Bel Air Church: Consulting With Champions Published Apr 22, 2016 The word on the street last year was Rock RMS. Or at least the word among churches, according to Director of Information Technology for Bel Air Church, Jeremy Turgeon. "A number of other churches who were a part of Rockʼs early development informed us about the upcoming release." After researching the Rock ecosystem and reading the manuals, Jeremy decided to move the Los Angeles-based church of 3,000 to this new system. The question was, how to make the move successfully, as any IT Director can appreciate. Jeremy combed through the online documentation and found a preparation plan he decided to put to use. "Using the suggestions in the Rock docs, I met with the Church leadership and laid out Rockʼs capabilities and how it could improve our interaction with our congregation." When the senior pastor heard what Rock could do for their church, he was inspired. After only a handful of examples of what it could do to further the Kingdom and our churchʼs vision and values, he spontaneously came up with an entire campaign and website redesign. As a result of leadership buy-in, they began training a team of "Rock Champions." This team included the people who would be most impacted by the change but were also skilled in technology and could be influential in communicating the benefits of Rock to the rest of the staff. The final step before rolling out Rock was to approach lay leadership for feedback and to share the vision. While the process wasn't quick, it provided the right structural backbone for a successful launch in July 2015. And about the senior pastorʼs campaign and website redesign plans? They were launched just a few months later. "All of this was a testament to Rock RMSʼs agility, simplicity and effectiveness at communicating a personal message to individuals." Today, Bel Air Churchʼs top three favorite features include Lava (Rockʼs personalization language that they use to tailor all their communications), the extensive community support, and the documentation. All of these are standard operating procedures at their organization now. And that is a testament to their careful planning and focus on building a team of champions. Top Tip: Put in the effort and expect great things. Rock is all about flexibility and choice. If you are willing to put in the time and energy, you can create something amazing!