7 Things I Learned From The Unleash Your Leadership Conference

This past week I had the privilege of traveling to Anderson, South Carolina for the Unleash Your Leadership Conference with Perry Noble and NewSpring Church. I had gotten connected to Perry through the Catalyst Conference, and was excited to spend a few days at his church, learning best practices that could benefit Mt Vernon Church in Columbus. Here are seven great truths I learned (or was reminded of):

1. Health of the leader = health of the church. Perry spent the first day working on the health of the leader. Danger signs that you’re working too hard, ways to know if you’re unbalanced between work and family, and practical ways to minister for the long haul. Great stuff for a driven guy who sometimes struggles with balance.

2. Acts 1 has to come before Acts 2. I loved this insight. Everyone wants Acts 2 to happen: the Spirit falling down, thousands of people getting saved. What we don’t look at is Acts 1, where the church filled a critical leadership need in preparation for Acts 2. Perry correctly taught that many churches don’t grow because they don’t have the leadership capabilities or ministry infrastructure to handle growth. All churches want to grow, but unless leadership structures are healthy and expanding, a church couldn’t handle the growth God wants to give it.

3. Preaching style matters. Perry’s ministry is successful for a number of reasons, but one of the primary ones is his preaching style. Controversial to some, Perry’s in-your-face, PG-13 preaching style cuts through the fog and speaks to issues close to the heart. Perry will never win awards for style points, but his passion and transparency strike a chord with 25,000 people a week. Most of his critics don’t even have 1% of that audience.

4. Established denominations are losing their voice. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve been to a conference by my denomination where I was fed and inspired like this. Although a born and raised Baptist, I’m now going to conferences outside of my denomination for inspiration and growth. That does not bode well for established denominations.

5. You can have a big ministry in a small town. Anderson and the surrounding area is no larger than Columbus, MS, where I minister. Perry reaches 10,000 on his main campus and over 25,000 throughout the state of South Carolina. You don’t have to be in a metro area to have a large ministry. You just need a vision bigger than your town.

6. Young people can change the world. I was thoroughly impressed with the employees of NewSpring Church, 95% of whom were younger than me. NewSpring is giving young people a chance to make a difference, and the next generation is taking them up on that offer.

7. The church in America can still grow at an exponential rate. The church can still grow. In thirteen years NewSpring has grown from a living room to over 25,000 on a weekly basis. Not the church as we know it, but a church able to hold onto the core truths of the gospel and be willing to adapt to the 21st century. While traditional churches will continue to die out, churches like NewSpring will continue to change the world. My prayer is that Mt Vernon is one of those churches.