Bridge Cities Church · Staff Internal Document
Become the Most
Loving Place
in the Quad Cities
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… Love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22:37–39
The Thematic Goal
One qualitative, time-bound rallying cry that every person in the church can understand, repeat, and work toward together. Not a new mission. A focused season.
Already in our DNA: BCC Vision Statement
"To become the most loving place in the Quad Cities: a multiplying movement of disciples and churches: that is bigger than Sunday, bigger than Bettendorf, and beyond our lifetime."
The rallying cry does not replace or compete with the vision. It makes the vision actionable right now: this year, this week, today.
Defining Objectives
The 4–5 things that, if accomplished, will make the rallying cry real.
01
Every person knows their next step
No one sits at BCC without a clear pathway invitation. The five Mile Markers give language to where someone is and what's next.
02
Prayer becomes our first language
Prayer leads every meeting, every communication, and every decision. Conviction 5: Prayer is our Pathway: becomes visible and measurable.
03
Every member is personally investing in someone
A congregation member: not a program or staff: is holding the baton for at least one other person's next step. This is Move Right, Look Left made personal: maturing in their own walk while actively reaching toward someone else.
04
Radical hospitality becomes visible
Guests feel pursued, not processed. The first Sunday experience, the follow-up, and the invitation into community all carry the warmth of genuine love.
05
The mission extends beyond Sunday
Congregation members are engaging their neighborhoods, coworkers, and families with intentional Gospel love: Monday through Saturday.
The 4 Pillars: How We Live This Out
Gather
Weekly worship, equipping, communion: prepared to go.
Connect
Groups, classes, events: discipleship in relationship.
Serve
Activating faith through love in action, inside and out.
Build
Raising leaders, planting churches, multiplying the mission.
How the Discipleship Pathway Produces the Thematic Goal
Everything BCC does is organized around moving people through five Mile Markers. This is not a program track. It is how love is formed in a person over time.
Mile Marker 1
Surrender & Foundation
How it forms love
A person who has genuinely surrendered to Jesus has received love at the deepest level. Surrender produces humility, the soil love grows in.
Convictions it activates
Gospel is our Center. Scripture is our Starting Point. Obedience is our Response.
Mile Marker 2
Rooted & Growing
How it forms love
Roots produce fruit. A person grounded in Scripture, prayer, and community begins to express the fruit of the Spirit. Love is the first fruit named in Galatians 5.
Convictions it activates
Prayer is our Pathway. Scripture is our Starting Point. Relationships are our Priority.
Mile Marker 3
Sent & Serving
How it forms love
This is where love becomes visible to the Quad Cities. A sent person actively expresses God's love outward through service, hospitality, and gospel relationships.
Convictions it activates
Love is our Identity. Obedience is our Response. Relationships are our Priority.
Mile Marker 4
Leadership Development
How it forms love
Every leader formed at BCC multiplies love. They are no longer a single expression of it. They reproduce it.
Convictions it activates
Multiplication is our Calling. Relationships are our Priority. Love is our Identity.
Mile Marker 5
The Climb
How it forms love
These are people who have been transformed at the head, heart, and hands level, and are now building the next generation. Living proof that the thematic goal is possible.
Convictions it activates
Multiplication is our Calling. Gospel is our Center. All seven convictions: lived, not just known.
The Logic in One Line
The discipleship pathway is not how BCC runs programs. It is how BCC produces the thematic goal. Every Mile Marker is a measurable stage of transformation, from receiving love to multiplying it. When the pathway is healthy, the city feels it. The end in view at every stage is a Fully Formed Disciple: someone whose head, heart, and hands have been shaped by Christ, even as we acknowledge that formation is a lifelong journey.
Living the Journey
The pathway is how we become the most loving place in the Quad Cities, one step at a time. No one is exempt. No one is finished.
The Core Logic
We do not send people on a journey we have not walked ourselves.
Staff go first. Then congregation members. Then the Quad Cities feels it. Love is not declared. It is formed. And this is how it is formed.
Inside-Out
The pathway begins with a surrendered life in Christ and flows outward into loving and discipling others. Formation that stays inside is incomplete. Every Mile Marker moves us further out.
Move Right, Look Left
Every person on the journey is simultaneously moving right (growing closer to Christ) and looking left (toward someone they can invite, disciple, or mentor). Neither movement is optional.
Surrender and Foundation
The starting point for everyone, including staff
Before anything else, every person at BCC is invited into surrender. This is where Inside-Out begins: the "inside" of a life formed in Christ that will eventually flow outward. Staff model it by returning to the gospel regularly, praying first, and leading from dependency rather than competency.
For the Congregation
Hearing the gospel clearly. Responding in faith. Being baptized. Finding a first community.
For Staff
Returning to the gospel as the source. Modeling prayer and Scripture engagement visibly.
How It Advances the Goal
You cannot give love you have not received. Surrender is where love is first accepted.
Rooted and Growing
Formation takes root in relationship and Scripture
Growth requires roots, and roots require time, consistency, and community. A person at Mile Marker 2 is not just learning about Jesus. They are being changed by him.
For the Congregation
Consistent small group participation. Engaging Bridge Classes. Developing a personal prayer life.
For Staff
Actively participating in the same formation practices BCC offers. Pursuing a personal baton relationship.
How It Advances the Goal
Rooted people bear fruit. Galatians 5 names love first. This is where the character of Christ begins to take shape.
Sent and Serving
Love becomes visible beyond the church walls
This is where Inside-Out becomes visible and Move Right, Look Left becomes active. A sent person moves outward with intentionality through service, hospitality, and gospel relationships. They are looking left as a way of life, not as an occasional act.
For the Congregation
Actively serving in a ministry area. Engaging neighbors and coworkers. Beginning to hold the baton for another person.
For Staff
Living a sent life outside ministry hours. Modeling what it looks like to love people who are not yet at BCC.
How It Advances the Goal
The Quad Cities only experiences BCC's love through people who are sent. This is where the goal crosses the threshold.
Leadership Development
The baton pass at its most intentional
A leader is someone who takes personal ownership of another person's growth. Every person at Mile Marker 4 is actively discipling someone and being discipled themselves.
For the Congregation
Leading a small group or ministry team. Personally discipling at least one person.
For Staff
Identifying and developing congregation members for leadership. Every staff member developing their own replacement.
How It Advances the Goal
Leaders multiply love. One loving person who disciples two is now three. This is the math of the thematic goal.
The Climb
Lifelong formation and sustained multiplication
The Climb is the sustained posture of a person who has integrated surrender, growth, mission, and leadership into the fabric of their life. They are the closest human picture of what BCC calls a Fully Formed Disciple: head, heart, and hands shaped by Christ, with the humility to know the journey never ends. They are the living proof of the thematic goal.
For the Congregation
Mentoring multiple generations of disciples. Giving sacrificially. Living sent in every context.
For Staff
Leading from formed character, not just competence. Never graduating from the journey personally.
How It Advances the Goal
People at The Climb are the answer to the thematic goal walking around in real life. The goal multiplies through them.
How It All Ties Together
The Thematic Goal gives us direction.Become the most loving place in the Quad Cities. Every other decision is tested against it.
The Pathway gives us the route.Five Mile Markers. A clear progression. A formation journey that applies to every person at BCC.
The Baton gives us the mechanism.No one moves forward alone. A congregation member holds the baton for every person on the journey.
Prayer holds it all together.Every step on the journey begins with prayer. This is not a strategy. It is a conviction we live.
The destination is a Fully Formed Disciple.Inside-Out in their formation. Moving right toward Christ. Looking left toward others. Never finished. Always becoming.
Staff Alignment
Staff alignment is the necessary condition for the discipleship journey to move. When staff are aligned, speaking the same language, and personally on the journey, the pathway has its best chance of producing what the thematic goal requires.
Why This Tab Exists
The cascade only works if every person in it is personally on the journey.
A staff team that is misaligned will produce a congregation that is confused. A staff team that is personally on the journey will produce a congregation that is moving.
The Thematic Goal
Become the most loving place in the Quad Cities. Every staff role, every meeting, and every communication must serve this goal.
The Pathway
Five Mile Markers. Staff do not manage the pathway from above. They walk it alongside the congregation.
The Baton
The baton is always held by a congregation member. Staff pass it to members and equip them to carry it. Staff never hold it permanently.
Who Owns What
Role
Lead Pastor
Vision owner
Owns
The thematic goal. The rallying cry. The defining objectives. The spiritual health of the staff team.
Key Tasks
Weekly staff meeting. Both all-church leadership meetings. Casting the vision from the pulpit. Personally modeling the journey.
Baton Pass To
Passes the vision baton to all staff. Ensures every staff member can articulate the goal without being prompted.
Role
Discipleship Director
Pathway architect
Owns
The five Mile Markers as a living system. Curriculum evaluation. Baton pass health. Drop point identification.
Key Tasks
Design and oversee the Bridge Class cycle. Equip small group leaders. Monthly baton pass health check.
Baton Pass To
Passes the pathway baton to small group leaders and class facilitators with language, tools, and confidence.
Role
Congregation Members
The baton carriers
Owns
Their personal next step. The baton for at least one other person. Relationships in their neighborhood and workplace.
Key Tasks
Engage the pathway personally. Name one person they are walking with. Pray for one person outside the faith by name, daily. Live Move Right, Look Left: growing in their own walk with Christ while actively reaching toward someone else.
Baton Pass To
This is the irreducible baton pass. A congregation member personally takes ownership of another person's next step. Everything else exists to make this moment possible.
↕ Vertical: Top Down and Bottom Up
Leadership Cascade
↓
Lead Pastor → All Staff
Weekly. Open with prayer. Thematic goal check-in. Everyone leaves knowing what the score is.
↓
Staff → Ministry Leaders
Bi-weekly. Same words, same priorities. No translation loss.
↓
Ministry Leaders → Small Group Leaders
Monthly gathering. Vision, care, baton check. Group leaders must feel resourced and seen.
↓
Small Group Leaders → Congregation
Weekly, relational, personal. The baton passes here. Most important communication in the entire system.
↑
Congregation Members → Staff
Feedback loops: what are people asking? Small group leaders are the primary ears.
↔ Horizontal: Peer to Peer
Cross-Functional Unity
↔
All-Staff Cross Huddle
Monthly. One question: how are our individual areas contributing to the one thematic goal?
↔
Discipleship Team with All Ministries
The pathway belongs to every ministry. Kids, students, groups, and classes all use the same language.
↔
Small Group Leader Network
Quarterly gathering. Leaders share wins, struggles, and baton pass stories. Peer learning is powerful.
↔
Communication Team with All Departments
Shared editorial calendar. Every communication: Does this carry the vision? Does it have a clear next step?
Shared Language: Everyone Speaks the Same Words
The Rallying Cry
Our one thematic goal: Become the most loving place in the Quad Cities.
Mile Markers
The five stages of BCC's discipleship pathway. Not steps — markers. People move at their own pace.
The Baton
Personal ownership of another person's next step. Always carried by a congregation member, not a program.
The Baton Pass
The moment a congregation member personally takes responsibility for walking with someone toward their next step.
Next Step
The one clear, specific invitation toward spiritual growth. Always personal. Never generic.
Drop Point
Where a person stops moving because no one was holding their baton. Must be named and addressed.
Head / Heart / Hands
The transformation framework. Discipleship is not complete at the head. It must reach heart and change hands.
Defining Objectives
The 3–5 specific outcomes that, if achieved, mean the rallying cry is happening.
Inside-Out
We model a surrendered life to Jesus as a loving disciple of Christ, and out of that relationship we love and disciple others. Formation flows outward.
Fully Formed Disciple
Internal language for what we consider a fully formed disciple of Christ, with head, heart, and hands transformed, while acknowledging it is a lifelong process.
Move Right, Look Left
We are always moving right (closer to Christ, maturing in our walk) while always looking left toward those we can disciple, mentor, share Christ with, and invite into the journey.
Growth Metrics
Staff-facing only. Every metric below is tied to a core conviction, because values are only real when they are lived and measured.
Staff only. These metrics are for pastoral and leadership assessment and should remain at the staff and lead pastor level unless there is a specific, intentional reason to share broader data.
Monthly MetricsTracked by staff, reviewed at monthly all-staff meeting
Conviction: Prayer is our Pathway
Prayer Activity
Number of prayer requests submitted · Staff prayer meeting attendance · Prayer prompts engaged across communication channels
Conviction: Relationships are our Priority
Baton Pass Activity
Active baton pass relationships reported by group leaders · New connections made · Drop points identified
Conviction: Gospel is our Center
Attendance and Engagement
Sunday average attendance · First-time vs. returning guests · Small group active participation
Conviction: Scripture is our Starting Point
Class and Formation Activity
Bridge Class enrollment and attendance · Sermon study guide engagement · New class registrations
Conviction: Obedience is our Response
Generosity
Monthly giving vs. budget · Number of unique givers · New givers this month
Conviction: Love is our Identity
Serve Activity
Active volunteers serving inside BCC · Community/outreach engagements · New first-time volunteers
Quarterly MetricsReviewed at all-church staff meetings and with lead pastor
Conviction: Multiplication is our Calling
Pathway Movement
People who moved from one Mile Marker to the next · Congregation distribution across all five · Drop points identified
Conviction: Relationships are our Priority
Baton Pass Health
Total active baton pass relationships · % of active members in a named relationship · Transformation stories collected
Conviction: Love is our Identity
Community Impact
Gospel conversations reported · People brought to BCC by a member (not marketing) · Community partnerships
A Note on How to Use These Metrics
Numbers tell you where to look, not what to conclude. Always bring a story alongside every number. The metric opens the conversation. The story tells the truth. When in doubt, ask: what is God doing here, and what does this number help us see?
The Annual Communication Rhythm
Vision doesn't sustain itself. It needs a drumbeat — a predictable, repeating cadence that keeps the rallying cry alive from January to December.
All-Church Leadership Meeting · Spring
Vision Refresh & Season Launch
Open WithPrayer. Extended. Corporate. Not a formality.
ReviewThematic goal progress. What's the score? What's changed?
NameDefining objectives for the next season. Every leader aligned.
PathwayMile Marker update. Drop points identified.
LanguageShared vocabulary refreshed. Everyone leaves saying the same things.
CommissionSend leaders back with a specific baton assignment for the season.
All-Church Leadership Meeting · Fall
Fruit Report & Year Ahead
Open WithWorship and gratitude. Celebrate before you plan.
CelebrateBaton pass stories. Real names, real moments. Most important agenda item.
AssessDefining objectives: achieved? Partial? Why? What did we learn?
SetNext year's thematic goal or renew current.
PrayFor the year ahead. For specific people by name. For the cities.
CommissionSend everyone home with one name to pray for and personally pursue.
Quarterly Cadence
Q1 · Jan–Mar
Launch the Vision
Vision sermon refreshes the rallying cry. All-church pathway email sent. Small group leaders equipped. Bridge Class cycle launches.
Q2 · Apr–Jun
Spring Meeting and Baptism
Spring all-church leadership meeting. Baptism Sunday with baton pass stories named publicly.
Q3 · Jul–Sep
Reach and Serve
Summer outward focus initiative. Fall class registration opens. New small group semester launches.
Q4 · Oct–Dec
Celebrate, Renew, Give
Fall all-church leadership meeting with fruit report. Year-end generosity campaign. Advent series.