Karl Vaters talks with Luke Simmons, the pastor of Ironwood Church in Mesa, AZ. Recently, Luke and his church elders decided to pursue a very ambitious goal with the aim of helping their large, growing congregation feel smaller and more connected.

As a big-church pastor, Luke is not a typical Church Lobby guest, but he and Karl follow each other on X (formerly Twitter) and when Luke posted about this plan it inspired a lot of questions and curiosity. The plan is for the members of their elder team to have one-on-one meetings with 1,000 church members over coffee or a meal this coming year.

If those numbers make you feel like this isn’t for you, give it a chance. Luke has a heart for people, and he’s interested in how to set numerical goals that help us reach non-numerical objectives of discipleship, fellowship, and service.

Links:

• Luke’s original X post about elder meeting goals
• Luke’s original X post about doing one-on-one meetings
• Faithful and Fruitful
• Tim Keller on Leadership and Church Size Dynamics
• Darrell Stetler’s Sermon Illustrator
• Follow Luke on X
• Ironwood Church

Bonus video

How To Conduct An Annual Leadership Meeting, with Luke Simmons

Karl Vaters talks with Luke Simmons about some of the steps he follows to gain as much as possible from an annual leadership meeting with his church elders. Points include:

• Get it on the calendar as soon as possible
• Make it an overnighter
• Budget for it
• Slow down in a relaxed environment
• Set the tone with idea prompts in writing
• Write a summary afterward
• And more

Links:

• How to Grow Your Small Business: A 6-Step Plan to Help Your Business Take Off (Donald Miller)
• Luke’s original X post about elder meeting goals
• Luke’s original X post about doing one-on-one meetings
• https://faithfulandfruitful.com/elders-meeting/

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