Celebrating Stories of Life Change Through Baptism

One of the most compelling elements of our worship service is baptism. From their pre-recorded testimonies, to their public declarations of faith, to the witnessing of their baptisms … every aspect tells a powerful part of their stories. We'll talk about how we prepare people for their videos and baptisms and the unforgettable moments that are created as we present their stories of life change.

Creating a Great First Impression for Guests

Every time guests walk through the doors of our environments, we have a great opportunity. We can remove obstacles that have the potential to make a negative impression. Better yet, we can create the kind of first impression that leaves them saying, "Wow"!

FULL Networking with Children's Ministry Staff

Take advantage of this opportunity to sit around the table with other children’s ministry staff from around the country. Talk about the latest and greatest in children’s ministry with leaders who are invested—just like you! This is your chance to network and share ideas.

Reaching and Equipping Disconnected Adults

You will connect a percentage of adults through your small group strategy. But there will be some you will never connect using your typical processes. And if you don’t connect them, you can’t equip them. So how do you reach and equip disconnected adults? We'll discuss a new initiative that is helping North Point overcome a primary barrier to connecting adults into groups.

FULL Understanding the North Point Core

There is a set of core values that drives the programming that you see and the decisions that are made. It is the framework that gives structure to our ministry model. If you would like a better understanding of the "why" behind the "what," this session is for you.

Unpacking the North Point Approach to Fundraising

Is it possible to inspire a congregation of people to give generously? If you are leading a God-sized vision, you are going to need people that are excited to fuel that vision. We will share some key principles we’ve discovered that can help you develop a culture of generosity throughout your ministry.

Designing a Multi-Site Strategy

The decision to expand to multiple locations is a big one. There are many potential risks and challenges. Learn the philosophy and the strategy behind our multi-site approach from a leader who has walked through this process with us from the beginning.

Focusing Internationally Through globalX

How do we partner to create churches in other countries that unchurched people love to attend? Our desire is to help national leaders develop ministries that are relevant to their cultures. We’ll share our plan to support and develop these partnerships through strategic consulting and team trips.

Implementing a Strategy for Married Couples

A strong and healthy marriage isn’t easy to achieve. So, we are committed to supporting the couples in our church and challenging them to build strong relationships. Join the leaders of our marriage ministries—2 to1 Premarital Mentoring, Just Married Groups, Married Community Groups, Intimate Encounters, and MarriedLife Live—as they discuss our approach, our challenges, and our plans for the future.

FULL Networking with Student Ministry Staff

Connect with student ministry leaders from around the country. Get feedback on the latest programming ideas for students and network with fellow leaders. This is your chance to ask questions, share ideas, and connect with other student ministry leaders that are making it happen with students every week.

Motivating Volunteers

What motivates people to leave the comfort of their seats and get involved? We think it's possible to create the kind of volunteer experience that attracts and keeps great volunteers. Learn with us as we continue to explore new opportunities to find the kinds of leaders that we are all looking for.

FULL Taking Leaders to the Next Level

Developing adult leaders is more than just skill development for a specific ministry. It is about building a biblical and theological framework that volunteers will leverage in their leadership … and in their lives. We’ll share how, where, and when we use classroom learning to build such a framework into our adult leaders.

FULL Creating a Healthy Staff Culture

What attracts exceptional leaders to your team? Better yet, what makes them want to stay? Join us as we discuss the fun-loving, creative, and mission-oriented work environment at North Point. We will share what we've learned about creating a healthy and productive staff culture.

FULL Developing a Network of Care

There are times when the people in our church and community face heartbreaking circumstances. Meeting their needs can be overwhelming. You can create a safety net of care that is sustainable. We'll share how we work together with key volunteer teams and develop strong partnerships with existing organizations in our area of influence.

FULL Following Good Business Practices

The way you manage the business side of your church reflects the priorities and character of your ministry. It's important to create and sustain the procedures and standards that contribute to an overall healthy ministry. In this breakout, we'll focus on the business practices you should consider when starting out and during seasons of growth and how these practices impact your church's influence in the community.

FULL KidStuf Lab (Kids & Parents) — Live Production & KidStuf Take-Out

Learn the basics behind KidStuf Live, our shared experience for families that inspires and motivates parents to teach their kids God's Big Ideas all month long. Imagine what will happen when you learn how to combine God's truth with the biggest influences in the lives of kids—their parents.

FULL Leading Through Change

When we lead well through seasons of innovation and change, we have the potential to earn greater trust and generate momentum. Could change be a secret weapon for gaining greater leverage as a leader? We've discovered five practices that will help you lead through change more effectively.

Leveraging the Next Generation

How can we give our young leaders hands-on experience in ministry and leverage that experience for their personal growth and for the greater good of the world around them? We'll talk about what we're learning as we empower young leaders to serve in ministry.

Planning Engaging Sermon Series

How do you take an inspired truth and turn it into an unforgettable series? Our Service Programming team will walk you through the creation and implementation of a multi-part sermon series. They'll talk about the key pieces that go into each series and how those pieces are put together.

Setting Realistic Expectations for Adult Groups

Our visions for community and the realities of our groups don't always add up. We can oversell the typical experience and under-prepare people for the challenges of group life. What's the problem? Is it the vision? Is it our leadership? Or could it be that we've set unrealistic expectations for our group members? In this breakout you will be challenged to hit reset around your expectations for group life.

FULL Waumba Land Lab (Preschool) — Logistics and Small Groups

Waumba Land is our Sunday morning environment for children, birth through Pre-K. In this session, we'll walk through a typical Sunday morning schedule and talk about what small groups look like in preschool. We will also unpack the content and preparation process, our check-in and security procedures, and the many other systems that are running behind the scenes to make it all work.

FULL Creating a Starting Point for Seekers, Starters, and Returners

Do you have an environment in your church where attendees who are exploring Christianity, are new in their faith, or are simply giving church another shot can go to safely ask their questions and express their doubts? Come learn about the environment we have created where people can explore faith and experience community.

FULL Designing Environments with Limited Resources

All of our strategic partners have insight and personal experience with what is needed to create relevant environments with limited resources and temporary facilities. Learn where they've decided to spend money and time when they are just getting started and what aspects of the ministry environments are created later as they grow.

FULL Leading Through Change

When we lead well through seasons of innovation and change, we have the potential to earn greater trust and generate momentum. Could change be a secret weapon for gaining greater leverage as a leader? We've discovered five practices that will help you lead through change more effectively.

FULL Leveraging the Next Generation

How can we give our young leaders hands-on experience in ministry and leverage that experience for their personal growth and for the greater good of the world around them? We'll talk about what we're learning as we empower young leaders to serve in ministry.

FULL Making Tough Calls

We have all experienced the frustration of being held hostage by the poor leadership of a supervisor or the weak performance of a fellow teammate. Most of the time we just wish someone (my boss) would do something! As a leader, it is never an easy decision to remove someone from a team. In this breakout, we'll talk about what we've learned when it comes to making the tough calls.

Measuring What You Manage

Creating a dashboard that measures the areas of ministry that you need to manage can be a cumbersome and overwhelming task. But how do you know how you're doing if you can't access accurate data? And how can you calculate the risks of the future if you have no tangible measurements of the past? We will share what our ministry dashboards look like and what the information that we gather tells us about how we're doing.

FULL Rules of Engagement

Through trial, error, and consistent evaluation, we've discovered a formula that enables us to create an intentional experience week after week that engages the audience. In this breakout, we'll discuss the "rules of engagement" when creating purposeful environments. If you missed this session at Drive 2010, don't miss it this time!

FULL UpStreet Lab (Elementary) — Large Groups

Shortly after arriving on Sunday mornings, our kids travel to their large group environments where the Bible story is shared. We use costumes, props, and characters from the story—anything to make the Bible come to life. We also carve out time for kids to worship and to tell God how much they love him. Find out what goes on behind the scenes and what we've learned along the way about creating engaging large group environments for kids.

Worship Service Programming Lab — Music and Production

Music and media are critical parts of any worship service, so how can you make them engaging and appealing catalysts for authentic and memorable experiences? Come hear about how we use music and production to make Sunday mornings come alive.

FULL Mentoring the Next Generation of Staff Leadership

Developing the young leaders that are rising up behind you takes intentional effort. It doesn't just happen. And if you're not careful, you can accidentally create an environment that discourages young leaders. The question we should all be asking is, "How do we create a culture where the next generation of leaders will thrive?" In this breakout, we will share some principles we use when mentoring young staff.

Connecting Adults to Small Groups

How do we motivate adults to take their first steps into small groups? We've found that offering a variety of opportunities for connection allows us to meet the needs of more people and makes that first step a little easier. In this breakout, we'll talk about our assimilation strategy and how environments such as NEXT, Fusion, and GroupLink function as great FIRST steps for adults.

FULL Managing the Tensions of Ministry

Why does it seem like some problems just won't go away? In both our lives and our ministries, we frequently try to "solve" problems, only to have them come back again. But what if they aren't really problems to be solved, but rather tensions to be managed? Sometimes the best possible outcome is found in effectively managing the tension, not having it go away. We'll examine the very practical applications for managing the tensions in ministry and in life.

FULL Prioritizing Small Groups at Every Stage of Life

Our goal is that every child would grow up believing that doing life together with a community of believers is essential to his or her spiritual growth. We have found that small groups at each stage of life have unique qualities and that we can leverage those differences for the benefit of the children and students involved.

Rules of Engagement

Through trial, error, and consistent evaluation, we've discovered a formula that enables us to create an intentional experience week after week that engages the audience. In this breakout, we'll discuss the "rules of engagement" when creating purposeful environments. If you missed this session at Drive 2010, don't miss it this time!

FULL Serving the Community

It's clear in Scripture that God's heart tips toward the orphan, the widow, the poor, the imprisoned, and the brokenhearted. But how—with the urgency of our weekly responsibilities—do we ensure that serving our community and showing compassion to those in need is a priority? We will share how we're learning to empower our church to partner with the community and to make this an integral part of our ministry.

FULL Starting with the Right People

One of the most important elements of any new ministry is the people. You know you can't do it alone, but where do you start? Staffing is expensive. So, who do you really need to hire? Volunteers are essential to your success. What are the key positions that you need to fill? Learn from a proven leader who developed teams from the ground up.

FULL Student Ministry Lab — Middle School

Our approach to ministry for middle school students is comprised of two elements—large group and small group. We'll talk about the crazy games, live worship, and messages geared for the middle school students, as well as what it takes to establish successful small groups. We know it takes a special kind of leader to make a difference in the lives of our students. We'll also talk about the role of the leaders who connect with our students in small groups.

FULL Waumba Land Lab (Preschool) — Storytelling and Worship

It takes a unique talent to engage young children in worship and to expose key truths from the Bible so that they stick with preschoolers. In this breakout, we'll talk about the incredible volunteers that greet our kids at the door, engage them in worship, and capture their attention with Bible stories.

Administration Q & A

Adult Groups Q & A

Care Ministry Q & A

FULL Children’s Ministry Q & A

Missions Q & A

FULL Preschool Ministry Q & A

Senior Pastor Q & A

Service Programming Q & A

Singles Ministry Q & A

Strategic Partners Q & A

FULL Student Ministry Q & A

Building a Strong Staff Team—One Person at a Time

Creating a thriving ministry organization begins with finding great leaders. So, how do you do it? How do you determine if someone is the right fit for your team? We will share our best practices on interviewing, assessing, and hiring great leaders. We'll also talk about what it looks like when you have to remove a leader from the team. Removing someone from the team is never pleasant, but it is often one of the most powerful decisions you can make when building a healthy staff team.

FULL Getting Singles Engaged

The single adult population is exploding and less than half of them are involved in church. We've discovered not only how to create effective programming for singles, but also how to include them as a strategic part of our ministry strategy. We will share what we've learned over the last ten years about getting singles engaged . . . in ministry.

FULL Implementing the North Point Model on a Start-Up Budget

We are often asked how to design North Point's environments and programming for smaller budgets and smaller, often temporary, venues. Deciding how to structure your budget and planning for the needs of the future is tough when you are just starting out and funds are limited. In this breakout, you'll hear from a strategic partner who has "been there" and is doing it successfully.

FULL Prioritizing Small Groups at Every Stage of Life

Our goal is that every child would grow up believing that doing life together with a community of believers is essential to his or her spiritual growth. We have found that small groups at each stage of life have unique qualities and that we can leverage those differences for the benefit of the children and students involved.

FULL Serving the Community

It's clear in Scripture that God's heart tips toward the orphan, the widow, the poor, the imprisoned, and the brokenhearted. But how—with the urgency of our weekly responsibilities—do we ensure that serving our community and showing compassion to those in need is a priority? We will share how we're learning to empower our church to partner with the community and to make this an integral part of our ministry.

FULL Student Ministry Lab — High School

Designing the right kind of environment is crucial to communicating truth in a way that connects to the hearts of our students. Our large group environments start with a key truth, mix in some creative elements, and end with great life application and small group discussions. Oh, yeah . . . and a little crazy fun along the way!

FULL UpStreet Lab (Elementary) — Small Groups

On UpStreet, we want kids to see how God's Word applies to their lives, to learn to trust him, and to build great friendships. That's why it's important to make sure that each child is connected with the same friends and the same leader each week. And that's why the focus on UpStreet is small groups. We'll talk about what it takes to make small groups GREAT for kids.

Worship Service Programming Lab — Creativity Through the Lens of Video

Most of us use video as part of the worship service experience, but what are the steps that take us from an initial idea to a video element that engages the audience and communicates a message? Join us as we explore the creative process through the lens of video.