Policies & Values

Staff Policies: 

To serve as a means to communication expectations to staff & residents.

Work Week:

Sundays: Full-Time employees are expected to be available all day on Sunday.

Mon-Thurs: Full-Time employees are expected to observe core hours (9am-4pm).  Employees are expected to work outside these hours as well. In order to reach 40-50 hrs/week. If workload is above 50+ hours consistently need to discuss with supervisor.

Vacation Days:

Each Full-Time Employee is allotted 10 vacation days to be used at his/her discretion.

Each Part-Time Employee is allotted 5 vacation days.

Personal Leave:

For extenuating circumstances, personal leave will be approved by supervisor.

Paternity Leave:

Immediately following the birth of children, full-time employees may be out of the office for 5 workdays.

Maternity Leave:

Upon giving birth, Full-Time Employees are eligible for six weeks of paid leave due to recovery times. Part-time employees are not eligible for paid leave but may take unpaid leave (up to 12 weeks if eligible for FMLA)

Staff Holidays and Office Closures

    Martin Luther King Day (serve with STC initiative instead of normal workday)

    Easter Monday (day after Easter Gathering)

    Memorial Day

    Independence Day (the holiday or when a new Independence Day movie staring Will Smith is released)

    Labor Day

    Thanksgiving Break (Wed-Fri)

    Christmas Break (two weeks starting day after Christmas Gathering)

    New Years Day - will coincide with Christmas Break

Snow Days:

Typically follow School District Closures. If you are uncomfortable in driving conditions, work from home.

Sick/Emergency Days:

If you are sick or there is an emergency, please don't come into the offices.  Please communicate through the absence notification form. 

All Hands on Deck Times:

Time off is to be avoided during these times:

    Fall Launch Season (usually first few weeks once college students are back in town in Aug/Sept) - check with supervisor to be sure

    Spring Launch Season (usually first few weeks in Jan & STC Weekend) - check with supervisor to be sure

    Weekend of the Spring Break Mission Trip

    Christmas Gathering

    Easter Gathering

Employee Computer Policy:

Full-time employees that are eligible for a computer follow these guidelines:

    Budget: $1,300.00 plus tax (unless an area specific request of a higher budget is approved)

        Any computer related accessories are approved within the budget limit.  Items such as: laptop case, extra power supply, external keyboard/mouse, etc.

    Replacement Cycle: 3-5 year replacement cycle. Computers are not replaced unless showing severe signs of decline: 

        battery no longer functioning, habitual malfunctions, etc.

    Repair Policy: If it breaks within under 3 years, Midtown will pay for the repairs

        (unless it was overt negligence, in which case employee may be asked to assist in costs)

Dress Code: 

Don't come to office in sweaty workout clothes.  Dress like you're going to the mall to hang by the foodcourt.

Group Me Conduct:

Group me is not for: 

- Expressing frustration with a person or our whole staff.

- Negative communication of any kind unless it's an absolute emergency and you have no other options.

- Communicate something that needs to completed/done better.  (directly contact the right people instead)

- Telling our staff what they should do.  (unless approved that its your job to do so)**

- Primary means of communicating official staff policy. These will come via email and staff handbook on resource page.

- Bypassing our chain of command and church authority structure.

- Using a group chat to talk to one person that you could have texted or called.

Group me is for:

- Encouragement. Talk about what God is doing and good things you've seen others doing.

- Reminders of things that I've already been effectively communicated elsewhere.

- Judicious sharing of helpful resources. Very judicious.

- Witty banter.

- Discussion of pertinent topics or issues as appropriate.

Midtown Staff Values:

A. Jesus Centered:

1. Jesus is better than idols.  We don't shy away from calling people to the supremacy of Jesus. Confronting sin is one of the things we catch the most grief on.  We can't stop.

2. Prayer is mission critical.  Pray first then work hard.

3. We hustle, He provides.  Don't neglect faithfully working hard.  We have an active role in growing fruit, but we don't have a decisive role in growing fruit.  Cannot force it.  God makes it grow.

4. Sacrifice is normal.  We want to be people who sacrifice for the sake of Jesus kingdom. We're not simply after spiritual nice people. Renouncing all we have, exhausting ourselves in service to Jesus.

5. Jesus is true.  God's word is true. We submit to his authority and the authority of his word. The bible says what the church is to be. We aren't reliant on huge vision, we have the bible.

6. Jesus is our righteousness.  So we are fully freed up to be honest/vulnerable/walk in the light. No need to fake it/act religious/play religious games, etc.

7. Growth is not simply information accumulation.  Knowing more information alone does not change someone's life. We aren't brains on a stick. Rarely are people's issues as simple as needing more knowledge and information. Preaching is a means to an end. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Personal abiding is our life source. Apart from him we can do nothing.

8. Gospel for Everyone. The gospel is always the solution

B. Family

1. Relationships are part of the work ministry.  Your LG isn't wasting time by cooking together and catching up on your week. Our staff isn't wasting time by enjoying each other and having fun.  Shared memories matter.  Relationships are the primary context for life change to happen.  And our relationships as church family is a compelling witness.

2. Team work makes the dream work.  Everyone has something to contribute. You are part of we.  Staff's role is to accomplish ministry through others. You aren't hired to do ministry, you are hired to equip others to do ministry.

3. It's ok to not be okay. It's not ok to stay that way.  No perfect people allowed. If you are perfect don't come here, we will mess you up.

4. Resolve everything now.  We confront in love and deal with relationship issues immediately. Bitterness, grudges, and held offenses are poison to the soul.

C. On Mission

1. Helping people take next steps toward Jesus.  At the end of the day, people meeting Jesus and growing in him is everything.

2. Add people, not calendar items.  

3. Ordinary is not insignificant.  When you love God and love people, good things happen. Nonchristians need to see regular, ordinary people who love Jesus. "On fire" christians come off as either fake or just so unlike me that I don't think Jesus is for me.

4. Complacency is a mission killer.  Taking chances and trying new things can't ever stop. Make people scratch their heads and go "why?"

5. God's workmanships should pursue good works according to our ability.  Faithfulness is doing your best.  If you know we can do better at something, we probably should.

6. The spirit is the lead missionary.  Be sensitive and aware of what God is doing in people's lives around you and respond accordingly.  Relationships and evangelism work best when they unfold naturally. Abrupt, pushy, hard sales pitches often do more damage than good.

7. You reproduce who you are.  You can teach what you know but you will reproduce who you are. The single most important aspect of leadership is who you are. Your skills and knowledge matter, but not nearly as much as your character. At the end of the day, you will find that those who follow you have grown to your level of maturity, no matter what you have told them.

8. For our City.  We will always have an eye for the marginalized. Not just an eye to serve, but also looking to make them family with us.

9. Mission as team strategy.

D. Organizational Values:

1. Midtown nice. Everything needs to be thought through and intentional, but doesn't need to be expensive or extravagant. When giving people reps, there will be higher risk of quality drop. Making up for lack of finances with thoughtfulness, creativity, and elbow grease.

2. Green Wagon Moments.  Events are like cake.  They need cake, icing, and candles. Cake is basic structure, icing is extra touches, candles are "green wagon moments." People perceive quality based on icing and candles and only notice cake when you messed it up.

3. It's always someone's first time. Always ask "if someone is new, what are they thinking, feeling, asking, etc?"

4. Mikey in the obelisk.  We do things over the top and ridiculous, because we see the value in it. When it would be natural to say "No, this would be too much work, and too hard to pull off" we figure out how to do it, because of how awesome it could be. Even our un-doable ideas, lead to the ideas that are do-able. Constantly dreaming "Can we...?" Wanting to push ourselves to ask "is this something we can pull off" rather than always defaulting to what is easiest, or takes the least effort.

5. Always ask "is this the best we can do?" If that answer is yes, then praise God. If that answer is no, then be internally motivated to make it the best that we can possibly do it.

6. Celebrate the wins.  Life is too hard not to. Say what wins are and celebrate when they happen. You define culture by celebrating the right things and letting people know when they are accomplishing the vision.

7. Rules about where trust and internal motivation do not.  We have a flexible work environment because there is an expectation to be a self-starter that does not cut corners, does not do the minimum, and does not take advantage of flexibility.  Rules are necessary when trust is taken away.

8. Responsibilities not office hours.  Vacation means your stuff still gets done to standard.

E. Other items from past that have been mentioned: 

1. "Yes, and…" Posture: Don’t have a posture that immediately says no to ideas, initiatives, & requests.  Take some time and consider it.  If your instinct is to immediately say why something won’t work or why you can’t work on it, take some time (an hour, a day) and then discuss.  In that time you should be able to problem solve your initial concerns (your critical thinking is needed) and offer up solutions.  Thereby advancing the idea further.

2. Quality Work:  Does not cut corners. Able to follow through with responsibilities fully without missing important details. Able to communicate professionally (i.e. respond to emails within 24 business hours.  Even if it’s just to say I will respond more fully at a later point).

3. Considerate: Be a blessing to those that are working in the office (sometimes that means joking with them, sometimes asking how life is going, sometimes be quiet and let them do work).

4. When you see something, say something:  If you notice something that needs to be addressed. Don't ignore it.  Either take the extra effort of 5-10 mins and make it better or communicate it to the appropriate channels (ministry leaders, office requests, facilities punch list, etc.)

5. Pitch In: If you can, help a brother out.  When additional things are going on, look for ways you can help rather than look for ways to avoid gaining responsibilities.

6. You Reproduce Who You Are: You can teach what you know, but you will reproduce who you are. The single most important aspect of leadership is who you are.  Your skills and knowledge matter, but not nearly as much as your character.  At the end of the day, you will find that those who follow you have grown to your level of maturity, no matter what you have told them.

7. Stay open and honest: Jesus’ righteousness covers us, allowing us to be real about who we are, where we are, how we are doing, and how our LifeGroups are doing.

8. Resolve everything now: We confront in love and deal with relationship issues immediately. Bitterness, grudges, and held offenses are poison to the soul.

9. "That’s not in my job description” is a not a thing: Everybody has the same goal…for Jesus to be famous. Pitching in is expected.

10. The only constants are Jesus and change: Why we do things will never change. How we do things will always change.  Our values are in a closed hand. They aren’t negotiable. Our methods are in an open hand. We are flexible with them so long as they remain faithful to our values. Midtown churches have the freedom establish methods that best fit their context so long as they still fit into the overall values of Midtown. 

11. Focus on equipping: Leaders who "do" instead of "empower" perpetuate immaturity.  Our role is to equip God's people for ministry so that we are all built up into the fullness of Christ.  The more leaders do all the work, the less the church family grows up.

12. Sometimes bigger is worse:  American business operates with the mentality that the goal is to always be getting bigger.  American churches often fall into the trap of believing that the same is true of churches.  Pastors will even use the size of their church to justify their unbiblical teaching or ministry philosophy.  Bigger is only better if it's healthy. The things we do to get people “in” will always impact how those people “turn out.” We are called to make disciples, not gather a crowd.

13. Putting out fires is not the same as improving the house: Troubleshooting and quality improvement are different and both are necessary. We need to always be improving the ways in which we do things, while at the same time putting out fires when there are problems. Sometimes people think that because they have put out a fire, they have improved quality. Putting out a fire has not improved the house, it simply prevented it from burning down. 

14. Buy in before leading out: It is tempting to put a gifted person into a leadership role prematurely. This is an epic mistake. It takes time to discern someone’s true character. Create a culture where people buy in and serve first before they lead others 

15. If we're not entrepreneu-in then I don't know what we're doin:  As a church, we hope to align people’s personal passions with the gospel and send them into our city ready to serve, start ministries, or partner with existing ministries. We want to give people wise freedom to start new things without the expectation that the organized church will always come along to support the new ministry or opportunity by staffing it, paying for it, or supplying volunteers.  Allowing an entrepreneurial spirit in our church also means we allow certain ministries to die out when their season is over.  

16. When in doubt, be there:  In care situations, often times we don’t know what to say, or how to help someone.  We know people are hurting, sinning, or in trouble but we don’t know exactly what we should do.  In these cases, the best first step is to go be with the person or people.  Be there.  You will need to prayerfully ask God for wisdom moving forward, but simply being there sometimes communicates more than words can, and sometimes being there helps you know what words and next steps are needed. 

17. Live sufficiently, give extravagantly:  Set an example of contentment and generosity. “More, bigger, or nicer” cannot fix the human soul…lets make sure our lives communicate this truth. 

18. Keep it simple: Simple is usually the preferred route. From discipleship strategy to design and purchasing decisions, keep it simple. 

Office Leader Training:

Purpose of Office Team Leadership (Kakaras): 11/22/2016

How to be a Great Employee (Von Fange): 01/13/2017

Org chart & Leadership (Gibson): 06/25/2018

Proposals (Kakaras): 06/18/2018

Productivity (Kakaras): 07/02/2018