Granger Community Church
On both Monday and Tuesday we experienced great hospitality from both Willow Creek and Granger Community Church. It has really been a great trip. We are headed back to Kansas City this morning - some more debriefing, brainstorming and networking on the bus is coming up.
Our bus pulled up to Granger yesterday morning after a bit of a crawl through early morning Chicago traffic. I really did not know what to expect from Granger. What I did know came mostly as a subscriber to LeadingSmart by Tim Stevens and Kem Meyer on Less Clutter & Noise. We arrived in time for lunch and we had lunch conversations with staff members at GCC that were active in a similar ministry area. Kathy Guy was at the table at which I had lunch. I was particularly appreciative of their Turning Point ministry which is based on a curriculum of the book Boundaries and play a similar role to all of the support groups that happen at Resurrection - it focuses on taking the next healthy step in life no matter what the situation. Good stuff.
After lunch, we took a building tour and they have a great facility. The children's area is top notch in decor and environment. At certain grade levels the kids check in upstairs and then go down a slide to enter the classroom. I am not kidding. I took a ride on one of them and it was pretty fun! The worship space was a very basic space, but outfitted with huge video screens and a great lighting system. We watched a video of a baptism service in the summer and of a recent sermon series. The team at GCC also sent each of us on our way with what I expect to be some great resources - First Impressions, Simply Strategic Stuff, Simply Strategic Growth, and Simply Strategic Volunteers. Thanks!
We had time as a team to process some of what we had heard, seen and experienced at Willow and Granger in the afternoon. From Willow, one of the major topics of conversation was the implications of the Reveal study. We read the book as a team and I think that there are a lot of implications for Resurrection there as well as for many other congregations. From Granger, one of the major topics of conversation was around innovation. I think that at Resurrection we do excellence very well and that innovation is a growing edge for us. There are a lot of other questions in this area.
What does it mean to be innovative?
Is Granger innovative?
Is Resurrection innovative?
What type of interaction is there between innovation and excellence?
What do you think?