Explore Partnership
why do we need another network?
In every community, there are people who are far from God.
In every community, there needs to be a church…
…where people can belong before they believe.
…that gives them a chance to meet the real Jesus.
…where people can experience that God is FOR them and FOR their community.
maybe that’s your church.
If it is, wouldn’t your ministry benefit from working alongside other like-minded leaders? Because we can reach more people together than any of us can on our own.
What Does Outward Facing Mean?
It's Not about copy and paste.
It's about Innovation.
It's about Collaboration.
It's about Contextualization.
The Network helps you make your church more...
OUTWARD FACING
We defy gravity that pulls us toward insiders and are committed to reaching unchurched people.
STRATEGICALLY ORGANIZED
We unite our staff and volunteers around our vision and have clear ministry wins.
DEDICATED TO HEALTHY LEADERSHIP
We help each other become leaders worth following on teams that create trust and success.
FOR THEIR
COMMUNITY
We embody God’s love through practical action directly in our communities.
FOCUSED ON
INTENTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
We believe life change happens best in the context of community.
PASSIONATE ABOUT
IRRESISTIBLE ENVIRONMENTS
We pay close attention to what people see, hear, and experience.
COMMITTED TO THE
NEXT GENERATION
We prioritize and invest in children’s and student ministries.
...And That's what makes a church irresistible to people who are far from God.
What if there was a network of irresistible churches
helping each other to engage unchurched people
to inspire them to follow Jesus?
Why do we do this?
It’s about the vision... and not about any single church or leader.
What are the steps to become a partner church?
To become an ICN Partner Church, there are five steps.
Get to know each other and ask questions about the network.
Complete an application, background check, and references.
We will review one of your worship services with you, conduct an interview, and discuss next steps. We’ll also talk through your story and the Network Distinctives.
Clarify services, choose your start date, and sign your ICN Partnership Agreement.
Meet your Principal Consultant and provide contact information for your staff.
Why do churches Partner together?
During the first two years, our Principal Consultants work with your church to provide specific services with the goal of helping you fully engage and benefit from the network. Those services include:
A customized onboarding process for your church staff
Periodic leadership status calls to review priorities and ensure the network is most helpful to your church
Connection to leaders with the same vision for reaching people who are far from God
How does Partnership Work?
CONNECTION:
Call Groups for your Lead Pastor and select staff members (# of calls dependent on church staff size)
Yearly Lead Pastor Gathering
Ministry Gatherings every other year
CONSULTING:
Three Consulting Visits concentrating on: Ministry Evaluation, Strategic Planning, and Organizational Health
COACHING:
1-on-1 Coaching for select staff members (# of staff coached dependent on church staff size)
CONTENT:
Access to our ICN Partner Portal with exclusive resources from NPM and other Partner churches in the network
Outward Facing Family Ministry Curriculum and Video for Children and Students
After the first two years, Consulting Visits and 1-on-1 Coaching become a-la-carte so you can take advantage of what you need, when you need it. Monthly Partnership Fees are reduced accordingly.
call groups
Better together. better equipped.
Call Groups connect pastors and ministry leaders with peers who understand the challenges they face—creating space to share ideas, solve problems, and learn from what’s working in churches like theirs.
Check out our latest Investor report
Our churches work collaboratively to share and innovate together.
Here’s what a few of them have to say…
Our team has the expertise to facilitate solutions.
FAQ
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Partners have exclusive access to North Point Ministries’ resources. So, they can if they wish, but fewer than 10% of our Partners show Andy regularly.
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If it helps your church, you can copy as much as you like. Partners have exclusive access to both North Point's resources as well as many from other Partners.
However, the network is bound by "why" we do things more than "how" we do things.
Our collective vision is to create churches unchurched people love, and we trust that you can interpret what that means most effectively in your context.
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All of our Partner churches are independent 501(c)(3) organizations. ICN does enter into contractual relationships with each church, but maintains no authority over their ministry.
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Our churches are more aligned in vision and mission vs. the entirety of their beliefs.
That being the case, ICN's Statement of Faith is brief and concentrates on the core of our faith. We do seek alignment across the network at this level (you can reference our Theological Distinctives HERE), but we do not ask churches to adopt or replace their belief statements with ours.
Definition of Services
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Your Principal Consultant is your one point of contact for all the needs of your church. Their roles is to get to know you, your staff, and the things that make your church unique so the network can be leveraged to help you the most.
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Join a monthly call group of like-minded lead pastors to discuss relevant topics, share best practices, ask your questions, and learn about innovative ideas being discovered.
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An annual gathering of like-minded Lead Pastors intended to build community with call groups and learn together, while sharing best practices, innovation strategies, and ministry wins.
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An invitation to staff that you specify across ministry areas to participate in ten annual video conference calls with the purpose of sharing best practices, discussing new ideas, networking, and/or to learn from an expert in a particular ministry area.
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A 2-3 day event for staff that are also in ministry area call groups to learn, share ideas, ask questions, and grow in their leadership with others in the Network working in similar roles. Ministry Gatherings are offered every other year and are focused on the following ministry areas: Children's , Students, Adult Groups, Service Programming, Guest Services, Creative Services, and Administration.
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We specialize in ministry evaluations, strategic planning (for your entire church or a particular ministry), and organizational health—all in the context of creating outward facing churches.
Through these services, the network helps make your church irresistible to those that are far from God, strategic in it's approach to ministry, while creating a staff culture that is healthy and firing on all cylinders.
Through our work with the Table Group, we receive access to resources and training to help leverage their models focused on organizational health. -
Your Principal Consultant will work with you to identify the best people on your team who can benefit from 45-minute, monthly coaching sessions on Zoom. Periodic homework may be suggested.
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Access to curriculum and video for children and students. Originally created for North Point Ministries churches, this curriculum has been adapted to scale for other churches.
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Church staff receive unlimited access to all ministry channels on our content site with new content added monthly.
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Message kits from Andy Stanley as well as other ICN Pastors are included with sermon outlines, video, graphics, and title packages.
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Principal Consultants will offer assistance to Partners in interviewing potential lead pastors and ministry area director-level positions.