● First Up- Cultivating River Valley Culture in our new staff
● Next Up- Developing the next generation of leaders on our staff
● Lead Up- Ongoing development for existing leaders - Campus Pastors, Associate Pastors & Department Heads
● Coach Up- Intentional coaching, counseling, and strategic development of individuals based on need or performance
JULY
THEME | Jazz Players
● Increase Ownership on the team, let them know we don't have perfect handbooks for everything but we provide culture and expect them to adapt
● Staff Value | Bring Solutions, Not Problems
AUGUST
THEME | Room Lifters
● No one likes someone who sucks the life out of the room. As people in ministry, we are responsible not to carry our burdens externally but actually leave them on the sideline while we minister Let's speak life and bring lift
● Staff Value | Speak Life and Bring Lift
SEPTEMBER
THEME | Disciple Makers
● Share the discipleship pathway and how we need to be inviters ourself and get involved in our community
OCTOBER
THEME | Networkers
● Powerpoint teaching about the extended family and acronyms that are popular (AG, AGWM, ARC, etc.)
● Staff Value | Go after the win, win, win
DECEMBER
THEME | Goal Setters
● Pastor Rob teaches goal setting and inspires First Up to dream bigger
● Staff Value | Have Faith for More
JANUARY
THEME | Prayer Warriors
● Spiritual Disciplines, Fasting, Prayer, Intercession, Devotions, etc. Elder guests.
● Staff Value | Work for the Ultimate Well Done
FEBRUARY
THEME | Financial Gurus
● Financial Jeopardy, the goal is to increase the financial IQ of our team and help them understand our benefits and general financial principles.
MARCH
THEME | Bible Believers
● A general THEO 101 that gives people a basic understanding of what we believe about main issues, hot topics and secondary issues
● Staff Value | Honor in All Directions
THEME | Team Builders
● Conflict management, what to do when you want to pursue an internal/external position, communication best practices (Run at the Speed of Unity)
● Staff Value | Run at the Speed of Unity
WHY | We have a genuine belief there is capacity for more in all of us, so we’re developing Next Up to steward, cultivate, and invest into our growing team of leaders, culture-carriers, and influencers.
WHAT | Next Up is a 9-month practical development program designed to accelerate leadership potential on our team We see this as a space to personally invest in a select group of staff spiritually and emotionally, while also allowing space for them to take practical and guided steps forward in their influence and development
WHO | This is for any River Valley Staff, regardless of position, who exhibit River Valley culture and are ready to grow to a new level.
WHEN | This 9-month program starts in September and runs for 9 months.
HOW | Next Up uses a simple nomination process We ask our Campus Pastors and our Department Heads to nominate people from their team that already exhibit our culture at a high level and would benefit from further development and opportunities to grow in their leadership and influence. Once nominations are received our leadership team reviews and selects up to 10 people to join.
SEPTEMBER
THEME | NextUp Launch Meeting
● Monthly Meeting: September 18th 2023
● Recommended Interviews (pick one): Ben Olson, Brit Carson, Dasha Polyakova, Joey Ketchum, Josiah Bachtle, Josiah Christian, Lindsay Swiggum, Michaela Johnson, Tyler Geraghty, Wolf Winegard
OCTOBER
THEME | The Balance of Culture & Competencies
● Monthly Meeting: October 23rd 2023 w/Pastor Kirk Graham
● Recommended Reading:
○ 9 Lies About Work
○ The Ideal Team Player
○ Good to Great
● Recommended Staff Interview: Anthony Cox or Andrew Snead
● Group Hang Offsite
THEME | Emotional Intelligence (Humility- Being a self-aware leader)
● Monthly Meeting: November 20th 2023 w/Josiah Christian
● Recommended Reading:
○ Emotionally Healthy Leadership
○ Emotional Intelligence
○ Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ - Amazon.com
○ Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
○ 15 Websites That Will Heighten Your Emotional Intelligence | Inc com
● Recommended Staff Interview: Ryan Williams or Kaleb Graham
THEME | Longevity in Ministry and Authentic Christian Living
● Monthly Meeting: December 4th 2023 w/Pastor Rob & Becca
● Recommended Reading:
○ Fix It
● Recommended Staff Interview: Terry Parkman, Patraic & Daralee Utecht
THEME | Innovation & Collaboration- creating teams that build for the future together
● Monthly Meeting: January 22nd 2024 w/Terry Parkman
● Recommended Reading:
○ Black Box Thinking
○ The Power of Moments
○ Multipliers
● Recommended Podcasts:
○ The 4 Essentials of Innovation
○ Think Possibilities Not Problems
○ Leaders Eat Last
● Recommended Staff Interview: Logan Ketterling or Josiah Christian
● Dinner at the Graham’s: After Saturday Night Service on January 20th 2024
THEME | Conflict Management- Leading through conflict in a healthy, restorative and redemptive way
● Monthly Meeting: February 12 2024 w/Keith Peterson & Chris Book
● Recommended Reading:
○ Crucial Conversations
○ Making Peace- A guide to overcoming church conflict
○ Dare to Lead
○ The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
● Additional Resource:
○ The TKI Assessment: The Assessment Site
● Recommended Staff Interview: Gabi O’Rourke or Dasha Polyakova
THEME | Performance Management- Holding your teams accountable in their growth, goals and personal development
● Monthly Meeting: March 18th 2024 w/Keith Peterson
● Recommended Reading:
○ Reality-Based Leadership
○ Love Em or Lose Em
○ The Advantage
○ The Ideal Team Player: Patrick Lencioni, Stephen Hoye
● Additional Resource:
○ Working Genius Assessment: https://www workinggenius com/
● Recommended Staff Interview: Terry Parkman, Danette Anderson, Patraic Utecht
THEME | Change Management- Implementing change in a healthy & effective way w/Lou Hernandez
● Monthly Meeting: April 22nd 2024
● Recommended Reading:
○ 8 Steps to Accelerate Change
○ HBR's Must Reads on Change Management
○ Turning the Flywheel
● Recommended Staff Interview: Terry Parkman and Kirk Graham
● Dinner w/Lead Pastors
THEME | Being a Finisher: Why tenacity and grit matters in ministry w/Daralee
● Monthly Meeting: May 20th 2024
● Recommended Reading:
● Recommended Staff Interview: Shawn Roehl or Matt Nylin
THEME | Celebration and recap | Sustaining Health, Longevity & Influence
WHAT | Lead Up is about:
1 Building Relationship
○ Purpose is to help build the relationship between Central and Campuses.
○ Meet once a month
2. Leadership Development
○ CP’s, ACP’s, & Department Heads need to be carrying River Valley culture like never before
○ Need to care about every department no matter which department you oversee Ex Creative caring about what goes on with Care Ministry
3 Organizational Communication
○ Clarify best practices - Hiring practices, how do Departments/Campuses/Central communicate and talk through ideas and systems?
○ Empower department heads to communicate to campuses and allow campuses to speak into that
○ Ex Change up employee moves - how are employee moves sought out and communicated?
○ Have a culture of continual improvement
4. Maintaining the “River Valley Way”
○ What is the “way” of how we do things?
○ Clarify right and wrong, good and bad, bullseye and boundaries
October
THEME | Introduction to Lead Up
● What is Lead Up? - Kirk Graham
● What is Next Gen? - Terry Parkman
● What is Creative? - Aaron Johnson
● What is Discipleship? - Connor Ketterling
● Table Talk & Q&A
Recommended StudyCampus Pastors & Associate Campus Pastors -
1 Write 1 page on what does your Sunday look like for you personally?
○ Doesn’t have to be in detail of things like what you eat for breakfast, etc., but from sun up to sun down what does a typical Sunday look like for you?
2. In the next month, meet 1:1 with every person who reports to you directly in person if possible Tell them why you appreciate them and give them a $10 gift card
○ If you don’t have direct reports you can also meet with your dotted lines or key leaders - can be a 30 minute call
Department Heads & Visionary Leaders -
1. Write 1 page on what is the area of ministry you oversee/look after? This could include a brief description, mission, vision, future goals, etc. for your department.
2. In the next month, meet 1:1 with every person who reports to you directly in person if possible Tell them why you appreciate them and give them a $10 gift card
○ If you don’t have direct reports you can also meet with your dotted lines or key leaders - can be a 30 minute call
November
THEME | Leadership
Article - “Leadership Strategy & Tactics” -
9 Tactics -
1 Take a step back from situations
2 The dichotomy of leadership and extreme ownership
3 Leadership requires modesty and eagerness
4. Empower your team members
5. Apply iterative decision-making rather than finding solutions
6. Understand when to discipline your team
7. Control your ego
8 Do not micromanage
9 Good communication is key to being a good leader How do each of these leadership principles apply:
1 To me?
2. My family?
3. My department/campus/key leaders?
4. Our congregations?
December
THEME | Guest Speaker - Pastor Doug Graham - “Finishing Well”
Recommended Study -
● Read “Homiletics and Hermeneutics: Four Views on Preaching Today” - Scott Gibson and Matthew Kim
January
THEME | Guest Speaker, Pastor Rod Plummer - Lifehouse Church Japan
Recommended Study -
● Read through the ‘99 Essential Doctrines’
○ DIE, DEFEND, AND DISCUSS - Out of the 99, choose 10 doctrines you would die for (no more, no less), and 10 that you would defend (no more, no less), and we’ll assume the rest are open for discussion.
February
THEME | Lessons in Ministry
● Exercise - pull 2-3 takeaways from scripture and how it applies to us/lessons we should learn in ministry
○ Group 1 - Read Leviticus 8 - ‘Ordination/Consecration of Service’
○ Group 2 - Read Leviticus 9 - ‘The Lord Accepts Aaron’s Offering’
○ Group 3 - Read Leviticus 10 - ‘Aaron’s sons make another offering that costs them their life’
○ Group 4 - Questions about Collective Ministry Experience (Ministerial Leadership)
■ What’s 1 thing you learned on the job in ministry you wish had been in your training?
■ What’s a situation you walked into where you knew you were going to need the Holy Spirit?
March
THEME | Guest Speaker - Pastor Ben Gowell
April
THEME | Diversity & Belonging Training
June
THEME | Campus Visit
July
THEME | Guest Speaker - Pastor Rob
August
THEME | Guest Speaker - Pastor Mike Burnette
September
THEME | Local Outreach & Partnership
● Hope Breakfast Bar & tour
October
THEME | Reorg, Competencies, and Staff Culture
November/December
THEME | Management Training
● With Keith Peterson
● Divisional focuses
● CP’s & ACP’s each month, monthly Divisonal team depending on department leading that month
● Ensure that the CP’s & ACP’s know each ministry play and are able to speak into them as they are developed, as well as feel fully equipped and responsible for every area of ministry at the campus they’ve been asked to lead
January
THEME | Next Gen
● NEXT GEN - Terry co-lead
● KIDS, YTH, RVLI, YOUNG ADULTS
○ 9AM - KIDS (Andrew Snead)
○ 10AM - YTH (Gabi O’Rourke)
○ 11AM - RVLI (Dasha Polyakova)
○ 12PM - YA + lunch (Kirby Sato)
February
THEME | Creative
● CREATIVE - AJ co lead/ work with worship and production
● WORSHIP, PRODUCTION, COMM/FILM
○ 9AM - WORSHIP (Ryan Williams)
○ 10AM - PRODUCTION (Caleb Moore)
○ 11AM - COMM/FILM (Tom Poch/Michaela)
March
THEME | Discipleship
● DISCIPLESHIP - Connor co lead
● MEN'S/WOMEN'S, CARE, CONNECTION, LOCAL
○ 9AM - WOMEN’S (Pastor Becca)
○ 10AM - CARE (Mark & Pam Johnson)
○ 11AM - CONNECTION (Connor Ketterling)
○ 12PM - LOCAL/SERVE OUR COMMUNITY + lunch Kirk Graham/Vicki Hernandez
April
THEME | Ops
● OPS/PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TRAINING
● FINANCE, HR, INFRASTRUCTURE, ADMIN
○ 9AM - FINANCE (Karla Hultquist)
○ 9:30AM - HR (Danette Anderson)
○ 10AM - INFRASTRUCTURE (Lou Hernandez)
○ 10:30AM - ADMIN + lunch (Colette/Leslie)
○ 11AM-1PM - MGMT TRAINING - Keith
May
THEME | Global
● KINGDOM BUILDERS, GLOBAL
○ 2PM - KB -
○ 2:45PM - GLOBAL TEAMS/VIRTUAL TEAMS - Justin Mack
○ 3:30PM - 5-SPOTS - Jesse Johannessen
○ 4PM - 500/MAP -
August
THEME | BOLD MONTH & Influence
● NETWORK
● PUBLISHING
● FIRST UP
● GUEST HOSTING
● RIVER VALLEY ONLINE
November
THEME | Manager Training
● With Keith Peterson
● Start, Stop, Continue Exercise with Departments in reference to River Valley Bullseye
○ Discipleship
○ Next Gen
○ Creative
○ Operations
Coach Up is a process used to address individually identified needs, specific to an employee’s development while on the River Valley team. This process is designed to infuse additional focus on one or more areas of growth, often of a more pressing matter than in the normal course and scope of the employment process.
All River Valley Employees are eligible to go through the Coach Up process at any time, however participation is determined by identified need Needs are most commonly identified through performance evaluations, self-assessments, and discussions with the employee’s manager, secondary manager, HR, and/or Executive Leadership. Participation in the process is determined on a case by case basis and is decided based on the urgency of the need, availability of time and resources, and personal commitment by all parties.
Due to its individualized nature, the process utilized for each plan varies from person to person It can include everything from enhancing an employee’s competencies for their current or future growth to addressing performance or cultural fit gaps.
Some common expressions of a coach up plan include:
● Competency Assessment (Self, Manager, and Peer) and Training
● Short-Term Coaching Assignment (utilizing internal or external coaches)
● On-Going Counseling Services (external)
● Written Employee Development Plan
Regardless of the expression used, the coach up process should identify specific objectives and milestones, so as to accurately and, as objectively as possible, assess success in the process. In most instances there is also a clear timeline for completion of the Coach Up process, typically 60 days up to 6 months. Coach Up activities may include personal studies, book discussions, skill development through training and modeling, assessments with facilitated discussions and many other learning opportunities The process should also include regular “check-ins” with the initiating leader to assess progress and address any gaps which may exist
At the end of the designated timeline, the initiating leader, employee’s primary and secondary managers (as applicable and if not the initiating leader) and HR review over the identified objectives and milestones agreed upon at the start of the process to determine success. Employees who successfully complete the process are celebrated, as appropriate, and return
to their current role, as agreed upon. For any employee who did not successfully complete the process in the timeline established, further conversations occur to identify obstacles to success, what the employee and River Valley can do to improve chances of success, and if that is feasible in the current scope of time, availability, and cost This also includes an assessment of the employee’s perceived longevity on their team and what we as River Valley Church can do to help them succeed, regardless if they remain on the River Valley team or if they find another opportunity more suitable to the employee.