Becoming the Vital Churches and Disciples that Tomorrow Requires

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Becoming the Vital Churches and Disciples that
Tomorrow Requires

• David Schoen
• Congregational Vitality and Discipleship
• Local Church Ministries
• United Church of Christ

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Vital churches in the 21st CenturyMissional,
Relational Conversational

• Missional in purpose
• Relational in outreach
• Conversational in witness

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Vital Churches in 21st Century

• Local Churches are
• Missional Communities,
• moving from membership based social organizations
  to
• discipleship forming missional communities.  
• Our mission focus is transforming lives, by
  transforming both individuals and wider social
  culture. 

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Missional in Purpose

• Vital congregations
• clear sense of purpose
• Vital congregations
• are sent churches
• Vital congregations
• reach out beyond themselves
• Vital congregations
• reproduce and plant new congregations

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Missional Church

• The Church exists to serve Gods Mission
  Mission as Missio Dei, UCC Committee on
  Structure, 1992
• The church of Jesus Christ is the instrument and
  sign of Gods mission and realm.
• Gods mission is calling and sending us, the
  church of Jesus Christ, to be a missionary church
  in our own societies, in the cultures in which we
  find ourselves.

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Identity and Mission

• Reverend Otis Moss III from Trinity United Church
  of Christ in Chicago speaks on Church Vitality
  and Discipleship
• www.ucc.org/vitality/ready-set-grow/video/otis-mos
  s.html

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Vital congregations discern Gods call and mission

• The greatest characteristic of a vital
  congregation is the ability to articulate and
  live Gods purpose.
• What is God calling this church to be and do at
  this time, in this place, with the gifts we have
  on this corner of Gods realm that we are placed?

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Missional in Purpose

• What is Your Mission Statement?
• Mission Statement should be
• 7 9 words or less
• Engaging
• Compelling
• Visionary
• True

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Missional Purpose

• Cathedral of Hope UCC
• The Mission of the Cathedral of Hope is to
  reclaim Christianity as a faith of  extravagant
  grace, radical inclusion and relentless
  compassion.
• We are a people of compassion
• We are a people of inclusion
• We are a people of liberation
• We are a people of hope
• We are a people of Jesus

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Missional Statement

• First Grace UCC, Akron OH
• First grace..then faith and works!
• First Congregtional UCC Santa Rosa
• Making Gods love visible
• Others
• Strangers no more
• Jesus loves youthis we know!
• In the Heart of the City with the City in our
  Heart
• A Church Just for You, A Just Church for You.

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Vital churches are vital in community where they
are located

• No congregation can afford to ignore its context
  or those in the surrounding community.
• Congregations that live only for themselves are
  starting a trip toward extinction. Herb
  Miller, How to Build a Magnetic Church
• Vital congregations are vital on the corner of
  Gods realm where they are planted.Gil Rendle

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Missional Church outreach to community and
neighborhood

• God is still speaking to us in culture and
  community.
• Gods purpose is that our communities are not
  forsaken or the land desolate.
• Church no longer center of community, but it can
  be good neighbor.
• Church can accompany community to be all that
  Gods realm would want the community to be.

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Location, Location, Location?

• Congregational Life Survey points to the relative
  unimportance of location in predicting either
  congregational strength or numerical growth.
• Congregational location plays a minimal role in
  the numerical growth that congregations
  experience.
• Few measures of location had an impact on
  strength or growth.
• Vital growing congregations, as well as non-vital
  declining congregations can be found in any
  location.
• Places of Promise Finding Strength in Your
  Congregations Location US Congregation Survey
  2008

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The One important factor

• The one location factor that does play a role in
  congregational vitality is the match between a
  congregations worshipers and the people in the
  community who are between 18 and 44 years of age.
  This critical age group must be recruited and
  openly welcomed in our congregations and we need
  to ensure our worship and activities meet their
  needs.

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Community Involvement Growth?

• Involvement or focus on the community does not
  necessarily lead to growth
• Congregations scoring high on focusing on the
  community place considerable emphasis on serving
  the needs of those outside the congregation.
• They may de-emphasize or overlook the importance
  of inviting people to become part of the
  congregation and welcoming them warmly when they
  visit.
• Focusing on the community must be one of the
  other aspects of vitality, including welcoming
  new people, meaningful worship, caring for
  children and youth, engagement in the
  congregation and a sense of belonging. Places of
  Promise

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Places of PromiseFinding Strength in Your
Congregations Locationwww.uscongregations.org

• Traditionally we think about context as location.
   In this view
• Community context determines who we were, what we
  are, and what our future holds.
• Congregations are passivelocation has the upper
  hand!
• Leaders use contractual language about
  locationour location is a piece of real estate
  with a specific land value, appraised as a retail
  outlet might appraise a location.  Its a
  commodity.

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Places of PromiseFinding Strength in Your
Congregations Locationwww.uscongregations.org

• InsteadThink about context as place. 
• Location is Gods gift to us.  The congregation
  is in this place at this time for a reasonGods
  reason.
• Congregations can achieve strength and
  effectiveness in their present location.
• God claimed this place for us the place claims
  us as people of faith.  We have inherited this
  place from those who first worshiped here, and we
  have an obligation to use it wisely and care for
  it.

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Places of PromiseFinding Strength in Your
Congregations Locationwww.uscongregations.org

• Questions to be asked
• How did our congregation come to be in this
  location? What is our birth story? 
• Why has God planted us here?
• What significant things have happened in this
  location that continue to shape our ministry?
• What do we believe are the strengths of our
  location?
• What steps can we take to build on the strengths
  of our location? Who is in our community that we
  can reach out to?

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Know your neighborhoodKnow your mission field

• Demographic Information
• Percept
• Mission Insite www.missioninsite.com
• Using Demographic Information
• Community knowledge
• Missional outreach and program

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Resources for Vital Congregations

• Ready, Set, Grow Resources
• Vital-o-Meter
• Discovering your Congregations Strengths
• Discerning your Congregations Mission
• Vitality Interviews
• www.ucc.org/vitality
• Demographic Information
• Percept
• Mission Insite www.missioninsite.com

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True Life Story of Vital Church Involved in
Community
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Missional in PurposeRelational in Outreach

• Ministry in 21st Century is Relational
• Build community with those outside the church
• Get to know the unchurched people and culture

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• the world has changed
• 60 80 unchurched
• 80 of baby boomers left
• 80 of youth have negative view of
  church
• Culture does not support church

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Relational in Outreach

• Bridge the gap by building relationships
• The days of waiting for people to come to church
  to welcome them are over.
• Instead of waiting inside, we go outside

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Relational in Outreach

• What do you think when you hear the word.
• EVANGELISM ?

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Celtic Evangelism

• In The Celtic Way of Evangelism How Christianity
  Can Reach the West . . . Again, George Hunter
  writes about the difference between what he
  describes as the evangelism approach in Roman and
  Celtic Christianity.

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Celtic Evangelism

• Roman Model Celtic Model
• Presentation Fellowship
• Decision Ministry and
  Conversation
• Fellowship Belief, Invitation
  to
  Commitment

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Belonging and Believing

• Christianity is more caught than taught!
• As Professor Robin Gill observes, belonging comes
  before believing. For this reason, evangelism is
  now about helping people to belong so that they
  can believe.

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Missional Outreach

• Go to where the unchurched are Starbucks,
  Borders Parks, Gymns
• I stopped wondering about how to draw younger
  folks into my church and started focusing on how
  to draw my congregation out of its building and
  into relationship with the world outside its
  doors.

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Go Forth. Into the Virtual World.

• In Asia, Europe and North Americaan entire
  generation has experienced the Internet as a
  means for maintaining relationships with family
  and friends.
• The Internet is a lifeline for users whose
  mobility is limited by disability, chronic
  illness or advanced age.
• The Internet is where we can find and engage
  seekers.

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The Socialization of the Web
You Now Control the Message!
The socialization of the web ... is now forcing
a renaissance that is transforming information
distribution, human interaction and everything
that orbits this nascent ecosystem. Brian
Solis, PR2.0, Unveiling New Influencers
6/29/2009
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The Churchs message never changed but its
methods must changeCraig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv
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• Modern day example

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Ministry doesnthappen online
We havent had a new visitor in 10 years
Our congregationis on dial-up
Our congregation is older
Its tooexpensive
Our membershipis too small
We dont have enough staff
We like things the way they are
What are the excuses?
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Costs are nominal or FREE!
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Sweat Equity Passion to Share Christs Message
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Missional in PurposeRelational in Outreach

• Ministry in 21st Century is Relational
• Build community with those outside the church
• Get to know the unchurched people and culture

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Resources for Vital Congregations

• Ready, Set, Grow Resources
• Its a Whole New World
• Knowing Your Neighborhood
• Web University and online resources
• www.ucc.org/vitality

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Relational in OutreachConversational in Witness

• Conversational ministry is central to the future
  of the church in 21st Century
• Count conversations, not conversions
• Brian McLaren, More Ready than You Think

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Conversational in Witness

• Buzz Marketing
• Evangelism
• One beggar telling another where there is food
• Come and See!

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Conversational Ministry

• The postmodern world calls for disciples who
  reach out to a world that is hungering for good
  conversation about faith, values, hope, meaning,
  purpose, goodness, beauty, truth, life after
  death, life before death and God. Engaging in
  everyday faith conversations will not only help
  others become Christians, it will help us become
  better Christians, who know and love the still
  speaking God more than ever.

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Conversational Ministry

• A world of spiritual seekers wants to talk.
• We are the ones who are not talking!
• An unchurched world doesnt know why we do what
  we do.
• Vital churches are communities in which the
  pastor and members have invited 5 to 15 new folks
  to their community of faith in the past six
  months.

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Witness and Invitation UCC-Style
Tricking the church into Evangelism Taking it
back!
What do you say when someone asks you about your
comma? For us it means Gods not stuck. God
still has more light and truth for us today. My
church believes that God is still speaking to us
today. It means that no matter how bad things
are in my life or in the world, God is in the
midst of it.
V I T A L I T Y
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Are you Ready to Talk?
Tricking the church into Evangelism Taking it
back!
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Are You Ready to Talk?

• Why do you love your church?
• What impact has believing in God and following
  Jesus made in your life?
• What Bible text has made a difference in your
  life?

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God is still speaking,

• Through you and me!

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Welcome and Hospitality
Hospitality is an act of worshipGreeting the
Divine Shekinah
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Becoming a Welcoming Church

• You wont magically turn your church into a
  welcoming church overnight. However, with
  organization and planning you can make it feel
  that way to visitors and seekers. What you are
  planting today will eventually transform your
  congregation into a welcoming place . . . expect
  it to take time.

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Becoming a Welcoming Church

• Does your church actively invite others into its
  worship and ministry?
• Do visiting guests feel welcome in your church?
• Avoid the perfection trap, often a mask for fear.
• Are there things you can do better to be a
  visible witness and active presence of Gods
  radical and all-inclusive welcome?
• Tracking progress

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Where will we be in 2020.?

• The still speaking God
• calls us to become
• Churches that the Future Requires
• Missional in purpose
• Relational in outreach
• Conversational in witness

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And in Conclusion Seven Missional Lessons

• God is calling the Church to be a missional
  community in an unchurched world.
• Missional congregation is to be a sign and
  instrument of Gods realm in its community.
• Missional congregation listens for and seeks out
  the still speaking God in culture and its
  community.
• Missional congregation finds transformation and
  vitality in its location.

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And in Conclusion Seven Missional Lessons

• Missional congregation is driven to discern,
  articulate and live Gods calling and purpose for
  church and community.
• Missional congregation is relational and
  conversational in outreach.
• Missional congregation engages cultures tools,
  especially the web to reach out to world of
  seekers.

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In Five Parts
Step 1 Select a team Step 2
Articulate your mission Step 3 Know your
missionfieldStep 4 Know your strengths Step
5 Plan for desired measurable outcome
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Two questions

• Where are the signs of vitality in your
  congregation this spring?
• What are you going to do from todays
  presentation to increase vitality in your
  congregation?

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Resources for Vital Congregations

• Vitality Powerpoint - Retreat Resources
  www.ucc.org/vitality/retreat-resources
• GrowtheUCC.org Events and Webinars
• www.GrowtheUCC.org
• Churches Birthing Churches
• Redeveloper Leadership Institute
• Web University
• Evangelism and Leadership Webinars
• myUCC http//community.ucc.org
• Congregational Vitality Ready, Set, Grow Group
• Congregational Vitality Ready, Set, Grow Group

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Thank You!

• Thank you for your Vital Leadership
• Thank you for Your Support of
• Changing Lives Thats Our Churches Wider
  Mission
• Thank you for Spreading the Love
• Strengthen the Church Offering
• www.ucc.org/stc

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