Explore Partnership
A tribe committed to the same outcomes as you
When a church partners with the Network, it doesn't get a vendor. It gets a room full of practitioners who lead churches like yours — and who refuse to do this alone. Here's what that looks like, and how partnership works.
The Benefits
One partnership, four things most networks make you assemble yourself.
Connection
Peers who lead at your level and understand the weight of the role. Call groups, gatherings, and a like-minded network so the vision stops being yours to carry alone.
The secret sauce? Everyone shares the same outward -facing goals. You don’t have to guess at everyone’s motives.
Consulting
Fresh, outside eyes on the experiences your church owns — so you can finally see what a first-time guest actually encounters, from the parking lot to the platform.
Proven 360 Ministry Evaluations and Strat Ops planning included in the first two years. You can refresh your perspective at your pace a-la-carte after that.
Content
content
Practitioner-tested resources — family ministry curriculum, sermon kits, frameworks, and role-specific training for your whole team — built by leaders still doing the work, not theorists.
All of our content, and more, is accessed through our Partner Portal. It’s your one-stop-shop for all your needs.
care
care
You're not just coached — you're pastored. This is a tribe that cares for its own, supporting you as a person and guarding your team against burnout.
We equip the whole team, not just the senior leader. From Lead and Executive pastors to Ministry Area leaders, partnership reaches across the org chart — building leadership depth at every level.
How It Applies To You
Most churches come to us for one or more of three reasons.
Naming yours helps us meet you exactly where you are from day one.
Local Implementation
Content and Consulting
You need practical, ready-to-use resources you can put to work in your own context right away — built by practitioners, not theorists.
collaborative innovation
Call Groups and Gatherings
You have good instincts but feel alone. You want a room of peers to problem-solve with, not another course to finish on your own.
Global impact
Church Planting and Consulting
You're already healthy and want to leverage that for something bigger — to make a dent in the universe, not just keep your own lights on.
colLaborative innovation
Global impact
Our Appoach
We’re modeling a person, not replicating a model.
Being an Outward-Facing church in different parts of the same state doesn’t look the same let alone in different parts of the country or different parts of the world. So, our churches taking different approaches to meeting the needs of their communities.
We do share principles or distinctives that we believe help create churches that unchurched people love. We trust that you know best how to apply those principles in your context, and countless examples from other churches in the network will give you ideas on how to do that.
It's about Innovation.
It's about Collaboration.
It's about Contextualization.
Who Partnership Serves
Built for the whole team.
Lead, Executive, and campus pastors
Ministry Area Leaders
- Role-specific coaching for your exact area
- Outside eyes on the experiences you own
- Peers in the same role at other churches
- A clear filter for outward-facing decisions
Elders & key stakeholders
- Confidence the church's direction is sound and proven
- A wise, accountable use of the church's resources
- Leadership depth built across the whole team
- A vetted partner for a multi-year commitment
Lead, Executive, & Campus Pastors
- Proven principles for turning a church outward without starting over
- Strategy you can implement, not just inspiration
- Peers who understand the weight of the role
- Confidence you aren't carrying the vision alone
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.
How The Church Succeeds
the gauges on the dashboard.
Churches that unchurched people love to attend are constantly monitoring themselves to ensure they are pursing these principles. It’s easy to get distracted and become more focused on the people who are there at the risk of the people who aren’t there yet.
The Application Process
A relationship, Not a Subscription
To become an ICN Partner Church, there are five steps which may blend together over several conversations.
DISCOVERY
Get to know each other and ask questions about the network.
application
You’ll complete an application, background check, and references.
alignment
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.
agreement
We’ll clarify services, choose your start date, and sign your ICN Partnership Agreement.
onboarding
You’ll meet your Principal Consultant and provide contact information for your staff.
From Leaders In the Network
Here’s what a few of them have to say.
What Does Outward Facing Mean?
Check out our latest Investor report
Why do churches Partner together?
Why do we do this?
It’s about the vision... and not about any single church or leader.
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.
Our team has the expertise to facilitate solutions.
FAQ
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No. We serve any church that wants to focus outward — from established multi-site churches to brand-new plants. What matters is the posture, not the attendance number.
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More. Partnership is a guided, ongoing relationship inside a vetted tribe — not a self-serve subscription or a one-off project. Some services go à la carte once the relationship is established.
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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 rather 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.
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Financial investment is based on your staff size. We don't do this so that larger churches simply pay more. Since we're providing services to the key leaders in the church, the more leaders you have, the more leaders receive services.
Many churches choose to fund their investment in the Network from their missions or outreach budget. This isn't just staff and development since part of your investment also enables the creation and enablement of other international networks across the world. -
The adage that the more you put into it, the more you get out of it certainly applies.
Our hope is that Lead Pastors, Executive Pastors, Campus Pastors, and Ministry Area Leaders all participate regularly. This serves two purposes:It brings innovation and value to your church.
It also provides innovation and value to the rest of the churches in the Network, making us all better in the end.
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 unbranded and adapted to scale for other churches.
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Church staff receive unlimited access to all ministry channels on our Partner Portal with new content added weekly.
In addition, our Partner Portal also contains content from past events and training resources to help with ongoing staff development. -
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.
Learn More about Exclusive ICN Partner Church Discounts and Benefits
