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Vision Fulfilled

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Passion. Vision. Capacity. Background. When a Congregation lacks capacity ... Sunday Evening Services. Bible Study. Prayer Meetings. Evangelization. GRACE UMC ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Vision Fulfilled


1
Vision Fulfilled
  • When a congregation has completed its ministry
  • Rev. David V.W. Owen
  • Dr. Frank J. Beard

2
Background
  • Essential Elements of Healthy Church
  • Passion
  • Vision
  • Capacity
  • Inadequate Capacity
  • Resources
  • People

Passion
Capacity
Vision
3
Background
  • When a Congregation lacks capacity
  • Life Cycle Assessment
  • Options
  • Merger
  • Charge Relationship Inhancement
  • Celebrate Fulfilled Vision and Completion of
    mission

4
1 Corinthians 35-7 
  •  5What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul?
    Only servants, through whom you came to believe -
    as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6I
    planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God
    made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he
    who waters is anything, but only God, who makes
    things grow.

5
Ecclesiastes 3
  • A Time for Everything
  • 1 There is a time for everything, and a season
    for every activity under heaven  
  • 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to
    plant and a time to uproot,
  • 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to
    tear down and a time to build,
  • 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to
    mourn and a time to dance,
  • 5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather
    them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
  • 6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time
    to keep and a time to throw away,
  • 7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to
    be silent and a time to speak,
  •  8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for
    war and a time for peace.

6
Life Cycle
  • Assumes there is a completion of a congregations
    life.
  • Invites the congregation to review their history
  • Calls for affirmation and celebration of
    accomplishments over generations

7
Church Lifecycle
8
Church Lifecycle
9
GRACE UMC
  • Started in 1893 as a small Independent
    Evangelical (German speaking) Church
  • The Church met in a meeting hall on Main Street
  • Property was purchased two blocks off of Main
    Street
  • A small brick building was built

10
Church Lifecycle
11
GRACE UMC
  • 1895 The church decided to become denominational
    and joined with the Methodist Protestant
  • The Church continued to be German Speaking but
    was known as the First Methodist Protestant
    Church

12
Church Lifecycle
13
GRACE UMC
  • First Methodist Protestant Church Grew
  • Numerically
  • Financially
  • Spiritually
  • Physically
  • The Church building was expanded, new fixtures
    and equipment was added

14
GRACE UMC
  • The Church Increased
  • Sunday Evening Services
  • Bible Study
  • Prayer Meetings
  • Evangelization

15
GRACE UMC
  • The Church Increased
  • Sunday Evening Services
  • Bible Study
  • Prayer Meetings
  • Evangelization

16
Church Lifecycle
17
GRACE UMC
  • The Church Continued to Grow
  • Professions of faith
  • Baptisms
  • New members
  • Key Accomplishments
  • From German Speaking to All English
  • Youth converts
  • Mission Focused
  • A number of persons entered full-time Christian
    Service

18
GRACE UMC
  • Church Strong Points
  • Socio-economically diverse
  • Strong Sunday School (234 in Sunday School on
    Easter Sunday 1960)
  • Racially diverse in late 60s
  • Started Community wide ministries in the late
    60s

19
Church Lifecycle
20
GRACE UMC
  • Description of Decline on Life Cycle
  • Community changed as folks moved out
  • Racial ethnic population increased in area
  • Conflict in Congregation
  • Key leaders leave / die
  • Change of Pastors at 1968 Denominational Merger
  • Worship attendance decreases

21
GRACE UMC
  • The Church experienced some decline after the
    merger of 1968 but then started showing new signs
    of growth in the early 70s but the growth was
    short lived
  • A Lay Witness Mission was Held
  • Had the Largest Youth Group in the City
  • Remolded the Building and Sanctuary
  • Continued to lose key leaders / families
  • Experienced Neighborhood and Downtown Decay

22
Church Lifecycle
23
Key Questions
  • Is there a new Vision emerging?
  • Do we have the capacity to change?
  • Have we fulfilled the Vision we started with?
  • Can we celebrate what has been accomplished?
  • Is God calling us as individuals to a different
    place to serve?

24
GRACE CHURCH WAS DYING
  • The church tried to respond to the rapidly
    changing community but with little to no success
  • Community Wide Vacation Bible School
  • Food Pantry Ministry
  • A Soup Kitchen
  • Kids Club
  • A Womens Shelter
  • A Variety of Innovative Programs / ministries

25
Church Lifecycle
26
Decision
  • What is our future?
  • As a congregation?
  • As individual Christians?

27
GRACE UMC RE-TOOLED
  • The increased cost of facilities
  • The increase of transient neighbors
  • The rising cost of pastoral leadership
  • The loss of key financial contributors
  • The realization that the community was NOT
    responding to new ministries
  • The fact that there were 13 United Methodist
    Churches in the Elkhart area
  • THE CHURCH DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO CHANGE OR DIE!

28
Reflection
  • Where is our congregation in its life cycle?
  • What are we able to do given our current
    realities / resources?

29
Church Lifecycle
30
THE DOWN CYCLE
  • Failure to anticipate the need to change
  • Fear of change
  • Trapped in a weekly rehearsal of the past
  • Internal conflicts / squabbles / control issues
    keep other people from being attracted or
    interested
  • Maybe God IS in the garden!
  • With a Saw
  • With a Hose

31
GRACE UMC
  • Three other UM churches in mirror situations
    decided to become proactive.
  • The decision was made to merge and to relocate
  • KEY concepts The churches were stronger together
    than they were as separate churches.
  • Together they became revitalized and effective
  • They became a strong stable congregation with
    renewed ministries that are making an impact

32
Future
  • The Congregation Must Decide!
  • Church Conference
  • Determine final mission outreach
  • Disbursement of appropriate assets
  • Gifts of mission projects
  • Affirmation of continuing impact of congregation
    on local community / neighborhood.
  • Vote to Discontinue and Abandon / Set Date
  • Final Worship Service and Celebration of
    Ministry.

33
The Completion of Ministry Should be Celebrated
  • Dont Wait Until Its Too Late To Plant Seeds Into
    A New Thing That God May Be Doing.
  • Dont Waste Resources That Could Be Better Used.
    We Are Stewards.
  • Dont Forget That God Is Still In Control!
  • Remember that Church evaluation is a risky
    business because it involves emotions and
    feelings based on peoples religious experiences
  • Honest evaluations can become a launching pad for
    renewal or celebrating a churchs mission
    completion and accomplishments
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