Simple Church Model

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• Simple Church Model
• GFC 2007

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Matthew 2818-20

• 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All
  authority in heaven and on earth has been given
  to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all
  nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
  and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20
  teaching them to observe all that I have
  commanded you. And behold, I am with you always,
  to the end of the age."

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Romans 121, 2, 6

• I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the
  mercies of God, to present your bodies as a
  living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
  which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be
  conformed to this world, but be transformed by
  the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may
  discern what is the will of God, what is good and
  acceptable and perfect. 6 Having gifts that
  differ according to the grace given to us, let us
  use them

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Clarity gt Movement gt Alignment gt Focus
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Clarity

• Clarity is the ability of the process to be
  communicated and understood by the people (SC
  11).
• Define it
• Illustrate it
• Measure it
• Discuss it

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1. Define it

• Step one Agree on the What and How
• How do we build the building? What is
  discipleship?
• People will join something if they know where
  its going. People will not embrace ambiguity.
• Determine what type of disciple we want.
• Determine the purpose as a process.
• Demonstrate how each part fits the process.

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Define it - GFC

• GFC exists to worship Jesus Christ as Lord, to be
  transformed by the power of the gospel, and to
  serve Christ in the church, the city, and the
  world.
• GFC exists to
• worship Jesus Christ as Lord,
• be transformed by the power of the gospel,
• serve Christ in the church, the city, and the
  world.

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Worship - GFC

• Worshipping knowing and celebrating the gospel
  and surrendering to its call to submit to the
  Lordship of Jesus Christ
• Worship provides a gospel-centered celebration
  where everyone is called to submit to Jesus
  Christ as Lord.
• Primarily Sunday AM

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Transformation - GFC

• Transformation understanding and applying the
  implications of the gospel for all of life
• Transformation provides relational environments
  where the Bible is studied and applied.
• Primarily in Small Groups

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Service - GFC

• Serving ministering the gospel to the church,
  the city, and the world
• Service includes those venues within and outside
  the church where ones gifts may be used to
  strengthen and advance the kingdom of Jesus
  Christ.
• Primarily through the Ministry Forum

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2. Illustrate it

• Step two Agree on what image we want
• What public image do we want to portray?
• Visual images will help people remember the
  process and reinforce participation.
• 1. The illustration should reflect the
  process.
• 2. The illustration should show the progress.
• 3. The illustration should help simplify.

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ILLUSTRATION GFC ??
Worship
Transformation
Service
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Illustration GFC ??

• Transformation
• Service
• Worship

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Illustration GFC ??

• Worship Service
• Transformation

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Illustration GFC ??
Service
Transformation
Worship
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3. Measure it

• Step Three What gets evaluated gets done
• - Will evaluation aid progress?
• Seriousness and urgency will be encouraged and
  the right things will be focused upon, if
  evaluated.
• 1. We should measure horizontally not
  vertically, i.e. we can not measure ones
  relationship with God we can only measurement
  levels of involvement.
• 2. We should measure at each level in our
  process, i.e. worship, transformation, service.

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Measure it!

• Worship Transformation Service
• John Doe
• Jane Doe - -

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4. Discuss it

• Step Three Develop continual communication tools
  (needs work!)
• - What are the three rules of memorization?
• - repetition, repetition, and repetition
• We should be passionate all the time.
• We should communicate all the time.
• We should keep it fresh.
• We should share testimonies about it.

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We must get a decongestant attitude.

• Congestion is anything that hinders the
  sequential movement of people to greater areas of
  commitment (RR).

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gtMovement

• Defined
• Movement is the sequential steps in the process
  that causes people to move to greater areas of
  commitment. (SC 139)
• We have designed a simple process that moves
  people.
• We want to relieve congestion!
• What are our patterns of movement?

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gtMovement

• 1. Strategic Programming
• 2. Sequential Programming
• 3. Intentional Movement
• 4. Clear Next Steps

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1. Strategic programming

• We place our programs along our strategic
  process...Each program is designed to move people
  from the foyer to the kitchen. (SC 141)
• How do we do this?

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1. Strategic Programming, cont.

• Begin with our clearly defined process.
• Choose one program for each phase of our process.
• Design each program for a specific aspect of the
  process.
• Place the programs in sequential order.

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2. Sequential Programming

• Raft Illustration
• What should we do for a smooth journey?
• Our programs are sequential, based upon our
  process. The vibrant churches are more than
  twice as likely as the comparison churches to set
  up their programs sequentially.
• Order the sequence of our programs to reflect our
  process.
• Design a clear entry-point to our process.
• Identify the next levels of programming.

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3. Intentional Movement

• 1. Create Short-term Steps
• 2. Capitalize on Relationships
• 3. Consider the Now What?
• 4. Connect people to Groups
• People stick to a church when they get involved
  in a small group. (Tom Rainer)

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4. Clear Next Step

• Take new believers to the next level
• Clear next step to discipleship

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Movement

• Romans 121ff
• Present your bodies gtgtgtgtgtgtgtgt be transformed gtgtgtgtgt
  having gifts let's use them

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Movement GFC

• Worship gtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgt
• Transformationgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgt
• Servicegtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgtgt
• Sunday Small
  Ministry
• Worship Group Forum
• Transition Transition Transition

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Transitions GFC

• Church-wide Events, Membership Class, and other
  special events serve as Bridges (transitions into
  one of the three segments of discipleship.
• Bridges to Worship
• Bridges to Transformation
• Bridges to Service

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Transitions

• Example
• A church wide picnic can be designed to introduce
  new people to the church and invite them to
  worship or to take time to introduce small group
  leaders and their groups to transformation
  opportunities.
• A retreat can be focused on building
  relationships and introducing people to
  transformation opportunities or service
  opportunities.

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Transitions

• Any special event needs to be designed as a
  bridge to transition people into one of the three
  segments of discipleship.

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gtAlignment

• Alignment is the arrangement of all ministries
  and staff around the same simple process.
• Maximizing the energy of everyone.

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gtAlignment

• If you want to maximize everyones energy, you
  must recruit on the process, offer
  accountability, implement the same process
  everywhere, unite leaders around the process.
• How do we do that?

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gtAlignment

• Recruit on the process
• Offer Accountability
• Implement the Process everywhere
• Unite around the process
• New Ministry Alignment

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gtAlignment

• Recruit on the process
• Im not looking for the best players. I am
  looking for the right ones.
• Leadership that is moving in the right direction.
• Leadership that is Theologically Aligned

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gtAlignment

• 3. Implement the same process Everywhere
• 1. Put the logo of the process everywhere.
• 2. E.g. Worship Christ, Be Transformed, Serve
  Christ and others.
• a. understanding is increased
• b. unity is promoted
• c. the church family experiences the
  same process

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gtAlignment

• Offer Accountability
• Vibrant Churches said, Our church staff is held
  accountable for how the church process is
  implemented.
• Annual checks on the process.
• How is the program designed to move people
  through the process?
• Each person is to see their role as part of the
  team.

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gtAlignment

• 4. Unite around the process
• When a local church body is not united in the
  same direction, the body is ineffective. The
  World watches this confusion... A simple church
  is a congregation designed around a straight-
  forward and strategic process that moves people
  through the stages of spiritual growth.

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gtAlignment

• How do we keep focus?
• Remind people of the process
• Highlight contributions to the process

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gtAlignment

• New Ministry Alignment
• New furniture is easier to fit into a house than
  trying to make the old furniture fit.
• How to fit new and existing ministries
• Check the fit
• Does it fit the simple process?
• Ministry additions must fit the simple process to
  be launched.

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Alignment GFC

• Worship Transformation Service
• Corporate Worship Small Groups Ministry Forum
• Lighthouse Adult B/S Serve
  the World
• Childrens YAM Everyday Evangelism
• Welcoming CG
  Community Outreach
• Serve the Church
• Ministry Teams
• 
  Administrative

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Ministry Forum

• The name Leadership Training Development is
  changed to Ministry Forum.
• The Monthly 90 minute meeting of MF is divided
  into three segments.
• First Segment Motivational Word or Training
• Second Segment Small Meeting. Meet in three
  teams with ELT member directing the three
  separate meetings, i.e WgtTgtS. Actual planning
  and work should be done in this segment.
• Third Segment Large Meeting. ELT member gives
  a short synopsis of what was discussed - issues
  raised and suggestions given.
• The MF is currently comprised of mostly Ministry
  Team leaders. We will expand this to include not
  only the leader of a ministry but a minimum of 2
  others involved in that ministry.
• There is always an open invitation to MF for
  anyone who wants to know more about serving
  Christ at GFC.

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GFC Organizational Structure
ELT
Ministry Forum
Service Richard, Nathaniel
Worship Daniel, John
Transformation Cedric, Daniel
Pre-School
Junior High
Finance
Childrens
Senior Highi
Missions
Sunday Worship
CG
Sunday Refresh
Lighthouse
YAM
Website
Special Worship
Outreach
Small Groups
Welcoming
Other
Adult Ed
Prayer
Spanish Ministry
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MF -Three key questions

• We should always ask these three questions at
  each meeting. Even if it seems redundant, we
  should do it each week.
• Are more of us worshipping the Lord as a church?
• Are more members of the church experiencing
  transformation?
• Are more of us serving one another, the
  community, the city and the world?

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gtFocus

• Focus is the commitment to abandon everything
  that falls outside of the simple ministry
  process. (SC 203)

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gtFocus

• Art is a process of elimination. The sculptor
  produces the beautiful statue by chipping away
  such parts of the block as are not needed.
  Elbert Hubbard

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gtFocus

• Eliminating nonessential programs
• Limit Adding
• Reducing Special Events
• Easily Communicate
• Simple to understand

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gtFocus

• Eliminate nonessential Programs
• E.G. Google
• Eph 515-16, Pay close attention to how you
  walknot as unwise people but as wisemaking the
  most of the time because the days are evil.
• Be wise stewards of time.
• Be wise stewards of money.

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gtFocus

• 2. Limit adding
• 1. We must be careful not to add
• 2. We must have the less is more
• 3. We must provide options, not programs.

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gtFocus

• 3. Reduce special events
• Funnel existing Events into an Existing program.
• Combine the Event with an Existing program
• Use Special events Strategically

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gtFocus

• 4. Easily Communicated
• 1. We must communicate the simple process.
• 2. It must be our conviction and who we are.
• 3. It must be easily communicated by us.

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gtFocus

• 5. Simple to Understand
• 1. Choose simple language
• 2. Be brief
• 3. Focus on the greatness
• E.G. IPOD Google

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Focus - GFC

• Worshipping continue developing a welcoming,
  relevant, biblical worship Sunday AM worship
  experience
• Transformation strengthen and expand SG, YAM,
  CG, and B/S
• Serving retool MF with a focus on developing
  service opportunities in the church, the city,
  and the world

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Focus - GFC

• Develop and Define strategic transitions
• How do we move more people into Sunday AM
  worship?
• How do we move more people from Worship into
  Small Groups, etc?
• How do we move people from Small Groups into
  service?

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Focus - Transitions into Worship

• Spontaneous Evangelism for Everyone, including .
  . .
• Living
• Praying
• Inviting
• Sharing

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Focus - Transitions into Worship

• Corporate Evangelism
• Becoming an inviting church
• Making the gospel clear in each message
• Making the invitation clear in every service
• Provide periodic evangelism training
• Periodic Church-wide Outreach events
• Creating optional services that are especially
  oriented to outreach.

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Focus - Transitions into Worship

• Small Group, Yam, CG Model
• Praying regularly for the lost
• Planning group events to which the unsaved can be
  invited
• Planning periodic small group meetings that focus
  on evangelism
• Follow-up of visitors to the church and
  involvement of them in a small group.

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Focus - Transitions into Worship

• One on One Model
• Focus on every members responsibility for
  everyday evangelism
• Encourage tract distribution
• Teach and encourage life-style evangelism
• Make available information and other tools that
  encourage life-style and neighborhood evangelism.

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Focus - Transitions into Worship

• Mercy-ministry based evangelism
• Teaching on the social implications of
  Christianity.
• Developing ministries that meet felt needs both
  as genuine expression of Christian love and as an
  avenue for sharing the gospel.

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Focus - Transitions to Transformation

• Sunday service recruitment for SG
• Small Group Open House
• Bridge events designed to highlight Small Groups
• Personal invitation and discipleship
• Membership Class
• Guest follow-up

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Focus - Transitions to Service

• SG service projects
• Invitation to Ministry Forum
• Special event community Service
• Mission Trips
• Teaching on Spiritual Gifts
• Ministry Fair

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Complexity

• Complexity "Church complexity is costly. The
  cost is beyond time and money. The kingdom is not
  expanding. Lives are not being changed.
  Transformation is not happening. Churches are not
  growing" (SC 228).

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