Natural%20Church%20Development

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Natural Church Development

• Effective Structures

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NCD - Effective Structures

• What is measured To what extent do our
  decision-making processes, operating procedures
  (official and unofficial), leadership team, and
  ministry structures facilitate rather than hinder
  the fulfillment of our church's mission?

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A Simple Request
What Pete Norgren designed
What the Mission Developer envisioned
What the EOCM Review Team approved
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Gets Awfully Complicated!
What the Leadership Team voted on
What the church members really wanted
What the MIF agreed to finance
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Mission Moment

• Which one of the following best describes your
  congregations organizational structure
• Homer Simpson
• Britney Spears
• George Bush
• Barack Obama
• Ruben Duran

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Effective Structures

• Framework for ministry
• Logos/order of our creation
• Institutionalizes the institution
• Using what you already have to do what God is
  calling you to do

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Effective Structures

• Visible sign of progress
• Lends legitimacy to ministry
• Lessens anxiety for those who need something to
  see - to believe in
• Dynamic NOT static way to order the body of
  Christ
• Gives shape to ministry

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Effective Structures

• Define relationship, authority, accountability,
  responsibility, boundaries
• Mark of a healthy growing church
• Measure of flexibility change
• Always a spiritual matter
• Gives birth to/reflects the culture, customs,
  traditions, activities, mores, values and rites
  that define ministry

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Think about it...

• What resources do you have - right now - to do
  ministry?
• People
• Program/Activities
• Place

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Think about it...

• How can you best organize your resources?
• How can you build Effective Structures for
  your
• Leadership? (committees, teams - who, how many,
  what kind?)
• Program? (Can you really be all things to all
  people?)
• Facility? (use whats available - dont make
  excuses!)

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Think about it...

• Whats working well?
• Why?
• Whats not working?
• Why?
• What CAN YOU change?
• Why not?!

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Insight Bubba says...

• The Sabbath was made for the children of God
  NOT Gods children for the Sabbath!
• The Form of ministry ALWAYS follows the function
  of ministry
• Structure ALWAYS follows vision and mission
• Structure is ALWAYS the slave never the master!
  

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Effectivity Asks

• How can we maximize the fruitfulness of our
  ministry?

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Effectivity Asks...

• Does the structure of our ministry help us to
  produce discernible results, reproduce our
  ministry, and change lives?or not?

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Effectivity Asks...

• Does every good tree bear good fruit? Whats the
  fruit look like?...

• No fruit?
• Fertilize it
• Prune it
• Get rid of it!

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Mission Moment Effective Structures

• What structures are you building to serve your
  ministry?
• What are you doing/will you do to reproduce your
  ministry?
• What would you do (in ministry) if you knew you
  couldnt fail?
• Whats the one essential thing that you can do
  that no one else can do?

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Whenever God breathes Gods Spirit into formless
clay - both life and form spring forth. Wherever
God pours out Gods spirit within the church
structure and form spring forth (NCD29).
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Effective Structures

• The most important criterion for forms and
  structures in the church is if they help to
  fulfill and support the mission or not!
• With the passing of time, people become more and
  more traditional fixed.
• Traditionalism/traditions/structures then become
  an end in themselves.
• Evaluation and self-renewal will help combat the
  negative affects of traditionalism.
• Do you have the wisdom, the grace, and the guts
  to let it die?

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Mission Moment

1. Divide Into Groups
2. Do a Quick Resource Inventory What do you have
   to work with?
3. Build/Create/Invent Something Anything (Be
   Creative)
4. Name Your Creation
5. Whats Its Purpose?
6. How could you improve your creation? (What else
   do you need?)