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Many multisite churches around the country are discovering the power of producing their own in house alignment campaigns with a video curriculum series and full-color curriculum that not only get their entire congregation into small groups but get everyone on the same page.
We recently did a Facebook Live interview with Lead Pastor Josh Surratt at Seacoast Church whom we’ve partnered with a few years back on a church-wide alignment campaign to connect 10,000 people into groups and produce 4 different video series that aligned with the weekend sermons. Listen to the full length interview here:
 Click here to watch the interview with Lead Pastor Josh Surratt of Seacoast Church on
We produced their first church-wide campaign and video curriculum series called “Make Room” with a beautiful full-color print curriculum. That single campaign connected well over 10,000 people into groups. We went on to produce 3 other series, helping to sustain their existing groups, and then we came back to do a “Vision and Values” series, which is one of our most popular curriculum series to produce for churches.
That series was called “I See a Church” which was filmed in the Citadel in a beautiful chapel with stained glass. Josh Surratt and Greg Surratt and some of the other teaching pastors taught and we also got a bunch of staff from all of the different multisites to offer devotional training or leadership training so everybody was in the game. This built buy-in and also ensured more diversity in life stage, ethnicity, age, spiritual life stage, and more.
Their full-color magazine-style study guide had the most spectacular design with even more graphics and it included material for both a group experience and the individual experience. We’ve loved working with these guys and have always done more innovative things with them from the very beginning when we coached them on producing their own video curriculum. It looks like we may have the chance to work together again and do something new soon.
Take a look at our stories with some of the other leading ARC-related churches below!
I recently had the chance to be at ARC West and while I was there I saw Gene Appel, who is a great friend and was also a great leader to work with on the Hope Rising Project we did with him at Eastside that launched thousands of groups coming out of Easter Sunday. I was talking with Gene about the ARC conference and he said, “These guys are just like brothers and it’s a family.” You can see that in the speakers they had, the spirit was there, and the health and dynamic growth of the churches that have come out of it.
We are excited to have worked on projects with ARC churches across the country. We just finished a couple of projects with Bayside Church with Ray Johnson and Lincoln Brewster. About six months ago we launched our first church-wide curriculum and campaign that helped them go from 370 groups to more than 2000. They also jumped from 16,000 people a week to 18,000. They said it’s been a small group revolution, and you can see in the case study how it has played out in the life of their church. We shot their first series in the round with our popular format we’re calling the “town hall” that really increases the engagement and interaction among the people. This format is more informal and relationship-based.
These guys can be silly and funny but they also have tremendous heart and it all comes out in this format. The print curriculum turned out beautifully, as an 8 ½ x 11 study guide which included daily devotions as well as weekly video Bible study.
Over the years we’ve been able to do projects for a number of other ARC lead teams. I loved working with Herbert Cooper on a series aligning with his book, called “But God,” which was filmed throughout various on-site locations where Herbert grew up. The series was made into a church-wide small group video curriculum and full-color print curriculum.
It was also a privilege to help Van Moody and his team at The Worship Center Christian Church to develop a video curriculum and study guide based off one of his books published by Thomas Nelson called The I Factor. It was shot in an antique car museum which we were able to transform into a beautiful set for a town hall shoot with about 50 people gathered in a unique small group feel.
The I Factor: Campaign Trailer | Full-color Print Curriculum
Another fun thing recently has been connecting with Luke Barnett and his team out at Phoenix First Assembly, which is now called Dream City Church. It was a blast being part of that change and working with him, his wife Angel, and his dad Tommy Barnett to produce their series called “The Dream-Centered Life.” This was a very interactive, dialogue type of teaching which really engaged the people who were there.
Dream-Centered Life: Campaign Trailer | Full-color Print Curriculum
Here’s a quick overview of a few other projects. We did a series with Michael Durso at Christ Tabernacle called “No Place Like Home” and it included interviews with the family. It was shot on-location the streets of New York City.
No Place Like Home: Campaign Trailer | Photo Gallery
Another great one we did recently was with Miles McPherson. This one was so much fun, and the book for it was so great because it included hundreds of congregational photos from their main stage as well as their ministries in the church, and it was created as a capital campaign so we also interviewed a number of people for testimonies that were played on the weekend. Then we did interactions with Miles where he sat center stage and did the teaching in the round, and we also captured live recordings of their worship team in the round.
All In: Campaign Trailer | Full-color Print Curriculum
That reminds me of a great project we did with Albert Tate here locally at Fellowship Monrovia. He is such a great guy, and his church really has a vibe like a lot of the ARC churches. He did a campaign off of book that we came alongside, called “Disobedient God,” which is many times a great start for a project. This one we did a full-service production and we’ve stepped up our game for the worship shoot and producing more elaborate town hall formats that can be six people in a café or 50 people in a circle.
Then there’s the Conversation Service model which is around 250 people in a teaching session with interaction. This is great when used for curriculum or content for developing a microsite, and it’s easy for the pastor to do if he can step off the stage from a weekend service into a room that’s set up and just dive right in to an abbreviated version of the teaching. We did a new series with Albert shot in five different homes and included a house worship series vibe that was recorded so that people using it in groups could crank the volume, lower the lights, and experience a time of worship.
Dave Patterson’s project “A Life of Worship” was a blast. He also taught in the round, incorporated communion, and there were powerful testimonies that came from the people in the circle that set up his teaching. Then there was an interaction time afterwards and in-home intimate worship that preceded and closed it.
This kind of production, which opens and closes with worship, then flows into an interactive kind of teaching session, has everything for a service except reminding people to give online! It just has so much possibility to have exponential impact, and a lot of the ARC guys we’re working with are exploring it and we’re bringing them into a coaching community to help them go to the next level.
We also did a series with Mike and Laura Fletcher out at Manna Church. We had worked with them for a year doing several different series and we took them to eight locations for one of them. Then we did one that was a marriage series called “Lifegiving Marriage” that they taught along with a bunch of young people in a very dynamic, interactive fashion. We also did a second series in collaboration with them called “The Kingdom” that was Mike’s life message.
Lifegiving Marriage: Campaign Trailer | Full-color Print Curriculum
The Kingdom: Campaign Trailer
We also did a a number of series with Dale Oquist from People’s Church in Fresno. One of the series, titled “Elephant Issues” went right after the topics that are hot buttons in our culture today and so we turned his stage into a studio and brought in 30 people to do testimonies. In his teaching, he then tackled some of the big issues of our day with a focus on faith. You know, one thing we have learned is that the people want to hear you, their pastor. The sheep want to hear their shepherd. And a series like this one helps them navigate tough issues and talk about them in ways that really positive and life-giving.
One of the most recent projects we’ve done is with Christine Caine for Propel, and these are just beautiful projects. The digital photography is amazing and it’s kind of a leadership series taught in the round with a team-teaching approach, and the print study guide has a customized template with sections for “Listen, Learn, Lead, and Look Closer” so it takes them to actionable points. We’ve done four of these and we’re going to do two more – here’s the series we just produced.
I’ve got to say, the partnerships with ARC churches have been so sacred for me. I’ve had so much fun doing these because you guys are more thought-leading, more entrepreneurial, more creative, and more innovative so we’re able to push the edge of things like launching microsite campuses or new recruiting strategies that are getting as many as 20% of adults to host a group.
In fact, one key lesson we’re learning is not to even position it as hosting a group, but simply grabbing a couple of friends. The Bible says two or more so we design our print and video curriculum to work with groups of any size and grow organically from there.
Right now we’re finishing up a project with Steve Robinson and his team at Church of the King in Memphis. That series, also called “Born for This,” is going to be a powerful one, highlighting the six key values of their church that all Christians were designed to live out.
I could just keep going – but the bottom line is that we would love to connect with you and share more and hear how we might be able to work together in the coming year. If you’re interested, let’s set up a time to chat. Shoot us an email or give us a call and we’ll send you samples of these projects and discuss ideas that might work for you!
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These are just a few of the churches we have been able to work with who are creating breakthroughs and trying new things. As we approach the new year, we’re thinking of who we’d like to work with in 2017 and we’d love to talk with you about what we might do together for the new year, for the lead-up to Easter, or for just after Easter. I’d love to have a conversation with you about what we could do together! Give us a call (949-769-0777) or shoot us an emailand we would love to connect!
Better together,
 Brett
Founder and President of Lifetogether
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