First Steps in Turnaround: Recognize, Organize, Mobilize
This is the first part in a series which comes from the 2016 Turnaround 2020 Plan Book written and compiled by Dr. Franklin R. Dumond, Director of Congregational Ministries. A full version of this plan book is available by download at www.Turnaround2020.net or by hard copy from Congregational Ministries, 573-785-7746.
I received an unusual combination Father’s Day/Birthday gift this year. The gift was a print out of plans for a new picnic table for the backyard along with the promise of assistance with the labor to construct the project. The plans had been selected based on seating capacity and the design features that would allow an umbrella to be placed in the center of the octagonal shape of the picnic table.
Investigating the plans for shaping rectangular boards into an octagonal pattern revealed a series of angled cuts and pocket holes for screws that seemed a bit complex but manageable. Further investigation of the size of the table and the amount of lumber included suggested that it would be heavy. Indeed, it appeared it would be very, very heavy. Since we planned to place the table in the backyard to take advantage of shade from our large pecan tree, it appeared that the very, very heavy table would need to be moved several times each year to mow the grass.
Evaluating the plans against our carpentry skills and with the notion of mobility in mind led us to scrap the elaborate octagonal shaped table in favor of a traditional rectangular picnic table.
Churches and their leaders who plan and work toward turnaround must use the same kind of process to discern the right plan to both take advantage of the human resources available in the congregation and reach the unchurched and dechurched population in the community.
Turnaround 2020 will assist General Baptist churches to discover and to achieve their full redemptive potential by the year 2020. Many participating churches will see significant increases in attendance. Others will double or triple in size as they realize the potential the Lord has placed before them. Still others will see revitalized programs and more effective ministries as a result of Turnaround 2020.
Turnaround, by simple definition, results in something different. Change can be awkward and frightening or it can be pleasant and rewarding. Undergirding our overall approach to turnaround in existing congregations are four core principles that will always show up in turnaround.
- An outward focus will be regained or intensified.
- Members will display responsible, high-expectation behavior.
- A clear discipleship process will be in place.
- Leadership and relational skills will constantly improve.
Beginning in the summer of 2016 General Baptist Ministries will begin a five-year initiative leading up to the year 2020. Turnaround 2020 intends to capture a renewed emphasis on evangelism and church growth so that every General Baptist church may reach its full redemptive potential. Because General Baptists believe in a general atonement—that Christ tasted death for all so that whosoever will may be saved—no General Baptist church reaches its full redemptive potential until everyone in its sphere of influence has heard, understood and responded to the gospel message.
Be sure to make your hotel reservations as soon as possible, we have almost filled our hotel room block at the