“From the Crow’s Nest”

“From the Crow’s Nest” Church Officer EnrichmentJanuary 25, 2014

Vision Shifts in Congregational Ministry The Classic 20th Century Vision for Congregational Ministry • Communal in focus • Programmatic in nature • The role of the pastor was primarily preaching, pastoral care, and program maintenance

Vision Shifts are changing the face of congregational ministry Stan Ott: From Traditional to Transformational • From maintaining programs to changing lives. • From maintaining programs to ministry design. • From “communal" (primarily an inward focus on the congregation itself) to communal (inward) and missional in nature.

Three Kinds of Congregations • Traditional • Transitional • Transformational

Twelve Dynamic Shifts For Transforming Your Church by Stan Ott • your present reality for your congregation's future to the high expectation that God has a vital future for your church. • merely running programs to implementing a vision for ministry • maintenance mentality to a sustaining and advancing vision

emphasis on friendliness to a ministry of friendliness and hospitality. • assuming discipleship to developing discipleship. • emphasis on the communal life of the church to a balanced emphasis on the communal and missional life of the church. • unchanging worship format to a ministry of worship and music responsive to the variety of needs present in the congregation and the community you are trying to reach

audience-oriented programming (e.g. worship services, classes) to a balance of audience-oriented ministry and face-to-face ministry (e.g. small groups, one-on-one spiritual direction). • getting established groups to add new people to adding new groups.

“leader-using” ministry to a “leader-developing” ministry, from committees to ministry teams. • controlling leadership to a permission-giving leadership. • pastor-centered/officer-centered ministry to shared ministry among pastor, officers and people

Shift from your present reality for your congregation's future • to the high expectation that God has a transformational future for your church

Vision is seeing what God wants to do through you • Suspend reality for the time you are creating a vision

Enthusiasm and passion • Willingness to pay the price - as the pastor and as people of God • Be willing to “cross the street.” Erwin McManus • Build a porch in the air • Build a bridge on which you are traveling • Build an airplane while you are flying

Let’s develop a Vision for a church • First step - describe reality • Community • Location • History • Membership • Worship Attendance • Mission

Community Involvement • Demographics • Last 5 years • Significant ministries • Significant challenges

Second step - suspend reality • Where does God want us to be in 5 years? - Dream BIG • Ministry, worship, community involvement, mission • If we are to be “there” in 5 years, where should we be in 4 years? 3 years, 2 years, next year? • What do we have to do this year to meet this year’s goal?

Develop a Defining Vision Statement • A Defining Vision is a ministry’s most central vision. • A Defining Vision clearly delineates what the ministry is to be and to do • It captures the essential thrust of the ministry with distinctiveness and clarity.

A Defining Vision is essential to leadership because leadership is knowing where you are going (vision) and having others with you on the way. • Clearly state what we seek to accomplish by God's grace • Crisp, tight, clear and short enough so that every ministry and sub-ministry can answer: "how are we contributing to the Vision of our congregation?"

It should be bold • Evaluate the vision against the 12 criteria for vision shifts that lead to transformational ministry • Mission statements of congregations are often rather lengthy expressions of Christian conviction and practice and as such can offer a sound general perspective for their ministry. • Little or no relationship between Mission Statement and practice of ministry.

Defining Vision statement is the yardstick against which all mission and ministry is measured

A Defining Vision of the Presbytery of New Covenant • Growing congregations that passionately engage their community to make disciples

“From the Crow’s Nest”