Next Level

Building Strong Churches.

Leaders of strong and healthy congregations know that it is critical to always be asking the question “What’s next?” The Next Level Program from Convergence is designed to help your church answer that question – and then make it happen. Next Level is a minimum two year commitment by you and your church leaders focused on assessment, leadership development, coaching and consulting. If you want your church to grow beyond the family or pastoral size transition, this is the program for you.


What is a Next Level church?

Change is both inevitable and perpetual. Often it is also gradual, so gradual that it can be ignored or missed but nothing stays the same. Any living organism is either growing or dying and often it is doing both. As a living organism this reality applies to churches too.

Leaders of strong and healthy congregations know that it is critical to always be asking the question “What’s next?” That query can take many forms – “What is God calling us to do next?” “What is our next challenge?” “What is our next opportunity?” What is required for us to move to the next size?” All of these are different ways to ask –

What is the next level for our church?


Asking this type of question is the critical piece of a church remaining healthy and vigorous regardless of its age or size. “Next level”, generally refers to transition stages. For example, a church might ask, “How do we break the 200 barrier?” It is very common for a church to get to a level of attendance, or membership, or giving, or service and think they are about to move to the next level, only to fall back for one reason or another.

The Next Level program of the Center for Progressive Renewal is designed to insure that healthy/vital churches remain strong as long as possible by:

  1. Conducting an accurate and honest assessment of the current health and challenges. Where in the life cycle are you really?
  2. Articulating a shared goal of what is next - What is the next level you need to move toward to keep growing in vitality?
  3. Probing future challenges - What are the challenges? What are the barriers to the next level for your church?
  4. Assessing your assets - What are the resources? What are you assets and how can you leverage them for the future?
  5. Devising a Plan - What is the plan? Develop a strategy for forward movement.

Vital churches probably need to work on one or two areas in order to keep moving forward. They are probably doing a great job in a number of areas, and there are some deficiencies which can simply be ignored for a time. The challenge is identifying the critical issues or areas which are keeping the church from going to the next level.

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Gregg Carlson
Director of Coaching & Contracted Services
Email Gregg