Archive for the ‘small church’ Category
First time here? Thanks for dropping by. Get our
Monthly Newsletter and get a free article on hospitality. Keep your evangelism passion high by subscribing to
my Feed.
While at the Mt. Vernon Evangelism Dunamis, I had the opportunity to visit with some elders of the Deming Presbyterian Church in Northwest Washington State (Acme WA), with about 15-25 people in worship.
Here is what one of the elders had to say [edited for spacing and readability]:
On the evening we and other church elders met with Chris Walker, he was able to provide new insight and confirm existing notions about reaching our community for Christ.
His taking the time to first hear about our church profile and current state of evangelistic activities before offering input was encouraging and helped make the title of Evangelism Coach fitting for Chris. He then proceeded to offer direction that was both appropriate and doable.
. . . .
Chris also drove home some great points we all could benefit from :
- Seek the face of God when we pray; we want to follow His will not our program.
- When we meet as a group to seek the will of God, save the brainstorming until after significant time is spent in group prayer.
- Once an inventory of community needs is taken, know that no church can meet them all. Ask the Lord to direct the church to which needs it is called to minister to.
- Do ministry with the stamp of Jesus clearly visible. It needs to be publicly proclaimed that our work is empowered by the love for others that flows from Jesus, through us and into the lives of others.
- Get out! These Post-Christendom times require us to get out of our building and into the community.
The following Sunday morning in our Adult Study time, after inviting our Lord’s leading, we had discussion about our mutual desire for our little church to become more connected to our community.
Next thing we knew we were inspired by an idea . . . . .
To conclude, I would say that Chris is about delivering the truth in a way that emulates how Jesus does it: He turns our attention and hope toward our Father.
Grateful,
Bruce Burke
Could you benefit?
Do you want a similar coaching session with your church outreach team or leadership team?
This type of meeting can be conducted via conference call and is travel free.
There is an expense for my time, but this church pastor said it was worth every penny to see his elders re-energized!
See Church Leadership Coaching Session to schedule your call and find some fresh ideas. Risk free.
Comments (0) Posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008
One of the blogs I read (Fierce Grace) decided to do something entirely different on a Sunday morning.
Cancel the service.
Serve the neighborhood.
Read about it at The Church Has Left the Building.
I have often mentioned that some churches can do this. I can’t imagine Mars Hill or Seacoast doing something like this. However smaller churches can easily take this idea and run with it.
Leading Preparation
Leading up to this Sunday off was a sermon series. The whole series is mapped out at “Beginning this Sunday” and the follow up posts in that series continues to map out the theology and the practice that led up to that Sunday.
One Sunday, Pastor pointed out:
The Samaritan took a risk, got personally involved, spent some time and some money to help the man in need - He put himself out to help someone else get through. That’s what we are called to do if we’re going to love our neighbor like we love ourselves.
The second Sunday focused on:
Jesus’ mission is our mandate (Luke 4:14-21) - and it’s people-centered, outwardly focused, and compassion driven. If we can see people as He saw them, sees them, we will overflow with ideas and discover dozens of practical ways to show them the love of Christ.
And on the third Sunday:
The third installment of our “Taking It to the Streets” message series focused on “Little Acts with Big Impact.” We looked at Jesus’ description of the Kingdom in Luke 13:18-21. There, Jesus said the Kingdom was like a small mustard seed that grows in to a bushy tree large enough for birds to build nests in. Then He said the Kingdom was like a lump of yeast that was worked into 50 pounds of dough to make bread for as many as 100 people!
It wasn’t a surprise to the congregation but rather a vision that had been cast and people rallied to it.
What do you think?
Have you tried this idea?
What did you find?
Comments (2) Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
I and one of my co-teachers just finished the The Evangelism Dunamis track in Mt. Vernon Washington, about 2 hours north of Seattle.
One of the joys I get in my travels as an evangelism trainer is meeting new people all over the country.
Pastors from various denominations and gifted lay ministers.
At this conference, new initial groundwork was laid to start a new track of the Dunamis project sometime next year in multiple places in Washington state as well as perhaps just over the border from southern Western Canada.
Tierra Nueva Ministries
Prior to The Evangelism Dunamis, I had an extra day, and spent the morning with Mike Neelley (left) and Bob Ekblad of Tierra Nueva Ministries.
Bob (right) had returned from the southern tip of Argentina the night before, as he is an international speaker and trainer.
Tierra Nueva (New Earth) is an ecumenical ministry located in Burlington, Washington, that seeks to share the Good News of God’s liberation in Jesus Christ with migrant farm workers, new immigrants, and permanent Hispanic residents in Western Washington.
Tierra Nueva is caught up in a vision of a shepherding ministry that seeks after lost sheep until they are found (Luke 15:4). They have consciously structured our ministries to:
• seek after lost sheep until they are found–through Skagit County Jail Ministry, migrant chaplaincy, and Tierra Nueva Honduras.
• care for, defend, and protect–through the Family Support Center.
• gather, feed and heal–through our English and Spanish faith communities, bilingual jail services and healing services.
• equip and send out–through the People’s Seminary events and courses.
Mike told me of one gang member he disciples who is smoking a joint while studying the Bible. He told me of a sex offender he meets with. He told me of former meth addicts who are now working for the ministry trying to get their life reoriented around following Christ.
This kind of Christianity on the edges is messy as God works transformation in real life. People on the margins. This takes a special calling and is the prime opportunity for evangelism as broken people seek to find their purpose in life.
Bob has written two books that are now on my reading list of books to get
Presbytery of North Puget Sound
The executive of the Presbytery of North Puget Sound, Corey Schlosser Hall (right), organized a lunch for us.
Some Cambodian church planters (left) joined us at lunch. It seemed to be a divine appointment for Bob Ekblad (tallest one in the back) to meet these church planters at lunch. I had time to visit and talk with these men about their work among Cambodian immigrants they work with.
Leadership Coaching visit with a small rural church
That evening, I had the joy of visiting with Pastor Tom Ross of Deming Presbyterian Church and Mount Baker Presbyterian Church. He and 3 elders for some evangelism coaching — talking about the burning questions on their mind.
These were small rural churches in the hills of Northwest Washington, with about 15-25 in worship. A 3rd elder was from a church of about 600, tucked in the back of a subdivision, away from the main traffic flow.
Two questions were on the minds of those gathered:
- How can we increase awareness in the neighborhood.
- How can we talk with individuals who are comfortable with their non-Christian spirituality.
We spent about 90 minutes brainstorming. They reported to me what a blessing it was to have me lead that session and they felt energized with a new list of ideas (see Church Leadership Coaching Session).
One elder wrote (edited for spelling and clairty):
Thank you for the wonderful evening when Chris
Walker visited. I found his style very natural
for our little church. We needed his calmness and
small town way about him. I know that what he does is
truly from the heart. He allowed us to express
ourselves and our needs.
He responded to our questions and gave us his
undivided attention. I
believe we found in his answers some answers that were
right in front of us.
Evangelism Training 101
The Evangelism Dunamis is focused on personal evangelism training. (See related article: 10 Practical Ways Of Sharing Your Faith)
It began on Thursday morning and ended in celebration on Saturday afternoon where people offer their stories of what God was doing in their life during the event. Several people from lots of different Christian traditions attended.
Much of the content for The Evangelism Dunamis is found in various pieces here on Evangelism Coach, and it is always fun to present the material live.
This time, my co-presenter was Susan Finck Lockhart (See Guest Article: Sharing your faith in the ordinary course of life), who is part time pastor of El Calvario Presbyterian Church in Waco Texas.
We focused on some theology, including the wonder of grace, but much of the teaching time was also given over to lots of practical work, praying and sharing in small groups:
- Sharpening the focus of your testimony
- Using a Gospel Scripts.
- How To Practice A Gospel Presentation
- Praying for those who don’t know Christ.
- Listening for God’s call to a particular region or people group.
- Sharing in small groups about your faith journey.
- Learning how to recognize Kairos moments.
Conference Follow up.
For my newest subscribers through the EvangelismCoach feed and Monthly Evangelism Tips Newsletter, here are some important links that I highlighted at the Evangelism Dunamis.
I will also post over the next few days, the actual slides that we used for the event since I wasn’t able to get them printed as handouts.
Feedback?
Did you attend the conference? I’d love for you to put your words of encouragement in the comment form, or email me privately if you wish.
Comments (2) Posted on Monday, October 27th, 2008
Burning questions need fast answers!
Do you need advice to take your evangelism passion, hospitality, or outreach strategy to the next level?
Leading your church or small group is challenging. Brainstorming about evangelism ideas or strategies seems to have you stuck in a rut. You need fresh answers and ideas, and you can’t wait for it.
Sometimes you just want to talk to somebody who knows.
Speak to Chris and get the answers you need right now.
One-hour coaching call - Direct, Friendly Advice
I provide your ministry with the advice and answers you need via telephone or Skype.
Examples of coaching calls you might need:
Potential Outreach Review — Consulting your outreach plans, ways to make it more effective and connect with the community. Discussion of Follow-up plans.
Church Website Review – Consulting on your website’s impact and design and how it better serve your outreach plans.
Visitor Follow-up Review — Discuss your plans for first time visitor follow-up and suggest ways to improve your hospitality from where your church currently is.
Networking for evangelists and pastors — Discuss plans to help you maximize your time networking to launch a church.
Fruitless to Fruitful — breaking through frustrations in evangelism effectiveness. Take one issue and coach through it. Discover what is holding you back. Drill down and break through it.
??? - Whatever you need, ask your burning questions in an informal, friendly chat - you are in the driving seat!
After the call you will know where you need to make improvements and will have the answers you need to increase your passion for evangelism and re-energize the outreach.
“Chris was great in helping me discover
I wasn’t focused on right thing.
He helped me refocus
and I found myself re-energized.”
— D. Watson, Church Planter.
“Chris knows this stuff inside out,
and yet is very personable.
He’s passionate about
helping you share your faith. ”
— Joe Schlosser, Excellence Coaching Group
“You had excellent ideas
I’m really jazzed about what you shared.
I feel re-energized with new ideas“
T. Watson, Small Church Pastor
Don’t struggle on your own, talk it through with me and together we can get you making progress.
Calls are available from 10am to 8pm Eastern US time.
Get Started Now
Pay just $45 for the first call and supporting emails or PDF resources. Following calls are charged at the reduced rate of $30 an hour. Longer term contracts are also available.
Next step? …
On receipt of the automatic notification I will be in touch via email to arrange the call.
I look forward to speaking with you!
PS. Most calls are scheduled to take place within 48 hours of payment receipt but book your call now to ensure availability.
Comments (3) Posted on Sunday, October 26th, 2008
I write this sitting at the airport (Thanks for free wireless!), way too early in the morning.
I’m headed to Tampa for the Transformation Pastor’s Conference, where I will be speaking a couple of sessions on on the role of personal evangelism and evangelism training in transforming a church.
What exactly is Church Transformation?
I’ve spent the last month talking with pastors around the US about church transformation. A few are in really difficult situations (Leaving Egypt and Not Liking it).
From those discussions, it seems that a common idea is to help move a church that is stuck or in serious decline, and lead them into a new vision of what God has for them, thus launching a new life cycle of growth.
Stetzer calls them Comeback Churches. I’ve seen other various titles, like Boomerang church, Redevelopment, Revitalization. Seems the common word now is Transformational.
Moving from Attractional to Missional
Simply based on my conversations and reading, a common thread these pastors were sharing was working with congregations to shift from exclusive focus on attractional tweaks to becoming more missional and engaging their community.
Attractional ministry focused on quality programs, excellent hospitality, and marketing to get people in the door. This was sometimes called a “magnetic” church.
As I’ve looked at Evangelism Committee reports, church information forms, and mission studies, a lot of churches still think that making small process adjustments to their parking lot, greeting process, or welcoming will help them reach out to the neighborhood.
Attractional ministry is based on the idea that visitors are coming to your church already, and that if you do enough marketing, you can get more foot traffic in your door. Your hospitality will help the newcomers “stick” (see www.stickychurch.com), and your church will grow. It’s a variant of “if you build it they will come.”
Missional however moves to help the church re-engage its neighborhood.
Some pastors are in island churches, meaning their church is mostly commuters who used to live in that neighborhood. The culture around the church has changed (demographically, socio-economically), but the church has not adjusted accordingly, thus being a cultural island.
Missional helps the church get out of hoping people will visit them to actively engaging the needs and people of the community, and in the process both demonstrating and sharing the faith in Jesus as Lord.
Many of the pastors I spoke with this past month are trying to move congregations in this direction. They still seek to improve their attractional ministries, but now realize that churches have to be connected to the neighhborhood.
It’s a journey process, and some have moved further along than others.
Block Party to Pre-School
Ten years ago, an island church invited me to do some Evangelism Consulting with them about launching a new worship service. The average age was 60, and no young families in the neighborhood. They were in survival mode and needed something to get new people.
The pastor wanted a new worship service, but the congregational elders didn’t.
Instead, I lead them into a brainstorming process, and out of that process they decided to do a block party.
The congregation organized the block party. Food, games, inflatables, and so on. Members hung door hangers around the neighborhood and invited the local community to come.
As a result of that block party 10 years ago (and its continued annual repeats) this church has discerned the neighborhood needs and launched several new ministries to reconnect with the neighbors:
- Preschool (now with an annual budget larger than the churches).
- Meals on Wheels.
- Neighborhood Watch
- And other ministries.
This church has become much more missional in it’s mindset and has lots of new vitality and energy to serve.
Now they are being more intentional about actively sharing their faith along with serving the area and that is where more intentional evangelism training will come into play.
Comments (1) Posted on Friday, September 26th, 2008
What is the key, the Holy Grail, in transforming a church?
Is there one?
In the work of evangelism training, I’ve been asked on many occasions about the role of evangelism in helping a church get out of the rut, get unstuck, or get excited about inviting others to following Jesus.
Note: I’ll be in Tampa at the end of September for the Presbyterian Church USA’s Transformational Pastor’s Conference where we will be discussing this Evangelism in Transformational Churches. That event is open to the public and registration can be found at the link: Transformational Pastor’s Conference.
From pastors, this question is likely to be worded as:
How do you lead a church from
- being apathetic to excited
- being concerned about survival to concerned about souls
- being inward focused to outward focused?
Today we have a guest article by George Bullard of The Columbia Partnership that ponders this question.
He and I spoke last week about the Spiritual Strategic Journey and the 100 days of discernment portion that can help congregations transform.
See Dr. Bullard’s bio at the end of this article for contact information. It is reprinted here with his gracious permission.
The part that speaks to me the most is this line:
It is difficult to underestimate the value of evangelism actions that exhort preChristians to consider a life-changing spiritual encounter with the Triune God. A theology of evangelism, acceptable methods of evangelism, and the ability to execute actions of evangelism divide congregations who transform from those who do not.
Enjoy this article. It has made me think a lot over the last few days.
Chris.
_______________________________________
Searching for the Holy Grail of Church Transformation
Dr. George Bullard
The Columbia Partnership
Since the mid-1950s, when demographic shifts in North America caused by the population boom that followed World War II began to wane or change direction, congregations and denominations have been looking for the Holy Grail of congregational transformation.
What is the key to congregational transformation? What empowers some congregations to transform in the midst transitions and changes, and others to age and perhaps die? Should there not be one right answer? Should we not have found the best answer during the past 50 years?
Perhaps we have and have not recognized it.
In any case, the search for the best solution to the challenge of congregational transformation is an illusive search similar to the search for the Holy Grail—the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. There is mythology even about the search; much less never-ending debate over whether or not the solution has been found.
A List of Approaches Attempted
As I began to think about the various approaches attempted over the past six decades, I began to make a list. At first I tried to list them by the decade of their apparent greatest popularity. That did not work. Then I tried to list them by the type of approach or intervention they represented. The categories were way too blurry and open to much interpretation.
Finally I just decided to list them as they came to me, and then to pick out the ones I find most promising. Are you ready? Here is the list.
- Standards of achievement organized around the various program emphases of congregations.
- Rallying the congregation by raising money and constructing a new building.
- Developing a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and/or multi-cultural ministry.
- Adopting an assertive church growth strategy.
- Engaging in church growth or strategic planning consultation processes.
- Changing pastors to get the right pastor who brings visionary leadership to the congregation.
- Engaging in social action and economic development that results in community transformation that leads to new openings for congregational transformation.
- Focusing on church health, fueled by the use of a church health survey or diagnostic.
- Escape the current context by relocating, merging with another congregation, or ignoring the context by primarily reaching people who live somewhere else.
- Or, more deeply invest in ministry with families/households in your current transitional setting.
- Use of process of spiritual discernment to determine God’s leading for the transformation of your congregation.
- Address conflict issues through mediation or management to free the congregation to move forward after dealing with the bad parts or people from the congregation.
- Address the family emotional systems in the congregation to develop non-anxious people in a healthy congregational system.
- Vision casting processes that involve the pastor, staff, and people of passion and position in the congregation forming an enduring visionary leadership community.
- For the congregation to engage in a process that modifies their behaviors through making them accountable to an outside third-party.
- To engage continually in evangelism activities intended to draw preChristians into the congregation.
- Intentionally move from a traditional mindset, methods, and manner of governance to one of innovation.
- Making the move from traditional worship to innovative or contemporary worship.
- Involvement of senior pastor, and perhaps other staff and key lay leaders, in peer learning communities that search and share for solutions to congregational transformation challenges.
- Use of personal ministry coaches for the senior pastor, staff, and key lay leadership teams with the congregation focusing on the strategic framework of moving the congregation forward.
- Planting one or more new congregations of a different people group, and perhaps nesting them in the church facilities. Ultimately these new congregations could own the facilities.
- Planting new congregations within the context of the church community, or in other locations or among different people groups so that the congregation lives through other congregations.
- Engage in church and/or lay renewal processes.
- Utilize small groups as a means to revitalize the programs, ministries, and activities of the congregation.
- To use action/reflection among congregational participants following engaging them in missions trips to a radically different culture somewhere in the world. Such action/reflection could long-term result in a whole new mobilization and motivation for mission within the congregation.
Where is the Holy Grail?
Twenty-five approaches are probably enough to list. It is certainly not all that have been attempted in the past six decades.
Which one is the Holy Grail of congregational transformation? Are any of them the Holy Grail? Is there actually a Holy Grail of congregational transformation?
Which of these approaches has your congregation attempted? Which of these approaches have you attempted during your ministry? Have any of them worked? If it worked in one place, would it work in another? Or, are congregational transformation solutions congregationally specific? What works in one place and time may not necessarily work in another.
Which Approaches are Most Promising?
From my perspective the most promising are the cluster of seven approaches represented by ideas 14-20 on this list.
Review these for a minute.
Here are some of my understandings of these principles.
Vision is the fuel that drives the transformation of a congregation. Such vision must be owned by at least 20 percent of active participants in a congregation. This ad hoc group of people is known as the Enduring Visionary Leadership Community. The initiating leader and key voice of vision is the senior pastor.
For a congregation to remain focused on the necessary transitions and changes, they must voluntarily make themselves accountable to an outside authority knowledgeable about their opportunities and challenges. Few congregations will continue to make less than the most popular choices and actions without a third-party holding them accountable.
It is difficult to underestimate the value of evangelism actions that exhort preChristians to consider a life-changing spiritual encounter with the Triune God. A theology of evangelism, acceptable methods of evangelism, and the ability to execute actions of evangelism divide congregations who transform from those who do not.
Congregations who transform are able to innovate on their historically traditional mindset, methods, and their manner of governance without losing their core values as a congregation. They never allow their long-term traditions to keep them from doing new things that both honor their base and empower their future.
Further, they are willing and able to move from their longstanding traditional worship in the direction of innovative or contemporary worship. Often they stop at blended or convergent worship, and that typically is enough.
The pastors, staff members, and key lay leaders of these congregations are continual learners. They gladly participate in peer learning communities that are discovering and implementing various strategies and tactics of congregational transformation. Further, they use personal ministry coaches to help them individually stay focused on effective actions.
So, are these seven the Holy Grail? I would not lay claim to such. Based on thirty years of working in the area of congregational transformation, they are the ones the make the most sense to me at the current time.
What works best for you?
Copyright 2007, Rev. George Bullard, D. Min. Reprinted with author’s Permission.
George Bullard is a Ministry Partner with The Columbia Partnership
George’s vision is to use his spiritual and strategic giftedness to empower congregations and congregational champions to fulfill their vision for Kingdom growth.
George is Senior Editor for The Columbia Partnership Leadership Series, a book series with Chalice Press. [George’s first book in this imprint is Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation]
George is widely recognized as an advisor to denominational leaders, a futurist, a strategic planning expert, a group process facilitator, a church growth strategist, an authority in conflict management, and a writer. He has extensively developed a life cycle model for congregations, which helps congregational leaders know what types of assistance they may need to best facilitate growth.
Visit www.bullardjournal.org or www.thecolumbiapartnership.org
_______________________________________
Comments (1) Posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008
Win Arn did a study sometime ago (the actual reference is in my notes somewhere)
- Approx 90% of pastors thought the main purpose of the church was evangelism.
- Approx 10% of lay people thought the main purpose of the church was evangelism.
Is it any wonder why there is a conflict of desire in a congregation about evangelism?
Expectations placed on pastors, particularly in smaller churches, often cause a pastor to set aside intentional evangelism. The focus is on member care, sermon preparation, worship leadership, and repairing the broken water line. Evangelism: who has time for that?
As I continued to think about tips for pastors who are overwhelmed with other responsibilities, I’ve encountered a few more to share with you.
These are certainly true for everyone, but certainly geared towards pastors
1. Confess your lack of concern
For some pastors, there may be a realization that with all the other responsibilities, your own passion for evangelism has slipped, melted away, or has been simply drained out of you. You don’t care any more. Your passion for evangelism no longer burns as brightly as it did.
Start with a confession before God. Let God put his finger on the cause and allow His Spirit to help you fan the flame back to a intensity that is appropriate. If you feel guilty, allow that guilt to move you towards repentance and a godly response. Do not allow it to beat you down.
2. Live a life worthy of your calling.
Is following Jesus truly the best way to live?
As you live your life day in and day out, does your life reflect this conviction?
To have a love for people who don’t know Christ, you yourself need to know that following Jesus is the best way to live. You see God’s activity in your life, and you can talk about what God is doing in your life today that makes the gospel “Good news?”
Spend time in God’s presence regularly. Developing a sensitivity to God’s voice so you can follow the promptings of His Spirit.
3. Spend time in Worship.
The fuel for missions is worship, according to John Piper. At first, I didn’t believe him. However, the more time I spend in the worship of God in my devotions, in my church, or even as I walk the streets of my city, I find that my heart connects with God’s heart for those outside the kingdom.
The more I worship, the more I want to share. The deeper I worship, the more propelled I am to share God’s love and grace.
Robert Coleman, author of The Master Plan of Evangelism, wrote “I believe that the real incentive for witnessing comes from the worship of God.
4. Stay in God’s word
There are many passages in Scripture that reflect God’s concern for those who don’t yet know him. What passages fire up your heart?
For me, it is the lost parables of Jesus in Luke 15, about the lost son, the lost sheep, and the lost coin. For others, it might be about
There is a correlation between spending time in God’s word and keeping your personal fire lit for evangelism. As you spend time in God’s word, you will connect with God’s passion for the lost.
Pastors, personal coaching can help you keep the evangelism flame burning bright. Contact us about personalized evangelism coaching.
See Also:
Comments (2) Posted on Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
