more testimonials

I keep my "Ministry Advantage Leadership Achievement" certificate on the wall behind my computer as a reminder that my leadership was greatly impacted by Ministry Advantage.

Since beginning Ministry Advantage a lot has changed in my church: Due to growth we are a year and a half into our first capital campaign and we are four months away from moving into our new building. We have an effective and an on-going process for becoming a fully participating member. We have increased the number of people in ministry and the number of ministries that are fully functioning. We have trained leaders in place. The part I like best is that I'm doing less and enjoying ministry more.

Ministry Advantage has provided me with the improved skills and ministry systems edge that I needed. Your investments in my church and me have made my job as a pastor more rewarding and less confusing. I am more hopeful and excited about the future of my church.

Thank you for hearing the call of God to help pastors.

Mike Overpeck
Goshen, IN

The chairman of our Board of Elders and I were looking at the Strategic Plan that we have developed and are now sharing with our leaders. He told me tonight that the money and time that we have invested into Ministry Advantage has been the best use of our funds this year! As we are getting more organized and doing ministry on purpose, our church is becoming healthy again. My coach is great. He is very helpful in challenging me to "think outside the box" then giving wise counsel.

Dave Lind
Rutland, VT

Ministry Advantage has been a tremendous growing experience for me. Both the strategy workshops and the weekly coaching sessions have focused on the planning and the implementation of practical ministry systems that are working in the day-to-day life of our church. Ministry Advantage has also kept me on track so that plans are accomplished and not dropped by the wayside. I highly recommend Ministry Advantage!

Tom Stoebig
Plymouth, MN

It’s the best investment the elders could ever make in their pastor and in their church.

Randy Goldenberg
Frederick, MD

You wouldn’t believe the harvest we are experiencing right now. We knew God wanted to reach more people and couldn’t figure out why we weren’t growing. That was one of the reasons we signed up with Ministry Advantage. I couldn’t figure it out. I went to church growth and leadership conferences all the time and I was working on my doctorate and reading books and listening to all kinds of tapes but I didn’t get it. Ministry Advantage was huge for us! We are seeing amazing things happen. We are just really well structured and everything is set up to keep on experiencing a harvest! I’m not sitting here wondering, “what are we going to do now?” I know what to do to lead this church and that is incredible!

Thanks for being there and making Ministry Advantage available and for all the encouragement. I am blessed beyond words. This is easily worth double what we spent for what we have received. Just seeing people excited about what we are doing is worth more than any amount of money.

Right now I am living a pastor’s dream!

Rick Hines
Manitowoc, WI

Our church has grown from 200 to over 3,000. Our infrastructure was cracking under the weight of that growth. I actually reached a point where I thought we were done. Not because I wanted to be, but because our structures couldn’t support any more growth. MA has helped to rearrange my thinking about systems and processes in the church. Now I’m confident there is no end to what God can do here!

I started Ministry Advantage because I needed help. As a matter of fact, when I saw the advertisement it was like God had put it on my desk because I was praying about something like this to help me to find answers for our church.

The way I’d describe the coach to another pastor is that you really do have a friend in ministry. I knew once a week I’d be talking to him for an hour a week and could ask questions and could build into my life and really took a genuine interest in my life and my struggles and helped me implement some changes. Fantastic!

The effectiveness of our church has risen dramatically because I have been able to take these principles and teach to them to my team leaders and ministry leaders, and with that they have become more effective in doing what God has called them to do.

Tim Liston
Pearland, TX

Ministry Advantage is the reason I stayed in pastoral ministry. I’ve felt called but unequipped to do lead my church. I would listen to a leadership tape and say, “I guess that I must just not have what it takes.” Ministry Advantage really taught me HOW to lead – it was an absolute answer to prayer!

Joel Smith
Highspring, SC

The peer community has been much more positive part of the program than I anticipated. When I entered Ministry Advantage it was a pretty individualistic thing in my mind. But at the Workshops I met other pastors I respected and found they shared the same vision and values our church was trying to achieve and implement. I found out it was a benefit to have like-minded people that I could bounce ideas off and hear what they were doing and get encouragement from them. This has been a very positive experience.

I think for me personally it’s given me a new excitement and vision for where the church can go. I was becoming frustrated and was becoming fearful that I didn’t know how to lead the church to the next level. The coaching experience has given me new excitement because I have the tools to lead us there.

Brian Kelly
McLane, VA

The time we’ve spent with the coach each week has been a great experience. What’s been so good about it is that we’ve been on such a journey as a church going through major transition this past year and I believe that God in advance set up our relationship with our coach because his insights and counsel at some critical points have not only bolstered our confidence as leaders but have also helped us apply the strategies that we’ve been learning.

Bruce Hoppe
Homewood, IL

We have been a church with a clear vision and understanding of the kind of church God has called us to be, but we lacked the ability to implement our vision and make it a reality. Ministry Advantage is helping us translate our desires into reality. My coach gives me an outside voice that I can look to for perspective on our situation and guidance in the implementation process, as well as support and encouragement. We are now moving toward our full potential. Since we began Ministry Advantage our attendance is up, hope is up, giving is up, and involvement is up. The whole coaching experience overcame a lot of frustrations that I was experiencing personally that were spilling over into my personal life, into family life into ministry. This experience has significantly lowered the frustration level in my life and moved me into the area of experiencing fruitfulness and fulfillment.

Douglas Poole
Safety Harbor, FL

I had often heard in abstract the kind of leader that I needed to be. However, no one gave me the nuts and bolts of exactly how to do it. I was stumbling in the dark with a lot of good ideas floating around that I did not know how to implement. Ministry Advantage has given me a clear and specific plan for being the kind of leader that I need to be, and it has given me the accountability I need to make it happen! As we are growing in unity of purpose and implementing effective systems God is using us even more to reach lost people.

Kris Vos
Schererville, IN

Ministry Advantage is one of the few things I have done that has exceeded my expectations. I am grateful for the opportunity.

Paul Taylor
Broken Arrow, OK

Last year after attending a leadership conference I started praying that God would give me the ability to grow in my leadership. Well, God answered through Ministry Advantage. For the first time we have begun to ‘put teeth’ into our mission. The other pastors I work with love my new ‘intentionality’. Thank you MA! This is all about leadership, doing ministry, and getting things done. How is it that I went through seven years of formal religious education and never covered this stuff? How can we expect our churches to prevail if leaders are not trained this way?

Robert Tarnoviski
Philadelphia, PA

My leadership learning curve has been enormous. I’ve learned to think strategically, to think of myself as a trainer of leaders and I have begun to look at that as a primary function as opposed to just one of many plates I was trying to keep spinning.

Our church has changed dramatically. We now have clear plans for how we do ministry and we have clear processes and paths that are easy to hand off to another person – it makes delegation much easier. Staff and key volunteers all now have job descriptions, along with performance objectives that are tied to our mission, or vision, our values, our strategic plan. The church’s ministries are aligned. We all know what we’re doing.

I would urge any pastor do whatever it takes to engage Ministry Advantage. It’s been the most valuable training I’ve ever been through.

Steve Phillips
Irvine, CA

Before we started the program, we were a committee run church. Today, we are transitioning into a team-based concept of ministry, which is allowing us to be much more effective. I’ve been to a number of conferences that have given me a sense of what needs to be done, but I’ve not had a tool like this to help me implement those ideas in the past.

Thane Thompson
Battle Creek, MI

With the peer interaction in Ministry Advantage, I believe I’ve made some friendships I’ll take with me throughout my ministry. We’ve met several times, guys from around the country, different denominations, and different stages of ministry. Some of these guys I’ve really connected with. It’s not all business when we’re together. We mess around and have some fun. But a lot of what Ministry Advantage has led us to do is to interact on our personal lives and some of the struggles of being in ministry and the effect of our ministry on our family.

Will Davis, Jr.
Austin, TX

I’m not alone! The workshops and phone coaching sessions put me in connection with others who are in situations similar to mine. Our accountability to each other is so important, so helpful. And now I have a track to run on – I don’t have to start everything from scratch.

Brad Moore
Florence, WI

Ministry advantage has created new understanding to some existing visions. The insights of the M.A. team are equaled by their intensity and their communication skills. You can only become better at what you already do. Certainly that's worthwhile and of extreme value. God blessed me when He connected me to Ministry Advantage!

Ron McCormick
Woodbridge, VA

As a result of the Ministry Advantage processes and their coaching staff you can now call me "four eyes" without insulting me. I see ministry through a grid of four eyes: "direction, strategy, systems and teams". It helps me get a bead on what I need to do to design ministry with balance and long-term effectiveness. This is a ministry shift that every pastor struggles with in a growing church. MA has made this crystal clear and coaches and coaxes us into this vital role. Thank you for helping me think and then apply. I can never go back. I love you guys. We need to teach this to pastors-in-training. The churches we serve will be able to bear more fruit for the glory of God.

Clement Walschauser
Joliet, IL

I found the coach relationship to be very significant in keeping me on a routine of investigation and growth. I believe my church benefited from the organizational insight I passed along and from an overall sense I had that as a leader, I was not alone.
The discussions we had were helpful in processing the issues associated with the different topics. Often this broadened the effectiveness of the system being presented. I think the coaching component gave a progressive flow to the introductions of different systems.

I also found the interaction to be a time of personal encouragement that spurred me on during difficult times of transition and some church conflict. That support was most valuable.

Mark Watkins
New Brighton, MN

Ministry Advantage has given me direction and guidance to enable me to lead my church into the future with confidence that I am prepared for future growth!

Doug Bullock
Manlius, NY

I cannot say enough about how beneficial Ministry Advantage was to me and to the leadership here at our church. I began Ministry Advantage training and coaching literally three days after I began the ministry I am in now. The resources I still continually reference and the coaching I received was incredibly valuable. We would not be where we are as a church today if it were not for that training, coaching and encouragement. (Of course God is always the underlying force). It was reassuring knowing that the path we were taking would redirect us as a church. That has helped me through many difficult situations.

Our church has gone through many changes over the years. We are in the final stages of moving from six boards of leadership to a single board of elders. We have made some great strides in transitioning committees for everything where so many shared their opinions but few carried out the work, to a church with ministry teams with clear descriptions of responsibilities that now carry out all the ministries of the church. It was my coach who helped me work through a lot of this process. His willingness to go beyond material covered in a manual is what was greatly needed to help me in the transition of this church.

I am truly grateful for the work of Ministry Advantage. We have a long way to go, but God is doing something exciting in this church and I am excited to be a part of it and to have the tools that equip me as a pastor to do what I am called to do.

Kenny Mulligan
Cortland, NY

The role of the coach in the Ministry Advantage program is perhaps the most integral of all in regards to the nurturing, developing, and the equipping of myself and my church for ministry. The way in which I am able to process on a consistent basis the things I am learning with my coach, and the ability I have to honestly interact with someone who is objective and has the Kingdom of God and not any other subjective issues as their primary concern... is critical and immeasurably helpful! The coach is the one who helps me work out all of the details that don't make sense and who works with me to process how to take principles and make them realities in the context of which I serve within. The role of the coach is invaluable and I really think that my church and I are just only beginning to see and understand that, though I am nearing the end of my time in the program. We are in a good place and I feel more strongly equipped to move into a great place in the days/weeks/months to come.

Vincent Rife
Tinton Falls, NJ

I have a "map" to follow now ... a way to diagnose our health as a church by evaluating how the systems are functioning. I learned steps to follow to IMPLEMENT those systems. In countless ways I gained from personal wisdom of my coach and benefited from his support and encouragement during some pretty difficult times. All of this has restored some sense of confidence, and the ability to "keep my head" in tense situations. As my church matures, I am noticing that I am spending less time on systems and more time on the areas in which I am most gifted & which led me to enter the ministry in the first place! I continue to marvel at what a gift my coaching experience was and continues to be!

Frank Boswell
Hunt Valley, MD

Prior to participating in the Ministry Advantage process, I "waffled" in my leadership. I was tossed between a purely corporate method of leading (which I had learned in 20 years in the marketplace) and a purely spiritual one (i.e., prayer and waiting for an "inspiration" from God. This carried with it a constant wondering whether the "inspiration" was truly of God). My coach helped me navigate a method of leading that makes appropriate use of each of those leadership styles.

We have been able to develop some clear identity statements (mission, vision, core values, philosophy, etc.) that we are learning to use as guides in our decision-making and direction. We are beginning to make the mental and actual move from a "committee" structure toward a ministry team structure.

The process has also provided the church with some measurable objectives and the determination to see how we are progressing toward them. This has produced a definite "positive energy" in the church, and excitement about our ministries is rising.

Pat Krause
Roseau, MN

I'm a poster child for Ministry Advantage. When I got the card from you guys, the week before, I had been in our boardroom by myself on my knees saying "God, here are the things you know I need. I don't think I'm the guy to do this anymore because I don't know how to lead this church to the next level. If I am the guy, then you're going to have to do a miracle." I just didn't know how to lead and didn't know where to learn to lead. I've been to tons of conferences, read books but that evidently didn't give me what I needed. Not a week later I got your post card. And everything on that card was exactly what I needed. Everything that was on there was what I desperately felt I needed help with. I was desperate and just needed survival. We had plateaued and I was dying.

When I told my lead elder about the postcard and showed it to him, I'm not kidding you, he started to cry. He knew it was a direct answer to prayer. I had shared this struggle with the elders and they didn't have a clue how to help me or where to find the kind of help I needed. They knew that I needed something and the elders knew they couldn't help me. That’s why my head elder started to cry when he read your post card. So I didn't have one bit of trouble selling the elders about the need for this.

We were running about 500-550 in attendance when I enrolled in Ministry Advantage. And now, less than two years later, we are over 750. Why? Now I know how to lead. Two years ago we were even a smaller church and I didn't really know how to lead to the point that I wondered, “God am I your man for this job?” I was really wondering if I needed to step aside and make room for some monster leader. That impacted me negatively in a lot of ways. I would tend to respond to needs instead of being a proactive in leading because I didn't know what to do to lead.

It is so powerful when you know what you need to do to lead your organization! This allows me to say no to things that distract me. For instance, if someone said to me two years ago, "my marriage is falling apart, can you help me?" I would have thought that was my job to help them because I'm the pastor. So I would have helped them. Because of my involvement in Ministry Advantage, now I can say, “here is our process for helping people with needs like you have." Now I design ministry here. I don't do ministry here. I've designed other ways for those people with marriage problems to get the help they need. It has been so clarifying for me to know what my role is here at the church and to have the knowledge and tools to know how to do it!

Another example is that I didn't know how to build staff teams and create alignment and momentum on the staff. I learned a lot in seminary…how to teach and preach…but they didn't teach me how to help my staff be more effective. They didn't teach me how to create organizational alignment. I didn't think in terms of systems and processes two years ago. Now all the time I say, "let’s sit down and work through a process to make that happen." And we create a process that meets the need or solves the problem long term and engages people effectively.

The very first workshop you talked about priesthood of believers. It really struck me when you said, "if are going to give ministry away, wouldn't you agree it has to be clear, it has to be written down somewhere so that people need to understand how to do it?" I'm ashamed to admit it but I'd been out of seminary for 10 years and that thought hadn't occurred to me before!

We made a decision to do ministry in teams. Then we learned to build teams that were effective and aligned with our mission. We already had a mission statement and we knew that our people needed to embrace it more. We already used the five G's but we weren't really implementing that as a strategic framework like we are now. And I was lacking in teams and team building and alignment. So now, no one does ministry unless they are in a team. Everyone is using our Team Handbook to develop teams. We restructured from the top down. We realigned some of the staff and got the right people in the right places. Now I have four half-time and four full time staff plus me who are all aligned with our mission and the five G's. And we have staff who are beginning to function as leaders instead of specialists.

Brad Davis
Shelbyville, IN

When the flyer for MA crossed my desk, it caught me at a time when I was feeling frustrated and inefficient. I was wondering if I had reached my “leadership lid.” However, the practical leadership principles taught through MA were invaluable. The program is not a like a “drive-by-seminar” where you get the next great idea and pursue it until the next great idea at another seminar. They stay with you. They coach you through the principles and your questions and problems.

Not only did my hope and fervor increase, so did my effectiveness as a leader. As a church, we clearly know who we are, where we are going, how we will get there and what it will look like when we arrive. I am much a less a musician and more of a conductor due to the skills I learned from MA.

We are experiencing a tremendous growth in attendance now because of the infrastructure we have in place because of Ministry Advantage. I've always been a creative thinker and somewhat strategic. But this has given me a systematized way to think strategically and to have a way to follow up and get it done. I know what to do and how to do it. I have tools that I can use to help people implement what I'm envisioning.

We've had an increased number of people in leadership. They have more sense of ownership in the ministry. I’ve always brought good energy to this church but now it is even more directed. We were running close to 400 when we started with Ministry Advantage and now we are averaging 675. We have much better systems to assimilate people.

I whole-heartedly endorse MA. And, like my board did, I would encourage any church board to invest in their pastor. Their church will be better for it.

Lee Giermann
Covington, WA

The coaching helped our church develop new systems and, more importantly, stay on track in implementing those systems. The coaching also helped us to think creatively in addressing strategic issues as well as give us access to sample approaches from other churches.

Willy Reimer
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

I have never gone through any training that has had a more profound impact on my ministry. The information I learned can't be beat, and combining that with the coaching calls makes Ministry Advantage a home run for any pastor! Before joining MA, I had experienced significant growth in my church, but I had reached a wall. The growth in our church came mainly from working harder, and I resisted MA at first because I honestly didn't have any more time for anything new in my life. However, I have learned that while hard work can help in the short term, restructuring is the best long-term solution. Now our church is getting over the wall because we are structured for unlimited growth. This is information I wish I had been taught in the seminary, but that was not the case. My coach has helped me to apply what I've learned in my unique context. Any pastor who learns this valuable information and applies it to his/her church will never be the same.

Ben Dale
Minnetonka, MN

I have really enjoyed being in the Ministry Advantage coaching program. I think the coaching sessions, modules, and workshops have been well designed to move the local church from wherever it is to where God wants it to be. My church has grown (spiritually and numerically) and I feel that I have grown as a leader as a result of my coaching.

I think the biggest thing I learned in Ministry Advantage was that my next step in growing my church was for me to start designing ministry instead of just doing ministry. The only way we could have implemented this was by reorganizing our church functions into teams. Before reorganizing, I had 26 different people answering directly to me. I was at the limit of my ability to keep everything straight. But since we've gone to teams, I now have six people answering to me. And more people are involved in doing ministry. In our church, we now have over 80% of our regular attenders (100% of membership numbers) involved in some form of ministry or outreach. This would have been totally impossible without Ministry Advantage. Since going to a teams-based structure, over twice as much ministry is getting done, our total giving has increased over 50%, and we anticipate over twice as many baptisms this year than any other year in Cornerstone's past.

Previously, I think we had hit the organizational ceiling for growing our church. But now, thanks to Ministry Advantage, we have the infrastructure in place to support continued growth. And I now have the tools and resources to continue that growth for the next several years.

Jay Perry
Wichita, KS

My coach was the best. He took my church and me on a great journey of discovery, systems, and processes -- all of which we are doing. We even have a systems person on staff -- wow!

Art Lenon
Sparks, NV

A common element all growing churches share is strong leadership. For a church to reach its full redemptive potential, it needs all of the gifts Christ gives His body to be fully functioning. But perhaps the most crucial for a church to become everything God intends for it to be is the spiritual gift of leadership. While I've realized this intellectually for some time, for years I was frustrated. I knew I had the gift, yet was at a loss as to how to fully tap into it for God's glory. Leadership was not something I had ever been adequately taught in college or seminary, nor did I see being strongly exhibited by the pastors around me. Eighteen months ago, as I was considering beginning work on a Doctor of Ministry program in leadership, my conference president approached me about the possibility of participating in the first Adventist cohort with Ministry Advantage. After researching both, I decided to go with Ministry Advantage. Over the past year, I have not only been given a picture of what it looks like to exhibit the gift of leadership, but I have also been given tools and a plan. Between the modules, workshops and coaching, I now believe I am utilizing my gift to the fullest. In the meantime, my church has undergone a transformation. We now have a very clear sense of who we are and what our mission is. We are aligning all of our activities around that mission of making disciples for Christ. We are doing what God has called us to do with a renewed sense of energy, direction and excellence. Ministry Advantage has given me a renewed vision for ministry and a plan to lead God's church to greater fruitfulness.

I would strongly recommend Ministry Advantage to any pastor with the spiritual gift of leadership. It's better than any doctoral program out there!

Dave Kennedy
Franktown, CO

Before I started Ministry Advantage I was mostly managing my church by conflict resolution and trying to keep each member involved. I was fairly successful, my church was happy and people were growing in their knowledge of Christ. But we had very little sense of direction. We wanted to be faithful but we were not moving forward.

The first thing that I learned was that it was my job to be more of a designer and less of a doer. Of course I had been told these things before but now I began to learn how to develop systems that would actually accomplish them. Before Ministry Advantage, we had a mission statement but that mission statement barely impacted our church. Now our mission, vision and core values are constantly being compared with our activities to determine which ones should grow and which should be allowed to die. We know where we want to go and why.

My church is still not very effective as a soul-winning agency. But at least now we have tools to assess that effectiveness and are working on systems to address the deficiencies. Before we spent about 99% of our time and resources on our own needs. Now we are constantly asking how will this or that idea will help us to reach out into our community for Christ.

If you are comfortable in your role as pastor and do not want change, then do not enroll in Ministry Advantage. But if you want to see your church begin to be all that Christ wants it to be and make a difference for Jesus in your community then Ministry Advantage will help you. It will change the way you think, strategically. It will make your organization much more effective. It will change the way your members think about their church. They will learn how they can be involved in meaningful ministries that help make the church a better tool in the hand of the master. Yes, it costs money. But it costs the church even more to waste year after year doing the same thing without accomplishing the mission.

Bob Brauer
Brainerd, MN

Before I started the program I had a general sense of what it took to lead our church and had made attempts in various areas. I had worked with other leaders to put together a mission, vision and values statement, hired staff members, and started numerous ministries, but I didn’t have a good grasp for how all of these things worked together to move the church forward. In short, I had a lot of pieces to the leadership puzzle but not the complete picture.

The leadership principles I have learned through Ministry Advantage have made me a better leader and are helping our church to be all that God has called her to be. For example—I’ve learned the importance of working ON the church instead of just IN the church. Although I in the past, I have been busy in ministry, I wasn’t always increasing the quality and capacity of ministry. Although I have a long ways to go, I am encouraged that I am learning this discipline and doing things like designing new ministries, training new leaders or helping build teams.

One of the differences I see in me is that I’m not as quick to jump into a ministry situation, solve a problem or start a new ministry as I was in the past. I am learning the art of working through other leaders (even if they don’t do as good job as I might have!) and coaching them so they can build and grow their ministries. I’ve also learned the value of designing and redesigning systems so that other people can be empowered to work in ministry

I can’t say enough good things about Ministry Advantage. The workshops at various creative and innovative churches have opened my eyes to ministry possibilities. Different speakers have inspired, equipped and given me tools in the areas such as outreach, assimilation, finance, etc. Also, it has put me in touch with other pastors who share a common desire with me to grow their church by have a greater kingdom impact by being better leaders.

I thank God for the people who have made this program possible and recommend it highly. I have always had a strong vision for ministry. Ministry Advantage is helping me to make that vision a reality!

Andy Sytsma
Haledon, NJ

I am much more secure in my leadership because of Ministry Advantage. The tools and resources they provided where a "word in season" for my life and leadership.

Patrick Norris
Overland Park, KS

We had our first service in our new building yesterday. We had over 900 in attendance. This weekend is our Grand Opening. So we are looking forward to a great weekend. We changed our name to StoneBridge Christian Church. It is been a very smooth transition. I am thankful for MA for helping us get to this point.

Mark Chitwood

My coach has helped me and our ministry immeasurably. I went from being a church planter afraid that I had built a ministry that I was no longer capable of leading, to becoming a pastor looking forward to leading the church I planted for years to come.
One of the significant initiatives that we worked on was expanding to a two-service format and adding Adult Bible Fellowship groups. The result of this initiative was that we experienced approximately 35% growth in a three-month period. We also had a significant increase in volunteer participation. This growth, coupled with the increasing rates that we are paying to a local school system for rent, has caused us to consider our options to purchase land and build.
Thanks so much for the experience and journey of Ministry Advantage, I recommend your ministry to every pastor I meet.

Rick Schwab
Lapeer Community Church

Our leadership team was struggling with how to take our church plant to then next level. We had grown from four people in a basement start up to over 150, but we sensed God was asking us to reach even more people. I heard about Ministry Advantage and jumped at the opportunity.

I made a decision at the beginning to NOT do Ministry Advantage alone. I had two of my team with me on the weekly phone calls to our coach. We got permission to tape the sessions and shared them with the other team members. This was huge for us because we were able to learn together and see the benefits of each change we made.
We were successful and growing before Ministry Advantage. That's why we wanted to get a coach. We wanted to lead even more effectively.

It's hard to summarize all the benefits I received. Here's a partial list:

• The teachers and coaches were all in ministry and knew what they were talking about. All theory was backed up with a strong dose of reality.
• The different venues for our workshops gave us great opportunities to learn from successful churches and leaders.
• We've become a multi-campus church (one church in two locations now, hopefully, we'll be in 16 before the Lord returns. That means one campus within 15 minutes of every unchurched person in our local area - there are 1.5 million of them and we want to share Jesus with them.) Ministry Advantage has given us direct coaching to accomplish this phase shift from one church one location to a whole new paradigm.
• Everything you learn is directly related to what you need to do.
• I now know, and so does everyone of my leadership team, what I need to be doing to grow the church, how to do it, how to make corrections and how to determine what's most important. This may seem like overstatement,
  but I must say that to have a clear understanding of how to develop your organization is essential. The emphasis of Ministry Advantage on Core Ideology, Team Building and Systems is simple enough to share with every person in church and profound enough to build a church that can reach it's redemptive potential.
• The pastors who attended the workshops represented a wide variety of churches: from innovative and seeker targeted to traditional and ethnic. This coming together gave us an opportunity to build bridges and fellow leaders.

If you want a rich return on your investment, Ministry Advantage is huge. I must warn you, it is not for the lazy or the fearful. The more you put into MA the more you get out. My team and I are prepared to be designers of ministry rather than just doers. The Ephesians 4 command to equip the saints for the work of the ministry has never been so clear.

Jim Gaull
Creekside Community Church, Canada

Ministry Advantage was a great thing for our church, and it was the coach who kept us on task. His faithful calls and wise counsel were priceless. We clarified our mission, purpose, vision and outcomes include a new position of associate pastor - developed to address needs identified in the M.A. process.

Doug Green

MA has given me a management system to use to guide and align the ministry at SAAC. Personally, it has been a real source of personal growth; it is so easy at times to coast. Now, I have focus as well as our staff and the leadership of the church. As a result our people have benefited much.

Robert Claxton, Canada

Ministry Advantage has helped pave a pathway to make purpose statements, simplify structure hire with more wisdom and made available resources not to mention a great example of a helpful coach.

Paul Eckdahl

Having a Ministry Advantage coach provided the accountability I needed to follow through on doing strategic planning and working on implementation of those plans. While implementation in a small church continues to be difficult, the structure is there!

Tyrone Perkins

The program as a whole helped us in at least three areas; systems and organization, strategic planning, and alignment within the church. The coach was helpful in breaking things down and kept me accountable although I was unable to put as much time into it at the time as I would have liked. I probably had more breakthroughs in my thinking at the cohort meetings. The resources have been huge; I have had some of the notebooks out today as a resource for planning, etc. for the coming year.

Mike Henderson

Having a M/A coach helped me to do some of the things that I naturally put off indefinitely, like taking time to focus on leadership and planning issues. The coaching sessions were encouraging & helpful, and gave me that little bit of accountability pressure to get some things done and keep some things moving.

Larry Willman
St. Paul, MN

I use the info and skills from MA every single day. There is no doubt that the MA process has helped us turn a church (and me as a pastor) around and begin to move forward.

Dave Hensleigh
Grace Community Church
Champaign, IL

Getting involved in Ministry Advantage is one of the best investments I've ever made in the ministry. It helped bring together for me, and my church, what would have taken me "years" to accomplish; or maybe never at all!

Dave McBroom

The organizational change we have navigated with the help of MA has been huge. From a church with no paid staff to paid staff with a streamlined organizational structure, MA has been a valuable resource. The momentum is coming back to this church, thanks in large part to MA.

Jeff Lyle