Pace of Change

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Pace of Change
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City Fringe Church

• Rural church overtake by suburban growth
• Average attendance 12 adults and 2 children
• Served by seminary students 10 years
• Beginning a two year appointment with a recent
  seminary graduate
• Minister is contracted full time for two years

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Rural United Church

• Rural and small town, removed from cities
• History of 4 year pastorates
• Last pastorate not happy
• Attendance down to 40 to 50 on Sundays

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Suburban new church development

• Suburban
• Share minister with larger mother church
• Heavily in debt from purchase of building
• 15 middle aged and senior members providing 90
  of budget
• 14 younger adults and 21 children

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Three linked churches on the fringe of a small
city

• Three point charge
• One small town
• One rural with farmers
• One rural with commuters

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Suburban/small city United Church

• 3 previous minister left in conflict
• Congregation is divided along family/theological
  lines about 40 people
• Presbytery has intervened and removed the Board
• Interim Minister appointed by Presbytery

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Suburban/urban United Church

• Minister has followed minister of 27 years
• Unintentional minister 6 years
• Pressures from younger group to do contemporary
  service and it is done
• Explosion and exodus
• Attendance 60 on a good Sunday
• Congregation brings second minister

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What do each of these churches have in common?

• In decline
• In crisis
• The cost of change is less than the cost of
  remaining the same

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City Fringe Church

• Rural church overtake by suburban growth
• Average attendance 12 adults and 2 children
• Served by seminary students 10 years
• Beginning a two year appointment with a recent
  seminary graduate
• Minister is contracted full time for two years

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Evangelism

Sunday School and Ministry to Parents Prayer
Group
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Rural United Church

• Rural and small town, removed from cities
• History of 4 year pastorates
• Last pastorate not happy
• Attendance down to 40 to 50 on Sundays

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Evangelism

The Popeye moment Life in the Spirit Seminar A
key funeral
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Suburban new church development

• Suburban
• Share minister with larger mother church
• Heavily in debt from purchase of building
• 15 middle aged and senior members providing 90
  of budget
• 14 younger adults and 21 children

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Evangelism

• Separation from mother church
• Preaching around spiritual development
• Evangelistic Membership Classes
• Superb childrens ministry

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Three linked churches on the fringe of a small
city

• Three point charge
• One small town
• One rural with farmers
• One rural with commuters

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Evangelism

• Linking the two similar churches together and
  separating the third
• Acquiring property
• Overcoming the gatekeeper

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Suburban/small city United Church

• 3 previous minister left in conflict
• Congregation is divided along family/theological
  lines about 40 people
• Presbytery has intervened and removed the Board
• Interim Minister appointed by Presbytery

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Evangelism

• Looking after the people business
• Bible studies
• Encouraging lay led home groups

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Suburban/urban United Church

• Minister has followed minister of 27 years
• Unintentional minister 6 years
• Pressures from younger group to do contemporary
  service and it is done
• Explosion and exodus
• Attendance 60 on a good Sunday
• Congregation brings second minister

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Evangelism

• Natural Church Development
• Alpha as a congregational program
• Small Groups
• Shifting to Outward and Inward Focus

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Is it the technical input of the NCD survey and
application of principles combined with your
brilliant coaching?

• 11,000 churches
• 32 countries
• 18 languages
• 5 continents
• 33 million pieces of data

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Quality Characteristics

• Empowering

Leadership
Ministry

• Gift-oriented

Spirituality

• Transforming

Structures

• Life-giving

Worship

• Inspiring

Small Groups

• Holistic

Evangelism

• Need-oriented

Relationships

• Loving

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The Minimum Barrel

• Improving quality in your church's "minimum
  factors" often results in quantitative church
  growth

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Obstacles to Evangelism
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Obstacles to Evangelism

• Everyone should love me and act like it all the
  time

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Reality of pastoral Leadership

• 15 are happy no matter what
• 15 are discontent to some extent no matter what.
• We work with the other 75

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Of the 15 who will be discontent

• One third will be unhappy that you are not your
  predecessor
• One third will be unhappy because of something
  you have said or done, but will not be unhappy
  next week a different group will be
• One third will not like you . . . Just because.

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Obstacles to Evangelism

• I must never fail

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Reality of Pastoral Leadership

• God has designed us to strive for what we hope
  and cannot yet reach. It is only as we stumble
  in the gap between we grow to stretch across it.

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Obstacles to Evangelism

• I should never have to experience pain.

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Reality of Pastoral Leadership

• Are you following Jesus and where is he going?

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Obstacles to Evangelism

• I must always behave perfectly.

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Reality of Pastoral Leadership

• Treasure in clay pots.
• Cf. Gideon, Moses, David, the 12

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Obstacles to Evangelism

• I should be treated fairly all the time.

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One night, I had a wondrous dreamOne set of
footprints there was seen.
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The footprints of my precious Lord,But mine were
not along the shore.
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But then some stranger prints appeared,And I
asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
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"Those prints are large and round and neat,But,
Lord, they are too big for feet."
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"My child," He said in somber tones."For miles I
carried you alone.
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I challenged you to walk in faith,But you
refused and made me wait.
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You disobeyed, you would not grow,The
walk-of-faith you would not know.
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So I got tired and fed up,And there I dropped
you on your. . .
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. . . . butt,
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Because in life, there comes a time,When one
must fight, and one must climb,
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When one must rise and take a stand,Or . . . .
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. . . leave their butt prints in the sand."
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One night, I had a wondrous dreamOne set of
footprints there was seen.
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One night, I had a wondrous dreamOne set of
footprints there was seen.
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One night, I had a wondrous dreamOne set of
footprints there was seen.