Capstone Project Final Case Studies

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CAPSTONE PROJECT FINAL: CASE STUDIES
Sample Case Study - Lighthouse Church – Panama City, Florida
Lighthouse Church is a large, mega church in Panama City, FL. Average attendance at
the three Sunday morning worship services totals better than 15,800 people. They are
easily the largest church in the entire panhandle of Florida. They have religious and
political influence. Their ministry touches lives all over the world. The church is in its
centennial year and hosting a 10-day period of celebration during the month of
September. Commented [WV1]: INTRODUCTION
General Description of the Church
Location of the Church
The church is located in a choice, upper middle-class section of the city – just five miles
from the famous Panama City Beach. The large, multi-campus facility is an inviting
refuge from the busy tourist crowds and seasonal vacationers that walk through the
church doors week after week – many with broken hearts, some from broken homes, and
many with lives in need of repair.
The church has a $6.5 million-dollar annual budget of which nearly $200,000 (3.25%) is
allocated to music and worship ministry needs (not including salaries), 10% goes to
missions and another 10% to ministry outreach.
In reality, the church is like a big family. The congregation loves Bible preaching and
engaging worship. They love to sing. While they are denominational in affiliation, they
are very much autonomous in their organization, structure, and mission. Even so, and in
many ways, they are still the typical southern congregation – friendly, engaging, socially
conservative, and, devoted to Florida State and University of Auburn football. They are
theologically conservative, passionate about country, and totally committed to world
evangelism. Commented [WV2]: Cultural Influences
Because of the church’s close proximity to the beach and commitment to meeting the
needs military personnel at the nearby base, they have become a very diverse ethnic
community with young couples and growing families. Last year, they started a separate
church service especially geared to reaching the growing Latino community.
The church is pretty much evenly divided between demographic age groups. About 25% Commented [WV3]: Demographic
of the church are over the age of 65. They are a very active, influential age-group with
ministry commitment to the church and community. Another 20% are middle aged
parents with high school and college aged children still living at home. Children’s
ministry is a major priority for the church. About 35% of the church membership
includes the young parents with their children.
They have a very strong, large, and growing student ministry (middle school and high
school). In fact, about 10% of the church can be grouped into this particular
demographic. Their college-age and singles ministry continue to show impressive growth
with scores of young adults going to Christian college for specialized training and
returning to serve as professionals in their chosen careers. This group makes up about
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10% of the church membership – impressive for a church in this region of the country.
All in all, the church children, teenagers and have remained untouched by the social and
ethnic changes that other churches have experienced. The spiritual “temperature” of the
student ministry is strong. They are engaged in reaching the culture for Christ. And, their
commitment as a student, college, and singles group to teaching and practicing worship is
strong.
Because of an unwavering commitment to being godly influences in their community, the

church administrative team has resisted starting a Christian school. Literally hundreds of
school teachers in their church are working in public education. Even so, they have a
significant number of children that are home-schooled or attend one of the many
Christian schools in the area. And, the church administration endeavors to support these
parents in their endeavors as well.
The pastor is a strong leader, exceptional bible expositor, and man of vision. His ministry Commented [WV4]: Pastoral Influence
philosophy is very much focused on three things: 1) evangelism, 2) discipleship, and 3)
worship. He believes the pulpit is the best place for counseling and is not afraid to
address moral and ethnical issues on any given Sunday. The pastor is theologically and
politically conservative. And, he makes the voice of his people known at city council
meetings, political events, and to the city and county school boards. The pastor takes
seriously his role to be chief worship leader for his people. He has asked the worship
pastor to develop a ministry that is traditional in nature but contemporary in vision. He
wants a practical mix of old and new, stylistically diverse, and theologically sound. His
desire is to see the entire congregation – all ages – worshiping the Lord together.
The pastor has his Doctor of Ministry degree from a well-respected seminary and
encourages his staff to pursue advanced degrees and attend special training seminars or
workshops. In fact, he is on the board at a well-known denominational seminary and
actively involved in establishing a Christian college across town.
The church staff is as diverse as the church membership. The executive pastoral staff Commented [WV5]: Church Staff
includes the senior pastor, executive pastor, worship pastor, education pastor, and
evangelism/discipleship pastor. Other pastoral positions include children’s pastor, student
ministries pastor, single adult pastor, pastor of Latino ministries, women’s ministry
director, senior adult pastor, and director of prison ministries. In all, there are 12 full time
pastors, each with an administrative assistant. All of the pastoral staff is deeply
committed to worship and are supporters of the worship leadership in the church. They
enjoy working together and providing ministry to and with each other. They are fully
supportive of the pastor’s vision to plant more than 100 churches and grow their own
fellowship to well over 25,000 during the next decade.
They have a new, state of the art 5,500 seat auditorium. The church invested over $1 Commented [WV6]: Resources
million dollars in lighting and sound equipment. They have a wonderful education
facility. There are eight full time employees that work in the media ministry. Another 20
employees are charged with the responsibilities of facilities management on one level or
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another. They host and present a weekly television ministry – usually a live broadcast of
their 11:00 AM service.
The Purpose and Philosophy of Ministry is pretty much driven by the pastor’s desire for
evangelism, discipleship, and worship. This impacts everything. In the pastor’s eyes,
everything secular has implications for evangelism and everything sacred implies some
type of worship.
The philosophy of worship is very straight forward: blended worship (between traditional
and contemporary); use those that are in the church; do everything with excellence; place
a high priority on teaching and training; and, always be good stewards of the time and
resources God provides for his people. Commented [WV7]: Philosophy of Ministry
The music and worship program is staffed with 12 full time people, including: Worship
pastor, administrative assistant, associate worship pastor, arranger and orchestrator,
director of instrumental worship, director of drama ministry, director of radio/television
ministry, director of student worship, director of children’s worship, director of media,
and two worship assistants. Commented [WV8]: Resources: Staff
The worship team that assists in providing music and worship on Sunday are specially
trained by the worship pastor. They are godly men and women that have a strong
walk with the Lord, hunger for God, and commitment to congregational ministry.
They have weekly bible teaching and discipleship activities. All in all, they have captured
the pastor’s vision, they love to serve. Commented [WV9]: Spiritual Resources
The worship band is keyboard driven. Other players include drummer, lead guitar,
acoustic guitar, percussion, bass, and organ. They love each other. And, all are equally
skilled as players. They form a core for the entire instrumental program. The worship
ministry also has a 48-piece orchestra. These are primarily volunteers from the
community. Many are music teachers. Commented [WV10]: Resources: Musicians
The vocalist are equally committed to the Lord. Three teams of six rotate in leading
worship. They practice three times outside of the Sunday worship times. So, it is a big
commitment when one decides to be part of the singing ministry. They also serve as a
core for the church’s 200 voice choir.
Musical resources include new piano, organ, keyboard, and electronic drums. The
worship pastors use a balance between music published by major Christian music
companies and literature written by staff personnel. Of course, copy machines,
computers, and appropriate media equipment are available as needed. Plenty availability
of computers and software! Commented [WV11]: Resources: Equipment
One final aspect of the worship ministry, the church hosts an annual Christmas and
Fourth of July Festival for the community. It is not unusual for over 50,000 people Commented [WV12]: Other Worship Items Related to
Strategy for Worship Ministry from the community to attend these special events. Worship
Commented [WV13]: Strategy for Worship Ministry
Commented [WV14]: Summary
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Case Study #1 - Victory Church – Milton, Florida
Victory Church is a large, mega church in Milton, FL. Average attendance at the three
Sunday morning worship services totals better than 15,210 people. They are easily the
largest church in the entire panhandle of Florida. They have religious and political
influence. Their ministry touches lives all over the world. The church is in its centennial
year and hosting a 10-day period of celebration during the month of September.
The church is located in a choice, upper middle-class section of the city – just fifteen
miles from the famous Pensacola Beach. The large, multi-campus facility is an inviting
refuge from the busy tourist crowds and seasonal vacationers that walk through the
church doors week after week – many with broken hearts, some from broken homes, and
many with lives in need of repair.
allocated to music and worship ministry needs (not including salaries), 10% goes to
missions and another 10% to ministry outreach.
In reality, the church is like a big family. The congregation loves Bible preaching and
engaging worship. They love to sing. While they are denominational in affiliation, they
are very much autonomous in their organization, structure, and mission. Even so, and in
many ways, they are still the typical southern congregation – friendly, engaging, socially
conservative, and, devoted to Florida State and University of Auburn football. They are
theologically conservative, passionate about country, and totally committed to world
evangelism.
Because of the church’s close proximity to the beach and commitment to meeting the
needs military personnel at the nearby base, they have become a very diverse ethnic
community with young couples and growing families. Last year, they started a separate
church service especially geared to reaching the growing Latino community.
The church is pretty much evenly divided between demographic age groups. About 25%
of the church are over the age of 65. They are a very active, influential age-group with
ministry commitment to the church and community. Another 20% are middle aged
parents with high school and college aged children still living at home. Children’s
ministry is a major priority for the church. About 35% of the church membership
includes the young parents with their children.
They have a very strong, large, and growing student ministry (middle school and high
school). In fact, about 10% of the church can be grouped into this particular
demographic. Their college-age and singles ministry continue to show impressive growth
with scores of young adults going to Christian college for specialized training and
returning to serve as professionals in their chosen careers. This group makes up about
10% of the church membership – impressive for a church in this region of the country.
All in all, the church children, teenagers and have remained untouched by the social and
ethnic changes that other churches have experienced. The spiritual “temperature” of the
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student ministry is strong. They are engaged in reaching the culture for Christ. And, their
commitment as a student, college, and singles group to teaching and practicing worship is
strong.
Because of an unwavering commitment to being godly influences in their community, the

church administrative team has resisted starting a Christian school. Literally hundreds of
school teachers in their church are working in public education. Even so, they have a
significant number of children that are home-schooled or attend one of the many
Christian schools in the area. And, the church administration endeavors to support these
parents in their endeavors as well.
The pastor is a strong leader, exceptional bible expositor, and man of vision. His ministry
philosophy is very much focused on three things: 1) evangelism, 2) discipleship, and 3)
worship. He believes the pulpit is the best place for counseling and is not afraid to
address moral and ethnical issues on any given Sunday. The pastor is theologically and
politically conservative. And, he makes the voice of his people known at city council
meetings, political events, and to the city and county school boards. The pastor takes
seriously his role to be chief worship leader for his people. He has asked the worship
pastor to develop a ministry that is traditional in nature but contemporary in vision. He
wants a practical mix of old and new, stylistically diverse, and theologically sound. His
desire is to see the entire congregation – all ages – worshiping the Lord together.
The pastor has his Doctor of Ministry degree from a well-respected seminary and
encourages his staff to pursue advanced degrees and attend special training seminars or
workshops. In fact, he is on the board at a well-known denominational seminary and
actively involved in establishing a Christian college across town.
The church staff is as diverse as the church membership. The executive pastoral staff
includes the senior pastor, executive pastor, worship pastor, education pastor, and
evangelism/discipleship pastor. Other pastoral positions include children’s pastor, student
ministries pastor, single adult pastor, pastor of Latino ministries, women’s ministry
director, senior adult pastor, and director of prison ministries. In all, there are 12 full time
supportive of the pastor’s vision to plant more than 100 churches and grow their own
fellowship to well over 25,000 during the next decade.
They have a new, state of the art 5,500 seat auditorium. The church invested over $1
facility. There are eight full time employees that work in the media ministry. Another 20
employees are charged with the responsibilities of facilities management on one level or
another.
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type of worship. As an immediate out-growth of the commitment to evangelism, the
Sunday morning, 11:00 AM services are broadcasted on live television. A tape-delayed
version of the service is rebroadcasted on Thursday and Saturday evenings. This has
proved to be a very successful and exciting decision for the church. Each week, visitors
and guests from all over the pan-handle come to church as a result of seeing the ministry
on television.
The philosophy of worship is very straight forward: blended worship (between traditional
and contemporary); use those that are in the church; do everything with excellence; place
a high priority on teaching and training; and, always be good stewards of the time and
resources God provides for his people.
The music and worship program is staffed with 12 full time people, including: Worship
pastor, administrative assistant, associate worship pastor, arranger and orchestrator,
director of instrumental worship, director of drama ministry, director of radio/television
ministry, director of student worship, director of children’s worship, director of media,
and two worship assistants.
The worship team that assists in providing music and worship on Sunday are specially
trained by the worship pastor. They are godly men and women that have a strong
walk with the Lord, hunger for God, and commitment to congregational ministry.
They have weekly bible teaching and discipleship activities. All in all, they have captured
the pastor’s vision, they love to serve.
community. Many are music teachers.
The vocalists are equally committed to the Lord. Three teams of six rotate in leading
Musical resources include new piano, organ, keyboard, and electronic drums. The
worship pastors use a balance between music published by major Christian music
companies and literature written by staff personnel. Of course, copy machines,
computers, and appropriate media equipment are available as needed. Plenty availability
of computers and software!
Fourth of July Festival for the community. It is not unusual for over 50,000 people from
the community to attend these special events.
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Case Study #2 - Riverside Baptist Church – Ft. Worth, TX
Riverside Baptist Church is a large, mega church affiliated with the Southern Baptist
Convention. Located in Ft. Worth, TX. Average attendance at the one Saturday night and
two Sunday morning services consistently runs between 10,500 and 11,000 people. While
Riverside is a large, influential fellowship, it is not the largest church in the Ft. Worth,
Texas Metroplex. They are known for their solid Bible teaching, innovative worship
ministry, missionary outreach, and exceptionally large youth ministry.
The church is located in the most affluent parts of Ft. Worth. The congregation meets in a
new, multi-purpose building complete with the most up-to-date technology, sound
system, video support, and innovative lighting. The church has two state-of-the-art
recording studios, a video recording suite, and a complete graphic arts department. They
are committed to communicating the gospel (and the worship of Christ) to this present
generation.
allocated to music and worship needs (not including salaries, television or media
budgets), 30% of the budget goes to missions and other outreach ministries – 10% to
foreign missions; 10% for missions initiatives in America; and, 10% for missions trips by
student and adult church groups.
The church leadership has spent considerable efforts in developing a sense of community
in the church. About 40% of the church membership are young married couples with
young children, under the age of 40. The church has a very large and successful
children’s ministry, complete with a full time Director of Children’s Ministry and two
employees devoted to the leading of children’s worship. Another 12.5% are teenagers and
college students. The youth department includes a full time Director of Student Ministries
and a Coordinator of Youth Worship. There are about 25% that call themselves senior
adult. They are a very active in the senior adult choir and love to do things with the youth
ministries. They sponsor an annual walk-a-thon to raise money for scholarships for
students to attend Liberty University.
The congregation loves Bible preaching and engaging worship. They love to sing. While
they are denominational in affiliation and actively involved in the local, regional,
national, and international ministries, including supporting a seminary in Brazil, they
totally underwrite the expenses of an orphanage in Ukraine. In addition, they operate a
very effective jail ministry, outreach-counseling program with battered women and
prostitutes, and long-term drug rehab center.
The church is theologically and socially conservative, passionate about God and country,
and totally committed to evangelism, revival, and worship. They have a very
contemporary worship service that meets on Saturday evening. The two services on
Sunday morning are in a blended-contemporary format with drama, heavy use of
technology, and impressive lighting. They plan on initiating a new Spanish speaking
service the first Sunday after Easter.
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Because of the church’s close proximity to the Dallas Cowboys football team and Texas
Rangers Baseball club, the church leadership frequently partners with major professional
organizations in presenting the gospel with high profile players. In fact, two Dallas
Cowboy football team players and 4 professional baseball players are members of the
church. One of the members of the Rangers baseball team, a deacon in the church,
sponsors an annual sports weekend for young boys in single-parent homes. Last year,
there were over 100 boys that received Christ as a result of their experience together.
As one could imagine, the church has a very strong, large, and growing student ministry
(middle school and high school). Their college-age and singles ministry continues to
show impressive growth with scores of young adults going to Christian college for
specialized training in worship. All in all, the church children, teenagers, and college age
groups have almost remained untouched by the social and ethnic challenges that other
churches have experienced. The spiritual “temperature” of the student ministry is strong.
They are engaged in reaching the culture for Christ. And, their commitment as a student,
college, and singles group to teaching and practicing worship is equally strong. In fact,
each year, the group participates in the annual Passion Conference hosted by a number of
well-known Ft. Worth area ministries.
In 2001, the church started a Christian elementary school. The school has been hugely
successful. Today, they have a complete kindergarten through 12th grade program. Next
year, they expect to enroll over 2100 students in their school. This has provided an
unexpected resource for music at the church. There are several excellent musicians enjoy
serving at the church. And, the students involved in the high school praise team help lead
the worship on Sunday morning.
The pastor is a strong leader, a man of vision and his ministry philosophy is very much
focused on three things: 1) evangelism, 2) discipleship, and 3) worship. He is
theologically and politically conservative. And, he makes the voice of his people known
at strategic city, state, and national events. The pastor takes seriously his role as chief
worship leader. He has asked the worship pastor to develop a ministry that is
contemporary in nature but realistic to the vision of the church. He wants a practical mix
of newer and familiar songs. More important to the pastor is the worship leader’s
commitment to ministry. He is constantly reminding the worship pastor that “the people
are more important than the songs.”
The pastor has his Doctor of Ministry degree from Liberty University. He encourages his
staff to pursue advanced degrees and attend special training seminars or workshops. On
occasion, he has taken opportunity to teach at a Bible college across town.
The church staff is as diverse and innovative as the church membership. The executive
pastoral staff includes: the senior pastor, executive pastor, worship pastor, education
pastor, evangelism pastor, discipleship pastor, and senior adult pastor. Other pastoral
positions include children’s pastor, student ministries pastor, single adult pastor, pastor of
International ministries, social ministries director (heads up the drug rehab program)
women’s ministry director, and director of prison ministries. In all, there are 14 full time
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supportive of the pastor’s vision to plant churches and grow their own fellowship.
The pastor believes that all strategic leadership should be ordained to the gospel ministry
and referred to as pastor. Thus, five all of the 14 employees in the music and worship
division have the title, “pastor:” The worship staff include: Senior Worship Pastor,
Associate Worship Pastor – Instrumental; Associate Worship Pastor – Media; Associate
Worship Pastor – Drama Ministry; Associate Worship Pastor – Student Music;
Coordinator of Children’s Worship; Director of the Riverside Music Academy (separate
from the Christian School); Director of Care Group Ministry; Director of Worship Art
and Graphics; Administrative Assistant – Worship; Administrative Assistant –
Instrumental and Children; Assistant Director of the Worship Academy; 2 Worship
Assistants, and a host of weekly volunteers. Several of the divisions have their own,
growing staff.
The church has a very impressive and active radio and television ministry. The 8-person
staff is also responsible to the Worship Pastor. The church broadcasts their Sunday 11:00
AM service live. A re-broadcast of the service is edited and sent to about 200 outlets
across the country each week, in addition to two cable venues serviced by satellite hook –
up. In all, it is estimated the weekly ministry reaches more than 5 million people each
week.
They have a new, state of the art 4,500 seat auditorium. The church invested over $1.5
facility fully equipped with the latest technology. In fact, there are eight full time
employees that work just in the media ministry and under the leadership of the “Associate
Worship Pastor - Media.” Another 30 employees are charged with the responsibilities of
facilities management on one level or another.
type of worship.
The philosophy of worship is very straight forward: practical worship (meet people where
they are – blending contemporary and modern traditional); use those that are in the
church; do everything with excellence; place a high priority on teaching and training; use
whatever tool necessary to win people to Christ and, always be good stewards of the time
and resources God provides for his people.
In any given week, there are over 600 participating in any one of the worship ministries,
including the worship choir, church orchestra and other instrumental groups, 4 different
praise teams with band, student-led praise and worship ministry, worship media, worship
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drama, and children’s choir programs. The 400 voice choir sings for both Sunday
morning services.
The worship teams assisting in music and worship on Sunday are specifically training by
the worship pastor. They are godly men and women that have a strong walk with the
Lord, hunger for God, and commitment to congregational ministry. They have weekly
bible teaching and discipleship activities. All in all, they have captured the pastor’s
vision, they love to serve.
community. Many are music teachers.
The vocalists are equally committed to the Lord. Three teams of six rotate in leading
Musical resources include new piano, keyboards, and drums. The worship pastors use a
balance between music published by major Christian music companies and literature
written by staff personnel. Of course, copy machines, computers, and appropriate media
equipment are available as needed, including computers and the latest in music related
software.
Fourth of July Festival for the community. It is not unusual for over 50,000 people from
the community to attend these special events.
In addition, in an effort to reach their community for Christ, they join with other churches
in the area to present an Annual GRACE FEST Music festival. Worship bands from all
over the world are brought in for this event. It is held in down town Dallas. More than
250,000 people attend this incredible two-day event.
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Case Study #3 - Vision Church, Chicago, IL
Vision Church is a large, mega congregation located in Chicago Suburbs. The ministry
was chartered in January 1998. Average attendance at the Saturday night and three
Sunday morning services consistently runs between 5,800 and 6,000 people. Vision
Church is an influential fellowship totally committed to contemporary worship. They are
known throughout the region for their practical Bible teaching, innovative worship
ministry, college outreach, and commitment to meeting the social and spiritual needs of
the needy, marginalized, and hurting.
The congregation meets in an old theatre that seats 2349 people and located in one of the
most affluent areas of the Chicago metroplex. The church leadership is committed to
communicating the gospel to THIS generation. This is best illustrated by their use of the
most up-to-date technology, sound system, video support, and innovative lighting
available.
The church has a $15 million-dollar annual budget of which nearly $330,000 (2%) is
allocated to music and worship needs (not including salaries or media), 20% of the
budget goes to missions and other outreach ministries – equally divided by between
foreign missions endeavors and home town outreach initiatives.
in the church. About 60% of the church membership is built on young married, highly
mobile, professionals under the age of 40 – and, with young children. As a result, the
church has a very large and successful children’s ministry, complete with a full time
Director of Children’s Ministry and two employees devoted to the leading of children’s
worship.
About 15% of the church calls themselves college or singles. Consequently, they have a
large and growing ministry to the areas college students. Another 10.5% are teenagers.
The youth department includes a full time Director of Student Ministries and a
Coordinator of Youth Worship. There are only about 5% that call themselves senior
adult. They do not have a very active choir -- although they do meet for special events
(Easter, July 4th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) and the result has been pleasing to
everyone. The church has been able to tap into the Chicago area theatre community and
has developed a growing, highly respected drama ministry. The pastor loves to integrate
short, one-act plays, monologues, or reader’s theatre into the services before his
preaching.
The congregation enjoys good Bible teaching-preaching. They actively participate in the
worship services. While they are not necessarily affiliated with any particular
denomination, they do support missionary agencies, encourage teams to engage in short-
term missionary trips, and have included in their budget funding for ministries in
Ukraine, Peru, Brazil, and Alaska. Two years ago, the church helped sponsor a sister
church in Moscow. Today, they totally support two families in this ministry: a pastor and
his wife; and, a worship pastor and his wife.
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The church is theologically and socially conservative, passionate about God and country,
and totally committed to evangelism, revival, and worship. One might say that all of their
services are contemporary in nature. They have a strong emphasis on the sacraments,
participating in communion the first Sunday of every month.
While one would not necessarily call this church “multi-ethnic,” given that 75% of the
church is Caucasian, considerable effort has been made on the part of the church
leadership to reach out to the growing African American, Asian, and Latino com-
munities. At present, about 15% of the church would identify themselves with a minority
group of one kind or another. The other ten percent are from Eastern Europe. These are
mostly Russian speaking people that fled the Soviet Union during the late 90’s and settled
down in the Chicago area. Each week, the church provides translators for this group.
Once a month, the church provides a service, in Russian, just for these displaced families.
In 2007, the church started a Christian elementary school. The school has been hugely
successful. Today, they have a kindergarten through 8th grade program. Next year, they
expect to enroll over 1000 students in their school. Long-term strategy is to add a grade
per year until all 12 grades are represented. There are several excellent musicians
teaching at the school that also enjoy serving in the church. And, even the students that
are involved school praise team help lead the worship on the weekends – mostly on
Saturday evening.
The pastor is a strong leader, a man of vision and lover of people. He was only 28 years
old when starting the church in 1998. He is married and has two teenage children.
Although a good student of the Bible, he is known and appreciated more for his pastoral
skills than his strong preaching. His ministry philosophy is very much focused on
evangelism and worship. He is theologically and politically conservative. And, he makes
the voice of his people known at strategic city, state, and national events. The pastor takes
seriously his role as chief worship leader. He wants the worship ministry (music, drama,
technology, etc.) to connect with people. He is constantly reminding the worship pastor
“the people are more important than the songs.”
The pastor has his Doctor of Ministry degree from Grace Seminary in Winona Lake, IN.
He encourages his staff to pursue advanced degrees and attend special training seminars
or workshops. On occasion, he has taken opportunity to personally enroll and pay for his
staff to attend the training sessions at Willow Creek Church across town.
The church staff reflects the dynamic of its membership. The executive pastoral staff
includes: the senior pastor, executive pastor, worship pastor, education pastor (who is
also head-master of the Christian school) and, evangelism and discipleship pastor. Other
pastoral positions include children’s pastor, student ministries pastor, single adult pastor,
pastor of International ministries, visitation pastor, social ministries director (heads up the
drug rehab program), director of drama ministry, media director, and women’s ministry
director. In all, there are 15 full time pastors, each with an administrative assistant. The
pastoral staff is fully supportive of the pastor’s vision to reach the Chicago community
for Christ.
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The church has a very active radio and television ministry. The four-person media staff is
also responsible to the Worship Pastor. A re-broadcast of the service is edited and sent to
six commercial outlets across the country each week, in addition to four cable venues
serviced by satellite hook – up. Most impressive is their on-line, live streaming ministry
complete with interactive video for those wanting counseling or additional information
about the weekly sermons. Because of its location in Chicago, it is estimated the weekly
ministry reaches more than 15 million people each week.
The church has new, state of the art sound and lighting equipment. The church invested
over $2.5 million dollars in lighting and sound equipment back in October. The media
budget ($800,000) is not part of the worship ministry funding. The Executive Pastor
oversees it. With the exception of the four paid employees (under the Worship Pastor’s
authority), all 28 media personnel are volunteer.
While the auditorium (sanctuary) is not new, they have spent considerable time shaping it
into a facility that can meet the needs of their people. They have a wonderful education
facility fully equipped with the latest technology (you name it, they got it) that doubles as
space for the Christian school.
evangelism and worship. This impacts everything. In the pastor’s eyes, everything secular
has implications for evangelism and everything sacred implies some type of worship.
The philosophy of worship is very straight forward: practical but contemporary worship
(meet people where they are); use those that are in the church; do everything with
excellence; place a high priority on teaching and training; use whatever tool necessary to
win people to Christ and, always be good stewards of the time and resources God
provides for his people.
The worship teams assisting in music and worship on Sunday are specifically trained by
the worship pastor. For the most part, they are a group of godly men and women that
have a strong walk with the Lord, hunger for God, and commitment to congregational
ministry. They have weekly bible teaching and discipleship activities. All in all, they
have captured the pastor’s vision and love to serve.
The worship bands are keyboard driven. In reality, there are four bands that rotate
responsibility. Players include drummer, keyboard, lead guitar, acoustic guitar,
percussion, bass, and b-3 Hammond organ. The worship pastor works hard to build love
and respect for each other. They are a group of highly skilled players. These are primarily
volunteers from the community. Many are music teachers.
The vocalists are equally committed to the Lord. Four teams of six rotate in leading
core recording team when needing to create demos.
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One team is of Russian origin. They include a keyboardist, drummer, bassist, electric and
acoustic guitarists, percussionist and four singers. They are really good and handle all the
worship needs for the monthly Russian congregation.
software.
One final aspect of the worship ministry, the church hosts an annual Christian music
festival. Last year, they brought in over 20 bands and artist type groups and reached
nearly 40,000 people over a 15-day period.
Additionally, in an effort to reach the Chicago community for Christ, their drama
ministry provides an annual presentation of The Christmas Carol – the musical. It is a
program that the church staff wrote and produces. Area musicians (orchestra players) join
with the Vision musicians and drama team in making this one of the best annual
productions in the area. This has proved to be a very successful endeavor for the entire
church family.
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Case Study #4 - Immanuel Baptist Church, Jonesboro, Georgia
Immanuel Baptist Church is located in the beautiful, historic and quant down-town
section of Jonesboro, Georgia. Jonesboro is a thriving bed-room community of Atlanta.
Located at 212 Main Street, it is a very traditional Southern Baptist Church - chartered in
1832 with 18 members. Interestingly, it was one of the first churches to join the new
Southern Baptist fellowships that officially began in 1860. Church membership is
approximately 1500, although attendance usually runs around 950-1000 on any given
Sunday morning. Six families in the church trace their heritage back to the18 that helped
write the original 1832 charter.
Immanuel Church, as they are affectionately known in the Jonesboro area, is thoroughly
influenced by the Southern culture and nuances of their community. They have two
identical Sunday morning services. Early service is at 9:00 AM. Late service is at 11:00
AM. The building comfortably seats about 750 people. The 11:00 AM service is
broadcasted live on regional television. The pastor is very careful to start on time and
finish with the invitation at 11:59 AM.
Immanuel still meets in an old but wonderful sanctuary that was built during the dark
days of the 1930s Depression. It has a choir loft that can comfortably seat 60, a brand-
new Steinway piano, five rank Rodgers organs, and space down front of the choir loft
that can easily seat a 20–25-person orchestra. The church sanctuary has wonderful
acoustic. The church leadership is very pleased to allow the use of their facility for high
school and college choir concerts. They see it as an opportunity for evangelism and
outreach.
The congregation is very accepting of new technologies for worship, evangelism, and
discipleship. They have spent considerable amounts of money on the installation of state
of the art lighting, video, and sound equipment for the building. They recently enlarged
the pulpit area to allow for presentation of drama and dance. And, they have taken great
care to make sure the adaptation of this new equipment for worship does not hinder the
acoustic for which the church is famous.
The church has a $7 million-dollar annual budget of which nearly $100,000 (1.4%) is
allocated to music and worship needs (not including salaries or media expenses), 20% of
the church’s annual budget ($1.4 million) goes to missions and other outreach ministries
– equally divided by between foreign missions endeavors and home town outreach
initiatives. Most of this money is received during Christmas as part of their annual Lottie
Moon Offering.
in the church. About 25% of the church membership are young married, highly mobile,
professionals under the age of 40 – and, with young children. Many grew up in the
church, went to local colleges, and remained in the area. As a result, the church has a
growing children’s ministry, complete with a full time Director of Children’s Ministry
and two part-time college-students devoted to the leading of children’s worship.
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About 50% of the church call themselves “empty nesters or middle aged.” Of this
number, about a third are retired and enjoy volunteering at the church or around the
community as much as possible. Most are very successful business men and women,
doctors, lawyers, and professionals. Most enjoy participating in and influencing the very
active but partisan Georgia, Atlanta, and Jonesboro politics. Interestingly, the church is
pretty much evenly divided between Republican and Democrat.
The church has a solid, growing ministry to and with the area college students. The
student (middle-school and high school) ministry is growing. Together, one might say
that the college and student ministries are about 12% of the church demographic (120-
150 in size). The youth department includes a full time Director of Student Ministries.
The Coordinator of Youth Worship is a college student from Georgia Tech University
that volunteers his time to ministry.
worship services. They are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and fully
support denominational missionary agencies, encourage teams to engage in short-term
missionary trips, and have included in their budget funding for various foreign and home
ministries. They have even converted one of their recently purchased properties into a
“missionary house.” Missionary families can stay in this home short term while in the
states on furlough.
The church is theologically and socially conservative. While one would not necessarily
call this church “multi-ethnic,” given that 90% of the church is Caucasian, considerable
effort has been made on the part of the church leadership to reach out to the growing
African American, Asian, and Latino communities in the Atlanta area. At present, about
5% of the church would identify themselves with a minority group of one kind or
another. The church recently voted to establish a Hispanic ministry. They have hired a
Spanish speaking pastor as part of the regular pastoral staff.
Immanuel Church has a very good and well-respected music and worship ministry. A
choir sings at least one song during every service. The worship pastor joins a six-person
praise team in leading the morning songs. One would say that the Sunday morning
services are a blending of old and relatively new songs. The Sunday morning worship is
driven by orchestra, piano, and organ. Because of the building’s very live acoustic, they
have chosen to use an electronic drum for all services.
Sunday evening services primarily feature the college and student ministries. Most
Sunday evenings feature a very well-rehearsed college and student age choir known as
“Surrender.” Even so, the worship pastor takes a lead role in the Sunday evening
leadership. Song selections are a blending of newer worship songs and older but
contemporary literature. He uses this service as a platform for introducing new songs to
the congregation.
The pastor is a strong leader, a lover of God and of people. He has been at Immanuel
church for nearly 25 years. A good student of the Bible, he is known and appreciated as a
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well-educated, articulate preacher of the word. His ministry philosophy is very much
focused on evangelism and worship. He is theologically and politically conservative. One
would characterize him as a manager rather than a visionary. He has a very conservative,
safe leadership style. Even so, the pastor is careful to make the voice of his people known
at strategic city, state, and national events. He is very active in denominational endeavors.
The pastor takes seriously his role as chief worship leader. He wants the worship ministry
(music, drama, technology, etc.) to connect with people.
The pastor has his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from New
Orleans Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He encourages his staff to pursue
advanced degrees and attend special training seminars or workshops.
includes: the senior pastor, executive pastor and administrator, worship pastor,
evangelism, and discipleship pastor. Other pastoral positions include children’s director,
student ministries director, director of drama, media and orchestra, and director of
recreation ministry. In all, there are nine people on the full-time pastoral staff, each with
an administrative assistant. The church does hire a part-time person to manage all internet
technology issues.
The church has a very television ministry. The four-person volunteer media staff is
responsible to the Worship Pastor. Because of its location near Atlanta, they are able to
draw into the church numbers of new members through their television ministry.
They have a wonderful education facility fully equipped with the latest technology (you
name it, they got it). They have a “family life center” complete with racket ball and
basketball courts, walking track and work out facility.
The worship pastor has been at Immanuel for 15 years. He has a strong passion for and
dedication to teaching worship. This is especially realized with the more than 150
children that regularly meet for graded choir each week, usually on Wednesday nights.
More than 15 parent-volunteers help lead the children’s choir ministry each week. The
choir is divided into 10 smaller 15-member groups. They combine the groups for large
choir presentations.
The philosophy of worship is very straight forward and mirrors that of the pastor: meet
people where they are; use those that are in the church; do everything with excellence;
place a high priority on teaching and training; use whatever tool necessary to win people
to Christ and, always be good stewards of the time and resources God provides for his
people.
have captured the pastor’s heart to love God and serve.
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The worship teams are mostly keyboard driven. In reality, there are two bands that rotate
responsibility. Players include drummer, keyboard, lead guitar, acoustic guitar,
percussion, bass, and organ. The worship pastor works hard to build love and respect for
each other. They are a group of highly skilled players. These are primarily volunteers
from the community. Many are music teachers.
software.
One final aspect about the worship ministry, the church hosts an annual Christmas and
Patriotic pageant. It is not at all uncommon to have well over 200 church members
participate in the event. Last year, they hosted 10 Christmas and 4 Patriotic events sold
over 20,000 tickets at $10 each.
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Case Study #5 - Meadow Valley Baptist Church, Kingsport, TN
Meadow Valley Baptist Church is located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountain town of
Kingsport, Tennessee. Kingsport is a thriving, industrial town committed to slower paced
mountain life and culture. The church is very traditional independent Baptist fellowship.
Although totally committed to evangelical theology, they hold no denominational
affiliation. Church membership is approximately 1500, although attendance usually runs
around 950-1000 on any given Sunday morning. The church was started as the result of a
1964 city-wide revival.
Meadow Valley Church has two identical Sunday morning services. Early service is at
9:00 AM. Late service is at 11:00 AM. The building comfortably seats about 800 people.
The church has been built and established on “strong bible preaching” and Southern
gospel style singing. The pastor is very careful to start both services on time with prayer
but often doesn’t finish the sermon until 15 minutes after the hour. The 11:00 AM service
is broadcasted live on regional radio.
Meadow Valley meets in sanctuary that was built during the late 1980s. It has a choir loft
that can comfortably seat 60, a brand-new Yamaha 6’5” grand piano, three rank Allen
organs (with midi-sound modules), and space down front of the choir loft that can easily
seat a 20–25-person orchestra. The church sanctuary does not have a very well
established acoustic. They rely heavily on audio assistance for all services and events.
The congregation is very accepting of new technologies for worship and evangelism.
They have spent considerable amounts of money on the installation of state of the art
lighting, video, and sound equipment for the building. They recently enlarged the pulpit
area to allow for presentation of drama.
The church has a $5 million-dollar annual budget of which nearly $50,000 (1%) is
allocated to music and worship needs (not including salaries or media expenses), 20% of
the church’s annual budget ($1 million) goes to missions and other outreach ministries.
They totally underwrite the support of 20 missionary families. These families serve in
Brazil, Peru, Trinidad-Tobago, Philippines, West Africa, Ireland, and Almaty,
Kazakhstan. They are careful to send missions teams to these countries at least four times
each year for the purpose of constructing church buildings and staffing youth camps.
in the church. About 35% of the church membership are young married, highly mobile,
professionals under the age of 40 – and, with young children. Many grew up in the
church, went to local colleges, secured jobs at one of the industrial plants and remained in
the area. As a result, the church has a growing children’s ministry, complete with a full
time Director of Children’s Ministry and two part-time college-students devoted to the
leading of children’s worship.
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About 45% of the church call themselves “empty nesters or middle aged.” Of this
number, better than half are retired. Most of those in this age group are on Social Security
and on limited income. Politically, the church is pretty much Republican.
The church has a solid, growing ministry to and with the area students. One might say
that the college and student ministries are about 15% of the church demographic (120-
150 in size). The youth department includes a full time Director of Student Ministries.
The Coordinator of Youth Worship is a college student from East Tennessee State
University that volunteers his time to ministry. His girlfriend is a church music major at
Carson-Newman College and drives over to help with leading the high school worship
every Sunday and Wednesday.
worship services. They are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and fully
support denominational missionary agencies, encourage teams to engage in short-term
missionary trips, and have included in their budget funding for various foreign and home
ministries. They have even converted one of their recently purchased properties into a
“missionary house.” Missionary families can stay in this home short term while in the
states on furlough.
The church is theologically and socially conservative in every way. Nine-five percent is
Caucasian, considerable effort has been made on the part of the church leadership to
reach out to the growing Hispanic area. But, for some reason, those that attend don’t tend
to stay very long. At present, about 5% of the church would identify themselves with a
minority, mostly Cherokee Indian.
Meadow Valley Church has a very good and well-respected music and worship ministry.
They are committed to Southern Gospel music style. Their 120-member Celebration
Choir sings at least one song during every service. The minister of music joins a six-
person praise team in leading the carefully crafted song sets. One would say that the
Sunday morning services are a blending of old, southern gospel type songs with few
older praise and worship songs sprinkled in for transition or for use following prayers,
offerings, and invitation. The Sunday morning worship is driven by orchestra, piano, and
organ. Because of the building does not have a very live acoustic, they have chosen to use
electronic drums for all services.
Sunday evening services primarily feature the Southern Gospel groups, quartet, and
soloists. The format of the service is a mix between use of the artists, Choir, Front Line,
Band, and Congregation. Interestingly, it is not at all uncommon for Sunday evening
attendance to reach 800-1000 – with the church gym being used for over-flow. Last year,
the Gaither Vocal Band came to Meadow Valley and joined the pastor in an all-city
evangelism effort. Over 500 people got saved during the series of services.
The pastor is a strong leader, a lover of God and of people. He has been at Meadow
Valley church for nearly 15 years. A good student of the Bible, he is known and
appreciated as a well-educated, articulate preacher of the word. His ministry philosophy
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is very much focused on evangelism and preaching. The pastor has given strict
instructions that the music is to be no longer than 20 minutes. He wants 40 minutes for
the sermon. He is theologically and politically conservative. One would characterize him
as a strong, visionary leader with definite ideas about how the church should impact the
community. The pastor is careful to make the voice of his people known at strategic city,
state, and national events. The pastor takes seriously his role as chief worship leader. He
wants the worship ministry (music, drama, technology, etc.) to connect with people. The
title “pastor” is only reserved for the senior, preaching pastor. All other positions are
known as “minister” or “director.”
The pastor has his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Liberty
Baptist Theological Seminary. He encourages his staff to pursue advanced degrees and
attend special training seminars or workshops.
includes: the senior pastor, minister of administration, minister of worship, education and
evangelism director, and minister to the senior adults. Other pastoral positions include
children’s director, student ministries director, director of media. All other positions are
volunteer. In all, there are eight people on the full-time pastoral staff, each with an
administrative assistant. The church does hire a part-time person to manage all internet
technology issues.
They have a wonderful education facility fully equipped with the latest technology (you
name it, they got it). They have a “family life center” complete with racket ball and
basketball courts, walking track and work out facility.
The worship pastor has been at Meadow Valley for 15 years. He joined the pastoral staff
about six months after the pastor moved from Western North Carolina to Kingsport. He
has a strong passion for and dedication to teaching worship. This is especially realized
with the more than 150 children that regularly meet for graded choir each week, usually
on Wednesday nights. More than 15 parent-volunteers help lead the children’s choir
ministry each week. The choir is divided into 10 smaller 15-member groups. They
combine the groups for large choir presentations.
The philosophy of worship is very straight forward and mirrors that of the pastor: meet
people where they are; use those that are in the church; do everything with excellence;
place a high priority on teaching and training; use whatever tool necessary to win people
to Christ and, always be good stewards of the time and resources God provides for his
people.
have captured the pastor’s heart to love God and serve.
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The band is exceptionally good. They are a group of highly skilled players. They are part
of the hired, music staff. Players include drummer, keyboard, lead guitar, acoustic guitar,
percussion, bass, and organ. The drummer and keyboard players are session musicians
that travel back and forth from Kingsport to Nashville doing high level, professional
recording. The bass and guitar players moved to Kingsport from Nashville, after having
traveled for years with well-known Southern Gospel groups. The worship pastor works
hard to build love and respect for each other. Other musicians are volunteer, many of
which are area music teachers. This rhythm section is so good that it is rare for anyone,
including guest artists, to use sound track accompaniment.
Musical resources include new piano, keyboards, and drums. The minister of music uses
a balance between music published by major Christian music companies and literature
software.
One final aspect about the worship ministry, the church hosts an annual Southern Gospel
Music Festival. This is a very large, four-day event, usually held somewhere close to
Fourth of July weekend. It is not at all uncommon to have well over 200 - 250 volunteer
church members help in the event as ushers, hosts, security, drivers, cooks, vendors, and
more. Last year, they hosted 10 Southern Gospel artist groups and sold over 5,000 tickets
at $40 each.
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Living Word Ministries Church
Medium sized Multi-ethnic Church in Atlanta, GA
General Description of Church

Location
1. Cultural Setting
a. Ethnic affiliation or association
b. Region of country
c. Denomination or interdenominational
d. Language issues (bi-lingual)
e. Age group nuances
f. Related traditions
g. Post-modern/free thinking
h. Weather
2. Demographic Characteristics
a. Age of group
b. Leadership characteristics
c. Denominational affiliation (if any)
d. Political affiliations
3. Pastor
a. Philosophy of ministry
b. Philosophy of preaching
c. Philosophy of worship
d. Educational experience
4. Church Staff
a. Pastoral Staff
b. Multi-staff ministry
c. Support staff
d. Vision
5. Resources
a. Building or space
b. Lighting
c. Sound equipment
d. Budget
e. Transportation
f. Time
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6. Purpose and Philosophy of Ministry

a. Desired outcome or assignment
b. Secular (evangelistic) or sacred
c. Methodology for worship
d. Understanding of theology
e. Philosophy of worship
f. Church ministry emphasis
7. Musical Resources – Spiritual
a. Spiritual “condition” of the participants
b. Spiritual appetite of the congregation
c. Biblical content of the literature (or accountability)
d. Teachable and have a hunger for God
e. Music team’s attitude and commitment to serve
8. Musical Resources – Musicians
a. Players
b. Skill
c. Number
d. Commitment to team (attitude)
e. Commitment to ministry (dependable)
9. Musical Resources – Equipment
a. Instruments – quality of instruments
b. Sound systems
c. Literature
d. Copy machines
e. Projectors
f. Lighting
g. Availability of computers and software
10. Other Factors
a. Unusual influences or challenges
b. Special events
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Robin Street First Church of the Nazarene
Medium sized Nazarene Church in Columbia, SC

Location
1. Cultural Setting
a. Ethnic affiliation or association,
h. Weather
a. Age of group,
3. Pastor
4. Church Staff
a. Pastoral Staff
c. Support staff
d. Vision
5. Resources
b. Lighting
c. Sound equipment
d. Budget
e. Transportation
f. Time
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a. Players
b. Skill
c. Number
b. Sound systems
c. Literature
d. Copy machines
e. Projectors
f. Lighting
10. Other Factors
b. Special events
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Liberty Fellowship
Multi-cultural Church Plant in Washington DC area

Location
1. Cultural Setting
h. Weather
a. Age of group
3. Pastor
4. Church Staff
a. Pastoral Staff
c. Support staff
d. Vision
5. Resources
b. Lighting
c. Sound equipment
d. Budget
e. Transportation
f. Time
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a. Players
b. Skill
c. Number
b. Sound systems
c. Literature
d. Copy machines
e. Projectors
f. Lighting
10. Other Factors
b. Special events
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North Side Church
Satellite Church Ministry in Charlotte, NC

Location
1. Cultural Setting
a. Ethnic affiliation or association
h. Weather
a. Age of group
3. Pastor
4. Church Staff
a. Pastoral staff
c. Support staff
d. Vision
5. Resources
b. Lighting
c. Sound equipment
d. Budget
e. Transportation
f. Time
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a. Players
b. Skill
c. Number
b. Sound systems
c. Literature
d. Copy machines
e. Projectors
f. Lighting
10. Other factors
b. Special events
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New Beginnings
Church Plant in Columbus, Ohio

Location
1. Cultural Setting
h. Weather
a. Age of group
3. Pastor
4. Church Staff
a. Pastoral staff
c. Support staff
d. Vision
5. Resources
b. Lighting
c. Sound equipment
d. Budget
e. Transportation
f. Time
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a. Players
b. Skill
c. Number
b. Sound systems
c. Literature
d. Copy machines
e. Projectors
f. Lighting
10. Other Factors
b. Special events
Page 32 of 32

Capstone Project Final Case Studies

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Capstone Project Final Case Studies

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WRSP 421

CAPSTONE PROJECT FINAL: CASE STUDIES

Sample Case Study - Lighthouse Church – Panama City, Florida

Because of an unwavering commitment to being godly influences in their community, the

Case Study #1 - Victory Church – Milton, Florida

Because of an unwavering commitment to being godly influences in their community, the

Case Study #2 - Riverside Baptist Church – Ft. Worth, TX

Case Study #3 - Vision Church, Chicago, IL

Case Study #4 - Immanuel Baptist Church, Jonesboro, Georgia

Case Study #5 - Meadow Valley Baptist Church, Kingsport, TN

Living Word Ministries Church

Medium sized Multi-ethnic Church in Atlanta, GA

General Description of Church

6. Purpose and Philosophy of Ministry

Robin Street First Church of the Nazarene

Medium sized Nazarene Church in Columbia, SC

General Description of Church

6. Purpose and Philosophy of Ministry

Multi-cultural Church Plant in Washington DC area

General Description of Church

6. Purpose and Philosophy of Ministry

North Side Church

Satellite Church Ministry in Charlotte, NC

General Description of Church

6. Purpose and Philosophy of Ministry

Church Plant in Columbus, Ohio

General Description of Church

6. Purpose and Philosophy of Ministry

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