In this episode, we talked with Phill Tague, lead pastor of Ransom Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ransom Church took the REVEAL survey in the spring of 2016 for the first time. The church fell into our strongest archetype—the Energized Church.

Phill returned to his hometown of Sioux Falls to plant Ransom Church with his wife in 2009. Prior to that he served in youth ministry in North Carolina. Ransom is a large multi-site church, with more than 1600 adults attending weekend services, and young—one third of the people who took the survey were in their 20s, which is well above our database average. The church meets on two campuses and is preparing to launch a third in 2018. Sioux Falls is a city with a population of 250,000 that serves as a hub for a region of approximately one million people. The surrounding area is largely rural.

Ransom Church’s Approach to REVEAL and to Being an Energized Approach

• The church took REVEAL because its leadership wanted to be sure that their perceptions of the congregation were accurate. They also wanted to be sure that the church was healthy as they sought to plant new campuses and worship venues.

• The Energized archetype reflects the diversity of spiritual maturity in the congregation. Some are very mature believers; others are still deciding whether they want to follow Christ. The result of this mix of where people at Ransom Church are in their faith is that the church is in the Energized archetype.

Ransom Church’s Approach to Creating a Culture of Serving Those in Need

• Keep programming simple. Ransom Church’s only programs are weekend services, small groups, and serving opportunities.

• Make serving the norm, not an option, from the first time someone comes to a newcomer event. This creates a culture where serving is expected.

• Small groups serve together.

• It’s important to talk to city leaders and residents to determine what the needs are and let organizations know that the church is there to serve them.

• The first 10% of church’s budget goes to missions and serving the community.

Ransom Church’s Approach to Small Groups

• Small groups are a work in progress.

• Churches can outgrow a traditional small group structure. When this happens, it is time to re-think the structure. Make sure that the process is serving the people instead of requiring people to serve the process.

• Ransom Church revisited their structure and process and created a new type of group called Friend Groups in addition to their structured Life Groups.

• In Friend Groups, mature believers are trained, resourced, and provided with curriculum and support and then are released to start groups with friends and co-workers outside the structure of the church’s Life Groups. In the first semester of experimenting with these groups, 44 new groups formed.

Ransom Church’s Approach to Strategic Planning

• Momentum covers a multitude of sins, but maturity goes back and cleans up. Whenever Ransom Church has a lull in growth, church leaders re-assess processes and strategies.

• Church leaders and staff pursues a new thematic goal every 18 months (see Patrick Lencioni’s Silos, Politics and Turf Wars). The executive team comes up with a “big idea” that will help Ransom Church keep moving forward and each team defines what it means for them to help achieve this goal. Allowing each team to decide what actions they will take releases their creativity, raises staff morale, and promotes unity.

Phill’s Advice to Pastors

• Manage the tension between leading a growing organization and staying centered in Christ. Prayer is essential, including both personal prayer retreats and praying together as a church staff.

• Be ruthless about sabbath for yourself and your staff. Require staff to take time off and model it for them.

Want to discover your church’s archetype?

The REVEAL for Church survey report provides your church’s archetype and prescriptions for change based on how we have seen other churches in that archetype be transformed over time. Learn more at www.revealforchurch.com