I stumbled upon this website and corresponding podcast while googling “evangelism” and “podcast.” The Geeks discuss technology and its place in the church. If you and/or your worshipping community are re-evaluating how technology can be used to help carry-out the mission of the Church, then I highly recommend this podcast for some “food for thought.”
Congregational Transformation.com is the website for the Office of Transformation of the Florida United Methodist Church. This site has some great resources for congregations in transformation. I especially encourage you to explore the section entitled “What do fruitful congregations do?” Lots of good stuff here and a great place to start for pastors and transformation teams.
Christian Dominic Boyd, one of our presenters at the Transformation Conference in St. Pete Beach, is the founder and executive director of Celtic Hound Ministries.
(from the website)
“Celtic Hound Ministries (CHM) specializes in spiritual life coaching and congregational mission and leadership consultation. Our primary areas of expertise is in organizational development, structure evaluation, and strategic planning processes.”
Emergent Village is one of the many websites involved in the Emerging Church Conversation.
(from their website)
“Emergent Village is a growing, generative friendship among missional Christians seeking to love our world in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.”
Fuller Youth Institute is located at Fuller Theological Seminary. This website has great resources for youth and family ministries.
(From their website)
“Every day in the United States and around the world, dedicated youth and family workers minister to hurting kids and their families. Currently, most of their work tends to be shaped by either past habits or anecdotal evidence. For the sake of the kingdom of God as well as wise stewardship of the gospel, these youth and family workers need innovative models and practices that reflect current research on the ever-changing landscape of youth, families, and culture.
At FYI we take these needs seriously, translating research into practical resources that youth workers in local churches and parachurch ministries can use in their ministry contexts. Led by Dr. Kara Powell, Executive Director, FYI publishes books, articles, downloadable audio resources, and curriculum for youth workers. In addition, we have created a unique Certificate in Urban Youth Ministry program—the first of its kind in the nation—that trains urban youth workers while allowing them to remain in their place of ministry.”
A Unique Opportunity for Service, Discernment, and Learning the Art of Ministry
“The Broad Street Ministry Seminarian Immersion Program offers an uncommon opportunity for vocational discernment and formation for ministies, a challenge to step outside of yourself and into a faith community in Philadelphia, and a taste of the possibilities for the future of God’s people.”
For more information about this program and for information on the application process, go to:
The Coaching Skills program offers Presbytery teams the opportunity to learn nd develop coaching skills that will help create a positive culture for change. Teams of 2-4 persons work together to listen, observe, and offer feedback that will help build an effective ministry plan for congregational change. Participants practice coaching skills using case studies.
The following YouTube video explains a little more about how the Coaching Skills training works. Rev. Judy Hay and Rev. Dr. Laurie Ferguson, who led a recent Level II Training Session for Coaching Skills, speak candidly and thoughtfully on what it means to coach a congregation through transformation.
If you are interested in the intersection of Faith and Cultue, I highly recommend you check out The Ooze.
From the website:
“The desire of TheOOZE is to create environments where church leaders (traditional teachers/theologians as well as emerging storytellers/artists) can converse about and collaborate on resources and experiences for the broader faith community. This is done by providing places for people to gather and communicate both online and offline about how to be the story of Christ to our emerging culture.”
Presbymergent is the online community for those who live in both the Presbyterian (PCUSA) and Emergent/emerging church worlds and want to try and find a balance between the two.
We are pastors, lay people, seminarians, theologians, youth directors and people who generally care about both the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Emergent and the emergent conversation.
Feel free to join and post articles, questions and thoughts to the community. Grab the RSS feed and stay updated with information about presbymergent news. Post, discuss, share and support those who are working in and thinking about ministry in the margins.
Natural Church Development is a way of understanding church health and growth that views the church as a living organism. The focus is not on numerical growth, but on improving the health of the church, with the understanding–impressively documented by research–that when a church is sufficiently healthy, numerical growth will follow. These concepts are explained in the book Natural Church Development by Christian A. Schwarz.
The Natural Church Development survey measures the health of a local church in eight areas that have been found to be essential to healthy church growth. Developed by the Institute of Natural Church Development in Germany, this survey grows out of what was probably the most extensive study of church growth ever conducted, involving over 1000 churches in 32 countries on every continent except Antarctica. This study revealed a clear positive correlation between these eight Quality Characteristics and church growth.
One of the challenges to us is to shift from a business model of doing ministry to having a more discernment oriented approach to planning and designing ministries. Follow this link to an article offered by the Alban Institute on “Planning as Holy Conversation”.
May we learn to discern.
Are we hindered by our past?
L. Gregory Jones writes in a recent article for the Christian Century, “We are so focused on the survival and maintenance of organizations we lead that we forget about our mission—and pass on that forgetfulness to later generations.”
To read the entire article (and find out what this has to do with monkeys), click here.
Jim Collins, author of the book, Good to Great, did an interivew with the Leadership Journal. It’s a very interesting read.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2006/002/7.48.html
The Good to Great Pastor
An interview with Jim Collins.
Jim Collins’s book Good to Great has been a favorite among church leaders since it appeared in 2001. Six years of research resulted in a well-crafted and captivating account of what enables some companies to go from good to great and what prevents others from doing so. The popularity of the book, coupled with his ability to craft clear explanations for complex issues, has helped Collins become the dean of corporate advisers. (more…)
The Congregational Resources Guide
The Congregational Resource Guide is an effort of the Alban Institute in consultation with the Indianapolis Center for Congregations and other specialists, the Congregational Resource Guide (CRG) exists to help congregational leaders connect with resources that will enable them to face challenges and foster vitality in their communities of faith.
The Alban Institute
2121 Cooperative Way, Suite 100
Herndon, VA 20171
(703) 964-2700
(800) 486-1318
(703) 964-0370 (fax)
www.alban.org
The Indianapolis Center for Congregations
303 North Alabama Street, Suite 100
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-237-7799
317-237-7795 (fax)
www.centerforcongregations.org
To contact the Congregational Resource Guide, or for help finding additional resources, write to crg@alban.org.
The Indianapolis Center for Congregations offers a variety of services to congregations in the Indianapolis area. For more information, visit www.centerforcongregations.org or write to info@centerforcongregations.org.
The CRG is hosted by the Alban Institute; offered as a gift by Lilly Endowment Inc.
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Star Thrower Distribution offers the best training and development video and multimedia tools available. Star Thrower creates programs that develop people’s ability to think rather than react. Our programs help institute real change; individual change that can make a fundamental difference in the way an organization behaves.
When you view one of our films, you will find a thought provoking tool with clear training points and superior production quality. Additionally, most Star Thrower products come with a complete set of support materials to make training even easier.
Special pricing is available for the faith community. We offer complimentary previews of all our programs to allow you to view a program in its entirety. Please use this web link to view program suggestions, and to contact Eilene, 800-561-0291 or eilene@starthrower.com for pricing details. www.starthrower.com/faithbased.htm
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Sierra Mission Partnership
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(from their website)
Church Innovations is a non-profit organization devoted to renewing the Church’s focus on God’s mission in the world. Rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and wholly committed to following God’s leading for every congregation, we provide research and consulting tools, products and processes that increase your church’s capacities to experience God’s renewal and transformation.
Our work crosses denominational and geographical lines and is grounded in two decades of research. Over the years we have worked with more than 1,000 congregations, 75 national and mid-governing bodies, and two dozen denominations in seven countries and across all 50 United States.
Click on the link to visit the website: www.churchinnovations.org
(from Donna Hoppestad)
New Vision is a program of the Presbytery of East Tennessee.
New Vision has both a regional (Presbytery) and a local (church) aspect. The regional effort includes mass-media advertising (television, radio, billboards, etc.). We have all the information you need if a group want to investigate this possibility. It’s really very easy to set up, but it does take a financial commitment of at least a year for it to be truly effective. Prices will vary, depending on the size of your area, but I can get prices for any area - I already have people up here who will get that information for me at no charge.
The regional portion of New Vision tends to unify the churches in the Presbytery, and encourages them to try ideas on the local level to continue the awareness the regional advertising has started in their areas. As you can imagine, it also creates a whole lot of goodwill between Presbytery and the local church!
Reveal is a new tool from Willow Creek. It is a way of evaluating your current ministry. It is available on line. Click on Reveal to get there. Let us know if it is helpful. I think you’ll like it.
“New Ways of Being Church”
Conversations on renewal and transformation in mainline congregations
2009 Festival of Theology & Reunion
March 15-18, 2009
Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Featuring:
Click here for more information.
Here’s another resource from the Office of Small Church and Community Ministry (Phil Tom is a busy guy!), “Spiritual Vitality Through Cooperative Ministry.” This one is written by Diana Stephen.
“Many small churches are enhancing their ministry and mission by working cooperatively. This resource provides guidance to churches and presbyteries that are considering cooperative ministry. The discernment process and initial organization are described. A Bible Study to undergird these processes is included as well as five models of cooperative ministry.”
You can order this resource here. The cost is a reasonable $3.
Here is another resource developed by the Office of Small Church and Community Ministry.
And The Two Shall Become One- A Guide to Church Mergers
This is written by Rev. Dr. Mariko Yanagihara on the subject of church mergers. From the author….
“A vibrant Korean American congregation merges with a predominantly White church, which once flourished in the 50’s, but is now facing decline.
Two White churches merge, seeking to minimize cost and maximize ministry potential.
A predominantly White church merges with a much smaller Japanese American church that needed to
move out of their old neighborhood.
Are church mergers the “solution” to congregations facing financial, ministry or property concerns? Can
a merged church attract new people? Will our new church reflect the composition of the former churches, or will there be different people involved?
When I first began to study church mergers, I was quite skeptical. Would churches be able to let go of
their control in order to become a new church, or would the two groups be forever arguing about who is right and who is wrong? Is it possible for churches to move from an “us and them” to a “we”? Since the time I first began to ask these questions, I have had the opportunity to study church mergers, and serve as a pastor in a merged church for over two years. I’ve learned first hand that church mergers are not for the “faint-hearted.” (more…)
Phil Tom in the Office of Small Church and Community Ministry has written a brief guide for Developing Mission Partnerships with other congregations. This resource could be a key help for churches who are working toward transformation or revitalization by re-engaging their community in ministry.
“The purpose of this resource brief is to provide your congregation with some helpful guidance if you are considering developing a mission partnership with another congregation, with your community or a community agency. This resource brief will address what it means to build a mission partnership that is equitable and sustainable, with a long-term focus.”
Developing Mission Partnerships
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Want to know how other churches are engaged in Transformational ministry?
Need some inspiration?
The following link will take you to National Capital Presbytery’s web-page dedicated to “Best Practices.”
http://www.nationalcapitalpresbytery.org/Churches/BestPractices/tabid/21270/Default.aspx
Click on the link below to download a .pdf file of the article, “What Does a Healthy Church Look Like?” This article is actually an analysis of work performed by small groups in Charlotte Presbytery. Thanks to Ann Philbrick and Heartwood for this resource!
After adapting and utilizing the insights of the purpose-driven® concept for several years, the pastors of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Satellite Beach invited other PCUSA leaders to learn of their discoveries at a continuing education seminar held at Columbia Theological Seminary. When the response exceeded expectations, they began a partnership with Purpose-Driven® Ministries International, and created the annual Presbyterians Seeking Purpose-Driven® Ministry Conference in Satellite Beach, Florida. (more…)
Allelon has a number of positive aspects to it. One area I want to draw your attention to is the “Reflect” button. Click it and take a look at the assessment tools. Their “360″ approach to identifying missional leaders and missional congregations may be a good place to start in identifying who to call in leadership and what congregations need. If anyone has used them, let us know what you think!
From their website..
Allelon is a 501(C)3 non-profit foundation located in Eagle Idaho. We are a multi-generational network of missional church leaders, schools and parachurch organizations which envisions, inspires, engages, resources, trains and educates leaders for the church and its mission in our culture. Said simply, together we are a movement of missional leaders. (more…)
The 218th General Assembly made a significant step toward helping the church turn around decades of decline by making a commitment to evangelism and discipleship. These are the two critical ingredients to the future health and growth of the PC(USA). A website has also been created that will be dedicated to this initiative http://deepandwide.ning.com/ Check it out, join and we can be a part of what God is and will be doing through the PC(USA)!
“The 218th General Assembly (2008) strives to help Christ’s Church Grow Deep and Wide under the guidance of the Holy Spirit by: (more…)
On November 1-3 of 2007, the Presbytery of Charlotte hosted a workshop entitled, Building Healthy Churches: Transforming Membership Loss into the Making of Disciples by Paul Borden (www.growinghealthychurches.org). Dr. Borden is the author of such books as, “Hitting the Bullseye: How congregations Can Aim the Congregation at the Mission Field” and “Direct Hit: Aiming Real Leaders at the Mission Field.”
Thanks to the generosity of the Presbytery of Charlotte, they have made the DVD’s and slides available for the whole church. Included in this post are links for the videos links to the presentations (19 in all) and the study guide that accompanies it. The videos are in a MPEG format and should play in most computers. If you are interested in the DVD’s or to give thanks to the Charlotte Presbytery for their gift, you can visit their website above. We are in the process of uploading everything so be patient and come back as we add more to the post.
Letter from Executive Presbyter in the Presbytery of Charlotte
Building Healthy Churches DVD Project
Building Healthy Churches Scene and Study Guide
Disc 1, Scene 1- Introduction to Building Healthy Churches- Watch or Download
Disc 1, Scene 2, part 1- What Does it Take to Have a Healthy Church? (18 min)
Disc 1, Scene 2, part 2- (18 min)
Disc 1, Scene 3- Introduction to Life Cycles of a Church (16 min.)
Disc 1, Scene 4- Life Cycles of a Church: Vision-Purpose-Mission (28 min.)
Transforming church.com is an ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America) related website dedicated to leaders in transformational church settings. There seem to be a good number of resources and article to read and on which to reflect.
http://www.transformingchurch.com/
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