Twelve Trends in Multiplication (eBook)

At the first meeting of River Valley Church, 13 people showed up. Only four of them were not related to the pastor, Rob Ketterling, or weren’t promised a job at the church when the church could afford them. Of those four, two never came back. It was not exactly the most auspicious start to a church. Ketterling wrote about what it was like for them in the beginning:

This was in 1995, and we started River Valley Church in a school, but I immediately began looking for a permanent home for us. As it always happens, with new church startups, the people who attended often asked, ‘Pastor Rob, when are we getting our own building?” I told them again and again, mostly believing in faith, “I don’t know, but I’m sure God has something wonderful for us.”

I eventually found an empty field on the corner of a key intersection in Apple Valley, Minnesota, where four communities converge. It was close and appeared to be a prime location for the future. I often walked through the field, and prayed, “Lord, someday I’d love for You to let us build a church on this corner.”2

About four years into the life of River Valley Church, God began to do a miracle through a series of divine appointments and risk-taking steps of faith that led to the eventual construction of the church’s first official building and grand opening in September, 2000. Prior to moving into this new building, the church had an average attendance of 270 people.

Soon after making the move, the church began to rapidly grow. “I was beginning to ask God, ‘What do you want us to do now? Are we going to build a bigger building so that we can be a bigger church in this location? Or do you want us to go multi-site?’ Ketterling said. “And as I continued to present this question to God in prayer, I felt God say to me, ‘You are going to be a multi-site church, and as a confirming sign of this, someone is going to give you a building!’”

It was not long after God gave Rob that specific promise, that the District Superintendent of the Minnesota District, Clarence St John, called Ketterling and said “There is a church in Faribault that is potentially donating its building. Are you interested?” In Ketterling’s office, at that moment, was a map that the leaders used for prayer. On that map, there were several post-it notes, stuck on various communities and cities that would be potential locations for multiplication. One of those post-it notes was hanging on the map, with the name FARIBAULT written boldly upon it.

“For me, this was like the Macedonian vision that God had given Paul. It was as if someone was appearing to say, ‘Come over to Faribault and help us,’” Ketterling said. But this was more than just a confirming request, it came with a confirming sign. This church had a building that was worth one million dollars. There were only 40 people left, and they were facing the hard reality that they needed to do something different if they were going to stay alive.

At first, some of the members were reluctant to just hand over the keys. In his book, Fix It, Ketterling recounted the reaction to that moment and what happened next:

“I gave my presentation to the group and invited questions. It was obvious that a faction sitting near the back was hostile to me and our church. They had their arms crossed, and the look on their faces screamed, ‘Over my dead body!’ There was, I was sure, sadness mixed with anger. They had devoted their lives to the church, and it had come to this moment when they needed to keep the doors open.

“On our tour the previous afternoon, the deacons had been positive, and the people who sat near them seemed equally optimistic that this arrangement could work well for everybody. The current pastor and his wife were there, but they weren’t really engaged. They were planning to leave the church as soon as the deal—any deal—was done.

“Some of the questions about the multi-site model were straightforward, the kind you’d expect anyone to ask. Then one of the men in the back stood up and growled, ‘Our building is worth a million dollars. I want to know what your motive is for being here.’ At that moment, I sensed the Holy Spirit say, ‘Tell them now.’

“I took a deep breath and announced to him, and everyone else in the room. ‘On my driver’s license, it says that if I die, I am an organ donor.’ I had no idea what to say after that sentence, but the Holy Spirit downloaded what came next. ‘When I die, I want the doctors to take everything useful in me and give it to the living who need it. I don’t want anything of value to be buried in the ground. If my heart can save someone, take it. If my liver can save someone, use it. Kidneys, lungs, eyes, and anything else—use them to save someone, but don’t bury them.”

“I paused for a second, and continued, ‘This church has an opportunity to be an organ donor. You can give what’s valuable and useful in this church to River Valley, and we can use it to grow and thrive. Your heart is in this church. Give it to us, and the church will live and reach this city. It will be your heart, but it will be beating in the chest of River Valley Church. Don’t bury all God has done in your church.”3

The man who had been so angry and defiant looked around the room and almost laughed. He said, “I say we vote right now!’ And they did. Of the 40 people present, 36 voted for the proposal to become one of our campuses, two voted against it, and two abstained. That night the Post-It note on the map became a River Valley Campus! Today, that campus is home to more than 450 attendees

River Valley’s next campus was birthed in a similar way. Southbridge Assembly, was a thriving church of 250 people in Shakopee, Minnesota. The church was pastored by Darin Poli. Poli and Ketterling had attended Bible college together, a few decades before. They were pastors in the same region and were friends. Poli and Ketterling began to talk about the idea of joining forces. Southbridge Assembly voted to give up their identity so that they could be fully adopted as a River Valley Campus.

Poli resigned as the Lead Pastor of Southbridge and became the Executive Pastor of River Valley Church. Today the campus at Shakopee has more than 2,000 people in attendance every weekend. Even as that ‘adoption’ was happening in Shakopee, another church in the district was also in the process of becoming a campus.

Mound Assembly of God, located in Minnetrista, Minnesota had dwindled to only 12 people. In cooperation again with the Minnesota District, this church was eventually persuaded to also become an ‘organ donor.’

“As God brought these things together at the same time, we started to say to our church, ‘this year we are giving birth to twins,’” Ketterling said. Two campuses were born at the same time. This happened a second time as the Burnsville Campus and the Edina Campus were also launched in the same year as campuses number five and six were started. Today the campus in Edina has more than 1,500 in attendance each weekend.

CULTURE AND KINGDOM

So what makes the River Valley campuses unique? “Our goal is to make it feel like a franchise. Everything at every location looks and feels the same. Same brand colors. Same style and approach. Same message. Same children’s programs and youth ministry. They are designed to feel the same, but that does not make them all equal in expression,” Ketterling said.

“There are restaurant chains that are franchises with several different expressions. For instance, Chili’s is the full expression of the restaurant. But if you go to one in an airport, you will eat at a Chili’s Too. The menu is not as full, but the food and experience is the same there as well.”

River Valley’s buildings are all designed to look similar. Most of the buildings have a warehouse look. Some have been converted from a traditional church building to look more like the other spaces in the campus family. Some of the buildings are leased, some are owned, but all have the same branding and flow.

One of the defining marks of the River Valley family of campuses is its commitment to missions and to generosity. River Valley launched its annual Kingdom Builders Campaign before it launched any additional campuses. Kingdom Builders is an over-and-above giving campaign toward initiatives that expand the Kingdom both locally and globally. Those who attend River Valley give over and above their tithes to support these works.

This campaign has enabled River Valley to raise and give away more than six million dollars every year. The monies raised in these annual campaigns have enabled River Valley to birth campuses, buy and renovate buildings, plant additional General Council churches, support Assemblies of God missionaries and projects, and send some of their church family to the mission field.

River Valley now has eight campuses, with more than 10,000 people who attend every weekend. But they have not just birthed campuses, they have also invested in planting churches. Sometimes they have sent financial support. Other times they...