Layer 1 · The Vision
The Rallying Cry
One qualitative, time-bound goal everyone at BCC can name without prompting. Not a new mission — the vision made actionable this year.
01
Every person knows their next stepThe five Mile Markers give language to where someone is and what's next.
02
Prayer becomes our first languagePrayer leads every meeting, communication, and decision.
03
Every member invests in someoneA congregation member — not a program — holds the baton for at least one person.
04
Radical hospitality becomes visibleGuests feel pursued, not processed. Every first experience carries genuine warmth.
05
The mission extends beyond SundayMembers engage neighborhoods, coworkers, and families Monday–Saturday.
Layer 2 · The Pathway
Five Mile Markers
Not a program track — a formation journey every person at BCC walks, at their own pace, from receiving love to multiplying it.
MM 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. You cannot give what you have not received.
Baton Pass
They receive first. Once stabilized, they look for someone newer and say: "I just came through this. Walk with me."
MM 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.
Baton Pass
They personally invite someone from their relational circle into their small group: "My group has meant everything to me. I want you there."
MM 3
Sent & Serving
How It Forms Love
This is where love becomes visible to the Quad Cities. A sent person is actively expressing God's love outward through service, hospitality, and gospel relationships beyond church walls.
Baton Pass
They pull someone alongside them in their serving role: "There's room on this team. I think you'd be great here. Come try it with me."
MM 4
Leadership Development
How It Forms Love
A leader takes personal ownership of another person's growth. Every leader formed at BCC multiplies love — they are no longer a single expression, they reproduce it.
Baton Pass
They identify an apprentice and say: "I see it in you. I want to pour into you the way someone poured into me."
MM 5
The Climb
How It Forms Love
Sustained, lifelong formation. These are people transformed at head, heart, and hands who are now building the next generation — the living proof the thematic goal is possible.
Baton Pass
They release. The greatest baton pass is letting someone they developed step into leadership — then finding the next person to pour into.
Layer 3 · The Staff Cascade
Who Owns What
Clear ownership prevents drop points. Staff do not hold the baton — they build the structure, equip the chain, and pass to congregation members who carry it forward.
Vision Owner
Lead Pastor
Sets the score
Owns
The thematic goal, the rallying cry, and the defining objectives for each season. The spiritual health of the staff team. The tone and culture of the entire journey.
Baton Pass ↓
Passes the vision baton to all staff — ensures every staff member can articulate the goal, the pathway, and their role without prompting.
Pathway Architect
Discipleship Director
Designs the system
Owns
The five Mile Markers as a living system. Curriculum evaluation and class sequencing. Baton pass health across the congregation. Drop point identification and response.
Baton Pass ↓
Passes the pathway baton to small group leaders and class facilitators with language, tools, and confidence.
Journey Participants
All Staff
Walk it first
Owns
Their personal Mile Marker position. Their own baton relationship. The health of people in their specific ministry area. Consistent shared language across every communication they produce.
Baton Pass ↓
Passes ministry-specific batons to volunteer ministry leaders. Never holds the baton for congregation members directly.
Bridge Layer
Ministry Leaders
Staff vision → action
Owns
The health and engagement of their specific ministry area. Volunteer development and care. Translating staff vision into action without losing fidelity to the language or goal.
Baton Pass ↓
Passes leadership batons to small group leaders and key volunteers. Identifies congregation members ready for greater responsibility.
Front Line
Small Group Leaders
Shepherd the journey
Owns
The relational health of every person in their group. Knowing each person's Mile Marker. One apprentice at all times. An environment where the baton passes naturally.
Baton Pass ↓
Passes the relational baton to congregation members. Releases the apprentice to lead a new group when ready. This is where multiplication begins.
The Irreducible Pass
Congregation Members
Carry the baton
Owns
Their personal next step on the journey. The baton for at least one other person. The relationships in their neighborhood, workplace, and family the church cannot reach without them.
Baton Pass →
A congregation member personally takes ownership of another person's next step. Everything else in this document exists to make this moment possible.
Layer 4 · The Member Roles
Named Congregation Roles
Beyond the general cascade, three specific congregation roles carry named responsibility for baton pass health throughout the church.
Pathway Connector
A congregation member who takes personal ownership of people around them on Sundays. Not a greeter — a shepherd. Knows their section, initiates real conversation, has a tangible next step ready, and follows up. Their one sentence: "I personally hand the next step to the people around me."
Small Group Leader
The most important non-staff role. Carries the baton for the whole group. 8–12 people, one relational home. Always developing one apprentice. Never passes to a program — always to a person. The multiplication engine of the pathway.
Core Leader (~90 active)
Must be at MM5. Shaped by the pathway, now bearing responsibility for shaping it in others. Their baton pass is the most consequential in the system. When they say "I see you — I want to pour into you," the entire pathway multiplies one more time.
Where the Baton Gets Dropped
Drop Points to Watch
The baton gets dropped when the invitation becomes institutional rather than relational. These are the most common failure points across the system.
Program instead of person
A bulletin announcement. A generic email. A staff member making the connection. The moment it becomes institutional, the baton is dropped.
Closed group culture
New people mentioned in theory but never actually invited. The group becomes a destination rather than a gateway.
The unspoken invitation
Everyone can see someone is ready for more — and no one says it. The unspoken invitation is no invitation at all.
No apprentice
The group that has no one being developed will never multiply. Every leader must have an apprentice at all times.
Never releasing
The leader develops an apprentice but never releases them. The pathway stops multiplying. Release is not failure — it is the point.
Presence without intentionality
A core leader who shows up faithfully but has no named person they are developing. Presence alone is not multiplication.
Layer 5 · Measurement
What BCC Tracks
Staff-facing only. Every metric is tied to a core conviction — values are only real when they are lived and measured. Numbers open the conversation; stories tell the truth.
Prayer is our Pathway
Prayer Activity
Prayer requests submitted, staff meeting attendance, prompts engaged across channels.
Relationships are our Priority
Baton Pass Activity
Active baton relationships reported by group leaders. New connections made. Drop points identified (people without a baton holder).
Gospel is our Center
Attendance & Engagement
Sunday average (~800 attenders). First-time vs. returning guests. Small group active participation across 22 groups.
Multiplication is our Calling
Pathway Movement
People who moved from one Mile Marker to the next. Congregation distribution across all five markers. Where forward movement is stalling.
Love is our Identity
Serve & Community Impact
Active volunteers. Outreach engagements. Gospel conversations reported. People brought to BCC by a member (not marketing).
Obedience is our Response
Generosity & Engagement Ratio
Monthly giving vs. budget. Unique givers. Ratio of active participants to Sunday attenders — the core engagement health signal.
Layer 6 · The Rhythm
Annual Communication Cadence
Vision doesn't sustain itself. Two all-church leadership meetings anchor the year; four quarterly moves keep the rallying cry alive from January to December.
Q1 · Jan–Mar
Launch the Vision
Vision sermon. All-church pathway email. Group leaders equipped. Bridge Class cycle launches.
Q2 · Apr–Jun
Spring Meeting & Baptism
All-church leadership meeting. Baptism Sunday with baton pass stories named publicly. Defining objectives reviewed.
Q3 · Jul–Sep
Reach and Serve
Outward focus initiative. Fall class registration opens. New small group semester launches with baton check-in built in.
Q4 · Oct–Dec
Celebrate, Renew, Give
Fall all-church meeting with fruit report. Generosity campaign. Advent series. Year-end baton conversations encouraged.
The Logic in Four Lines
How It All Ties Together
Everything in this document exists to make one moment possible: a specific person looking another person in the eye and saying, "I think you're ready. I'm going with you."
Gives Direction
Become the most loving people in the Quad Cities. Every role, meeting, and communication is tested against this or it's a distraction.
Gives the Route
Five Mile Markers. A formation journey for every person — from newest attender to longest-serving staff member. No one is exempt. No one is finished.
Gives Structure
Staff build the system and equip the chain. They do not hold the baton. Clear ownership at every level prevents drop points and keeps vision moving.
Is the Mechanism
Always carried by a congregation member. Person to person. This is how the thematic goal reaches the Quad Cities — not through programs, but through people.
Bridge Cities Church · Strategic Map · 2025–2026 · Staff Internal Document