AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME… - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

• CONGREGATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

• 1 John 4:19
• First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
• (The Message)
• We love because he
• first loved us!
• (RSV)

Office of Congregational Transformation

Rev. Kendall TaylorDirector

• Jesus gave us, the Church, one primary command:
• “Make Disciples!”
• Matthew 28:16-20
• Acts 1:8
• 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

• Faithful, obedient congregations seek God in prayer...
• cultivating the relationship
• ...to identify and connect with the people to/with whom God calls them to minister.

• Healthy congregations
• express what they discern through prayer in…
• CONCISE
• VISION & MISSIONSTATEMENTS

• Why do people need Jesus?
• Why do people need Church?
• Why do people need this Church?

• The five ”P’s” … in this order… guide planning/decision making
• Prayer
• Purpose
• People
• Program
• Property

• Healthy congregations are communities of
• “MIRACULOUS EXPECTATION!”

• Healthy congregations…
• FALL IN LOVE WITH THEIR NEIGHBORS!

• Healthy congregations make sure the love and friendship shared with their communityare genuine and Christ-motivated.

• Ministry motivated by loving your neighbor looks very different from ministry motivated by survival of your congregation. (ref Mark 8:35)

• For whoever wants to save his life will lose it.
• But whoever loses his life for me
• andfor the Gospelwill save it.
• Mark 8:35 (NIV)

• Worshiping is connecting people to personal experiences of God.
• EXCELLENT
• INDIGENOUS
• Style is not the critical issue!

• Healthy congregations strive constantly for excellence and quality.

• Healthy congregations measure and evaluate the effectiveness of their ministry.
• …Their Disciple Making!

• 1 . Empowering leadership
• 2 . Gift-oriented ministry
• 3 . Passionate spirituality
• 4 . Functional structures
• 5 . Inspiring Worship

• 6 . Holistic small groups
• 7 . Need-oriented evangelism
• 8 . Loving relationships
• from:
• NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT
• Church Smart Resources
• www.churchsmart.com

Categories of Congregations

Reproducing

Transforming

Maintaining

Dying

Beginning

Categorías de Congregaciones

QUE SE REPRODUCE

EN TRANSFORMCIÓN

QUE SE MANTIENE

MORIBUNDA

QUE COMIENZA

Tips de Kongregasyon

AP MILTIPLIYE

NAN

TRANSFÒRMASYON

RETE ANPLAS

AP MOURI

NAN

KÒMANSMAN

• Beginning
• chronological infancy, clarifying and adopting its mission
• or
• in decline, rediscovering its mission

• Transforming
• primary mission: making disciples
• in their community
• devotion to and growth in Jesus
• congregational life is love

• Reproducing
• - a transforming congregation choosing to initiate the formation of new faith communities

• Maintaining
• primary ministry orientation:
• care for members
• inward focus of congregational life process
• no foreseeable change

• Dying
• process of congregational decline is irreversible
• District Superintendent may so designate with or without agreement of the congregation

• Healthy congregations accept and embrace the reality of inevitable, rapid and unpredictable change.

• There is a basic irreducible core process that defines Church.
• A. Inviting/Welcoming
• B. Worshiping/Educating
• C. Equipping
• D. Sending (deploying)

A TEMPLATE !

• A. INVITE / WELCOME
• - intentional with specific people
• - inclusion in the church family
• - hear and see what a relationship with Jesus can be and do

• B. NURTURE
• worship is connecting with God in public worship and private devotion
• education is teaching how a disciple believes and behaves
• - a major goal is a decision to follow Jesus as Lord and Savior

• C. EQUIP
• - God calls Disciples to a ministry
• - they prepare to fulfill this calling
• - disciples bring to ministry:
• Talent… Personality…
• Passion…Spiritual gifts

• SEND
• - disciples minister with excellence to people in many kinds of need
• - ministry flows from hearts of love and is not manipulative
• - gains privilege of inviting people to a relationship with Jesus.

• How do we keep faithful to what the Church is while adapting to the inevitable changes?
• Remember the main thing…
• Making Disciples
• Move ministry focus from…
• Inward…to Outward!

• The process of
• Transforming (Adapting)
• is normal and on-going for a faithful obedient congregation.

• Congregational Transformation is people…
• moving evermore completely…
• to embrace with clarity and passion…
• the mission Jesus gave the Church!
• MAKING DISCIPLES!

• Helping congregations discern their way forward as faithful followers of Jesus
• Assisting congregations in deciding what to do and then helping them do it.

• It is not a program…
• It is fundamental change
• in the congregation’s lifestyle…
• Its CORE PROCESS!
• A DNA TRANSPLANT!

• See to your personal spiritual growth and devotional habits.

• Make practice of spiritual growth disciplines a congregational core value
• Expected of all…

• Be zealous in assessing your personal faithfulness and your congregation’s faithfulness to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
• Are new directions called for in either case?

• Study and learn from:
• books
• audio resources
• video resources
• internet resources

• “Reclaiming the Great Commission” by Bishop Claude Payne
• “Natural Church Development” By Christian A. Schwarz

• “The Purpose Driven Church”
• “The Purpose Driven Life”
• By Rick Warren
• “Church for the Unchurched”
• “The Celtic Way of Evangelism”
• By George Hunter

• Learn
• • about the world
• • about your community
• GBGM:
• http://research.gbgm-umc.org
• PERCEPT:
• www.link2lead.com

• Learn skills necessary to lead your congregation in a new direction.

• - Effective vision casting
• - Leading and training leaders
• - Dealing creatively with conflict

• Spirit of the Squirrel
• “worthwhile work”
• Way of the Beaver
• “in control of achieving the goal”
• Gift of the Goose
• “cheering others on”
• By Ken Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles

• Understand Church as organism…
• Its response to stimuli is non-linear…
• Prolonged equilibrium is dangerous…
• by Richard Tanner Pascale
• & Mark Milleman

• What have you experienced of Jesus that the world cannot do without?

Office of Congregational Transformation

Rev. Kendall TaylorDirector

• P.O. Box 3767Lakeland, FL 33802
• 1-800-282-8011, ext 109
• 863-680-1912 (fax)
• ktaylor@flumc.org
• http://www.flumc.org