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Profiles of Successful, Growing Congregations: What Do They Look Like?Why Are They Growing?
Elizabeth AckermanJoyce Battey
Carol BoronkasClint Hilson
Jennifer HudsonRick Johnson
Jackie ParrishBill Traynham
May 13, 2006Leadership UMC Class of 2005-2006Sponsored by the Board of Laity of theNorth Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church
Who the authors are . . .
Represent various churches throughout North Georgia Conference of UMC
Varied occupations and experiences
Called in different ways for different service
Guided by Scripture Committed to impact the UMC laity
and clergy
What do “successful” and “growing” mean?
Size? Membership Worship Attendance
Programming? Programs Education Ministries
Resources? Facilities Finances
Staff? # of Clergy Size of staff
What do “successful” and “growing” mean?
• suc·cess·ful - adjective1 : resulting or terminating in a favorable or desired outcome
• grow - verb1 a : to spring up and develop to maturity
From Miriam-Webster’s On-line Dictionary (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary)
What does a successful church look like to Jesus?
The Bible Guides individual members of the body of Christ
and the Church as a whole New Testament -- guidance for the Church
today, and instructions for specific churches during New Testament times
The Book of Discipline Correlates directly to scripture in many ways Does not conflict with the Bible
The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church — Copyright © 2004 by The United Methodist Publishing House.
Biblical Direction for the Church
The Church is the light of the world (Matt 5:13-16)
Come together (Matt 18:19-20), love one another (Matt 22:36-40), and spread the Good News
Teach, preach, heal, and love (Matt 9:35)
Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only (Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8)
Worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23)
www.gospelcom.net New International Version
Jesus’ Expectations of the Church
1) Love one another
2) Make Disciples of Christ throughout the world
3) Equipped and instructed us
4) Promised he will add to our numbers if we remain in Him
Book of Discipline – UMC Purpose
Mission: “to make disciples of Jesus Christ by proclaiming the good news of God’s grace and by exemplifying Jesus’ command to love God and neighbor, thus seeking the fulfillment of God’s reign and realm in the world.”
Action: “make disciples as we proclaim the gospel, lead persons to God, and send persons in the world to love, heal, and baptize.”
The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church — Copyright © 2004 by The United Methodist Publishing House
Research and Survey Development Process
Survey group’s churches – all are “growing” in some way
Developed survey
Reviewed literature
Two key texts: Natural Church Development by
Christian A. Schwarz
The Purpose-Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission by Rick A. Warren
Natural Church Development
Eight “quality characteristics” that lead to quantitative church growth:
1. Empowering Leadership2. Gift-Oriented Ministry3. Passionate Spirituality4. Functional Structures5. Inspiring Worship Service6. Holistic Small Groups7. Need-Oriented Evangelism8. Loving Relationships
Schwarz, Christian A. Natural Church Development, ChurchSmart Resources, Saint Charles, IL, 6th ed., 2003.
The Purpose-Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission
Warren’s five purposes of the churchPurpose #1: Love the Lord with all your
heartPurpose #2: Love your neighbor as yourselfPurpose #3: Go and make disciples Purpose #4: Baptizing themPurpose #5: Teaching them to obey
Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI, 1995.
Survey Process
Organized around quality characteristics
Surveyed small (<100 in worship), medium (100-500), and large (>500) churches
Spoke with clergy and/or laity
Compared results to NCD key findings for each quality characteristic
For ExampleCharacteristic #2: Gift-Oriented Ministry
NCD Findings/Facts: Use of gifts greatest influence on contentedness of Christians in service; pastors help Christians identify their gifts, then match those gifts to the Christian’s personal ministry
1) How do you help Christians identify the gifts they may use in service to the church?
2) How do you help them develop their gifts?3) How do you encourage them to use their gifts?4) How do you make them aware of development
opportunities?5) How do you connect members with similar gifts?
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #1: Empowering Leadership
NCD Findings: Leaders empower other Christians for ministry; pastors invest time in discipleship and delegation
Leaders identified through relationships A few leaders do the bulk of the work Small churches assign; large match Guided by prayer and Holy Spirit No training programs; rely on UMC training Show appreciation
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #2: Gift-Oriented Ministry
NCD Findings: No factor influences the contentedness of Christians in service more than whether or not they are using their gifts.
Some clergy inform people of their gifts
Growing understanding of aligning spiritual gifts with ministry
Some offer study groups/classes on spiritual gifts
One using assessment tool
Pastors teach spiritual gifts through sermons
Provide personal support/encouragement Large churches
have more ways to keep “fire” going replicate “connectedness” of small churches through small
groups Sharing among believers supported
Growing enthusiasm inside the church Recognize need to spread outside to community
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #3: Passionate Spirituality
NCD Findings: Are “on fire”; live committed lives; and practice their faith with joy and enthusiasm
Structure based on The Book of Discipline Organized into ministry teams: Worship, Nurture,
Outreach, and Witness Written job descriptions for laity & staff Ministries/programs initiated, continued, or ended
on trial-and-error basis
Effectiveness measures not in place
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #4: Functional Structures
NCD Findings: Structures promote increased ministry; produce leaders also develop other leaders
Worship means to glorify, praise, and adore our Heavenly Father
Worship styles vary
More excited about worship than other characteristics
Larger churches use technology; smaller interested in expanding but limited funding
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #5: Inspiring Worship
NCD Findings: Participants in growing churches view worship services as a joyous and inspiring experience.
Bible study main small group Small group connection intentional at one church No formal small group multiplication models No small group leader training programs
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #6: Holistic Small Groups
NCD Findings: Continuous multiplication of small groups is a universal church growth principle. Groups go beyond discussion of Bible passages to focus on applying scripture to everyday life. Members bring up, discuss, and resolve issues of immediate, personal concern. Planned multiplication of small groups requires continual development of leaders.
Outreach based on relationships Desire to grow in knowledge and understanding of
evangelism Curious about steps to take—how? Focused evangelism effort at one church (prison
ministry)
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #7: Need-Oriented Evangelism
NCD Findings: Focus evangelism on the questions and needs of non-Christians; God gifts true “evangelists”; pastors of growing congregations know those who have gift and direct into corresponding ministry; others focus efforts on their friends and family
Love all who walk through their doors Want to know how to bring more people to church Care for needs of church and broader community Respond to community crisis “High” level of happiness and laughter
Survey ResultsCharacteristic #8: Loving Relationships
NCD Findings: Manifest a measurably higher “love quotient”; people want to experience Christian love not just hear about it; spend time with one another outside of official events; pastors aware of laity personal problems
Growing Successful CongregationsMoving from Traditional to Mission-Driven
Traditional Parochial Program-driven Highly
structured Wait for new
members
Mission-driven Reach out to
community Nurture the churched
and unchurched Create Christian
community Guided by God’s
Word Respect church
traditions
Growing Successful CongregationsMission-Driven
1.Clergy and laity are partners in ministry and roles clearly defined
2.All believers called and committed to building God’s kingdom
3.Teaching and decision making based on the Bible
4.Church ministries continually evaluated for effectiveness
Growing Successful CongregationsMission-Driven
5.Strong sense of community among believers, hold each other accountable
6.Passionate, intentional evangelism involving
• Inreach to grow believers to discipleship
• Outreach to drawing others to Christ
7.Members empowered to use their spiritual gifts in ministry
8.Willingness to explore new ways to worship
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