North Point Community Church is one of the largest and most influential churches in the country. From my perspective, you need to be to learning from this church regardless of what you think about their theological convictions. Here are some reasons you need to pay attention to North Point:

• Relentless Focus // The leadership team at North Point is focused on reaching people who don’t normally attend church. It’s breathtaking. Spend a little time with them and you will see it permeates everything they do. What is your church relentlessly focused on?
• Family Ministry // North Point is the clear leader in showing that children’s and family ministry can be significant growth engines for a church. Even if you are a complete pagan you’d love to bring your kids to their environments … that’s the point. How does your church intentionally focus on passing the message of Jesus on to the next generation?
• Open Handed // The culture of North Point has spun off or been involved in cultivating some of the most innovative ministries in the country. (Orange, Catalyst, BigStuf, Strategic Partners, Passion, The Rocket Company, and the list goes on.) Rather than try to do all this stuff in house they’ve been open to let those ministries flourish exterior to the church but still support them. Is your leadership culture releasing people to pursue their God given vision or just trying to keep people in your piece of the kingdom?
• Teaching // Andy is one the best communicators in the world. (Period.) How are you working to improve your communication of the message God has given you?
• Learning Organization // North Point is constantly looking to learn from other churches and organizations. In fact, if you talk with any of their leaders for a while you will get the impression they are trying to learn from you. They are fundamentally humble in their outlook … it’s attractive. How is your team learning from others? 
  
• Passion City Church // One of Andy’s best friends and former staff members launched a church a stones throw away. Watching North Point leaders publicly support this new church was so good for the kingdom. What are you doing to encourage other churches in your community? (Even if it means people will leave your church to go there?)
• Small is the New Big // The best place to grow in your Christian life is in relationship with other believers. North Point is focused on moving people out of lines (big audiences) and into circles (small groups). Their key metric is people is groups. I’ve yet to see anyone do it better. Do you really believe that people grow in small groups? 
  
• Worship with Guests in Mind // Singing on Sunday mornings is done in such a way to be cognizant of the fact that guests are in the room. Rather and “worshipy worship” that makes people who haven’t decided to follow Jesus feel weird, the music teams at North Point work to include people regardless of where they are at on their spiritual journey. Even if you don’t agree with their position … how are your crafting your worship experiencing with intention rather than by accident?
• Normal People // I’ve had the privilege to interacting with leadership teams of some of the best churches in the country. The North Point team is made up of normal people sold out on their mission. Some times I get the impression that church leaders see themselves as super human but the team at North Point are just normal people. Gives me confidence that maybe God could use me to do something big in my community. Do people like being around you and your leadership?

What are some churches that you’ve learned a lot from? I’d love to hear about it!

If you aren’t familiar with North Point check out this video to give you a sense of their approach.