PM: Tell us about the community in which Brand New Church is
located.
SO: Brand New Church is located in Bergman, Arkansas,
population 407. There are currently about 20,000 residents in the county and
the two largest towns within that county have populations of 12,000 and 800.
There are a lot of small communities. Our campus in Bergman is literally
located across from six chicken houses.
PM: How broad is the reach of BNC (Brand New Church)?
SO: In April of 2013, BNC will celebrate 7 years of being in
existence. We currently have 13 campuses, as well as an iCampus (Internet campus),
and we currently broadcast 3 live services through our BNC app. The BNC app is
the most effective piece of technology we use. We have 2600 people in
attendance each weekend at our campuses, with an additional 400-600 viewers
weekly on our iCampus and BNC app.
PM: Share with us a little about what you mean by “Unwritten
Rural Rules.”
SO: The Unwritten Rural Rules are unspoken rules that many
people have concerning rural America. Expanding from the original thoughts in
my book, I’d say the number one Unwritten Rural Rule is that you have to have
small vision or small mindedness. This type of mindset keeps leaders from
abounding in rural America. Another Unwritten Rural Rule is that people are not
called to rural America. For example,
let’s say you come out and say you are called to rural Africa, to a village of
88 people. Churches would send you, commission you, pay you, pray for you, and
send you Dr. Pepper every month. But if you told them you were called to a
small town of 88 in rural Arkansas, they would be left with a totally different
impression. You would be called crazy, and it would be considered vocational
suicide! However, what if God IS actually calling people to be used in a place
of obscurity? These are things that are unspoken and unwritten in ministry. Another
Unwritten Rural Rule that exists is that people believe things have to be as
they’ve always been and they should never change. However, God wants us to live
and dream the Ephesians 3:20 dream, “exceedingly abundantly
above all that we ask or think” (NKJV).
PM: BNC is literally out in the middle of nowhere, yet you
guys are so cutting edge. What is your response to the pastors and ministers
who say “we don’t have the money or funds for that?”
SO: Excellence doesn’t cost a lot of money. Excellence is
just a matter of preparation. It doesn’t cost a lot of money to communicate to
a rural community that we have an expectation that God might show up at this
service! Those are simple things. Paint is cheap. It doesn’t cost much to ditch
foam cups and get the nicer coffee cups with the little sleeve. That is a small
example that costs only pennies extra. It costs little to keep the children’s
area cleaned and painted with fresh paint. Another easy upgrade is to spend a
little extra and move your TVs into the 21st century! Get rid of the
big nasty 500 pound square televisions; there are affordable flat screens
available that will make everything look much nicer. Going to the next level
doesn’t cost much. Unfortunately there are those that resist change saying
“this is the way we have always done it.” We need to realize the goal isn’t to
benefit ourselves; it is to benefit the families who have not yet attended our
church. We need to do everything we can to draw people and young families in.
People are drawn to excellence and excellence glorifies God. Much of what we do
at BNC is on a small budget. We make sure our restrooms are clean and the paper
products are top quality. We want people who come to our church to know “We’re
ready for you; we have been waiting for you to get here!” We need to host those
who attend our churches as if we were hosting them in our own homes.
PM: In your book you make the statement: “We find church
buildings on most street corners in small towns. The prairies are dotted with
churches everywhere. But that is part of
the problem.” Can you share a little more on that?
SO: I believe the most churched and unchurched place on the
planet is rural America. People often think because their grandmother chartered
the church or their family donated the pews, etc., that they will inherit their
place in the kingdom of God. This is based on something that has nothing to do
with a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s
like the quote, “Just because you enter a donkey in the Kentucky Derby doesn’t
mean he’s going to win.” There has to be life change and relevance in the
church in order for people to grow. Revelation 20 tells us the fruits of the
labor will make declaration to our eternal inheritance. This is done through
the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, not what we inherited from our family.
Rural towns aren’t seeing a lot of life change. They aren’t thriving and seeing
people hungry for the word of God like they should be; many just exist.
PM: What would you say to a rural pastor who feels like they
are stuck?
SO: The first thing I would ask him is, “Are you doing
everything you can to meet with Jesus every day?” Secondly, if he is married, I
would ask, “Are you passionately pursuing your own bride before you pursue
God’s bride?” If pastors will grasp those two things it will exponentially grow
their churches. You’ll never be able to grow a church just because you have a
great building or just because you have a great sermon. A church grows because
the Spirit of God is channeled and working through the pastor’s life. If he is married, then it will be channeled
through the replication of Jesus’ passion for His bride, the church, in the
pastor’s marriage. When God is high and lifted up, He will do the drawing. That
is all the marketing you need. The last thing I would tell them to do if they
want to see rapid growth is to go out and meet the needs of the poor. If you
are in rural America, then you have poor people in your community.
My son came to me one day and asked me if he could cut the
ends off of his shoes. I had no idea why he was asking this. He told me his
friend Sean had the toes cut off of his shoes and he wanted to be able to run
in P.E. like Sean. Then I realized it. Sean’s family couldn’t afford shoes, and
the ones he had didn’t fit, so they cut the toes off so he could get his foot
in them. So, I went to the school and spoke with the counselor. I asked her if
there was a possibility that a second grade child needed new shoes. With tears
in her eyes, she looked at me and said, “Yes, there is a possibility that may
be true.” I went to my team and said, “I know there isn’t much we can do because
we don’t have a lot of money, but I think we can supply shoes for every
impoverished kid in our area. We were able to get $21.00 shoes for $10.00, and
we bought hundreds of pairs of shoes for the kids in our area. As soon as we
did, the promise made in Isaiah 58 fell on us, and God became the breath of our
ministry. He went before us and He guarded us at our back. Ever since we have
begun to bless the last and the least, God has exponentially blessed us. We now
have Mercy Malls that reach hundreds of families each month. We feed them,
clothe them, provide child care, we have even put tires on cars. It was like
God could not wait for us to get on board with His heart. There are desperate
people all over rural America. We have to have a large vision to reach them.
One of the greatest tools of the enemy is to shrink our vision. When we allow
him to make us small-minded, then he keeps our ministries from being effective
and flourishing the way God desires. But God wants to show up in those places
of obscurity to reach the lost, the last, and the least.
PM: What is the biggest challenge of pastoring in Rural
America?
SO: The biggest challenge is that in rural America everyone
shops at the same Wal-Mart, attends the same school, and shows up at the same
community events. When you as a pastor face betrayal, you still have to see the
people that betrayed you on a consistent basis. But betrayal is just expected. Ed
Young Jr. says, “When you’re great, people hate.” It’s almost a promise that if
you love people, you’re going to be betrayed. When you live in a small
community, betrayal is tough, because people gossip and word moves quickly.
What may be a whisper in a large city is a megaphone in a small rural community.
We have to realize that we are called to go through it and love people enough
to risk being betrayed. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t escape the fire.
God let them go into the fire to prove to them that they are fire proof. In the ministry you have to realize that
you’re going to go through the fire.
PM: What is the biggest opportunity of pastoring in Rural
America?
SO: The biggest opportunity is that the same “megaphone
effect” of betrayal, gossip, and slander, could also be life change,
inspiration, and evangelism. Because word moves quickly in rural communities, a
positive message moves just as fast as a negative one! It is because of this that
people in our community know where they can go if they need food, clothes, or
to just be loved. Growth can happen very quickly in a small community, and when
God does it in a small town, you know it’s Him.
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