Monday, April 24, 2006

How to Grow a Church - Part 1

farmer sunset
I recently stumbled upon this article (Structuring to Grow, Not Plateau) from Baptist Press by Rick Warren (famous Christian author and pastor of Saddleback Church). In it he shares 10 musts the church should focus on in order to grow.

Although the article is a couple of years old, I'm wondering if there can be anything learned from it.

Here are the first 5 musts:

1. You must develop an unshakable conviction about growth.

First and foremost, you need to settle on the idea that God wants His church to grow. And He doesn’t want it to stop growing!

You don’t ever need to apologize for wanting your church to grow. God wants His church to grow; it’s His will and His command. The reason churches must grow is because people are going to hell without Jesus Christ. As long as there is one person within driving distance of your church who does not know Jesus Christ, you must keep growing.


Can't argue much with that one. I, too, believe that God wants His church to grow. I think God will use many different ways to grow His church and many different styles of churches (mega, small, house, contempory, traditional, mainstream, etc).

2. You must change the primary role of the pastor from minister to leader.

You can grow a church to 300 with pastoral skills or ministry skills, but growing beyond 300 will require leadership skills. As a leader, you must learn to communicate your vision in very personal and practical ways. You also must learn to motivate your church through your messages, and understand that it’s easier to motivate a group than it is to motivate individuals.

A leader also equips others for ministry. Otherwise, you’ll burn out and the church won’t grow. An expanding ministry also demands you learn how to raise money. Those who write the agenda must underwrite the agenda, and you must learn to manage your time. Effective leaders know where their time goes.


Not too sure on this one. I think a pastor should remain a pastor. I don't think the leading of the church should be done by one main person. I think a good, well-rounded group of representatives from the congregation can lead the church.

3. You must organize around the gifts of your people.

The team God gives you will show you how to structure. Organizing around the gifts of your people will allow the church to focus on ministry, not maintenance. A gifts-based ministry encourages teamwork. It also makes better use of the talent around you (and why do you think God brought this talent into your church?).

Building your structure on the gifts and talents within the church promotes creativity and allows for spontaneous growth. Ministries bubble up, rather than waiting on a board meeting to dissect every possibility. And decision-making becomes more efficient while the structure grows more stable.


I so agree that a church should organize around the gifts and talents of the people in it. How else do the people feel part of the church if they don't get to use their gifts. I, also think that the church should also assist in the developing of gifts.

4. You must budget according to your purposes and priorities.

Obviously the budget of the church shows the priorities and the direction of the church. I’d suggest you take the budget items and ask of each item, “Which purpose does this fit under?” This will help your people visualize what you’re trying to do, and what you’re doing with God’s money.


I think this is a very good thing to do. Always make sure the budget aligns with the vision and direction of the church.

5. You must add staff on purpose.

Build your staff by first adding generalists and then specialists. First, you want to add people who can do lots of things because you’re only going to have one. Then as you go down the road, you can add more and more specialists.

When do you want to add staff? As soon as you can ... immediately, if at all possible. You want to build as many volunteers as quickly as you can and also add staff as quickly as you can. Anytime you add a staff member, that’s a faith step and allows the church to grow to the next level.


I think this one is really hard for me. I lean more towards lay leadership and developing lay leadership and volunteers than having lots of paid people. I'm not sure that adding staff is a faith step - asking someone to commit without pay (volunteer) is a tad more of a risk that we need to rely on God for.

Just some of my thoughts on this - I'll comment on the last 5 musts a little later. (How To Grow A Church - Part 2)

Feel free to share your thoughts too.

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Friday, April 21, 2006

Blast From the Past!

realhoser's Hangout: Church at New Location Starting This Week!

Recently, on my hubby's MSN space blog, he got an awesome comment! I just had to share what a great guy he is!

Hey Jeff,

Ok this is a little off topic but I have some things I need to get off my chest. I have tried over the last 8 years to get in touch with you with not a lot of luck. Seeing how I can't get in touch with you I will post this and hopefully you'll get it.

All I've ever really wan't to say to you is thank you! You have no idea what a profound influence you had on me when I was young. Sure I was a bit loopy and somewhat out of control but somehow you saw past that and considered me as a friend. Without your influence I may never have been a man of faith, but not just that I may have not have survived my teens. I will always remember your acts of kindness towards me.

I just wanted you to know that people really do care about you and how your doing. I think your space here is terrific. Keep your head up, live hard, laugh hard, and thank God for Hoser's like you!

||||||
(¤¿¤) Frank
O

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Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Ontario Court Ruling

Leafs Logo

Toronto, Canada (AP) -A seven year old boy was at the center of a Toronto courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with the child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible. The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Toronto Maple Leafs, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

LOL - Poor Leafs

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Weight Watchers & Christianity

I've been thinking about Church a lot lately and stumbled upon this article.
How to Lose Weight and Gain a Congregation - Christianity.ca

At first I thought it amusing and now the more I've thought about it the more I'm beginning to agree with it.

Weight Watchers members feel accountable to themselves and their group. If you lose weight the entire group celebrates. If you have a bad week you share your downfalls in a supportive atmosphere. If you attain your weight loss goal there is a chance for the successful dieter to tell the whole group how their goal was achieved.

What if churches made times in their worship for public confession, personal victories and individual testimonials? Sanctuaries would be packed.

Sharing each others troubles, caring for each others needs, and just being there would be awesome to find in a church - not just in small groups but during the service time. I think making church real for today is very important.

Anyway, just some thoughts.

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Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Sunset


sunset02
Originally uploaded by elf_friend777.
I just so love this picture. I don't remember if I took it or if hubby did, but that doesn't matter because it's just soooo beautiful!!!!

We took the kids down to Florida for March Break this year and this is a sunset on the Gulf of Mexico, Braedenton Beach.

Everytime I look at the picture I don't think about the great time we had on our vacation, but I'm always reminded of God. I'm having trouble putting into words what feelings this picture emotes for me. I can see beauty yet so much more, much deeper. A brillant love. Love of creation, love of me.

What do you see?

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Monday, April 10, 2006

Evolving Church Conference

On Saturday, hubby and I attended the Evolving Church Conference put on by Epiphaniea and we loved it! Props to the guys who put it on!!!

The Conference had 3 main speakers - Chris Seay, Donald Miller, and Brian McLaren and then many workshops. I attended Jared Siebert's workshop about the Disconnected Church and Bradon Douglas' workshop about Leadership.

Before I go any further about it I have to thank my friend, Nancy, who watched the kids for us all day (overnight Friday till 9 pm Saturday). She is amazing!!!

Okay back to the Conference - Here are the 2 main things I got out the conference was reassurance and affirmation. Reassurance that I'm not alone and not totally crazy. Affirmation in the things I want to do. There are not many in my circle of "church" friends who are trying to think of new ways of being relevant in the current culture so this was a huge boost for me.

Some other things I brought back with me (besides 3 books - which I will have to talk about later) were:

Live in the tension (holding on to God's hand and my neighbour's hand). Not sure how to do that but am just going to try to "be" in the moment.

Hospitality is NOT coffee and finger sandwiches. It IS all about ENGAGEMENT (engaging the the lives of others).

reminded that Christianity is NOT a religion; it's a relationship

Brains are hardwired for story. Tell how YOUR story intersects with GOD'S.

Brian McLaren asked us to think about this: "Do we have a church that has a mission or a mission that has a church?" I'm still thinking. Maybe it's a bit of both or neither. What is the purpose of church? (Sounds like another blog entry. ;-) lol)

It was just such a great time. And I've got so much to think about and do. Once again thanks to the guys who put it on.

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