Jim Burgen: A Church of Open Arms

At the end of the service, we met budget, had enough to dig the well—and build the school. Later that week, an individual handed me a check to cover the cost of building the clinic.

A few weeks later we showed pictures of the new well, and a few months later, I went to the site to lay the cornerstone for the school.

Flatirons is new to missions, but we jumped into the deep end: Afghanistan. That weekend, I invited anyone who might be interested in going with me on a short-term trip to Afghanistan to meet me in the lobby that night. More than 600 people showed up, and we have consistently sent more than 100 people per year for the last six years.

If you were to chart not only our attendance growth but also our financial giving growth, there is a distinct point on the graph where things start exploding in an upward direction. That point is July 2007, the day we put that rug on the front of the stage.

Flatirons has always been a church for the people few other churches want, and we go to the places few other churches want to go. The No. 1 question I can find asked of Jesus in the New Testament is some form of, Why do you eat with hang out with associate with “people like that”?I want Flatirons to be asked the same question. The more we concern ourselves with the needs of the world outside of our walls, both physical and spiritual, the more people are curious to find out what is happening inside of our walls. I want to know that I’m making a difference in the world. I want to be a part of church that is making a difference.

MEASURING SUCCESS

Well, the obvious answer most people want to downplay is “nickels and noses”—giving and attendance. While I think this can be a poor measuring stick, the truth is … Jesus said your treasure follows your heart. They will always be in the same place. So, as Jesus captures a person’s heart, they give more and more of their money toward the things that align with the heart and mission of Jesus.

Second, we have no marketing program whatsoever except for our sixth value, which is simply, “Come and See.” If people trust us to teach grace and truth in a way they understand, they will bring their friends so they can bump into Jesus and make up their own minds about who Jesus is and whether or not what Jesus describes as a better way could really be true for their lives. In the Boulder area, there is not cultural pressure or a sense of obligation to attend a church. If anyone decides to attend, it is because they trust us or they have been brought by someone who trusts us.

Beyond those two “markers,” I believe seeing people move into service to accomplish the purposes of Jesus by utilizing their spiritual gifts along with the personality of the fruit of the Spirit could be the most important marker. Time, talent and treasure are the three most important things in our lives, and we have limited amounts of each of them. As Jesus becomes a higher priority in our lives, we begin to reprioritize our time, talent and treasure in light of that.

At Flatirons, we are intentionally dependent upon volunteers rather than constantly hiring more and more staff. Our current weekly attendance is around 15,000 people. We have fewer than 50 full time staff people. Not only is this very financially helpful, but it also lines up with the idea of “equipping the saints” to do the ministry.

Jim Burgen
Jim BurgenFlatironsChurch.com

Jim Burgen is the senior pastor at Flatirons Community Church, a megachurch in Lafayette, Colo. He is an alumnus of Milligan College and a former youth minister, including time spent as road pastor to Christian bands Audio Adrenaline and the O.C. Supertones. Before coming to Flatirons, he was on staff at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., and Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Ky. Find him on Twitter at @FlatironsChurch.

Keep Calm and Minister

Can you pass the "Timothy Test?"

4 Ways God’s Spirit Leads His People

We don't always have the full picture, but discerning how God is leading you is not unclear.

Fit for the Kingdom

The Lord prompted Reardon to think about combining Christian fellowship with fitness in order to create a new small group for men.