Transcript Transforming Existing Congregations

Transforming Existing Congregations
Churches do not exist to support
an Annual Conference. The Annual
Conference exists to strengthen
congregations and to multiply the
fruitfulness of their ministries.
1. Embrace extraordinary risk and
change in order to grow – they
experiment, innovate, adapt,
create and learn new paths.
2. The vision, spiritual energy and
leadership come from within the
local church – not the Conference.
The Conference can provide
support, consultation and
encouragement but
must not coerce.
3. Blessed with excellent pastoral
leadership, who know that the
mission field is “out there” not “in
here”.
4. Enjoy streamlined
structures and a
permission giving
environment.
5.
Actively and extravagantly
engage in community and
global ministries.
6.
A taste for excellence – stop
doing what is not
working (fruitful).
How can the Annual Conference Help?
1.
Focus everyone on a few
agenda items – reduce
obstacles.
2.
Reward effective leaders – no
rewards for
those who do
not produce.
3.
Reward innovation, risk taking and
creativity.
4.
Strengthen the stream that feeds
gifted young leaders.
5.
Create a culture
of learning –
reward and
expect
excellence.
6. Align money (conference budget)
with priorities of growth not
entitlement. Develop a policy of
“planned abandonment.”
7. Find ways to do congregational
intervention.
8. Do not wait for denomination-wide
programs to provide solutions and
don’t apply one program or strategy
conference-wide.
9. Do not treat all churches or pastors
the same. Focus
unapologetically
on high potential
churches and
pastors.
10. Forget the changing mission
statements, subsidies that create
dependence, focusing attention on
dysfunctional churches and
pastors, or get distracted by the
“revolving door”
of people who
want to suck
you into their
single issue
agendas.
Current Reality
1.
The UMC has lost membership in
the US for 46 years in a row.
2.
There was a 55,000 person
decline in worship attendance
last year.
3.
In Kentucky we
have 808
churches.
4.
Fifty-three percent or 424 had
no professions of faith in 2009.
5.
Fifty-nine percent had no
baptisms.
6.
Sixty-one percent
of our churches in
Kentucky worship
less than 50.
7.
Eighty-four percent of our
churches in Kentucky worship
less than 100.
8.
Only 80 of our churches have a
worship
attendance of
over 150.
9.
Only 13 have a
worship attendance over 500.
10. Worship attendance has fallen by
5,000 persons since 1998.
11. One in six of Americans are
unaffiliated with any religious
group.
12. One in four young
adults (18-30) are
unaffiliated.
13. On any given Sunday, only 1015% of the American population
attends worship.
14. Despair? No.
15. Zechariah 9:12 –
“prisoners of
hope”.
16. The answer is not in doing
church better – it is in being a
part of the movement of God.
17. Missional Renaissance
18. The church is
not an institution –
it is organic – it
is a who not a
what.
19. The church is a verb not a noun.
20. The church is me and you wherewe are.
21. The church is
not the Kingdom
of God – we can
be a part of God’s
Kingdom but not
all of it.
22. The Kingdom of God is running
wild in the streets of the world
and God will stop at nothing to
reach God’s people.
23. Good Samaritan –
get off your
donkey and help
somebody.
24. Church is like an airport – not a
destination but a tool for
connecting people to abundant
life.
25. Here is our
question –
“Could you give
Jesus a second
chance –
relationship not institution?”
Discussion
1. Towers/Watson study of 33,000
United Methodist Churches.
2. 15% Vital
48% Moderate
3. Drivers of Vitality
A. Small Groups
B. Lay Leadership
C. Worship
D. Pastors
Isaiah 43:18
“Forget the former things, do not
dwell on the past. See, I am doing a
new thing. Now it springs up; do you
not perceive it? I am making a way in
the desert and streams in the
wasteland.”