I’ve had the privilege of seeing a lot of multisite campuses over the last 10-plus years of leading in multisite churches. During that time, I’ve had the opportunity to see dozens of campus pastors up close as they lead their locations. Over the last few months, we’ve been launching our most recent campus at Liquid Church, and I’ve had a front-row seat to see Mike Leahy lead as a campus pastor.
I think campus pastors from any multisite church should learn their craft from Mike. This is the fourth campus that Mike has lead and it shows … the guy is a real professional! Here are a few habits I’ve seen him repeat time and time again that I think drive his effectiveness.
1. Replication Focused
Mike is incredibly focused on raising up the next round of leaders to take over the ministry. Not only is he modeling that with his own associate campus pastor, but he pushes to see training happening in every area of the campus. Effective long-term multisite churches unlock the ability to replicate leaders, and Mike pushes our campuses to always be raising up the next level of leaders.
2. Sweat the Small Stuff
There are thousands of details that make the launch of a new campus great and Mike does an amazing job of digging into the details and making them work for our guests. From the layout of our main auditorium to the flow of parking to how our team fill out name tags … each of those details is sorted through and then documented so it can be replicated at this new location.
3. Pocket Briefcase
If you followed Mike for any time on Sunday, you’d notice that he’s constantly pulling out a small note pad and making notes about every interaction he has with people. [Click here to check out the notepad he uses.] Each note represents a follow up item for someone from our church … prayer items to loop back on, important milestones coming up, connections to be make. He uses a notepad rather than his phone because he doesn’t want to give the impression that he’s goofing around on his smart phone. This small tactic gives Mike the ability to turn every Sunday into a follow-up treasure trove for the rest of the week.
4. “Pollinating” the Audience
At the front end of our service, you’ll notice Mike meeting and greeting people throughout the audience during the musical worship part of the service. He’s attempting to make as many personal connections as possible with people … during the service! I love the sight of our band cranking on stage and Mike focusing on individuals in the room. This sort of personal care to connect draws people into our community.
