Operation Kaboom- The Process

This is Part 2 of a series on NCC's Operation Kaboom-- our systematic dismantling, revisioning, and rebuilding of our small group ministry.

The first step was to fire all existing zone leaders and team leaders. That sounds a bit harsh. And I never actually considered it to be a "firing," but that's how Chris Jarrell described it. All of them were invited to be a part of our transition team and Operation Kaboom team. And let's give credit where credit is due-- I did not coin the phrase Operation Kaboom. That came from an email from long-time leader and discipler extraordinaire Ms. Sarah Owen.

So...it went something like this...

I asked Sarah Owen to lead Operation Kaboom from a logistical and strategic perspective. I invited a group of 14 people to be a part of the brainstorming team. The process went something like this:

July 27, 2009- email was sent to zone leaders, team leaders, and other stakeholders to let them know about the transition to a new structure and inviting people to be a part of the rebuild.

September 15, 2009- OpKaboom team met for the firs time. HZ cast vision. Pastor Mark cast vision. We explored Biblical models of discipling, mentoring, and coaching. We heard "case studies" on leadership best practices from the perspectives of the business world, academia, family, military, government, and athletic contexts. We assigned people into teams to consider the following: 1) Leadership Recruitment, 2) Leadership Training, 3) Care and Spiritual Formation of Leaders, 4) Data, Metrics, and Communication, and 5) Research on Other Church Models. Each member of the team was assigned to one of those areas.

September- October- Teams met with one another to research best practices and to develop suggestions/recommendations for NCC.

October 27, 2009- OpKaboom team met to hear best practices from different teams. Team D took those findings and began to outline some new structures and processes.

November 3, 2009- OpKaboom "lite" team met (i.e., the team leaders for each of the five areas) to review findings, consider Team D recommendations, and move forward.

November 10, 2009- NCC Staff Retreat. Draft 1 of new structures and best practices presented to NCC Executive Leadership team. Staff-level OpKaboom team members continued to develop their ideas.

November 17, 2009- OpKaboom meeting to share Draft 1 of new system.

November 21-22- OpKaboom Retreat-- including members of the Operation Kaboom team as well as former zone leaders, team leaders, and other stakeholders who needed to be a part of the decision-making process. Developed Draft 2.

December 10-11- Willow Creek Advanced Small Group Leader Training. Received feedback on our new proposed systems from Willow Trainers.

January 12, 2010- OpKaboom meeting to discuss final Draft 3.

January 30, 2010- OpKaboom rolled out to leaders for the first time at Annual Leadership Retreat.

February- March- Coach recruitment, training, and assignment

April- May- Small Group Coordinator recruitment and training. New Leadership 101 development.

Okay...that's the boring stuff. I'll start talking structure in the next post...