22 Jul, 2019 Seven things you could build into this winter
7 things your church could build into this winter
The winter months are a good time to assess the health and direction of your church, and to build into areas that are weak. Here are seven things you could build into this winter.
1. Do your members need equipping to disciple their interested/new believing friends?
- Watch a 5-minute video on relational and conversational approaches to discipleship here. (Video #6 in the BWC series).
- Introduce your members to the 10DayChallenge.co.nz resource via the website, or download the app at the app store (search ‘Why Jesus?’).
- Or give them access to a similar material – remembering that creating the CONTEXT of relationship and conversation that they will come back to is the challenge here – not finding or delivering content.
Equip them to create the context!
2. Do your members need encouragement for their outreach?
- Play some video-testimonies of what God has done in people’s lives at https://10daychallenge.co.nz/stories/. (This is what God could do in someone’s life if you introduced them to Jesus. What you offer has value!).
- Or play a selected few of these ‘evangelism’ testimonies over a few weeks – https://alltogether.co.nz/firestarters/
Encourage them!
3. Might some members struggle to answer basic questions about faith?
- With the Faith Q&A series in view, get small groups to discuss a question – and then to watch the corresponding video. How similar was their own answer to what the person in the video said? Find it here.
Give them confidence!
4. Might the outreach focus of your church’s small groups be weak (or even non-existent)?
- Have your elders watch the third video (about small groups) at AllTogether.co.nz/ATConsulting
If you are in agreement – then show this to all your small group leaders.
Alternatively, show them videos #4 and #5 at Godtalk.nz/leadership (as it is the same content – but presented differently, with youth and young adults in view)
Turn the tide!
5. Might your efforts to equip/mobilise members as witnesses be spasmodic and programme-based, rather than habitual?
Only a habit-based approach will work to change culture!
- Take time to show your elders board at least 3 of the 4 videos created for church leadership teams at AllTogether.co.nz/ATConsulting
- Consider your application of the 4 habits presented
Establish long-term culture through embracing intentional habits!
6. Might your youth leaders, and many of your youth, be too ill-informed to be effective in outreach
We know this is a real problem in the NZ Church as a whole
- To grow your leader – get them to watch the 12 videos (1 hour in total) Godtalk.nz/leadership – then do with them what is described at the top of that webpage
- …and if they haven’t equipped their youth for outreach yet, get them to use the 5 videos (with discussions) over the next 5 weeks at their youth meeting – as found at Godtalk.nz/equipping
Ensure your youth are equipped through EXPECTING that your youth leaders do this! (If you don’t expect it, you won’t get it!)
7. Are you dis-connected from the wider Church in your city, of which you are a subset?
If you are then, generally speaking (because these things do have many nuances), I suggest you might be outside your correct authority line – because there is only one Church in each town and city. Its leaders must work together, based on the principle of voluntary accountability.
- Could you reconnect with your city / town pastors’ group, to join them in discussion about the purpose of this group?
And what is its purpose – and also, why might they be discussing this?
- Our teams travels to meet with pastors’ groups exist to enable things that we can achieve together nationally – which we cannot achieve apart. We are there because of – and to catalyse and feed this very conversation, year-up-year!
- My book, In One Spirit, has also been written specifically to feed this conversation. See more on the book here.
Conclusion: Be the change-maker!
“For addition – grow members. For multiplication – grow leaders!”
Through every one of the above you could better-equip yourself, or your members, to lead!
I hope this helps this be an even more productive winter! 🙂
Through every one of the above you could better-equip yourself, or your members, to lead!
I hope this helps this be an even more productive winter! 🙂
DAVE MANN. Dave is a creative communicator with a vision to see an understanding of the Christian faith continuing, and also being valued, in the public square in Aotearoa-New Zealand. He has innovated numerous conversational resources for churches, and recently coordinated a 5th nationwide multimedia Easter project purposed to help open conversation between church and non-church people about Christianity take place, including regarding the specifically Christian origins of many of our nation’s most treasured values. Dave is the author of various books and booklets including “Because we care”, “That Leaders might last”, “The Elephant in the Room”, and available for free on this site: “The What and How of Youth and Young Adult ministry”. Married to Heather, they have four young boys and reside in Tauranga, New Zealand.