Going from being a spectator to a participant is a small step that is not easy. When we put ourselves in the mindset of those who are currently spectators, we can bridge the emotional connection to help disciple others. It takes a moment to respond to the calling, for some, it may take days, others months, and for others, years. If you’re a leader at your church wanting to build something similar to the Growth Track at VOUS, we want to share how we’ve built it and the heart behind it, which originated at Church of the Highlands.

What is Growth Track?

At VOUS, the Growth Track is a four-week course designed to assist others in discovering their purpose. These are the front doors of the church, inviting people in, and helping them decide to become participants of what God is building. More than discipleship courses that get people plugged into VOUS, this can be considered a leadership pipeline built to encounter Jesus, establish relationships, equip believers, and empower leaders. The four steps repeat every month, so no matter the week someone walks in they can start at any point.

‍Visit the Growth Track Website

Visit the Growth Track Linktr.ee

WK 01 Encounter

The first step, encounter, highlights the spiritual journey, touching base on VOUS’ values, baptisms, salvation, and what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. Our Sundays are specifically curated for encounters with Jesus. Each team has layers of leadership that allow the church to work together. 

Team Leader

Two team leaders are appointed to oversee the Growth Track team, and their main goal is to disciple leaders. Each location designates its Team Lead’s roles, but a beneficial system that has been put into place is assigning one Team Lead to carry the culture of the team through gatherings, post-service lunches, and communication channels. Whereas another Team Lead can handle the admin work outside of a Sunday service, such as submitting SWOT analysis, rosters, emails, etc. Together, both Team Leads can distribute the weight of the responsibilities.

Throughout the week, there are important touchpoints to prepare for Sunday:

• Thank You Monday: Thank our leaders for serving
• Tackle Tuesday: Follow up with pending serving requests
• Wednesday: Connect with Servant Leaders in chat to sign up to serve
• Position Thursday: Assign each leader to their Sunday roles and remind them of call times
• Rally Troops Saturday: Send confirmation of expectations for Sunday service

Service Leader

There are two Service Leaders for each service who assist in facilitating the process within the team. Our Service leaders are meant to prepare our Servant Leaders to execute our mission at Growth Track and our values as a church. The primary responsibilities of this role are to protect the mission, shepherd the team, steward the experience of guests, support the session, and provide feedback for Growth Track. These leaders are prepared through a four-week training designed to further equip them in their role to understand the new responsibilities.  

Servant Leader

Servant Leaders are the foundation of the team, and their responsibility is to execute the mission of Growth Track to help people discover their potential and understand the church's values. Servant Leaders are put onto the roster after they express interest in serving a team and complete Growth Track.

Preparing For Encounter

Just as the space is created for people to encounter Jesus at our Sunday Services, the Growth Track room is its own sequential process for what happens after. This is where people encounter others for the first time and see Jesus work through people who are not on the podium. 

Before guests arrive, Servant Leaders prepare for the Sunday ahead 

• Call Time (90 minutes before service) - room decorated, forms, and food set up 
• Operations Huddle (5-10 minutes) - a brief gathering with all operational serving teams
• Team Huddle (20 minutes) - value of the week with team, prayer requests, praise reports
• Team Rally (10 minutes) - worship and prayer with all teams before the day begins

When guests arrive, the experience is intentionally guided: 

1. Greeted at a table outside the auditorium
2. Guided by signage to the Growth Track room
3. Check in with a form, photo, name tag, and food
4. Facilitator leads the room in discussion during the session through ice breakers and a video with VOUS lead pastors on each step
5. Walk through the Steps Completed form with Servant Leaders

We want to make the space feel like a living room as people are settling into a new place. 

WK 02 Establish 

During step two, establish, guests begin to explore the ministry of VOUS church and learn new ways to get connected in our community to further walk out the sanctification process. We know that in community iron sharpens iron, so we too can refresh others as we are refreshed. In this session, a further breakdown of the VOUS values will be shared as people begin to learn an understanding of the reasoning behind the systems set in place. Leaders are expected to disciple our Servant Leaders by allowing them to take the lead and initiative anywhere they feel they have a stronger gift. 

WK 03 Equip 

Step three, equip, becomes one of the more practical steps as we have each individual take a Spiritual Gifts Assessment to analyze what spiritual gifts they can use to serve and find their purpose. These responses help guide them further into a team they may want to join or redirect their interests into another team. As people gain a new understanding of their spiritual gifts, they can speak about them with others and receive guidance from our Servant Leaders to better understand their next steps. A Servant Leader guides people through the assessment and stays available afterward to answer any questions or concerns that arise, so attendees feel encouraged with these new learnings. Gifts are a special and personal thing that the Lord has created for us to serve others (Ephesians 4:7-8). 

Growth Track Personality Assessment

Spiritual Gifts Test

VOUS Church Covenant

WK 04 Empower

In the final step, empower guests are connected to opportunities at VOUS to live out their purpose and use their gifts in serving others. During the session, a leader will provide a quick run-through of all the teams that we have at VOUS. Before the session is completed, there is a moment to honor and celebrate those graduating, which happens at the end of each week. This is the moment when relationships are built, and contacts are exchanged. In this passing-the-baton moment, we are entrusting other leaders to carry the discipleship forward. We assign people to leaders, and the Growth Track leaders serve a special purpose in this. 

VOUS Church Culture Guide

Whether you’re launching Growth Track for the first time or refining your current rhythm, we want to share transferable knowledge of what we have built Growth Track at VOUS. 

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