miami Campus Pastor

Some things I learned this week.

I need to affirm who God is.  I need to affirm who I am in Christ.  I need to affirm who other believer's are in Christ.  My dad taught me that through his actions and then reminded me of it on his blog.

The silent treatment is VERY LOUD in the ears of one who sins.  A simple Facebook message weeks ago to a brother who had fallen made a big difference to him.  I didn't condone what he did or minimize it.  I just told him Jesus was still enough and that he should respond to those willing to walk him through restoration.  I learned this was effective because he told me so.

A small crisis can destroy the illusion of calm in my spirit. I'm such an immature Christian.  I learned this during a fire alarm just before eating some great oatmeal.

My family is getting on Twitter!  My mom and dad and sister and brother-in-law all joined up.  I'm finding new people to follow all the time.  I love my local church family and now I'm interacting with a growing group of Christian brother's and sisters around the world.  I'm slowly getting to know them on Twitter.

I hope you are learning a lot right now.

It's quiet. It's going to stay quiet

I'm focusing on a few other writing projects so the blog is going to be suspended for a while.  See you all on the other side of my deadlines!

I probably will update Twitter occasionally.

I'll definitely be updating my page on the www.VisitOasis.org website.  In fact, I put up 4 articles there this morning.

VisitOasis.Org Improves Significantly

Comparing last January to this January.

Moving Fast

Do you get to move fast at your work?  How hard is it to go from idea to execution?  Maybe the better question is: if you go too fast with your idea is the result an execution?

This is such a big deal to me.  I thrive when I have the trust to take calculated risks.  I enjoy getting something out there then figuring it out.  I haven't taken this liberty in a while and yesterday I did.  I added something to the church website without much thought and without any real discussion.

This is often unwise and it can definitely backfire.  However...

If you are trusted

If you are talented

If you are trained

If you are transparent

If you will take responsibility

...It sure is nice if you can step out and try something and work out the issues along the way.