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Recalibrate: 10 Steps Every Church Must take this Year, Or Be Dead In A Decade
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May 10, 2018

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Church Growth, The Summit

Recalibrate – 10 Steps Every Church Must Take This Year…

Recalibrate: 10 Steps Every Church Must take this Year, Or Be Dead In A Decade

Everything but Jesus and the Bible must be on the table.
by Karl Vaters – Keynote Speaker at the 2018 Mission & Ministry Summit

The church is not dying. It’s in fine shape. Jesus said he’d build it, and he is. Relentlessly and beautifully.

But individual congregations, denominations, and ideologies? Now that’s another story.

While the church of Jesus around the world continues to move forward, chasing away the darkness with the light of Jesus, many local expressions of the church are watching their candles flicker in recent years.

RECALIBRATE CHURCH

I believe the next decade or two will be critical for the western church. The culture around us is experiencing a once-in-a-millennium shift right now. A recalibration of the way we think about everything from our morality, to our sexuality, to our identity, and our theology.

It’s only just beginning. And the pace of it is being propelled into hyper-speed by new technology.

So what’s the local church to do? We must hold two seemingly competing ideals in our hands at the same time.

Ideal #1: Stand strong on the unchanging principles of God’s Word.

Ideal #2: Adapt our methods to a fast-changing world. If we hope to do these two things well, local congregations must reinforce the following 10 principles. And the sooner we get to work on them, the better.

1. REESTABLISH THE BIBLICAL ESSENTIALS

According to a recent article in The Washington Post, churches that stand firm on the biblical essentials are more likely to be thriving, while those that compromise on them are more likely to be dying.

We shouldn’t need a newspaper article to tell us to stick to the essentials. While everything else can change, the essentials cannot. Any church that abandons biblical principles won’t just fail to survive, they don’t deserve to.

2. EMPHASIZE DISCIPLESHIP AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING

The days of hiring a team of pastors to do all the ministry of the church is dying. Finally.

Instead, churches that thrive are taking Ephesians 4:11-12 seriously by equipping the saints to do the work of ministry and raising up a team of ministers.

In the coming decades, the pastor’s main task must shift from preaching and caregiving to training lay leaders to do the ministry of the church. That has always been our calling, anyway. Events on the ground are now forcing us to do it the biblical way.

For many, maybe most churches, this will be a long-term turnaround of attitudes and methods. Start now, or you may miss the boat.

3. REDUCE YOUR OVERHEAD

By all accounts, giving trends are down and will continue to fall. Churches with top-heavy staffing, excessive mortgages and high maintenance bills will find themselves buried under their increasing weight in the coming decades.

If local congregations, denominations, and parachurch ministries hope to survive, they need to get to work on

  • Getting out of debt (including mortgage).
  • Reducing the percentage of paid staff.
  • Training and empowering volunteers to lead and serve.
  • Sharing expenses with other churches and ministries.
  • Making bi-vocational ministry the new normal and anything else that can reduce the financial burden of church maintenance.

4. RETHINK YOUR BUILDING

Until very recently, if someone wanted to start a business, the first thing they did was find or build a store, office, warehouse, or other physical structure. Not anymore. Today, the rule is to avoid the encumbrance of a physical building for as long as possible. Churches need to do the same.

If your church doesn’t have a building, don’t be in a hurry to buy one. Stay nimble as long as possible. If you own a building – especially if you’re one of the growing number of churches that own a too-big building for your shrinking congregation – be relentless about finding creative ways to utilize the space as often as possible.

For many of our churches, it’s Use It Or Lose It time. As in, use the building or lose the church; facility, people … everything.

Recalibrate5. WORK WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERS

In many places, smaller churches are banding together – even across denominational lines – to share resources, think strategically, mend old wounds, and minister to their shared community.

In addition, there is a small, but growing network of parachurch organizations that are increasingly willing to come alongside local churches for little or no money to share everything from outreach ideas to administrative assistance, to graphic design and more.

Start by asking around on social media. You may be surprised what you’ll find. Or start a network yourself. It’s easier to do now than it’s ever been.

6. ENGAGE YOUR COMMUNITY

Churches must stop being identified by the location of their building and start being recognized for the passion of their heart.

A church that’s known as “the people who love kids (or addicts, or single moms)” has a much higher likelihood of thriving and surviving than the church that’s known as “the old building on the corner of First and Main.”

7. EMPHASIZE JESUS OVER TRADITION (OR DENOMINATIONS, OR BUILDINGS, OR POLITICS, OR…)

Everything but Jesus and the Bible must be on the table. Ask yourself this question. Would I be willing to give up (insert your preferred method or style here) if it meant doing a better job of reaching our community for Jesus?

If anything you’d put in that blank makes you pause (other than the biblical essentials), it’s an idol that must be abandoned.

8. RESTRUCTURE WHAT NEEDS TO BE RESTRUCTURED

Quit fighting to keep your favorite ministry, method or tradition alive. If it’s not part of the solution, it’s part of the problem.

9. MAKE DISCIPLES, NOT JUST CONVERTS

Converts join a club. Disciples start a movement. Converts follow traditions. Disciples follow Jesus. Converts change their minds. Disciples change their lives. And other people’s lives.

10. FIGURE OUT WHY YOUR CONGREGATION SHOULD SURVIVE

If your church disappeared tomorrow, what would really be lost? Yes, that’s the hard question. It might even feel cruel and uncaring. But it’s not. It’s essential. Any congregation that can’t readily answer why they should survive, won’t.

START TODAY

It’s been said that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago – the second best time is today.

The same goes for these principles. If you’ve been doing them, strengthen them. If not, get started now. Then be relentless at them. Not just this year, but every year. The survival of your local church depends on it.

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November 19, 2015

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Christian Life, Discipleship, Leadership, Pastoring, Staying Connected

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Six Thoughts on Six Living Generations

Six Thoughts on Six Living GenerationsBy Dr. Franklin R. Dumond – Director of Congregational Ministries

Six generations of people now live in the United States.  They range in age from those who are centenarians to those still in their formative years.  The labels given them and the chronology of their generations are:

GI Generation—born 1901-1926, now age 90+ years of age

Silent Generation—born 1927-1945, now 70-88 years old

Baby Boom Generation—born 1946-1964, now 51-69 years old

Generation X—born 1965-1980, now 35-50 years old

Generation Y (Millennials)—born 1981-2000, now 15—34 years old

Generation Z—born after 2001 and now in their formative years.

While lengthy descriptions abound to label and define each generation here are six observations about these six generations.  For further discussion of generational characteristics see this interesting article.

  1. Generational labels are cultural, not necessarily chronological.

    Just because an individual is of a certain age doesn’t necessarily mean that he/she holds the same worldview, preferences and habits as everyone else in that generation.  People come in all shapes and sizes.  Habits and lifestyles are learned and chosen not imposed and required.

  2. Each generation enjoys unique experiences and thus has its own language and style of communication.

    Typically those unique experiences are little known or recognized at the time and are understood by the participants in hindsight.  My great-grandmother was born in the 19th century.  Her generation experienced the innovations of electricity and DDT.  Electricity provided lights and power.  The insecticide DDT provided respite from the plague of insects so prevalent during the growing season.

  3.  Cross generational networks are important to aid mutual understanding of and appreciation for the similarities and differences between the generations.

    The most natural mechanism for cross generational networks is the family of origin since it has always been the case that one generation gives birth to, nurtures and then releases the next generation.  Cross generational networks often form in the workplace, in the neighborhood and in faith communities.

  4.  Intergenerational networks are vital to form identity, share values and develop the new alliances that characterize adulthood.

    Without peers we can never realize our own full potential for no one is an island.

  5.  Authenticity and mutual respect are essential within and across each generation.

    Enough said.

  6.  With six active generations present at the same time, each influenced by unique circumstances, life-events and preferences, niche marketing is essential.

    This principle has been expressed by a businessman who became a public relations spokesman.  He advocates that one must become all things to all people to convince a few of the truth being shared.  This businessman was originally a tent manufacturer who later became a primary spokesman for Christianity. He also reminds us that unless we speak their language they will never hear our message.  Logically he also concludes that unless someone tells them they will never know what we know.

To further explore these notions see the New Testament writings of Paul as found in “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.” I Corinthians 9:22  and  “Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying?” I Corinthians 14:9 and “How can they hear unless someone tells them?” Romans 10:14