ARC Churches

The Association of Related Churches (ARC)

Type	Non-profit
Industry	Civic and Social Organizations
Founded	2000 (2000)
Founder	Greg Surratt Billy Hornsby Chris Hodges Rick Bezet Scott Hornsby Dino Rizzo
Headquarters	Birmingham, Alabama
Website	arcchurches.com

The Association of Related Churches (ARC) is a global network of independent churches that was established in 2000. It was founded by a group of pastors who were passionate about creating a community where church leaders could come together to share resources, support each other, start new churches, and help spread the Gospel.

ARC Church’s mission is to see a thriving church in every community, reaching people with the love and hope of Jesus. Its leadership team is composed of its founders and current president, as well as its board of directors and staff members. The organization is built on a foundation of values such as relationships, serving, and diversity.

As a network of independent churches, ARC offers a range of resources and services to help church leaders and planters, including training and coaching, financial assistance, and networking opportunities. It also offers a variety of programs and events throughout the year, including conferences, workshops, and retreats.

Through its efforts, ARC has been able to plant more than 1,000 churches around the world, and its network continues to grow. With a commitment to building strong relationships and fostering a culture of excellence, ARC remains dedicated to its mission of planting and supporting thriving churches globally.

History

Association of Related Churches (ARC) is a global network of independent churches that was founded in 2000 by a group of pastors who were passionate about creating a community where church leaders could come together to share resources and support each other in their mission to spread the Gospel.

The idea for ARC was sparked when six pastors from different parts of the country came together with a shared vision to plant churches that would reach their communities with the love and hope of Jesus. They began meeting regularly to share their experiences, resources, and ideas, and they quickly realized that they could do more together than they could alone.

As their network grew, the founders of ARC began to develop a vision for an organization that would provide resources and support for church planters and leaders around the world. They established a board of directors and hired staff members to help them realize their vision, and in 2001, they planted their first church.

Since then, ARC has continued to grow and expand, planting more than 1,000 churches around the world and offering a range of resources and services to help church leaders and planters succeed. Today, ARC has a network of over one thousand churches in the United States and around the world, and its leadership team remains committed to its mission of planting and supporting thriving churches globally.

Vision

The Association of Related Churches (ARC) was founded in 2000 by a group of six pastors who shared a dream to resource a new generation of church planters to start churches across the United States. The founders recognized that while there was a growing need for new churches, three key elements were often missing: practical training, financial resources, and a relational component that provided an environment for healthy ministry. They wanted to address these needs and create a community of life-giving churches focused on reaching the unchurched.

To kick off their vision, two of the founders planned to plant churches in Conway, Arkansas and Birmingham, Alabama. Another founder led a church that was willing to invest "seed" money into these two plants, while another church contributed toward the equipment needs of the startups. The founders recognized the need for a leader to guide their fledgling organization and chose one of their own, known for building systems and teams.

Despite the lack of a visible presence or funding, the dream of ARC was born. The founders chose the name "Association of Related Churches" to reflect their hope that the churches they planted would be relationally connected in some way. Their goal was to create a supportive community of church planters and leaders who could share resources and experiences to help each other succeed. The founding of ARC marked a new era in church planting, providing a much-needed support system and resources for a new generation of church planters.

Statistics

ARC (Association of Related Churches) has seen impressive statistics in recent years, with a growing number of successful church plants and dedicated followers of Jesus. As of spring 2023, 19 new churches have launched in the current launch season, bringing the total number of churches launched through ARC since its inception in 2000 to 1076.

ARC's commitment to supporting church planters is evident in the high attendance at launch days, with 7,252 people attending these events. U.S. church plants launched through ARC in 2023 have also seen record-high launch day attendance, with an average of 427 people attending these services.

Launch day services have not only seen impressive attendance but they have also been marked by a high number of people dedicating their lives to Jesus. In the current launch season, 780 people made this life-changing decision on launch day.

ARC's church planting model has been proven successful through the launch of hundreds of churches around the world. Church planters prepare for 12-18 months prior to their launch, receiving the necessary tools and resources from ARC to help their church thrive. The organization has two main church planting seasons each year, New Year (Jan-April) and Fall, and more church planters are currently in training, preparing to launch this fall.

Overall, ARC's commitment to resourcing and supporting church planters has yielded impressive results, with a growing number of thriving churches and dedicated followers of Jesus.

Values and Commitment

ARC (Association of Related Churches) is an organization built on relationships, and it believes that ministry should not be done alone. The organization has a unique set of resources, strengths, and experiences that each member of the ARC Family brings to the table. The word "family" unites all ARC church members across the country. God's blessing flows through the relationships that ARC churches help create, ultimately serving more community members and helping them find purpose.

ARC is renowned for its unwavering commitment to its core values, which serve as the driving force behind its mission. These values are anchored in seven fundamental pillars, each reflecting a core aspect of ARC's ethos.

Firstly, ARC prioritizes a spirit of love and compassion in all its endeavors, guided by the belief that God loved us first. Secondly, it is dedicated to serving the needs of every community it touches, seeking to make a tangible impact on people's lives. Thirdly, it recognizes the value of generosity and seeks to share its resources and blessings with others wherever and whenever it can.

Fourthly, ARC strives to bring people together in a spirit of unity and shared purpose, focused on advancing the kingdom of Jesus. Fifthly, it values the wisdom of experience and seeks to build upon it in a meaningful way, respecting the past while celebrating the future. Sixthly, ARC approaches its work with a deep sense of faith and confidence in its calling, trusting in the transformative power of its mission.

Finally, ARC has a powerful vision for the future, driven by its belief that it can make a real difference in the world. These pillars define ARC churches throughout the world, and the organization continues to thrive by remaining committed to its core values.

ARC’s Relationship with Churches

ARC was incorporated as a non-profit, and the organization's structure was designed to ensure that all churches planted through ARC would be completely and totally autonomous. The church planters would not be employees or agents of ARC but rather employees of the churches they pastored. ARC would not attempt to steer the churches into one common thought or issue directives on what a church should promote doctrinally, philosophically, ministerially, or politically. Once a church was planted, it would not answer to ARC in any way, and the local church's accountability structure would be set up with pastors and leaders connected to that local church, not by administrators of the ARC organization.

ARC has seen more than a thousand churches planted over the past 22 years. There is a significant vetting process that each couple starting a church through ARC must go through, which includes background and reference checks, credit reports, and multiple evaluations to determine if the couple is genuinely ready both in character and in preparation. Each year, ARC adds additional layers of training to better prepare the planter for government compliance, legal and business issues, and HR matters, including anti-harassment training.

ARC has no authority to address any situation in a local church that goes off the rails, but most often, that church will have overseers in place – pastors connected to that local church. Those overseers work with the pastor, the church board, and legal counsel to bring correction, healing, and help to those who were hurt.

The relationships within ARC function like an extended family, with members helping and supporting one another. The founders hoped that ARC would one day become a family of relationships that not only worked to help the church be healthy and full of integrity but also joined others in spreading the Gospel to see a life-giving church in every community of the United States.

Events

The ARC Conference is an annual event hosted by the Association of Related Churches (ARC), a cooperative of independent churches that aims to resource church planters and pastors to help them reach their communities. The conference provides attendees, including ARC churches, with valuable resources and networking opportunities to thrive in their ministries. The conference features influential speakers, breakout "app" sessions, and covers a wide range of topics, such as kids ministry, discipleship, and best practices in church planting. This year's conference, held on April 25-26, 2023, was hosted simultaneously at two campuses of Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, Alabama, allowing attendees to choose the experience and location that worked best for them.

Gather Conference is an annual event hosted by the Association of Related Churches (ARC) aimed at bringing together pastors, church leaders, and individuals in ministry to celebrate and discuss ministry, and advance the Kingdom. The 2022 edition of the Gather conference, titled "Gather: An ARC Regional One Day," was held on October 18th in 19 locations across four time zones, including 16 cities in the United States and three in Canada.

Resources

ARC (Association of Related Churches) is an organization that provides valuable resources to help church planters and pastors thrive. The organization offers various resources, including training and educational tools, materials, monetary support in the form of matching grants, and other tools to support and equip pastors and church leaders.

One of the primary ways that ARC equips church leaders is through its website, which provides a wealth of resources on a wide range of topics, including leadership development, church planting, community outreach, fundraising, and more.

ARC offers a variety of events throughout the year, such as Gather: ARC Regional One Day and the annual ARC Conference, which provide opportunities for pastors and ministry leaders to connect, learn, and grow. These events feature influential speakers, worship, and breakout sessions on a variety of topics relevant to ministry.

ARC also offers resources for church planting, including a church planting assessment, a church planter residency program, and a church planter's academy. The organization provides matching grants to support church plants financially and to help them establish a strong foundation for growth and success.

Through its resources, events, and financial support, ARC helps churches and pastors to thrive, reach their communities with the message of Jesus, and fulfill their mission of bringing hope and healing to the world.

              

External links

• Official website
• ARC Churches Canada
• The Association of Related Churches (ARC) on Instagram
• The Association of Related Churches (ARC) on Facebook
• The Association of Related Churches (ARC) on LinkedIn
• The Association of Related Churches (ARC) on YouTube
• The Association of Related Churches (ARC) on Twitter