Small Churches Make Good Neighbors

10 Ways Your Congregation Can Change Your Community

The Church we have known

Monocultural, modern, insular, and institutional

The world in which we live

Multicultural Postmodern Connected Organic

Church attendance as % of population(The American Church in Crisis, David Olson)

0

5

10

15

20

25

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

How Large are US Congregations?(A Field Guide to US Congregations, Woolever & Bruce)

The median congregation:

Associated w/congregation: 200Regular participators: 110Regular participating adults: 80Avg worship attendance: 90

The Question

How can

small churches

thrive in this

new world?

Bringing in the sheaves…

Taking it to the streets!

“No one knows all the answers. We may not even be asking the right questions. We are all in this together, and we’ll need all the help we can get.”

- ‘Running the Planet,’ Walt Patterson

Myths of Non-profits

Perfect management Brand-name awareness Breakthrough idea Textbook mission statements High ratings on conventional

metrics Large budgets

Forces for Good, Crutchfield & Grant, p 18.

Translation: Myths of churches

Perfect leadership Name awareness Breakthrough new idea Textbook mission statements High ratings on conventional

metrics Large budgets

6 Criteria for a church model

Biblical Practical Proven Scalable Effective Affordable

…we needed a modelectomy..

Walt Kallestad, Community Church of Joy

Our community

Small town Rural Virginia Hard times Untrained workers Population loss Revitalization plan

Our small church

Aging membership Attendance

decline Leader shortage Limited resources Great history

The Story We Needed

We needed a story to:

Capture our imagination Help us think differently Guide our ministry Expand our horizons

Two resources

The Celtic Way of Evangelism George Hunter III, Asbury Seminary A look at how ancient Celtic abbeys

evangelized Ireland

Fling Open the Doors Paul Nixon Case study of “giving the church away

to the community”

Back to the Future

“…ancient Celtic Christianity could show the way today…” -- The Celtic Way of Evangelism, p10.

Gulf Breeze U M Church

“With the building of our next facility, we would move from being a church that was open to the community to being a church that was by design, a community center in the fullest sense.”

- Fling Open the Doors, p. 45

Six Practices of High-Impact Non-Profits

Advocate and serve. Make markets work. Inspire evangelists. Nurture non-profit networks. Master the art of adaptation. Share leadership.

Forces for Good, p 18.

Abbey churches...

Embraced the community.

Connected with the culture.

Welcomed all. Practiced their

faith. Transformed the

nation.

The C.E.L.T.I.C. P.A.T.H.

Care Economics Life Rule Transformation Inclusion Communion

Peacemaking Arts Teaching Hospitality

Care: Meeting real life needs

Matthew 25:35-36 NIV For I was hungry and you gave me

something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Care: The Abbey

One abbey fed over 1,000 people per day.

Care: Resources

Churches That Make a Difference, Ronald J. Sider, et al

Angel Food Ministries Local Social Services Dept

Care: Cradock Baptist Church

School Supplies Community Day Angel Food

Economics: Participating in the marketplace

Luke 12:42-44 NIVThe Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful

and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Economics: The Abbeys

Abbeys employed stonemasons, craftspersons, and herdsmen and created an economy around the function of the abbey.

Economics: Resources

Deep Economy, Bill McKibben

First Baptist, San Antonio – 4th Street Café

Coffee Shops The Sorting Room Taco church

Economics: The Potter’s House

Begun by Church of the Savior in DC

Bookstore, restaurant, gathering place

Life rule: Daily faith practice

Matthew 6:9-13 NIV  "This, then, is how you should pray: 

   " 'Our Father in heaven,    hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come,    your will be done       on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  Forgive us our debts,       as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation,    but deliver us from the evil one.'

Life rule: Keeping the hours

Fixed-hour prayer Rules for community Mostly applied to monks and nuns Rule of St. Benedict DSS Qumran Community Rule

Life rule: Resources

The Divine Hours, Phyllis Tickle Celtic Daily Prayer, Northumbria Labyrinth Devotional guides Prayer ministry All encourage faith practice

Life rule: Covenant Baptist Church

Transformation: Facilitating Kingdom change

Mark 1:15 NIV"The time has come," he said. "The

kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"

Transformation: The abbeys

Abbeys sought to transform the culture from paganism and superstition to faith in God through Christ.

From kings to peasants, the abbeys worked for cultural transformation.

Transformation: Resources

Fling Open the Doors, Paul Nixon John Perkins, Christian Community

Development Building A Healthy Multi-Ethnic

Church, Mark DeYmaz

Transformation: Military Ave EPC

Inclusion: Belonging Comes Before Believing

Luke 19:5-7 5When Jesus reached the spot, he looked

up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

 7All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' "

Inclusion: The abbeys

Abbeys at crossroads, villages Open access Center of community Abbeys welcomed all for:

Meals Care Help Guidance

Inclusion: A new perspective

Inclusion: Belonging b4 believing

Inclusion: Lifechuch.tv

Communion: Gathering for Worship

Acts 2:46-4746Every day they continued to meet

together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Communion: Worship Resources

Jonny Bakerjonnybaker.blogs.com

smallfire.org

Communion: Opawa Baptist

Side Door Art Trust Angels and

Ordinary People Christmas Easter

Peacemaking: Bridges of hope

Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Peacemaking: The abbeys

Peacemaking: Resources

Sojourners Mustard Seed

Network

Peacemaking: Chatham Baptist

Building bridges Racial

reconciliation Martin Luther King

Day, 2008

Arts: Celebrating Creativity & Creator

Exodus 35:30-3330 Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See,

the LORD has chosen Bezalel…31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- 32 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33 to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship.

Arts: The abbeys

Book of Kells Illuminated

manuscripts Creation

theme

Arts: Resources

Taking It To The Streets Chatham Baptist Church

Chatham Arts Community Music School Soundcheck Christmas concert Fine music concerts

Arts: Art Under The Dome

University Baptist Church

Art gallery 500 people Sm group 30

Teaching: Models and Mentors

Philippians 4:9

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Teaching: The abbeys

Five-fold Structure of Experiences:

Times of solitude Anamchara – soul friend Small group Participation in common life Help in fulfilling your “vocation”

Teaching: Resources

Reimagining Spiritual Formation, Doug Pagitt

For children: Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Montessori approach to children’s spiritual formation

Teaching: Solomon’s Porch

“…exploring ideas about

spiritual formation

that extend beyond the education model.”

Reimagining Spiritual Formation Doug Pagitt

Worship Physicality Dialogue Hospitality Belief Creativity Service

Hospitality: Welcoming the stranger

Luke 10:38As Jesus and his disciples were on

their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.

Hospitality: The abbeys

“The monastic community’s highest commitment is hospitality to strangers, seekers, pilgrims, and refugees.”

- The Celtic Way of Evangelism, p52.

Hospitality: Resources

The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne

The Simple Way, Cleveland Mustard Seed Network, Tom and

Christine Sine Northumbria Community

Hospitality: The Columba Center

Celtic-inspired ministry Rahab’s sisters Bridgid’s Table Way of Columba rule of life Urban Iona, Kurt Neilson

Back to the Future