The

Slide 1:The End

Breaking Through Growth Barriers THE CHURCH 2006

Slide 3:GOD ALWAYS RAISES UP A REMNANT OF HIS PEOPLE WHO WILL DO HIS WILL. (But sometimes they kill the prophets first!)

THE GOOD NEWS�

Slide 5:Some churches grow disciples by accident!

Barrier 3: Lack of Vision

Slide 7:DISCOVERY OF VISION

Where have we been? How has God worked in our past? What are the ministry milestones that have shaped us into the leaders we are today? Where are we going? Where is God leading in the future? What am I going to do about the future?

Slide 8:Barrier 4:Lack of an IntentionalGrowth Strategy. A PLAN!

Jesus went through formal training as a young boy and man. Jesus spent time with God in the �wilderness�. At home they wanted to kill him. Then at Capernaum they wanted him to stay. Jesus was at a cross roads. It is at points of crisis that we form faith. Jesus even had family conflict. When challenged by his family to remove himself from danger, he had to decide who was really �family�. Peter�s confession was in the context of a faith community. Jesus spent time in a faith community for three years. He was the teacher. But he was also the student. The Garden experience was another point of crisis. He had to come to a point of being willing to accept God�s will rather than his own. It was at this point that faith grew another step. At the cross�Some say that Jesus didn�t know he would be raised on the third day. What a faith to go to the cross knowing that it is God�s will. THAT POINT AT THE CROSS THAT ULTIMATE DEVOTION TO GOD WAS EXPERIENCED AND FROM THAT POINT THERE WAS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN JESUS AND GOD.Jesus went through formal training as a young boy and man. Jesus spent time with God in the �wilderness�. At home they wanted to kill him. Then at Capernaum they wanted him to stay. Jesus was at a cross roads. It is at points of crisis that we form faith. Jesus even had family conflict. When challenged by his family to remove himself from danger, he had to decide who was really �family�. Peter�s confession was in the context of a faith community. Jesus spent time in a faith community for three years. He was the teacher. But he was also the student. The Garden experience was another point of crisis. He had to come to a point of being willing to accept God�s will rather than his own. It was at this point that faith grew another step. At the cross�Some say that Jesus didn�t know he would be raised on the third day. What a faith to go to the cross knowing that it is God�s will. THAT POINT AT THE CROSS THAT ULTIMATE DEVOTION TO GOD WAS EXPERIENCED AND FROM THAT POINT THERE WAS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN JESUS AND GOD.

Slide 9:Multiple Entry Points

Worship Sunday School �Side Door� The More the Better

Slide 10:A growing church mustattract and conserve.

Attendees must �stick� Become effective participants Requires effective ASSIMILATION

Slide 11:Issue of closed groups. The issue of expectations. The issue of time.

Adult Sunday School classes are not small groups.

Slide 13:Barrier 6: Disconnect with Community.

Slide 16:Millennials are different�Quotes from Millennials Rising, by Howe and Strauss.

They want well paying jobs: 81% Good relationships with parents: 77% Getting married: 57% Having children: 38% Owning a business: 28% �They reject the �too cool to care� credo of Generation X. They are optimistic and hold traditional values. They care. They want to make a difference. They will redefine what it means to be young.�

Slide 17:Millennials:

Their world is multi-racial and small. It�s a CNN world taken to the next level. �Family� takes on new meaning for many. Religion is a composite of their culture. 9-11 to them is what the Cuban missile crisis was to boomers. Technology connects them and disconnects them. They interact with technology. Learning is not always linear. They are a highly visual generation. They value relationships.

Slide 18:Trends Beyond 2000 (Popcorn)

Cocooning Fantasy Adventure Egonomics Cashing Out Staying Alive The Vigilante Consumer Save Our Society

Slide 19:Some �Fun Stuff� off the Internet:Trends in Religion

Increase of pluralism in society. Interfaith contact will increase. Increase of woman pastors. Spiritual but not religious in U.S. Growth of militant fundamentalism. Shift to non-white Christianity. Rising growth rate of Islam.

Slide 20:More �stuff� off of the �Net�

Aging of Western populations. Rise of Postmodernity in Western Society. Technological growth: Medical/nanotechnology, engineering, artificial intelligence. Increasingly people are going to the Internet for religious resources. Generation gap in church continues. Religious Individualism increases. Influence of third-world Christianity. Longevity of human life increases.

Slide 21:Gallup: Three Areas to Consider

Spirituality�surged Support of organized religion�Flat but different.� Small groups increasing. Deep Transforming Faith: Gaps. Ethics gap. Knowledge gap. Believers and belongers.

Slide 22:The Future Sunday School?

Shift to emphasis on relationship. (High touch) Bible study vs. Sunday school. Place and time will change including internet. Diversity. Diversity. Diversity. Conformity. Conformity. Conformity. Close external community connection. Does it make a difference? Marketing = Relational touch points. Quality demanded. A shift in leadership base. High expectations.