Steve Stroope
Understanding Your Growth Gap
About The Episode
“If we don’t pay attention to the season of planting, it’s too late to try to manufacture a harvest that we didn’t plan for or plant for.” Meet Steve Stroope, Founding Pastor of Lakepointe Church in Rockwall Texas. Packed with wisdom from the moment they press record, Andy dives in deep with Steve to better understand what he calls the Growth Gap and how to create leading indicators rather than focusing on goals that come from lagging indicators. In this episode, Steve unpacks the key profiles of church planters (as well as their launch teams), what drove success for Lakepointe, and the most important decisions he made along the way.
Welcome to Episode 004 of The Unfair Advantage Podcast with Andy Wood.
Insights From Steve Stroope
How did growth happen for Lakepointe?
“My vision was to have a church that made sense…”
- Oak tree growth – slow, but steady and strong
- We started realizing that things like short messages, casual dress, and contemporary music made sense for the people we were trying to reach
- Put the cookies on the lower shelf without compromising the truth
The Growth Gap - Numerical, Not Percentages
Most churches are going to have one or two seasons when the bottom drops out. In Texas, that’s the summer. Don’t compare May to June. Compare the same month or season year over year.
How much more are we running today compared to the same month or season last year?
You can do a better job projecting the future when you understand the growth gap. First year planters won’t have this until Year 2.
“Nothing is a pattern until it happens 3x in a row.”
Most Significant & Important Leading Indicators for Planters
- Set goals that are more process goals than product goals.
- Create leading indicators rather than focusing on a goal that’s a lagging indicator.
- “It’s difficult to manufacture a harvest that we didn’t plan for or plant for.”
Key Profiles of Church Planters
Who is called to plant a church?
“I don’t know of a harder job than church planting.”
- Certain personality type – DI or ID on Disc, Culture Index – autonomous in their thinking but also relational
- Communicate God’s Truth – a preaching gift, the ability to be a good teacher
- Success in some other endeavor other than church planting, pushed through the dip (as Seth Godin calls it) and had the grit to keep going.
- Character – the most important personality trait and requires time to really get to know someone, humble, and willing to learn. People who love lost people.
People leave a wake behind them with both their relationships and responsibilities. What does your wake indicate?
“The best indicator of future performance is past behavior.”
Building A Launch Team
The first team member you have is probably not going to be anything like you. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about a team that has the same passion and same calling as you, but entirely different skill sets.
“I want a team around me that builds on my strengths,” is a positive way of saying, I want a team that is built around my weaknesses.”
First three hires:
- 2nd Chair Leader
- Worship Leader
- Executive Administrative Assistant – high capacity individual who is great at all the things we aren’t
When you look at what you’re good at, find people who can take things off your plate so you can stay focused on those things.
Episode Links
Learn more about Strategic Launch Network
Do ministry together! Three gatherings, nine planters, one cohesive journey. Checkout the Ascent Leader Church Planter Cohorts. Get more information today at: https://theascentleader.org/cohorts/
Who Is Steve Stroope?
Steve Stroope is the Founding Pastor of Lakepointe Church, Rockwall, Texas. Under his leadership, the church grew to more than 13,000 in weekly attendance. In 2020, after 40 years as Lead Pastor, he transitioned into consulting, coaching and writing. He works as an Executive Coach to major corporations all across America. Steve has written 3 books and will be releasing his 4th in 2023, Leading by Letting Go.
Sponsors
Thanks to our sponsor: Food For The Hungry.
Combine your church’s heart for the poor and Food for the Hungry’s global experience at fh.org/churches.
Quotes From Episode
“Nothing is a pattern until it happens 3x in a row.”
“It’s difficult to manufacture a harvest that we didn’t plan for or plant for.”
“I don’t know of a harder job than church planting.”
“The best indicator of future performance is past behavior.”
“I want a team around me that builds on my strengths,” is a positive way of saying, I want a team that is built around my weaknesses.”
There are many more questions to consider when planting a church, but from my experience these are five of the most important ones. Our goal with the Ascent Leader and our church planting cohorts is to help church planters win early and finish strong. We want to resource you so that you can avoid common pitfalls and simple mistakes. Being involved in a community of leaders like our church planting cohorts is one of the best ways to wrestle through these questions. We’re here to help you, if we can be of assistance to you please feel free to reach out.
Contact Andy: Andy@theascentleader.org
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