Jonathan Herron

Raw + Candid Lessons from Leading a Church During COVID in 2020

Listen into this RAW + CANDID conversation I just had with Adam Reardon about COVID leadership challenges in church world:

• What IS the Church?
  
  
• Can a church exist VIRTUALLY?
  
  
• Fake Modesty and Disappointment in Christian Conference Spkrs & Podcastors
  
  
• 'The Chosen' series on YouTube
  
  
• ProPresenter 7's new Live Streaming Option for Churches
  
  
• Navigating Mutiny, Church Splitters and Rejection in Ministry
  
  
• Stop Being a Celebrity Pastor
  
  
• Changing People's Perspectives on Church Leaders
  
  
• Rethinking & Revamping Your Church in 2021

 

 

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith...

At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.

But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

(Paul's final words in 2 Timothy 4:7, 16-18)

 

 

More Encouraging Content at JonathanHerron.com

 

Update on Re-Opening Life Church

So make wisdom your quest—
Stick with wisdom and she will stick to you,
protecting you throughout your days.

She will rescue all those who passionately listen to her voice. Wisdom is the most valuable commodity...
(from Proverbs 4)

Dear Lifer Nation,

I hope you are all doing well --

We are continuing to pray for everyone affected by the flooding. I am so encouraged seeing Lifers stepping up to serve and help with clean-up efforts. You are being the hands and feet of Christ!

If you were not already aware, the President just held a last minute press conference this afternoon where he declared Houses of Worship as "essential" and that they should not be prevented from re-opening nationwide.

I wanted to get ahead of the questions you will probably have about when Life Church campuses might re-open by offering these quick answers:

• No, Life Church campuses will not re-open this weekend (May 24th).
   
• Yes, we will be live online at 10am + 11:30am at YouTube.com/LifeChurchMichigan.
   
• Yes, Life Church campuses will eventually re-open at a future date when we are certain it is safe for you and your family.
   
• No, we do not view re-opening our church as a political or civil rights issue (we are apolitical). We are carefully monitoring re-opening events through the lens of public safety.
   
• Yes, we take your personal health seriously. The last thing we would want would be for our Midland + Saginaw campuses to re-open only to discover 14 days later that someone became infected by an asymptomatic COVID19 carrier.

Thank you for your understanding as we are trying to exercise wisdom during this unprecedented time.

Life Church will continue our digital online ministries as well as providing fresh new content via our new 'LifeMichigan' smartphone / Roku / Apple TV app's.

Our best days are ahead of us and God is in control!

- Pastor Jon

Happy 7th Birthday, Life Church Michigan

"I will build my church — and the power of death will not be able to overpower it!"

(Jesus in Matthew 16:18, The Passion Translation)

7 years ago today, my family took a deep breath and cannonballed into the unknown by launching weekly worship experiences... the birth of the church we love!

Just like childbirth it was messy, scary, and even a little bloody... yet what emerged is beautiful and bringing Life to the Great Lakes Bay Region.

We started by renting theater and classroom space at Saginaw Valley State University. 

It was a herculean task setting up and tearing down our portable church environments every week, but we got it done (even in Michigan winter!).

When you start something new completely from scratch, EVERYTHING is HARD... but it's worth it.

For the past 7 years, we've lifted up Jesus, inspired our region, and seen lives transformed by God's amazing love.

To date, we've seen two hundred and seventy-eight people baptized at Life Church -- Holy Wow!

Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God.

I CANNOT WAIT to see what our future days bring us as we continue to reach the lost at any cost!

Create a Culture by Design, Not Default

"Create a culture by design, not default"

(Walt Disney)

Since our very first Informational Meeting eight years ago this week (!), Life Church has chosen to be known by what we are for, not what we are against.

Our culture is the secret sauce.  We're all about Jesus: dangerously, obsessively, undeniably Jesus.

Culture determines behavior.  In order to be the church we dream of, we must fight for our culture -- our unique flavor that propels us forward to reach the lost at any cost.

This is why I am committed to raising up a generation of fearless leaders in the Church. 

The Church is worth fighting for.  We must always rally around our shared heartbeat if we are to extend that passion into the world.

Being a Culture-Keeper requires thick skin and calcium in the spine. 

Agendas must always be eclipsed by the Culture Code of your organization.

"For it is Christ’s love that fuels our passion and motivates us, because we are absolutely convinced that He has given His life for all of us.

This means all died with Him, so that those who live should no longer live self-absorbed lives but lives that are poured out for Him—the One who died for us and now lives again."

(2 Corinthians 5:14-15, The Passion Translation)

Heading into 2020, I have been working on codifying our original Culture Code.  The words are nearly exactly the same, the passion is as present in my bones as on Day One, and now it's been distilled into 4 easy-to-remember big ideas.

For what it's worth, here is Life Church's 2020 Code:

1. HONOR: We are a generation of honor and integrity. We do not gossip. No insider politics. We are not competing with any churches. Full of honor and integrity, we will do the right thing even when it hurts. Our heart is to out-love, out-serve, and out-give those who misunderstand us.
   
   
2. HUMBLE:  We will be known for what we are for.  We will speak vision and life over our people. We choose to leverage humor over hammer. We will lift up the life-giving power of Jesus Christ rather than using our platform to condemn.
   
   Movements move. We are not Atari, we are Apple, joining God's audacious movement of changed lives.  We will always maintain a posture of learning new methods.  We will always narrow the focus in all we do.  We think steps, not programs.
   
   
   
3. HUNGRY: We are united under one vision -- to reach the lost at any cost.  To reach the people no one else is reaching, we will do the things no one else is doing.  We will do anything short of sin to reach people far from God.  We will aggressively defend our unity and vision.
   
   The church is a rescue organization, not a social club.  We will not cater to personal preferences in our mission to reach this region.  This is not a Yacht Club.  We are more concerned with the people we are trying to reach than the people we are trying to keep. We are only as "deep" as the last person we served!
   
   
   
4. HUSTLE: Don't just stick your toe into the water -- Cannonball!  We do it right and do it big! Greatness is never on sale.  We believe undistracting excellence honors God and inspires people.  We place a disproportionate value on creating a worship experience that boldly celebrates Jesus and attracts people far from God.
   
   We are all about the numbers.  Every numbers represents a person.  Every person represents a story of life-change through Christ.  Tracking metrics measures effectiveness.  We will unapologetically celebrate life-change!
   
   

How Our Church Grew From Zero to 1,200 in Just 5 Years

I get emails all the time from church leaders asking about our church.

Recently I had the opportunity to encourage and equip church leaders at a Detroit-area Conference.

Here's my session on How Our Church Start-Up Rapidly Grew from Zero to 1,200 in Just 5 Years.

(ps - If you find this video to be helpful, then you're going to LOVE these videos too!)

Never, Never, Never Give Up on Your Dream (Here's Why)!

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin...”

( Zechariah 4:10 )

6 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK, I WAS THE ONLY STAFF MEMBER OF A 9-MONTH-OLD CHURCH START-UP.

My worship pastor had just quit and moved back to Florida.

We were meeting in a local elementary school as a portable church stuck at 60 people.

I was angry, discouraged, and our baby church was homeless.

A phone call completely out-of-the-blue from a Lydia of Thyatira (see Acts 16) led to a walk-thru of this former golf store in the shadow of Freeland, Michigan.

GOLF MANIA HAD BEEN IN AND OUT OF BANKRUPTCY FOR YEARS.  

The latest owner had grown so frustrated at the lack of customers plus mounting bills that he abruptly locked up the facility one day and walked away, never looking back. 

Bankruptcy is a funny thing: everything in Golf Mania was frozen in time.

The show room was still stocked with expensive golf gear.  

Receipts were strewn everywhere from freshly-fired employees who never bothered to clean up.  

WHEN YOU TRAIN TO BECOME A CHURCH START-UP SPECIALIST, YOU ARE SKILLED AT ALWAYS SEEING THE POTENTIAL IN EVERY PROBLEM.

The facility and furniture were exquisite.   

I couldn’t believe this facility was just sitting here unused! 

This facility was chock full of potential!

The facility tour was in December of 2013.

It would take eleven long, drawn-out-months before we could begin gathering inside the old Golf Mania.

2014 was a year of vision-casting to a dwindling audience, pleading with the Landlords to take a risk on our church start-up, never taking No for an answer with city officials concerned about Zoning, and intense fundraising.

I could have given up.

I felt like giving up.

Yet I didn’t.

 

Elisha said,
“God’s word: Dig ditches all over this desert valley. Here’s what will happen—you won’t hear the wind, you won’t see the rain, but this valley is going to fill up with water and your army and your animals will drink their fill. This is easy for God to do!” (2 Kings 3)

THE WORD IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT IN GOD’S VOCABULARY!

If He has called you to it, He will see you through it!

Do not despise the days of small beginnings.
Do not give up when you are in the very situations that are ripe for a miracle of God.

Once we opened the doors on a 24/7 leased facility (it was a huge step of faith; we could not afford the monthly rent at that point and I was scared!), the floodgates of blessings were poured out.

People started showing up.

Lives starting changing.

The facility was simply a tool for ministry… and our perseverance was paying off.

We were praying for God to fill our worship space in 3 years…
…and He literally did it in just 3 months!

Never give up.
Fight tooth-and-nail.
Kill the doubts in your head before the Liar kills the dream in your heart.

In 2008 I attended EntreLeadership for the first time. Dave Ramsey said every time you read the story the turtle always wins. Every time.

SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL SAID IT BEST…

The great day finally arrived, and after the school's fanfare and acclamation, Sir Winston Churchill stood to his feet, acknowledged the introduction, and gave the following address, which is quoted in full:

'Young men, never give up.
Never give up!
Never give up!!
Never, never, never-never-never-never!'"

 

Saturday, December 28, 2019 at 12:03 PM in Church Start-Up, Leadership, Life Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Merry Christmas from Team Herron

Christmas was magical at the church I love!  

Sunday we saw 17 new Christ Followers in Midland and Saginaw and celebrated 6 more baptisms... Which puts us at exactly 50 baptisms in 2019!

Christmas Eve we were PACKED at 3pm and saw 20 people respond to the Gospel.  5pm was fun too with more lives transformed by God's grace.

I am so thankful to be part of a healthy, thriving, fun church family!

Jesus came for you...

A Child has been born for us; a Son has been given to us.

The responsibility of complete dominion will rest on His shoulders, and His Name will be:

The Wonderful One!
The Extraordinary Strategist!
The Mighty God!
The Father of Eternity!
The Prince of Peace!

(Isaiah 9:6, The Passion Translation)

 

As a Christmas BONUS, here is the video we shared Sunday and Monday at Life Church, filmed on-location in Jerusalem!

Wednesday, December 25, 2019 at 12:23 PM in Israel, Life Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Making Heaven Crowded

Every church leader longs for their people to not just buy into the unique vision God has for their church, but to actually own the vision personally. 

When volunteers choose to make the ministry their ministry, when ordinary people attempt extraordinary steps of faith for the Lord, and when the hearts of people in your church beat faster dreaming about what could be and what should be, the Kingdom of God moves forward faster!

At Life Church, the vision is to Reach the Lost at Any Cost.

We are all about Jesus - dangerously, obsessively, undeniably Jesus.

Our tribe is willing to do the things nobody else is doing in order to reach the people nobody else is reaching!

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 

(Matthew 13:34)

Jesus always taught using stories that people could understand.

The Son of God connected spiritual truths with sticky stories that anyone could remember and connect with.

Since God created us with minds that are hungry for stories, I say why not reach people far from God by leveraging the Star Wars stories with the Christmas story?!

For example, our current outreach series is Star Wars Christmas - We're sharing the story from a long time ago in a Bethlehem far, far away!

When we first attempted this ambitious approach to sharing the message of Christ back in 2015, God gave us favor with the Associated Press and our reach was extended as far away as Time Magazine's Money, USA Today, and The Washington Times!

When D.L. Moody was attempting to reach street orphans in Chicago with the Gospel back in the 1800's, he did something extraordinary: He rented a Saloon for Sunday School on Sunday nights!  To get children in the door, he offered free candy, pony rides, and pennies.  And his outreach methods worked! 

The only pushback Moody received was from religious people.  Moody's response is my motto:

"I prefer the way I do evangelism to the way you don't."

What excites me most is seeing our Lifers own the outreach and running with it!

Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than hearing stories of Lifers texting friends and talking about Star Wars at work as a bridge toward a Sunday invite.

Every invitation is an opportunity.

Every opportunity is one step closer toward the Gospel.

And making heaven crowded is our endgame!

Thursday, December 05, 2019 at 10:52 AM in Effective Advertising, In The News, Life Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

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The Secret Sauce of Leadership: My Talk from the 2019 Outreach Summit

I had a BLAST sharing about what God is doing at the church I love, partying with Chris Farley, PLUS how EXCITED I was to open for LEE STROBEL at the Outreach Summit!

 

Jonathan Herron is the Founding and Teaching Pastor of Life Church Michigan, the 11th Fastest Growing Church in America (Outreach Magazine, 2019).

Jonathan says the two main ingredients to church leadership in the 21st century are laughter and love.

Laughter because comedy clubs are packed and our pews are empty; using the principles of improv-comedy can help church leaders unleash authenticity and the love of Christ.

 

///

MORE: FearlessLeaders.net 
MORE from Outreach Magazine: Outreach100.com/churches/life-church-michigan

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 at 01:46 PM in Church Start-Up, Comedy, In The News, Leadership, Life Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

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That Time Our Entire Church Could Fit Inside My Living Room

7 years ago today, our entire church fit in our living room.

This is what keeps me humble: Everything is a gift from God.  He can give and He can quickly take away.

I remember what it's like to have no traction, no action, and plenty of stress and fear.

7 years later (almost to the day), we're one of the fastest-growing churches in America.

Only God.

Every Sunday is somebody's first Sunday plus Every Person Matters, so that means that EVERY SUNDAY MATTERS!!

I am so thankful for the journey God has allowed our family to be a part of.

Fast growth means lots of constant change.

Sometimes the friends you HAVE history with are not the friends you will MAKE history with.

Yet with every hello and every goodbye, Christ has remained steadfast and faithful in building His church.

Thankful for the journey.
Honored to serve the church I love.
And in Christ, the best is ALWAYS yet to come!

Tuesday, September 10, 2019 at 12:38 PM in Church Start-Up, Life Church | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Christmas was magical at the church I love!  

Sunday we saw 17 new Christ Followers in Midland and Saginaw and celebrated 6 more baptisms... Which puts us at exactly 50 baptisms in 2019!

Christmas Eve we were PACKED at 3pm and saw 20 people respond to the Gospel.  5pm was fun too with more lives transformed by God's grace.

I am so thankful to be part of a healthy, thriving, fun church family!

Jesus came for you...

A Child has been born for us; a Son has been given to us.

The responsibility of complete dominion will rest on His shoulders, and His Name will be:

The Wonderful One!
The Extraordinary Strategist!
The Mighty God!
The Father of Eternity!
The Prince of Peace!

(Isaiah 9:6, The Passion Translation)

 

As a Christmas BONUS, here is the video we shared Sunday and Monday at Life Church, filmed on-location in Jerusalem!

Every church leader longs for their people to not just buy into the unique vision God has for their church, but to actually own the vision personally. 

When volunteers choose to make the ministry their ministry, when ordinary people attempt extraordinary steps of faith for the Lord, and when the hearts of people in your church beat faster dreaming about what could be and what should be, the Kingdom of God moves forward faster!

At Life Church, the vision is to Reach the Lost at Any Cost.

We are all about Jesus - dangerously, obsessively, undeniably Jesus.

Our tribe is willing to do the things nobody else is doing in order to reach the people nobody else is reaching!

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 

(Matthew 13:34)

Jesus always taught using stories that people could understand.

The Son of God connected spiritual truths with sticky stories that anyone could remember and connect with.

Since God created us with minds that are hungry for stories, I say why not reach people far from God by leveraging the Star Wars stories with the Christmas story?!

For example, our current outreach series is Star Wars Christmas - We're sharing the story from a long time ago in a Bethlehem far, far away!

When we first attempted this ambitious approach to sharing the message of Christ back in 2015, God gave us favor with the Associated Press and our reach was extended as far away as Time Magazine's Money, USA Today, and The Washington Times!

When D.L. Moody was attempting to reach street orphans in Chicago with the Gospel back in the 1800's, he did something extraordinary: He rented a Saloon for Sunday School on Sunday nights!  To get children in the door, he offered free candy, pony rides, and pennies.  And his outreach methods worked! 

The only pushback Moody received was from religious people.  Moody's response is my motto:

"I prefer the way I do evangelism to the way you don't."

What excites me most is seeing our Lifers own the outreach and running with it!

Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than hearing stories of Lifers texting friends and talking about Star Wars at work as a bridge toward a Sunday invite.

Every invitation is an opportunity.

Every opportunity is one step closer toward the Gospel.

And making heaven crowded is our endgame!

I had a BLAST sharing about what God is doing at the church I love, partying with Chris Farley, PLUS how EXCITED I was to open for LEE STROBEL at the Outreach Summit!

 

Jonathan Herron is the Founding and Teaching Pastor of Life Church Michigan, the 11th Fastest Growing Church in America (Outreach Magazine, 2019).

Jonathan says the two main ingredients to church leadership in the 21st century are laughter and love.

Laughter because comedy clubs are packed and our pews are empty; using the principles of improv-comedy can help church leaders unleash authenticity and the love of Christ.

 

///

MORE: FearlessLeaders.net 
MORE from Outreach Magazine: Outreach100.com/churches/life-church-michigan

7 years ago today, our entire church fit in our living room.

This is what keeps me humble: Everything is a gift from God.  He can give and He can quickly take away.

I remember what it's like to have no traction, no action, and plenty of stress and fear.

7 years later (almost to the day), we're one of the fastest-growing churches in America.

Only God.

Every Sunday is somebody's first Sunday plus Every Person Matters, so that means that EVERY SUNDAY MATTERS!!

I am so thankful for the journey God has allowed our family to be a part of.

Fast growth means lots of constant change.

Sometimes the friends you HAVE history with are not the friends you will MAKE history with.

Yet with every hello and every goodbye, Christ has remained steadfast and faithful in building His church.

Thankful for the journey.
Honored to serve the church I love.
And in Christ, the best is ALWAYS yet to come!

Merry Christmas from Team Herron

Christmas was magical at the church I love!  

Sunday we saw 17 new Christ Followers in Midland and Saginaw and celebrated 6 more baptisms... Which puts us at exactly 50 baptisms in 2019!

Christmas Eve we were PACKED at 3pm and saw 20 people respond to the Gospel.  5pm was fun too with more lives transformed by God's grace.

I am so thankful to be part of a healthy, thriving, fun church family!

Jesus came for you...

A Child has been born for us; a Son has been given to us.

The responsibility of complete dominion will rest on His shoulders, and His Name will be:

The Wonderful One!
The Extraordinary Strategist!
The Mighty God!
The Father of Eternity!
The Prince of Peace!

(Isaiah 9:6, The Passion Translation)

 

As a Christmas BONUS, here is the video we shared Sunday and Monday at Life Church, filmed on-location in Jerusalem!

Making Heaven Crowded

Every church leader longs for their people to not just buy into the unique vision God has for their church, but to actually own the vision personally. 

When volunteers choose to make the ministry their ministry, when ordinary people attempt extraordinary steps of faith for the Lord, and when the hearts of people in your church beat faster dreaming about what could be and what should be, the Kingdom of God moves forward faster!

At Life Church, the vision is to Reach the Lost at Any Cost.

We are all about Jesus - dangerously, obsessively, undeniably Jesus.

Our tribe is willing to do the things nobody else is doing in order to reach the people nobody else is reaching!

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 

(Matthew 13:34)

Jesus always taught using stories that people could understand.

The Son of God connected spiritual truths with sticky stories that anyone could remember and connect with.

Since God created us with minds that are hungry for stories, I say why not reach people far from God by leveraging the Star Wars stories with the Christmas story?!

For example, our current outreach series is Star Wars Christmas - We're sharing the story from a long time ago in a Bethlehem far, far away!

When we first attempted this ambitious approach to sharing the message of Christ back in 2015, God gave us favor with the Associated Press and our reach was extended as far away as Time Magazine's Money, USA Today, and The Washington Times!

When D.L. Moody was attempting to reach street orphans in Chicago with the Gospel back in the 1800's, he did something extraordinary: He rented a Saloon for Sunday School on Sunday nights!  To get children in the door, he offered free candy, pony rides, and pennies.  And his outreach methods worked! 

The only pushback Moody received was from religious people.  Moody's response is my motto:

"I prefer the way I do evangelism to the way you don't."

What excites me most is seeing our Lifers own the outreach and running with it!

Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than hearing stories of Lifers texting friends and talking about Star Wars at work as a bridge toward a Sunday invite.

Every invitation is an opportunity.

Every opportunity is one step closer toward the Gospel.

And making heaven crowded is our endgame!

The Secret Sauce of Leadership: My Talk from the 2019 Outreach Summit

I had a BLAST sharing about what God is doing at the church I love, partying with Chris Farley, PLUS how EXCITED I was to open for LEE STROBEL at the Outreach Summit!

 

Jonathan Herron is the Founding and Teaching Pastor of Life Church Michigan, the 11th Fastest Growing Church in America (Outreach Magazine, 2019).

Jonathan says the two main ingredients to church leadership in the 21st century are laughter and love.

Laughter because comedy clubs are packed and our pews are empty; using the principles of improv-comedy can help church leaders unleash authenticity and the love of Christ.

 

///

MORE: FearlessLeaders.net 
MORE from Outreach Magazine: Outreach100.com/churches/life-church-michigan

That Time Our Entire Church Could Fit Inside My Living Room

7 years ago today, our entire church fit in our living room.

This is what keeps me humble: Everything is a gift from God.  He can give and He can quickly take away.

I remember what it's like to have no traction, no action, and plenty of stress and fear.

7 years later (almost to the day), we're one of the fastest-growing churches in America.

Only God.

Every Sunday is somebody's first Sunday plus Every Person Matters, so that means that EVERY SUNDAY MATTERS!!

I am so thankful for the journey God has allowed our family to be a part of.

Fast growth means lots of constant change.

Sometimes the friends you HAVE history with are not the friends you will MAKE history with.

Yet with every hello and every goodbye, Christ has remained steadfast and faithful in building His church.

Thankful for the journey.
Honored to serve the church I love.
And in Christ, the best is ALWAYS yet to come!