The Velcro Principle Part 2

Posted by Mike James
on July 22, 2010 – 6:10 am
No comments yet

These series of blogs will help you keep the people you reach and help you discern if your church is more like Teflon or Velcro?

We have a twofold challenge…getting new people to attend and getting people to stick after they join and not slide off. 

So is your church currently more like Velcro, people stick and stay, or Teflon, people join and then stop attending and slide into oblivion?

“Assimilation” is the whole process of creating a climate where people feel welcome, “practicing hospitality,” showing people the love of Christ, leading them to become followers of Christ, and connecting them to the church.

If churches are not intentional in this process, they become a revolving door with as many people going out the back door as they have coming through the front door.  We are taking the letters of the word V.E.L.C.R.O. to illustrate some ideas and specific helps.

The next letter we will look at is L.

          L- Lead people to Christ and church membership. 

That is what we are aiming at as we move first time guests to become second time guests (what I call boomerang guests) then regular attendees.  We desire regular attendees to hear the Gospel and experience salvation if they are lost.  Then we desire for them to experience believers’ baptism and church membership.  

Charles Arn has researched guest stats and they are very interesting. His group discovered that guest volume needs to be 4% to 5% of worship attendance in order for a church to be in a growth situation.  What would you say is your average guest volume? 

He also noted that the guest retention-average of non-growing churches is 9%. Growing churches average 21%. In other words growing churches are seeing over twice as many guests return multiple times as non growing churches.  We often put lots of energy and time into getting people to attend for the first time and we should, but we need as much effort, energy and focus on getting them to come back for the second and third time!

The average church loses 5% to 8% of its attendees each year.  Part of the reason is the fact that the back door is open and people are leaving for various reasons. Churches must do all they can to close this door. 

One way to help your new members stick is to offer a membership class.  Call it Connections, Membership 101, Discovery, or give it any name you desire, but by all means start one!  The following are some components of Saddleback’s new member’s class and I have found most churches to be similar in what they offer.  Commercial…We are offering some great helps on the whole process of assimilation at our Super Saturdays this Fall so check it out.

  • OUR SALVATION
    – Making Sure You Are A Christian
    – The Symbols of Salvation (Baptism & Communion)
    OUR STATEMENTS
    – Our Purpose Statement: Why we exist
    – Our Vision Statement: What we intend to do
    – Our Faith Statement: What we believe
    – Our Values Statement: What we practice
  • OUR STRATEGY
    – A Brief History of our church
    – Who We Are Trying To Reach (Our Target)
    – Our Life Development Process To Help You Grow
  • OUR STRUCTURE
    – How Our Church Is Organized For Growth
    – Our Affiliation
    – What It Means To Be a Member
    – What Is My Next Step After Joining?

I believe the pastor needs to be heavily involved in this class. You can use other church leaders and staff but new members desire to see the pastor leading this class.  The class could be taught during Sunday School, Sunday or Wednesday nights, or in one afternoon setting.  As a pastor I found that lots of folks preferred coming and doing it all in one setting.  We conducted ours from @3:30 to 6:30 on Sunday evenings with great success.  We included a meal but I usually kept on teaching during most of the meal.  You can actually get more teaching done in one three hour block of time than four once a week one hour settings.

As the pastor I strongly urged all new members to attend and also sent personal letters to regular attendees inviting them.  What we discovered was that if we could get guests to go through the class over 90% joined in the next month.  Wow!  When I made this connection I intentionally tried to get as many people as possible to go through the class. People want to know your heart and vision as the pastor and they want to know you.  

A new member class is a vital step in the assimilation process.  Do you offer one?  What can you do to tweak the one you have it in order to be more effective?

Filed under Assimilation, New Member Classes |

The Velcro Principle

Posted by Mike James
on July 15, 2010 – 10:33 am
No comments yet

These series of blogs will help you keep the people you reach.

One of the challenges churches face today is not only getting new people to attend but getting people to stick after they join and not slide off.

Would you say your church is more like Velcro (people stick) or teflon (people join and then stop attending)?

“Assimilation” is the whole process of making people feel welcome, “practicing hospitality,” showing people the love of Christ, leading them to become followers of Christ, and connecting them to the church.

Churches must be intentional in this process or we become a revolving door with as many people going out the back door as we have coming through the front door. Scripture tells us to be warm and friendly to the people we meet.

“Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13

“Greet one another warmly in the Lord.” 2 Cor. 13:12

Assimilation is the process of helping people to…

Show Up…Stay…Stick…Serve

Let’s take the letters V.E.L.C.R.O. and talk about how to do this.

Again assimilation is velcroing people to the church in meaningful ways where they stick. NOTE: People today are not very sticky!

The letter V. stands for Value as you place a strong value on guests as precious gifts from God.

Three Facts You Should Know about guests…

1. Your church will not grow without Guests.

2. Your church will not grow if your guests don’t come back.

3. You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.

HOW DO WE SHOW PEOPLE WE CARE? There are many ways but let me point out a few…

  • Being Real/Genuine
  • Warm handshake
  • Use their name
  • Smile
  • Listen (with ears and eyes)
  • Talk in terms of their interests
  • Remember their Name!
  • Eye contact
  • Include – do not exclude. Act like every person is a first time guest. Even your own members need a good welcome and a warm greeting
  • Everyone who gives an announcement, sings, speaks, etc. should be introduced or introduce themselves
  • When you acknowledge your guests, allow them some anonymity
  • Teach your people to value all guests
  • Every member should consider themselves to be a greeter!
  • Provide a reception for guests before or following the service so they can personally meet the pastor and staff

The next letter is E for Engage

Engage your guests in such a positive Christ like way that they will come back.

Remember that the most effective way to get guests to attend your church is…Personal Invitation!

Here are the Stats on why people attend our churches.

Special need…………………………..1-2%

Walk-In………………………………….2-3%

Pastor……………………………………5-6%

Visitation………………………………..1-2%

Sunday School………………………..4-5%

Evangelistic Crusade…………….1/2 of 1%

Church Program………………………2-3%

Friend/Relative……………………….75-90%

Wow… 75 to 90% attend because someone cared enough to invite them! I am not sure our people know the awesome power of the invitation. Train your people to do this. Rich Warren was asked once how to grow a church and he said you need to do three things…invite, invite, invite! That‘s how people get to our churches.

Lost people think the church is only for members not them. They see it as a “member’s only club.” The only way you can get into a member’s only club is for a member of the club to invite you! I know this sounds weird but that is how lost people think.

How do you get first time guests to come back so they become second time guests? Create an intentional, loving, simple follow up plan for guests.

Truth…If you don’t have a clear process for follow up then it is probably not being done. In most churches no thought or energy is spent in this process. No wonder people choose not to come back.

Seven Follow Up Ideas (Use your own creative ideas but here are some I used in previous churches)

1. Quick Visit or contact (within 24 hours) with a gift. (book, bread, coffee mug, bass boat, etc.) (Sunday or Monday)

2. Letter or e-mail from the pastor/church leader. (Tuesday)

3. Call from the pastor/staff or church member (Friday or Saturday)

4. Sunday School connection (Monday)

5. Make sure the names of all family members are in the data base for follow up by appropriate persons. (children-youth workers, etc.)

6. Prayer Team (Get people praying for these people and their needs)

7. Don’t give up! Lovingly continue to make contact.

Next week we will continue this series.

Until then…Keep the Son in your Eyes.

Filed under Assimilation |

Church Attendance Up?

Posted by Mike James
on July 11, 2010 – 7:17 am
No comments yet

Religion News Service reports that a new Gallup Poll found that Americans’ self-reported church attendance has increased slightly since 2008. When asked “How often do you attend church, synagogue, or mosque?” 43.1 percent of Americans in 2010 said they attended church “at least once a week” or “almost every week.” That’s up from 42.8 percent in 2009 and 42.1 percent in 2008. Researchers previously believed that church attendance rises when economic times are bad. The Gallup data, however, indicates that the opposite may be happening. “There has been well-publicized speculation about the possibility that church attendance has risen over the past two years as Americans became more despondent and worried as a result of the economic recession,” Frank Newport of Gallup writes. “However, trends … reflect just the opposite pattern, with both church attendance and economic confidence increasing from 2008 to 2009, and now into 2010.”

I am not sure we can see a trend here when the increase is so small. With that being said any increase in any area of church life is a good thing.  There was a 2.2% increase in baptisms last year which stopped a four year decline. However church membership, Sunday School enrollment, and mission giving, all declined. Thom Rainer says it now takes 46 Baptists a year to win one person to Christ.

We all would like to see a “Great Commission Resurgence” but the truth is it takes more than a vote at a convention to turn this ship around or in some cases to keep her from sinking. There has been much said in recent days about winning the lost and penetrating the darkness, these are good rallying themes. However, there seems to be an absence of conversation about “making disciples” which is the heart of the Great Commission. A few thoughts…

First, let’s disciple the ones the Lord has already sent us. They will be in the pew or chairs this Sunday. What are we doing to help them grow spiritually? Where is the discipleship challenge coming from and what discipleship process is your church utilizing? We need to grow the body of Christ up, mature them, and after that (or while they are in this process of growing up), let’s send them out (“as you go make disciples”). They are already out there…schools, grocery stores, ball fields, work places. The more we make New Testament disciples the more evangelism and witness your church will have as these disciples witness, share, and minister.

So we grow them up, send them out, and those that are won are brought in and we repeat the process. Having healthy disciples produces other healthy disciples. Healthy churches are all about making healthy disciples. Discipleship is not a program, although programs using small groups may facilitate the process.  Discipleship is all about relationships, intentional, disciple making relationships.

Who is working on improving your church’s strategy to grow people up? Are you using Sunday School, small groups, mentoring, home groups or all and more? Someone must lift high the banner of discipleship.

Maybe the Lord wants you to be that person. It starts with one person who disciples one, and then the two disciple two more, and then the four disciple four more and…!!!

Filed under Assimilation, Discipleship, Mentoring |

Costly Grace

Posted by Mike James
on July 2, 2010 – 3:04 pm
No comments yet

Many of us have been impacted by an old book written by a young brilliant German theologian named Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the book, The Cost of Discipleship. Bonhoeffer could have left Germany to teach in America and avoid what was happening in Germany in the 1930’s. He struggled with the decision. Ultimately he declined the teaching offer, choosing to stay in Germany because he felt an obligation to be with his own people during that time of national crisis. Bonhoeffer was eventually arrested. It was in 1937, that this thirty-one year old German theologian wrote the book entitled, The Cost of Discipleship.

This book established Bonhoeffer as a rising star for Christianity. Tragically he was killed, martyred at the hands of the Nazi regime just a few years later. His death gave to his book an even deeper significance. Bonhoeffer announced his theme in the opening sentence of the book. “Cheap grace,” he declared, “is the deadly enemy of our church.” And then he went on to define what he meant by “cheap grace.”

Page 47…“Cheap grace,” he wrote, “is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

Many people today have agreed with Bonhoeffer and are really concerned about the shallowness, the hypocrisy, and the lack of genuine faith in the men and women who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. Many of our churches are imploding because of immature decisions by immature leaders who have not been discipled.

Rick Warren, for example, talks about “bunny believers” who hop around from one church to another without any identity, accountability, or commitment. George Barna produces surveys that confirm little difference between the way believers and non-believers live their lives. Richard Foster identifies Christians who so desire to maintain religious respectability that they have domesticated their faith. So afraid of falling off the deep end of excess, says Foster, they end up in the shallow end of superficiality.

Grace without discipleship, grace without Jesus Christ, living and active in us – cheap grace – that is still a problem in today’s church.

If every Christian in America were to truly stand up for their faith and belief on this July 4th week-end and the days ahead, we would be a totally different country. We would change this culture. Will you stand up for Jesus?  Are you willing to experience costly grace?

Filed under Discipleship, Spiritual Growth |

Program Driven or Missional Driven?

Posted by Mike James
on June 20, 2010 – 9:44 am
No comments yet

In a recent conference, Reggie McNeal described three shifts needed for churches to move from program-driven to missional-driven. These are very insightful for all church leaders and for a strategy of disciple making.

1. Changing from internal ministry to an external focus:

This isn’t an “either-or” situation, but a movement toward involvement outside the building. In the past, church-centric world, the assumption was excellent worship services and great preaching were the keys to drawing people to faith in Christ.

Today, it’s much different. In the missional world, it’s not about “doing” church but “being” the church. Instead of an evangelism strategy, why don’t we have a blessing strategy?” he asked. “It’s biblical. God wants to impart a blessing to the world. I tell people, ‘Let’s go out this week and practice being the people of God.’”

2. Asking, “Are our people better off because of what we’ve done?”

The heart of this question aims at creating a people-development culture in which improving lives is more important than running them through a program.

“Are the programs helping, or are people just a resource to get our programs done?” McNeal said. “Wouldn’t a fair scorecard be, ‘How many better marriages do we have in the church this year than last?’ (or) ‘How many have figured out a way to love their neighbor instead of how many showed up and supported our stuff?’”

Another question we should be asking is, “How many people have we disciple?” I realize that discipleship is a process but churches should evaluate how many folks are being discipled.

3. Moving from church-based leadership to apostolic leadership:

McNeal said his emphasis is on pastors moving away from acting as institutional managers toward leading a movement. In this model, instead of a minister saying, “I’m pastor of First Baptist,” he or she would proclaim, “I’m pastor of the community and my support team is First Baptist,” McNeal explained.

“In a people-development culture your time is going to be spent differently than in a program culture,” he commented. “You’re going to be engaged with people far more conversationally, and you’re going to have to figure out how to disciple people.”

“Any leadership is not positional, it’s personal,” McNeal said. “People want to know: Do you live this stuff, and are you willing to be accountable?”

How are these three principles (shifts) impacting your church?

What do you need to do to lead your church to be more Great Commission focused?

Filed under Discipleship |

8 DISCIPLESHIP WORDS

Posted by Mike James
on June 9, 2010 – 2:33 pm
No comments yet

1. EVERYONE… Discipleship is a process that involves all Christians. We mistakenly think it is just for super Christians or those in ministry, but it is for all who follow Christ. We are all disciples who are at different stages of spiritual growth. As a matter of fact, you cannot follow Christ without being involved in discipleship. It is the essence, the heart of the faith walk.

2. LIFESTYLE…Discipleship is all about our total lifestyle. It is 24/7. It is not being one thing on Sunday and then leaving our faith at the door when we exit church. You are as much a disciple at work, on the ball field, at a Baptist business meeting (oh my!), or on a date as you are during Sunday morning worship. We are salt and light for Jesus wherever we are during the course of our regular day.

“True discipleship is about a lifestyle, not simply about stored up Bible knowledge….Discipleship is about being and reproducing zealots for Christ. Discipleship, in other words, is about passionately pursuinr g the pursuing the lifestyle and mission of Jesus Christ.” (George Barna)

3. RELATIONSHIPS…Discipleship is fundamentally based on accountable, loving relationships. It is not achieved in a vacuum. God designed us for fellowship and intends for us to journey through life together. The best discipleship ministry is centered on relationships, not curriculum or just a cerebral experience. It is “life on life.”

4. PROCESS…Discipleship occurs over time. It is a process and is not instant. We never stop growing in our faith as followers of Jesus. Even the apostle Paul said he had not arrived yet. Churches should never give up or get discouraged over lack of spiritual growth among members, but instead should ramp up discipleship and continue to provide a process, a path of spiritual growth for all members.

5. INTENTIONAL…If we think it will just happen by chance, we are mistaken. Discipleship is not accidental but intentional. This is why church leaders must pray and seek the Lord’s plan for their discipleship process and then “just do it.” It needs to be simple but challenging.

6. CHRIST-LIKE…The bottom line is that discipleship helps people become more like Jesus. We should reflect Jesus in our words, actions, thoughts, and responses. We should not react to people but respond in Christ like love.

“A disciple of Christ is an individual who exhibits an increasing Christ-likeness exemplified by an undeniable love for God and others, a vibrant prayer life, a love of Scripture, an obedient lifestyle of personal evangelism, employment of talents and personal resources, spiritual gifts and service used for the benefit of the Kingdom, consistent manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit, and extravagant worship that treasures Christ.”

7. MULTIPLICATION…Discipleship always results in effective ministry and multiplication. New Testament discipleship is explosive. “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” Acts 6:7

We need to think and plan our discipleship strategy in terms of multiplication, not addition! This happens when the leader takes someone through a discipleship process/study/experience and then that person takes someone (life on life) through the same study and the process is repeated. This has great potential and is often overlooked in our discipleship strategies.

8. EVANGELISM…Sometimes we argue about what is more important evangelism or discipleship. I believe that a disciple is an evangelist and an evangelist is a disciple. A disciple who does not intentionally share his or her faith is not a true disciple. After a person is won to Christ then the discipleship process begins with the goal of that new Christian eventually leading someone to Christ.

If churches are going to reverse the downward trend evident in all our statistics; it will only happen with a resurgence of New Testament discipleship.

Filed under Discipleship, Spiritual Growth |

Five Assimilation Facts

Posted by Mike James
on June 4, 2010 – 7:49 pm
No comments yet

Assimilation is all about the process of helping people find your church, join your church, and get involved using their gifts and talents for the kingdom. Of course, experiencing salvation in Christ would be the number one goal as you reach out to people with the Gospel.

In a recent article, Rick Ezell lists five facts about guests and how to get them to return.

Pastors, staff and church leaders should be keenly aware of these five significant facts about first-time guests who visit our churches looking for a friend. Ezell also lists five vital actions you can take to make them want to return.

Fact #1 – Your guests make up their minds regarding your church in the first ten minutes.

Before a first-time guest has sung an inspiring song, watched a compelling drama or well-produced video vignette or heard your well-crafted sermon they have made up their mind whether or not to return. But, you probably spend more time and energy on the plan and execution of the worship service than preparing for the greeting and welcoming of your first-time guests.

Action – Use the following questions as a quick checklist:

• Are parking attendants in place?

• Is there appropriate signage?

• Are your ushers and greeters performing the “right” job?

• Is the environment user-friendly and accepting to guests?

Fact #2 – Most church members are not friendly.

Churches claim to be friendly and may even advertise that fact. But my experience in visiting churches as a first-time guest demonstrates that most church members are friendly to the people they already know, not to guests.

Watch to see if your members greet guests with the same intensity and concern before and after the worship service as they do during a formal time of greeting. The six most important minutes of a church service, in your visitors’ eyes, are the three minutes before the service and the three minutes after the service.

Action – Encourage your church family to:

• Introduce themselves with genuineness.

• Find out if guests have questions about the church.

• Introduce guests to others who may have an affinity or connection.

Fact #3 – Church guests are highly consumer-oriented.

If your church building is difficult for newcomers to navigate, if your people are un-accepting and unfriendly, another church down the street may have what they’re looking for. You need to look at your church through the eyes of a first-time guest. Rick Warren says that the longer a pastor has been a pastor the less he thinks like a non-pastor.

Action: Consider employing objective, yet trained, anonymous guests to give an honest appraisal. Many restaurants, retail stores, and hotels utilize the service of one or more “mystery guests” to provide helpful analysis of welcoming and responding to the consumer. Churches would be well served to utilize a similar service.

Fact #4 – The church is in the hospitality business.

Though our ultimate purpose is spiritual, one of our first steps in the Kingdom business is attention to hospitality (Hebrews 13:2). Imagine the service that would be given to you in a first-class hotel or a five-star restaurant. Should the church offer anything less to those who have made the great effort to be our guests?

Action – Encourage members to extend hospitality to guests by offering…

• to sit with them during the church service

• to give them a tour of the church facilities

• to eat lunch with them after service

• to connect with them later in the week

Fact #5 – You only have one chance to make a good first impression.

Your first-time guests have some simple desires and basic needs. They decide very quickly if you can meet those criteria. The decision to return for a second visit is often made before guests reach your front door.

Action – Use the following questions as an evaluation tool:

• Are you creating the entire experience, beginning with your parking lot?

• Are you consciously working to remove barriers that make it difficult for guests to find their way around and to feel at home with your people?

• Do newcomers have all the information they need without having to ask any embarrassing questions?

• Are your greeters and ushers on the job, attending to details and anticipating needs before they are expressed?

• Does anything about your guests’ first experience make them say, “Wow!” and want to return?

Rick Ezell is the pastor of First Baptist Greer, South Carolina. He has served churches in Naperville, IL, Scottsburg, IN and Overland Park, KS. He is the author of several books including, The Seven Sins of Highly Defective People, Strengthening the Pastor’s Soul, & Sightings of the Savior.

Filed under Uncategorized |

G.C.R. and M.O.U.S.E.

Posted by Mike James
on May 24, 2010 – 8:56 am
5 Comments so far

The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a PECULIAR people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

I think this was a prophetic word concerning a future denomination called Southern Baptists. We are a peculiar people, some of us more peculiar than others. Our church polity is peculiar, our methodologies and worship styles are all unique, since each church is autonomous and conducts its own affairs. Those who don’t know Southern Baptists as they peer inside our work must think, “they are a peculiar people.” With this in mind allow me to share three thoughts about the upcoming Great Commission Task Force report at the Southern Baptist Convention.

Like many of you I am attending the Southern Baptist Convention in Mickey’s home town of Orlando. Will Mickey and Minnie Mouse be messengers this year? It is just my fourth convention but it sounds like it will be an interesting one for sure.

There have been numerous blogs, articles written, and press releases about the GCR report and the ramifications for the future. I am not an authority on this issue, but here are three things we must keep in mind in Orlando.

Let’s remember we are not voting on the Great Commission. When I read the Gospels and Acts 1:8, it is apparent that fulfilling the Great Commission is not an option to be voted on or a multiple choice question where we have many possible answers to choose from. It’s not even a question in Scripture but a direct command from our Lord who said, “Go make disciples.”

A church, association, state convention, or national denomination cannot truly vote on the Great Commission because God already cast the vote in His Word and that’s the vote that really counts. We all agree that the Great Commission is the heart of being a disciple of Jesus and the mission of the church…period. Let’s remember that there are good people on both sides of this report who are Godly folks and who feel very strongly for or against the report as it stands. They all sincerely believe in the importance of fulfilling the Great Commission. I see a great deal of passion on both sides.

Let’s remind ourselves that the recommendation of the task force is simply a set of ideas concerning the process, structure, and methodologies of fulfilling the Great Commission. I’ve been a Baptist all my life and I discovered early in my ministry that if you put three Baptists in a room, close the door, and wait 20 minutes…presto, you have 11 different opinions about how to do church. Yes, we are a particularly peculiar people. Regardless of the outcome of the vote concerning the task force’s recommendations, the most significant thing that could happen is for every pastor and church leader to renew their passion about leading their churches forward in working together with other churches in order to fulfill the Great Commission because that is what a New Testament church does.

Let’s remain in fellowship with a kind, cooperative spirit regardless of any actions taken at the SBC. I am going to Orlando and whether the recommendation from the task force is tabled, amended, modified, adapted, homogenized or voted down or up; I for one will not break fellowship with those brothers and sisters who vote differently than my peculiar vote. Yes I am one of those peculiar Baptists. We must not make this a line in the denominational sand. We must not make this a fellowship issue. If we do, the kingdom will not be honored and we will leave Orlando disappointed and defeated. Every pastor, Director of Missions, state and denominational leader I’ve met is committed to being more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission. We are all on the same page regarding the bigger issue of purpose and mission.

My point is, let’s not over react, but realize we all have the same goal of reaching the world for Christ beginning in our on town. This will not be the last study report for Southern Baptists to consider.

The media and the world will have their mouse ears on listening and watching us in Orlando. How we respond to each other, regardless of how we voted on any recommendation or point of business, really shows if we are Great Commission Christians!

In JOHN 13:34 Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you LOVE one another; even as I have loved you, that you also LOVE one another. By this shall all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have LOVE for one another.”

My hope and prayer is that Southern Baptists, a peculiar people indeed, can disagree agreeably in Christ like love and go back to our churches after the convention with a new zeal for sharing the Gospel and working together. This will not happen by a vote at a national convention, but by the Holy Spirit filling us and guiding each of us to be Great Commission Christians. I pray that is the resurgence we experience in Orlando.

Filed under Uncategorized |

Growing a Healthy Church Part 2

Posted by Mike James
on May 16, 2010 – 8:05 am
2 Comments so far

Last week we shared a blog entitled; “What does a Healthy Church Look Like.”

There are foundational steps that leaders must take in order to create healthy church environments that promote growth. The growth of your church depends on members who are biblical healthy in their relationship with the Lord. A church filled with unhealthy members will not accomplish much for the Kingdom.

Here are six foundational aspects of ministry that are crucial to creating an environment for (healthy) growth from Dann Spader and Gary Mayes, book, Growing a Healthy Church (Moody Press, 1991). See how many of these criteria are evident in the life of your church.

1. Create an atmosphere of love.

Jesus’ insight, “By this will all men know that [we] love one another,” (John 13:35) has never been more true. Congregations should be totally in love with Jesus and then that love needs to spill out in all their relationships both inside and outside the church. If we are not dispensers of God’s love we are not being the church.

2. Build a relational ministry.

Building relationships with people was an intentional, aggressive agenda for Christ. “He spent time with his disciples” (John 3:22). He lived by the principle that people respond when we reach out to them. People today are hungry for authentic relationships. The rapid rise of facebook and twitter are just signs that people desire to connect to each other. People connect in small groups. People need to be in some kind of life group for sharing, prayer, accountability, study and support. Regardless of the model you use such as Sunday School, small groups, home groups, cell groups, or discipleship groups, people need to connect in order to grow and “be the church.”

3. Communicate Christ clearly.

In a world that knows only caricatures of Christ, people need to know him as he really is. We must present him and his message of life and grace as he gave it, so that people might build a real relationship with the living Savior.

4. Build a healthy ministry image.

What kind vision do the people in your church and ministry have for the work to which God has called them? How confident are they in His ability to accomplish the task He has entrusted to them? Cohesiveness, commitment to the cause, receptivity to change, and teachability are all related to a healthy group image.

5. Mobilize a prayer base.

Our task is to effect spiritual life change. This kind of spiritual work is not accomplished by human means. As we move into the arena of prayer, God moves into the arena of our lives.

Praying churches are growing churches and healthy churches because they are in contact with the Head of the church and His plans for their congregations. Jesus wants His house to be a house of prayer.

6. Communicate the Word.

Research has shown that even our most regular churchgoers have some biblical illiteracy. We continually need to evaluate our teaching to insure God’s Word is being taught accurately.

We must challenge our members to “read the Word” on a consistent basis. A dose of Scripture on Sunday is not enough; we must lead our folks to engage the Word of God for direction, belief, and guidance on a daily basis. Teach your people how to feed themselves on the Word of God and your church will be stronger.

What can you do through the power of the Holy Spirit to improve your weakest area of these six criteria? Seek the Lord’s guidance and lead your church to health and growth for the Kingdom.

Filed under Church Growth, Spiritual Growth |

What Does a Healthy Church Look Like?

Posted by Mike James
on May 11, 2010 – 7:48 pm
No comments yet

Recently, Leadership Journal printed again the eight criteria for church health from Natural Church Development.

Each of these eight components can serve as an MRI to look underneath the surface of your church and evaluate the true health.  Look at these and see if you have balance. Where are you strong? Where are you weak? Where are you content?

What is your strategy to bring your church back to health and growth?

Not to treat a symptom is dangerous in our personal health and in our congregations’ health too. If we wait too long it can take longer to reverse the trend. Avoiding the signs all together could result in death.

Christian A. Schwarz, head of the Institute for Church Development in Germany, conducted this comprehensive church-growth study, drawn from more than 1,000 churches in 32 countries. His study revealed the following eight qualities in healthy churches.

1. EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP

Leaders of growing churches …. do not use lay workers as “helpers” in attaining their goals and fulfilling their visions. Rather, leaders invert the pyramid of authority so they assist Christians to attain the spiritual potential God has for them.

2. GIFT-ORIENTED MINISTRY

When Christians serve in their area of giftedness, they generally function less in their own strength and more in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, ordinary people can accomplish the extraordinary!

3. PASSIONATE SPIRITUALITY

The concept of spiritual passion and the widespread notion of the walk of faith as “performing one’s duty” seem to be mutually exclusive.

4. FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES

Anyone who accepts this perspective will continually evaluate to what extent church structures improve the self-organization of the church. Elements not meeting this standard (such as discouraging leadership structures, inconvenient worship-service times, demotivating financial concepts) will be changed or eliminated.

5. INSPIRING WORSHIP SERVICE

Services may target Christians or non-Christians, the style may be liturgical or free, the language may be “churchy” or secular—it makes no difference …. Whenever the Holy Spirit is truly at work (and his presence is not merely presumed), he will have a concrete effect upon the way a worship service is conducted.

6. HOLISTIC SMALL GROUPS

[These groups] go beyond just discussing Bible passages to applying its message to daily life. In these groups, members are able to bring up issues and questions that are immediate personal concerns.

7. NEED-ORIENTED EVANGELISM

The key …. is for the local congregation to focus its evangelistic efforts on the questions and needs of non-Christians. This “need-oriented” approach is different from “manipulative programs.”

8. LOVING RELATIONSHIPS

Unfeigned, practical love has a divinely generated magnetic power far more effective than evangelistic programs, which depend almost entirely on verbal communication. People do not want to hear us talk about love; they want to experience how Christian love really works. —Natural Church Development, (ChurchSmart, 1996)

Filed under Uncategorized |

This site is a part of the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

Site copyright Kentucky Baptist Convention.

P: (502) 489-3360 F: (866) 489-3360 E: mike.james@kybaptist.org