Mystic Warrior

Here is an essay that I recently posted on imn/vox and nextwave 

If you live in “the 909″ you realize a few things that make your world unique and distinct. For one, you live in Southern California’s Inland Empire – the home to 1.9 million people. You most likely live in a tract home with about a 5000 sq. foot lot. You most likely do not know the majority of your neighbors. You chose to live inland because housing was more affordable than in the city. You were also hoping to send your kids to better schools. In a few moments, I will give you a few other slices of my time in the 909.

Over the last 20 years I have watched the trends in church planting with great interest. I have personally launched a number of churches – each one varied in methodology. I have utilized direct mailers, servant evangelism, as well as musical venues to launch. I have done the ill-advised “parachute drop,” as well as a “hive-off.” I have launched in a storefront in Florida, in a school in California, in a pub in Scotland, and in a night-club venue in New Jersey.

Early in January 2004, I relocated my family cross-country to Southern California and reconnected with the McManus brothers. Alex and Erwin showed great interest in my family and their offered insights into church planting were refreshing, to say the least. I would like to highlight a few of these insights implemented in the 909, which I predict are a future trend in church planting.

As we dreamed of discovering new ways to launch authentic communities the theme of the “culture pub” emerged – a vehicle and venue for recapturing the essence of humanity seeking to impact our world. In a sense, the culture pub is a return to the mentality and heartbeat that every city needs a voice and a hub in which culture exists, breathes, and transforms.

In the Inland Empire we discovered three things that helped us connect with our community.

Music Video Executive Producer

It took nearly forty years for Inland Empire developers to build the Victoria Gardens Mall in Rancho Cucamonga, California. It has a magnificent view of the mountains to the north and beautiful new neighborhoods to the east and west. It would prove to be the perfect setting for finding extras for a music video.

Alex McManus had been talking to me for months about an innovative strategy that revolved around the church planter becoming a video executive producer. After all what does a planter need? Three things: a platform in which to dialog with people, credibility that comes from expertise in a given field, and finally the opportunity to be around pre-Christians or those not-yet-convinced. We also discovered that there are two types of people in the world – those that have to be in a music video and the rest of us! Those who have to naturally want to get to know, get close to and be connected to the video’s “Executive Producer.”

Early on a sunny Saturday morning our team gathered at Victoria Gardens equipped with digital video cameras, business cards, clipboards, & pens. We determined that our demographics would be 18-28, somewhat hip (In our own minds, we were pretty hip and wanted to gather similar folks) and preferably those who lived in the 909.

As we spotted a prospective video extra, we approached them confidently saying something like, “We are looking for extras for a music video that is going to be filmed here in Rancho Cucamonga and you have the look we’re after. Would you be willing to speak your name and email address into our video camera?” Believe it or not it was that simple. We filmed nearly 80 people in less than two hours. Ironically, the mall police shut us down (a story for another time), but not before we connected with more people than the typical church planter does in their first six months!

Neighborhood Master Party Thrower

Our experience at the mall also taught us that people in the 909 were looking for a way to connect and the mall was a hub. Most people we met told us that they did not know their neighbors and it was difficult living in a bedroom community. Hence, we decided to throw a number of house parties and house concerts.

We hired a band, made club cards, and empowered an ambiance team and host/hostess team. We were blown away at how easy this was to do and how well it was received. Before long we gained the reputation of being “Master Party Throwers.” (We hosted a total of fourteen house parties and six house concerts during our 3 years in Rancho Cucamonga.)

This strategy can work in just about any setting and for typically less than $300 you can gather a crowd that can readily turn into a core or launch group. Two other well known, side caveats: music is a universal language (the key is to learn the sound of your city) and musicians attract other musicians.

Regional Concert Promoter

Our house concert experience naturally led to an opportunity that gave us great visibility and impact. The Victoria Gardens Mall had a summer concert series. I knew a number of fellow church planters who had tried in vain to get into this amazing venue. A store owner I knew (he had attended one of our house concerts) at the mall told me that he had given my name to Bruno.

I’ll never forget what I learned the day I walked into Bruno’s office. He was the director of events and entertainment at the mall and was not an easy person to get an appointment with. As I walked into his office, I handed him my card. He said, “You have a good reputation around here, what band were you thinking of showcasing for your first night?” I told him about Niza and her band doSul, describing them as Brazilian Fusion. He told me to drop off a demo and we could move forward with a date.

Now picking the right band for the right venue is always important and can be somewhat of an art. Niza’s band was a no-brainer. We scheduled them for a Sunday afternoon. A crowd quickly gathered and the word spread. I received a call from Bruno early in the week. He said, “heard it went well, when can you schedule another band?”

Each of these strategies deserve more attention, but for now I hope it encourages you to consider your own innovative strategies (perhaps even a culture pub) as you transform your city! Our approach allowed us the privilege of starting to impact the hard-to-break-into 909.