David Fletcher: Business Brain + Pastoral Heart = The Executive Pastor XPastor

We will explore the essential elements of establishing a robust production department in a local church. The production department is pivotal in enhancing worship experiences, congregational engagement, and outreach efforts. We’ll delve into the core principles of structuring this department, including team roles, equipment, and workflow. We’ll also discuss the significance of a flexible and adaptable structure catering to the diverse needs of your production team. Join us as we uncover the key strategies for leading your team well.

About JB
JB Bowling is Vice President at Clark. He leads the Design & Business Development teams at Clark. JB has a background in church production and leadership. George and Houston Clark first met JB over 25 years ago, while working at his home church. JB went on to work for a few large churches, including Shadow Mountain Community Church, where he was the Production Director, overseeing the in-house production needs for Turning Point’s television broadcast. He was most recently the Global Arts Director at LibertyLive.Church, where he led the worship, production, and creative teams across three campuses. JB also has an established career in freelance audio.

ECFA wants to see leader care climb to a new level, resulting in healthier pastors and in church boards that are more engaged with their pastor’s total wellbeing. Far too many pastors today are struggling in isolation as they face the unique pressures, demands, and challenges of ministry leadership. There has been a notable rise in reports of burnout, leaders leaving the ministry, and other tragic integrity failures.

To that end, ECFA is introducing a new Leadership Standard that’s focused on supporting healthy leadership through the board’s proactive care for the integrity of its top leader as a whole person based on biblical principles. These are actions that any church can adopt. Details at ECFA.org/leadershipstandard.

About Michael
Michael is passionate about helping churches and Christ-centered ministries maintain high standards of integrity through ECFA. As an attorney and a CPA, Michael is a frequent speaker on ECFA’s webinars, videos, and podcasts, as well as a regular contributor to ECFA’s library of eBooks and other written publications. He speaks at numerous conferences and workshops across the country and has served as guest on webinars, videos and podcasts for numerous Christ-centered ministries and churches.

Here we go again, preaching about the significance of the ‘Gen Next,’ but ever notice how our students seem to get stuck with the short end of the stick? They’re often put in forgotten corners of the church—spare rooms nobody knew what to do with, furnished with yard sales leftovers. Don’t our future leaders deserve better than a dusty foosball table and hand-me-down sound system? It’s time they feel as valued as the speeches we give.

Join us for a webinar with Dave Milam from Visioneering Studios. We’ll uncover why students are giving their spaces a thumbs-down and explore strategies to flip the script. Let’s prioritize our students and transform their space. See you there!

About Dave
Dave Milam is the Vice President of Strategic Design at Visioneering Studios. He stands firmly at the intersection of ministry, design, and visual storytelling. Dave served in the church for over 20 years. Dave has a heart for guiding pastors through unique challenges of ministry to awaken the beauty that God has placed within them and their facilities. His writing has been featured in LifeWay, Outreach Magazine, Influence, Christian Standard and other national periodicals.

The number 1 resource that Executive Pastors manage is human resources. The top two keys to stewarding human resources is how we hire and fire. In this webinar we will talk about the values that help create an award-winning staff team, the keys to a successful hiring process, how to ensure protection of your culture with your next hire and how to best execute critical reference calls. We’ll also look at the process of evaluation and coaching, how to coach someone off of your team and the keys to knowing the different types of firing.

About Eric
A coach and developer at heart, Eric Rojas felt the call into ministry when he was in college and had the desire to use his gifts and abilities in God’s church. Having worked in ministry for over 35 years, Eric has been blessed with working as a youth pastor, adult ministries pastor, small groups pastor, associate pastor, worship pastor, men’s pastor, and sports pastor throughout those years—which has led him to his current role of Executive Pastor at Rolling Hills Community Church in Franklin, Tennessee. Named #24 in Outreach 100’s fastest growing churches for 2023, the role is challenging, yet very rewarding as more and more people come to know Jesus and are changed by Him. In addition to working in the local church, Eric loves serving the church at large through speaking, consulting and writing. His bi-weekly blog, Essential Godly Leadership, encourages and coaches all Christ-following leaders. More can be found at erictoddrojas.com and essentialGodlyleadership.com.

Most of us pastors and the majority of the people who sit in our pews think the secret to being happy is to finally get the circumstances we want from our life. For you to love the life you already have, what must change first isn’t the version of the life that you have, but the version of yourself that inhabits your life. Real flourishing isn’t about your external circumstances, but your internal character. The true secret to experiencing flourishing is tapping into the Spirit that enables you to meet the six demands of life so you become the type of person who can love the life you already have.

About Luke
Luke, his wife Lindsay, and their three daughters live in Austin, Texas where he is the senior minister of the Westover Hills Church. He is the author of God over Good, Befriending Your Monsters, and How to Love the Life You Already Have. For a decade, he has hosted Norsworthy, a podcast that help his listeners navigate faith in the modern world, www.lukenorsworthy.com/podcast

In many churches, risk management can become an after-thought as the tasks and needs of day-to-day operations take center stage. But this can open the door to unnecessary risks—an avoidable accident, allegation, or other misstep can occur. These events cause pain and drain energy, money, and resources. Even worse, if circumstances warrant, the church may be held liable. Staff and board members may be held personally liable.

This webinar will help you:
Identify the significant risks churches and board members face
Define the structure needed for effective risk management
Recognize the roles staff and board members must fill
Discover the process for effectively managing risk
Apply the specific steps that can be taken now to do it

About Mike
Mike Batts is the managing partner of Batts Morrison Wales & Lee (BMWL) and has more than 30 years of experience serving nonprofit organizations in a variety of ways. He has served on and chaired the boards of nonprofit organizations—both nationally and locally. Mike is a member and former chairman of the board of ECFA, an organization that accredits Christian organizations in the areas of board governance and financial integrity. Mike regularly advises nonprofit organizations on matters related to board governance, financial oversight, tax compliance and strategy, risk management, corporate structure, international activities, and other related topics. He has also actively engaged in nonprofit legislative matters at the federal and state levels. Mike has authored several books, his most recent being Nonprofit Finance: The Field Guide for Financial Operations of Ministries, Schools, and Other Public Charities (Accountability Press, 2023). Mike is licensed or authorized to practice as a CPA in multiple states across the U.S.