Amy Hanson was 23 years old when she was offered a new job at megachurch Central Christian Church in Las Vegas — to head up the active adult (50-plus) ministries of that congregation. She served in the role for five years before moving to Nebraska to complete her doctorate in gerontology.

There are some emerging patterns in churches with momentum, that are worth paying attention to. After more than seven years of working with church leadership teams, as well as doing focus groups with attendees, here are three values that seem to be responsible for much of the growth and magnetic force we see.

We’ve all had the experience at least once in our lives where we’ve sat down with a good friend and found ourselves halfway through the conversation saying, “I never knew that about you.” As individuals, we are all blessed with unique compositions and stories. The way we see and experience the world varies greatly, but most of the time, when we run across acquaintances and even friends, we find ourselves only knowing the surface story — mom and school teacher; father and CEO; student and athlete. Rarely do we mine the true story of who they really are.