Multi-Site EPODs: Campus Teams vs. Central Teams
We continue a miniseries based on this long-ago post titled Multi-Site: You Need an EPOD. An EPOD is one of the tried-and-true tools in our multi-site toolbox, and keeps us on the literal same page. It establishes understanding, goals, and accountability between our central resourcing teams and the campus staffs who are on the front lines.
So far in this series, we’ve spent the bulk of our time talking about EPODs for campus-centric ministries. In other words, what are the Essential, Preferred, Optional, and “Don’t” actions that a campus staff member or volunteer should take (or not) when it comes their area of oversight?
And for years, that’s where our team landed as well: EPODs are for campuses. ‘Nuff said. Full stop.
Only that wasn’t good enough.
A couple of years back, we started a conversation around central EPODs: when it came to central ministry teams – those serving in a coaching and resourcing role – what are our responsibilities to our campus teams? What were we encouraged to do and what are the things we should never do? Developing this EPOD set some guidelines and guardrails, and kept us accountable both to the steering team we serve under and the campus teams we serve.
Our Central EPOD gets at our Guest Services DNA and best practices, only we climb up a different side of the mountain to get to the top.
Some examples:
Essential:
- Set the overall DNA for the Guest Services team and culture across all Summit campuses and events.
- Provide or point to resources needed for weekly ministry: ministry supplies, signage, communion, booklets, lanyards, etc.
- Work with Campus Pastors to develop job descriptions, hire, and onboard / train GS Directors.
Preferred:
- Central representatives will visit each campus at least 1x per quarter.
- Central representatives will conduct a 1:1 with Guest Services Directors at least 1x per quarter.
Optional:
- Provide ongoing troubleshooting for campus-specific issues.
Don’t:
- Remain in a silo, above and apart from campus leadership, effectively making them “figure it out” on their own.
Now, in full disclosure I’ll tell you that we’re a little over a year into this journey, and we still have a ways to go. Both our central teams and our campus teams will freely admit that we’re not quite there on all of the Essentials and Preferred. But this central EPOD gives us a target to shoot at. And slowly, bullet by bullet, we’re getting there.
Download our Central EPOD.
See all posts in this series:
- Multi-Site: You Need An EPOD
- Multi-Site EPODs: Establishing the Essentials
- Multi-Site EPODs: Promoting the Preferred
- Multi-Site EPODs: Opining the Optional
- Multi-Site EPODs: Defining the Don’ts
- Multi-Site EPODs: Campus Teams vs. Central Teams
