Where is your neighbor? Evangelism Event Wisconsin Conference UCC

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Where is your neighbor? Evangelism Event
Wisconsin Conference UCC

• David Schoen
• Congregational Vitality and DiscipleshipUnited
  Church of Christ

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Meeting your neighborsReclaiming a focus on
neighbors

• Missional in purpose
• Get the church outside of itself
• Relational in outreach
• Its all about relationships
• Conversational in witness
• Talking about faith and life

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Change or Opportunity

• Meeting your neighbor will mean changing your
  program but just program change is not answer
• Meeting your neighbor will call for change of
  mindset and understanding of church
• Importance of Message
• Change Opportunity

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Missional in Purpose

• Missional congregations
• clear sense of purpose
• Missional congregations
• are sent churches
• Missional congregations
• reach out beyond themselves
• Missional congregations
• birth new ministries and 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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Missional in PurposeRelational in Outreach

• Ministry in 21st Century is Relational
• Build community with those outside the church
• Get to know your neighbors
  and neighborhood
• This means
  Get out of the church!

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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?
• Does your church love your neighbor (as it loves
  itself) ?

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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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Meeting your Neighbors

• Walk or Drive your neighborhood
• Watch for where God is at work
• Take notes, make a map, collect contact data
• Who lives where
• What are community needs
• Who are allies and good neighbors
• Do this again and again
• Talk to your neighbors
• What are the hopes and challenges of neighbors
• How can the church be a good neighbor?

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Meeting your Neighbors

• Hang out with your neighbors
• Meet neighbors where they gather
• Spend Sunday morning with your neighbors
• Soccer matches, Lowes, Coffee Shop, Exercise
• Pastors office in a coffee shop, fast food,
  bookstore.
• Have meetings outside the church.
• Bible/book studies in coffee shop, book store
• Council meetings in neighborhood context
• Engage in conversation, build relationships,
• collect data of names/addresses/e-mails

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Getting to know your neighbors and neighborhood

• Invite Neighbors to focus group discussion
• Invite civic leaders, neighborhood planners
• What is happening in neighborhood?
• What are future trends and plans?
• What are physical/spiritual needs?
• How can church be good neighbor?

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Meeting Your Neighbors

• Random Acts of Kindness
• Clean the streets in neighborhood
• Block or neighborhood parties, picnics
• Free car washes, free bake sales
• Frazzled parent dinners
• College student dinners
• Senior Dance evenings
• Charity or Accompaniment?
• Not we are here to serve you because you need
  us
• We are here to accompany, walk with you and this
  neighborhood seeking to as good of neighbors and
  community as we can be.

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Going where Your Neighbors Are

• Go to the unlikely places
• Tattoo parlors
• Bars and Taverns
• 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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Building RelationshipsCeltic 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 helping people belong so that they can
  believe.
• No Matter Who You Are or Where You Are on Lifes
  Journey, You Are Welcome Here!

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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 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 about Faith and Life

• Spiritual Seekers want to talk.
• Holy Conversations Richard Peace
• We are the ones not talking.
• Reverence for God silence and service.
• Tell it Like it is Reclaiming the Practice of
  Testimony - Lillian Daniel
• Your neighbor doesnt know
  why you do what you do.

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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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Love Your God and Neighbor

• The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor A
  Theology of Witness and Discipleship,
  Scott. J. Jones, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2003
• If we love our neighbor and our God
• We will share our still speaking faith and
  community with them.
• We will find appropriate ways and time to do so.

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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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Still Speaking Conversation and Invitation with
Neighbors

• Informal moments at work, shopping or.
• Be attentive for moments for a still speaking
  word
• Become a Still Speaking Voice
• Wear your still speaking witness
• Home dinners with neighbors
• First Welcomers
• New Neighbors
• Public Worship
• Ashes to Go

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E. Word - Elbow

• The e.word today is elbow.
• Jim Griffith
• 2010 Wisconson Conference
• Still today the way most folks find a community
  of faith is when they are invited to come by a
  friend or neighbor.

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FriendRaising Weekend

• 315 Congregations
• 4,200 visiting guests
• 6.2 increase in worship
• St. Stephens UCC
• 35 guests from 79 invitations
• Journey UCC
• 33 members - 36 guests
• St. Johns UCC
• 52 Guests 15 Youth

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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 our
  neighbors.

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Costs are nominal or FREE!
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Meeting your Neighbor on-line

• Connecting with neighbors on-line
• Church Website
• Invitational
• Interactive
• Messaging
• E.newsletter
• Links
• Facebook
• Church fanpage
• Your own
• Links
• Advertising

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Meeting your Neighbors with new Technology

• E-mail Blasts
• KYEP
• Cong. Vitality
• Daily Devotional
• Twitter
• You Tube
• Webinars
• Go To Meetings
• Apps

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God is still speaking,

• Through you and me!

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Meeting your neighborsReclaiming a focus on
neighbors

• Missional in purpose
• Get the church outside of itself
• Relational in outreach
• Its all about relationships
• Conversational in witness
• Talking about faith and life

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Where is Your Neighbor?

• What are you taking home?
• Pray, Pray for your neighbors and congregation
• This takes time, strategy and work.
• Get a team of bright-eyed people together
• Study and conversation with congregation
• Takes support of congregational leaders
• Just get started.
• Do one thing. Start with strength

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Where is Your Neighbor?

• Thank you for your vital Leadership
• Blessings as you discover where your neighbor is
• Thank you for Your Support of
• Changing Lives Thats Our Churches Wider
  Mission