God’s Kingdom Built Through Our Uniqueness
By Deacon Tuttle
Have you ever wondered what goes into a fruitful local church and building a mission-minded strategy? There’s a lot of important work that gets done behind the scenes by our team to serve the churches in our Collective. Continue reading to hear more about serving our church through the Resonate Collective from our Lead Integrator, Craig Lovelace.
1. Craig, how did you come to serve as Lead Integrator of the Collective?
It’s a bit of a long story. However, I began as an intern, then transitioned to a site pastor in training, followed by a site pastor role, and ultimately became the Executive Director of our network as we expanded to plant more churches.
God and leadership ahead of me continued to give me more and more responsibility. But if I were to share a principle that made it more likely that I would be offered an opportunity, it would be this: learn to solve problems.
If a young leader asked me how they could become a person of influence in the Kingdom… I would encourage them to work really hard and learn to solve problems for their leaders. Leaders solve problems. Problems are often the most visible thing on a leader’s radar. When someone comes along who is willing to work harder than their peers and solve problems, leaders take notice.
2. How did you become passionate about non-traditional ministry skills in vocation? Could you list some of these skills and explain why they matter?
Most people traditionally think about ministry in categories like teaching and preaching, leadership, shepherding, and counseling etc.
It’s not that I don’t have these skills. I don’t think I could have been a site pastor if I didn’t. But early on in my journey with Resonate, I began to notice skills that lent themselves to organizational leadership, communication, and process design.
I found myself with skills in professional writing, systems thinking, and technology. Skills that aren’t traditionally thought of in the church space but are valued in the business world.
For people in our churches who might think, “I’m more of an engineer than a minister,” or “I’m a business person… I don’t know how my skills would work in the church.” I would encourage you to rethink that. The church needs excellence in systems, processes, communication, and technology. Especially in a growing network like Resonate.
3. 1 Corinthians 12:12–27 speaks of unity in diversity within the body of Christ. How do you see this truth reflected week-to-week in your ministry?
It’s not always easy, but accomplishing our mission to reach, disciple, train, and send the next generation of disciples and leaders requires a diversity of personality and gifting.
Over the years, we’ve worked hard to arrange and rearrange our teams to best fit the mission and the gifts God has given us.
We have shepherds to help us think carefully about how to love and care for people well. We have evangelists and apostles who challenge us to think about the lost who haven’t yet heard the gospel.
We have “detailed” people and “big ideas” people.
We have concrete thinkers and creative thinkers.
Learning to employ the diverse gifts of Christ’s body brings incredible fruit and helps us to practice the priesthood of all believers.
“Learning to employ the diverse gifts of Christ’s body brings incredible fruit and helps us to practice the priesthood of all believers.”
Craig Lovelace
Lead Integrator for the Resonate Collective
4. What talents or strengths are you most proud of within the Collective team?
I’m proud of everyone on our team! I love the diversity of talents and personalities. But if I were to say what I really like to celebrate, it would be our commitment to a growth mindset.
That means that we’re consistently trying to grow our skills and find new ways to make an impact. So, regardless of our natural talents, our strength of learning and adaptation is what helps us continue to make a difference.
The church is a living thing. While the message and the mission haven't changed since Jesus walked the earth, the methods are always changing. If we're going to be effective in serving the church, we have to be committed to growth, and our team is world-class at learning new ways to reach the lost and serve the bride of Christ.
That’s something I’m really proud of.
5. Can you share a story about a church or ministry partner that deeply encouraged you—one that made you think, “This is why we do this”?
Sometimes it’s difficult to see the results of our work. By design, it’s all running in the background, so the focus can be on discipling people. We provide services like financial, HR, and administrative support so the churches don’t have to worry about them. And sometimes, it’s hard to notice things that just work in the background.
But moments like Rescon and June Training (an annual week for fellowship and development for Resonate staff) are tangible ways to see how we bless and empower churches.
When leaders get to step out of their normal environments and be reminded about why our mission is important and be encouraged and empowered in their ability to make an impact.
6. If someone reading this wants to use their talents similarly, what advice would you give them?
First, I would encourage them to discern if they have a desire to serve and lead in the capital “C” church. If they have a heart for the bride of Christ and want to see churches thrive in their disciple-making mission, that’s the best place to start.
Then, I would encourage them to get in the game. Check out the Collective website and learn about what we do to serve churches. Or reach out to a leader you know on the team and ask if there are any opportunities to serve alongside our team.
Finally, find a problem facing the church that you think you can solve and take a crack at finding solutions.
We’re always looking for people with a hunger to serve the church and a fresh perspective on how we can better serve and empower the mission.
