The Importance of a Regular Check-up

Every year my wife makes me go to the doctor for a check-up. It’s not my favorite thing, but I do it anyway, even though I feel fine. Why? I do it because I want to make sure that I’m ACTUALLY fine. No news is not necessarily good news, so doing preventative medicine helps me to deal with any issues that might come up before it gets too serious. The church is often referred to as the body of Christ because it is a living organism, and it too needs regular “check-ups” to make sure it is healthy.

For the month of June, we are encouraging all of our churches to do a “check-up” by doing the church health assessment Natural Church Development (NCD). Why do we think it is so important to take this assessment? Because we believe that healthy churches take an honest assessment of their current health, and diligently plan to improve. As a matter of fact, we think a check-up like NCD is so important, that we are offering a discount to our churches. Normally, an NCD costs $400. During the month of June we provide a NCD for $300. If you’ve never taken a NCD before, or can’t remember when you did, we will provide a NCD for $200.

So what’s stopping you from taking your church to the doctor for a check-up? No matter the diagnosis, we are here to walk you through you a treatment plan that will move your church to increased health for your good and for the glory of Christ and His kingdom.

Contact Kirsten at kirsten@convergemidamerica.org or 847-655-6841 to schedule your NCD.

COVID-19 Guidance for Places of Worship (Illinois)

Ten Practical Steps to Creating Momentum for Your Relaunch

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18

Every church will have a unique opportunity to Relaunch their ministry this fall. Whether your church is six weeks old or 170 years young, each church will have a chance to reorient their ministries, equip their leaders and inspire their people to fulfill the mission of Jesus of making more and better disciples in their unique context.

Here are ten practical steps to help you and your team to think through your Relaunch Plan.

1. Develop a team.

Too many pastors try to carry the load all by themselves, which is an unbiblical notion. Christianity is a team sport. Team building is one of the skills successful pastors need in their tool belts. Learning to pick the right players on your team is crucial. Guiding and leading the team is imperative. Trusting the team to execute the plan is empowering. Celebrating and encouraging the team is vital. I encourage pastors to use short-term task forces with a specific task, along with a starting and ending point. If you built a task force for each of your major outreach initiatives for fall, winter, and spring, your team-building skills would improve each time. Team building is a skill that is honed through the “learning by doing” process. Getting key influencers involved in the process is vital to building positive momentum throughout the church.

2. Determine a Date.

You will first need to pick a date for this relaunch. In some communities it will be early August, others will be Sunday after Labor Day, and still, others will choose early October. Whatever date you pick is okay as long as you select a date. Momentum will be generated as you bring focus to a specific timeframe. Remember, God, in his infinite wisdom, chose to launch the church on Pentecost. This date has a rich theological significance as well as many practical implications.

3. Develop a timeline.

To develop a reasonable schedule, start with the last date of the project, and work backward. If you are doing a fall growth push, here are a couple of ideas. End your fall outreach campaign on the first weekend in November with a family-friendly, social distancing appropriate comeback event and start July first with the selection of the team. We call this the “three-month rule,” which is to begin the detailed planning process at least three months before the launch of the outreach campaign. Here is an overview of what would happen in those three months:

4. Create a Theme or Big Idea.

Brainstorm ideas for delivering strong biblical content that addresses the heart issues of your mission field. Many pastors struggle with the creative aspects of leadership. I recommend that pastors research and purchase some of the excellent outreach or spiritual growth campaigns available. Many of these come with timelines, job descriptions, graphics, sermon ideas, and small group materials. The key is planning. After the church has done a few of these campaigns, then they can take a shot at developing their own.

5. Promote Prayer:

Raise the spiritual temperature of the church. It is a must to incorporate a church-wide prayer project for before and during the campaign. One example: Call the church to “pray for five neighbors, for five minutes a day, for five weeks” before the outreach campaign. Another idea would be to mobilize the church to prayer walk your whole community before the campaign. You could also call the church to a season of prayer and fasting. Still another idea is to do a 21 Day Prayer Campaign to get your churches to focus on praying missionally for your community.

6. Create Buzz Outside the Church:

Brainstorm ideas for creating buzz throughout your church, your community, and all the social media platforms. Work with your team to think of ways to get the word out. I like to use the biblical language of sowing when it comes to getting the word out to our community and through our social media networks. Here more is information on the Sowing and Reaping Principle.

7. Create Excitement inside the Church.

Create urgency through effective vision casting. Create energy by promoting opportunities. Creating a sense of synergy throughout the church is essential. Drive the theme throughout the church. Getting every section of the church moving in the same direction is a momentum building experience that creates positive energy and good morale. So, take your theme and drive it throughout the church from seniors to youth, from singles to toddlers!

8. Develop next step opportunities.

Creating opportunities for new guests to connect relationally, as well as spiritually, is crucial to having a successful outreach campaign. Planning some family-friendly event is a great way to get people involved in serving for the first time and connecting relationally with others in the church. Offering entry-level Bible studies like Bible 101 or Christianity 101 within weeks of your outreach campaign is vital in providing those next steps for those that are spiritually interested. Finally, you want to offer people an opportunity to connect with the church and its leadership by providing some newcomer’s gathering or party at the pastor’s event where they hear the story and vision of the church as well as connect relationally with key leaders.

Offer a Clear Call to Action

“Go into our online prayer room after the service”
“Come to our ‘after party’ immediately after the service to meet other people and discuss the sermon
“Download this resource for use during the week
“Call a friend and [fill-in response relevant to the sermon], and then in your online small groups, tell each other how it went”
“Please let us get to know you better by filling out a digital welcome/connection card”
“Take this online survey to find the way that you can best serve right now”
“If you prayed to receive Christ, begin telling others by putting something in the chat”
“Ask God what He wants you to give financially, and then do whatever He shows you”
“Sign up for a ‘meet the pastor webinar’ which temporarily replaces our ‘pizza with the pastor’ get acquainted event”

Source: Warren Bird, ECFA

9. Recruit volunteers to fill needed ministry roles:

Doing a relaunch is an excellent opportunity to recruit and train new volunteers for setting up, cleaning, event planning, children’s ministry, ushers, greeters, follow up, administration, new hosts for small groups, and small group apprentices and leaders, etc.

10. Drive your vision and values deeper into the culture of your church:

Remember, anytime you do an outreach campaign, it is an opportunity to drive your missional vision and values deeper into the lives of your people. The values of evangelism, community, spiritual dependence and community transformation come alive during the campaign and provide opportunities for personal growth and corporate maturity.

Conclusion:

Pastors, church leaders, and all followers of Jesus, this worldwide pandemic, is providing for us a defining moment. A moment to not only relaunch our churches, but it is also an opportunity to recalibrate our ministry priorities and for you as a pastor to retool pastoral and leadership skills. Pastors, I know, you are psychologically exhausted. I don’t think any of us would have imagined that we would be doing ministry in the fashion we are doing it today. And yet it is in moments like these that God shows up and does the unprecedented. May the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ give a fresh experience of his strength (Ephesians 3:16), a fresh encounter with his love (Ephesians 3:17-19), and a fresh vision for the future (Ephesians 3:20-21).

How To Start a Digital 21 Days of Prayer Campaign

Lee & Cinnamon’s Faith Testimony

I know the last thing you probably want to think about as a church right now is the idea of a capital campaign. Frankly, you all have so much to think about and a capital campaign isn’t on your radar at all. We get that. But we also want to encourage you to think through your reopening plan with generosity and vision at the forefront, and one effective tool is a capital campaign. Certainly capital campaigns help to raise money for your church. But even more than that, they can be used by God to build an increasing culture of generosity, and propel your church with vision in unique and powerful ways. The above video is just such an example of a campaign’s transformative power. It is a bit long, but I think you will agree that it is both encouraging and reproducible in the life of your church members as well.

We at Converge MidAmerica stand ready to serve you in a capital campaign experience, and are strategizing some unique ways in which we can provide our service over the next months.

If you are a church plant that is over two years old, you might be dealing with the reality of changes in your lease space. Now is a good time to think about a permanent space with a long term lease as there will be many commercial real estate spaces opening up. A creative capital campaign can prepare you to move when that door opens.
If you are an established church, you have probably been re-envisioning what your future will look like. Issues like upgrading technology and reworking spaces within your current facility have become important. A capital campaign can help position your church for greater gospel effectiveness in a new season of ministry

So give us a call if you’d like to talk more. As always, we love you and stand ready to serve you.

The Principle of Sowing and Reaping

In taking this evangelistic journey, we will take a close look at the Three Spheres of Outreach which include: 1) The leader and the people they connect with during the week, 2) The church and those within their sphere of influence, 3) The unconnected, those who know nothing about the church and are disconnected with your people.

In each of these spheres we develop Three Strategies of Outreach, 1) The leader sets the standard through modeling, 2) The leader equips the church to reach into their relational spheres, 3) The church learns how to sow evangelistic seeds into the masses of unconnected people in their community.

One of the foundational principles of scripture is the principle of sowing and reaping. We see this first in the life of Isaac (Genesis 26:12). He sowed, planted and reaped a hundredfold of crop because of God’s blessing. Farmers understand this principle in a very practical way, the more seed you plant, the more you will reap at harvest time. The Apostle Paul in addressing the need for generosity in the life of the Corinthian church wrote, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (II Corinthians 9:6) So my question to you, as it pertains to evangelism, is: How many evangelistic touches are you sowing into the masses of people who are unconnected with your church? The evangelistic fruitfulness of your church is directly related to the amount of evangelistic seeds you are sowing into your community.

Here are four ways to evangelistically touch the unconnected in your community:

Community Service: Simply serving your community and displaying the love of Christ without overtly making an invitation to attend your church.
Servant Evangelism: Earning the right to make an invitation to your church through random acts of kindness.
Sharing Your Facilities With Your Community: How many people go in and out of your facility in a given week? Treating your facility like a community center is one way to sow evangelistic seeds to the unconnected in your community.
Marketing Your Church’s Message Through the Various Media Opportunities in Your Community: Every church has a marketing strategy, the only difference is that some are better than others.

Yet, the quantity of seed is only part of the equation, there also needs to be a concern about the quality of the seed. Read Hosea 10:12-13. If you sow righteousness you will reap love, if you sow wickedness you will reap evil. With very stern words the Apostle Paul writes, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from the nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7)

In relation to evangelism, here is the question to be answered: How would you rate the quality of the evangelistic seeds you are casting in your community?

Community Service: Is the quality and consistency of your community service something that reflects the beauty of Christ?
Servant Evangelism: Is the quality of your random acts of kindness received as a nuisance or a pleasant surprise?
Sharing Your Facilities: Do your facilities reflect a sense of care or are they run down?
Marketing: What type of first impression does your signage, website and promotional materials evoke?

Over the summer, we will take a close look at how to increase the quantity and quality of the evangelistic seeds you are sowing into your community.

Solomon wrote these words, “Sow your seed in the morning and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” (Ecclesiastes 11:6)

Three Stages of Outreach

The next step is to help leaders understand the spheres of outreach that exists within their community. Today we are going to move from understanding to implementation. If we, as leaders, are going to create a system that will stimulate evangelistic activity throughout the local church, then we will have to develop strategies for each sphere within our community. To help us think through the issues, I forced myself to ask ten questions under each area. Feel free to add to the conversation by sending in your own questions or another spin on the questions I came up with.

Strategy #1: MODELING – Creating an example to follow.

As a leader, how would your followers say you are modeling personal evangelism throughout your community?
As a leader, how are you keeping your heart passionately engaged in the harvest?
As a leader, how are you upgrading your evangelistic skills?
As a leader, is evangelistic activity built into your weekly schedule?
As a leader, how are you serving and connecting with community leaders?
As a leader, how available are you to people in need?
As a leader, what fun activities with unchurched people are you participating in?
As a leader, how do you identify “men and women of peace” in your community?
As a leader, how do you engage people in spiritual conversation and keep them engaged?
As a leader, have you ever considered hiring an evangelism coach?

Strategy #2: EQUIPPING – Creating missionaries to be sent out.

How are you stimulating outreach prayers for friends, family and neighbors of your people?
How are you heating up evangelistic passion within your people?
Is evangelism training a part of your spiritual formation plan?
How do you identify and celebrate those with the gift of evangelism in your church?
Do you have an evangelism tool that is taught throughout the church?
What opportunities do you have for people to engage in entry level evangelism?
How are you teaching and mobilizing your people to love their neighborhoods and cities for Jesus?
What pre-evangelism events or opportunities are being created through your small groups?
What pre-evangelism events or opportunities are being created through your public worship services?
When was the last training event you offered to help people share their faith?

Strategy #3: SOWING – Creating connection opportunities for the unconnected.

How many people live in your “Jerusalem” that have no knowledge of your ministry?
How are you creating awareness of your church throughout the community?
What are the internet tools you can use to sow seeds throughout your community?
What are the promotional tools you can use to sow seeds throughout your community?
What are the media outlets you can use to sow seeds throughout your community?
What partnerships can you form that will enhance the church’s image throughout your community?
What community events or service projects can you join to live out the gospel?
How many pre-evangelism contacts are you planning to make this year throughout your community?
What percentage of your budget is dedicated to sowing your message throughout your community?
If people know about your ministry, what is the first thing that comes into their mind when it is mentioned?

Well, how did I do? What did I miss? How would you tweak the above questions?

“I pray that you will be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.” Philemon 6

Raising Your Evangelist Temperature

If a leader is going to raise the evangelistic temperature of their church they will first need to understand the three spheres of outreach:

Level 1: These are people who know the pastor and the name of the new church. This is accomplished through networking and the personal ministry of the pastor and their family. The key concept here is MODELING.
Level 2: These are people who are in contact with someone on the launch team. This group is reached through relational evangelism and personal invitations from the church. The key concept here is EQUIPPING.
Level 3: These individuals have no contact with the pastor or people within the church. This group is reached through a variety of awareness activities. The key concept here is SOWING.

Understanding these spheres is just the beginning. If leaders are going to stir up the evangelistic spirit of their church they need to develop comprehensive evangelistic systems addressing each of these spheres. A system is a reproducible process that actualizes the operational values and convictions you hold dear in your church. For example: As a leader what is the most common method you use to engage individuals in a spiritual conversation? Once you have identified it, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Could this method be used by others or only you?

2. How long would it take for a person to learn this method?

3. Could a new believer easily use this method?

4. Could this method be taught by others?

If you can answer these questions then you are on your way to developing an evangelistic system in your community of faith. If you can’t, then the evangelistic temperature of your church is going to be pretty low. I am convinced that the pastors, leaders and churches in America need their evangelistic fires seriously stoked. Over the summer, I am committing this blog to the task of encouraging and resourcing leaders to raise the evangelistic temperature throughout their church.

Who will join me is this task?

Do you need a wellness check?

We recognize that life and ministry are stressful and being compounded with the COVID-19 pandemic. To help with this reality, we compiled a listing of MAP Counselors throughout our region who are currently offering telehealth counseling.

Ten Biblical Principles for Launching or Relaunching a Church

Every church this fall will have an opportunity to relaunch and retool their ministry. We hope this series of articles will inspire and practically assist churches as they look into the relaunch process. We desire that every church will take this God-given opportunity to heart and leverage it for kingdom expansion.

As we read through the book of Acts, we always need to remember it is an inspired book of history. It gives us a glimpse of how God worked through ordinary men and women to fulfill His purposes and carry out His ongoing mission of redemption. We should look at the book of Acts as a place to glean principles and insights for church planting and church life. It is not a book to look for blueprints or models but rather a book to discover transferable principles that will be shaped by your cultural context.

Here are a few transferable principles that we can glean from the launching of the church in Acts 1-2:

1. Our motives must be great commission driven. Acts 1:4-8

If our only motivation is to get butts in the seats at whatever cost, we are heading for a world of hurt and disappointment. If all we are doing is to try to increase our revenue stream and meet our church’s financial needs, we are just going to be frustrated. If all our efforts are trying to get the “already convinced” into our church, the wheels will fall off very quickly. We must be great commission focused. Our hearts must be broken and burdened for those who are far from God. The only way some churches are going to grow in the consumeristic Christian culture will be through effective evangelism. My experience is that unchurched people don’t need all the bells and whistles of the mega-church – Christians do! Those far from God want relationships, meaningful connections, and hope for the future.

2. Spiritual dependence is vital. Acts 1:12-14

The disciples continuously gathered for prayer. They reflected on their deep reliance on God, clinging to God, not knowing what was next, merely waiting in humble dependence was the posture of Jesus’ disciples. How will your congregation reflect their prayerful dependence on God? I remember hand labeling 12,000 mailers with our team and praying for each person that God would open their hearts and touch them. Prayer walking our community before and during our launch and relaunches had a powerful effect. Having our people generate a list of people they would like to see come to Christ during this outreach, and then having a special prayer meeting where each name is lifted before the throne of God has proved very effective. Every fall and start of the new year, we had a focused prayer campaign to get our hearts right with God and to intercede for our loved ones, friends, and community.

3. Select and build into leaders in preparation for outreach. Acts 1:15-26

Preparing for a launch or relaunch is a great way to expand and develop your leadership team and volunteer-based. Giving people short term specific assignments is a great way to training and identify leaders. In some cases, you can double your leadership team and volunteer base with inviting people to fill needs for the short-term commitment. The critical aspect is that the more people you have involved in the planning and preparation, the more committed they will be in inviting and reaching out to their friends and family. We need to see these times of focused outreach as leadership development opportunities.

Pastors, how much time of the week are you giving to leadership development? Who are you as a leader personally investing time and energy? Remember, multiplication starts with you and the faithful leaders you pour your life into (2 Timothy 2:2).

4. Pick a good day and time of year for launching or relaunching your church. Acts 2:1

In Acts 2, we see that God launched the church on the day of Pentecost. This was no accident! There are theological, historical, and sociological implications to this date. Pentecost, which means “50” was the final celebration of the Feast of First Fruits which happened 50 days earlier. At this Feast, God’s people were to give a free-will offering (Deuteronomy 16:9-10) celebrating God’s provision. The theological and historical significance was that the Feast of First Fruits started on the Resurrection Sunday and ended on the Day of Pentecost. So, we see that the church was born out of the first fruits of Christ’s sacrifice. The sociological significance was that Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks was one of three annual pilgrim feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16), where God’s people from all over the world came to celebrate. We see such an array of people and languages in Acts 2:5-11. Pentecost was no accident. It was strategic, and this is one of the reasons why three thousand were added to the church that day. So, when is the best time to do a launch or relaunch? Our experience has been:

Fall: Late September-early October
Lenten Season: February-March
Easter: Late March-early April

The best time for launching or relaunching is the fall because you have nine months before you face the summer slump. The second-best time for launching a church is in February; this is a season when unchurched people come back to church. The third is right before Easter.

5. Launch out in the Spirit’s power. Acts 2:1-4

Remember, only God can draw people into a relationship with him. It can be tempting to trust your planning, but you must teach your people to act in faith and depend entirely on the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the life-giving power. Prayer and fasting will be critical for you and your church to express its dependence on God. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7

I hope that every church would experience a season of dramatic growth like the church in Acts 2 did, but the reality is that most are unwilling to pay the price for that type of growth and impact. A significant growth campaign in your church will cost you something. It will cost you your comfort, it will cost you time, it will cost you money, it will cost you your sleep, and it will even cost you some relationships because everyone is not going to embrace this journey with you.

6. Create interest throughout your webs of relationships and throughout the community. Acts 2:5-13

Three thousand people were added to the church in a single day. Still, the big question is, how many people were impacted by the miracle of the disciples speaking in different languages? God, in a miraculous way, created a buzz throughout the community through this miracle, both relationally and attractionally. There was so much buzz that it caused a reaction in people. The crowd asked three questions and made one accusation:

“Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?”
“Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language?”
“What does this mean?”
“Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’”

Here is an essential principle that most churches don’t understand. If you are going to have a major growth thrust, you must, in a big way, gain the attention of your community in such a way that it causes people to react. They will respond out of curiousness, out of sincerity, or even out of anger or jest.

When was the last time your church caused a community reaction that led to redemptive activity? Many churches are great at creating buzz in the Christian community but struggle with creating buzz among the unchurched or even de-churched? It’s like the church that only promotes its events through Christian media. Who are they trying to reach? Learning how to grab the attention of your community at large will be central to launching or relaunching your church.

7. Have bold, relevant preaching of God’s word. Acts 2:14-36

I remember a well-known pastor say that 85% of the people stay in a church because they made some type of connection with the person bringing the message that day. We can have all the latest technology, the most inspiring music, the warmest people, the best children’s ministry, but if people don’t connect with the message and the messenger, they will move on. Many a pastor has spent hours preparing the service and outreach strategy but only minutes on developing their message, which is to their detriment and is dishonoring to God.

Two things we learn from Peter’s sermon 1) He responded to the questions and reactions of the crowd. The bulk of the sermons preached in the book of Acts are responses to people’s questions. If we are going to do an adequate job of touching the hearts of people outside the church, we must address the issues they are facing. We must understand their “heart language.” We must understand what moves them. Do you know the primary heart language of your community? 2) He boldly proclaimed the word of God in providing an answer to their questions. Paul writes to Timothy, “Preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). The foundation of any church is built on strong biblical preaching, not motivational speaking. Every pastor must be gripped with an undying commitment of bringing the unshakable Word of God to a world that is falling apart.

8. Ask for a commitment to Christ. Acts 2:37-41

The key to getting commitment is clarity! Peter’s conclusion to his message was crystal clear, “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (vs. 36). His call to action was specific and realistic, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (vs. 38). His appeal was filled with passion and urgency, “With many other words, he warned them; and he pleaded with them, ‘Save yourselves from this corrupt generation'” (vs. 40).

Remember that this launch or relaunch, at its core, is evangelistic in nature. Our preaching must be evangelistically focused. David Murray describes evangelistic preaching as plain, simple, and clear. He writes, “Evangelistic preaching will be plain. If we love sinners and we are anxious for them to be saved, we will be clear and plain in our structure, content, and choice of words. If we can use a smaller word, we use it. If we can shorten our sentences, we do so. If we can find an illustration, we tell it. Everything is aimed at simplicity and clarity, so that, as it was said of Martin Luther, it may be said of us, ‘It’s impossible to misunderstand him.'”

At some point during this relaunch, we must passionately lift the person and work of Jesus Christ. We must challenge our audience with the implications of His claims as Lord and Savior. We must make it clear on how one becomes a true follower of Jesus. How one experiences the merciful forgiveness and the precious gift of the Holy Spirit.

9. Call them into the community of faith. Acts 2:42-47

When Peter called the crowd in the temple area to “Repent and be baptized…” he was not just calling them from something (sin, corrupt generation) but also to something (to Jesus, a new community of faith and a new mission).

Peter’s words give us a beautiful picture of the “church.” The Greek word for church is ekklesia, which in its base form means “to call out.” Isn’t this what Peter was doing? Calling them out to repent, changing their minds on who Jesus was and what He had done for them. He called them out to be baptized, to be dipped underwater before the crowd, as a symbol of personal identification with Jesus and His followers. He called them out to be marked by forgiveness and to receive the promised Holy Spirit. He called them out from a corrupt generation that offered nothing but hopelessness. In response to his calling out, they gathered together in complete devotion, filled with awe and wonder, sold out to the God that saved them and to each other. They had a clear sense of mission, which was seen in their ability to add people to their numbers daily.

As pastors and church planters, we have this same incredible privilege as Peter. As we launch or relaunch our churches into our communities, we have an opportunity to call people out to something greater than themselves. The Church. The Body of Christ. The Bride of Christ. God’s agent of change and hope for our world today.

How do you do that practically? What are the pathways of discipleship and involvement in your church? Would a new Christian know what the next step for them was in the life of the church? Would a returning believer know where to go to re-energize their relationship with Christ? Would a growing believer new in town know how to get connected onto a path of service and multiplication?

Clear pathways of discipleship are critical for having a successful relaunch. George Barna, in his book “Growing True Disciples,” writes, “Offering programs is not the issue. We discovered that surprisingly few churches have a well-conceived model of discipleship that they implement. The result is that churches feel they have fulfilled their obligation if they provide a broad menu of courses, events, and other experiences. Still, such a well-intentioned but disjointed approach leaves people confused and imbalanced.”

Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger, in their book “Simple Church,” articulate that for a church to have functional pathways of discipleship and involvement, there need to be four elements: movement, alignment, focus, and clarity. As you consider what you are calling people to, the following questions will guide you in simplifying the process.

• Movement: How would you describe the “ministry or discipleship flow” that exists in your church right now?

• Alignment: What type of alignment exists between your ministries to achieve your vision?

• Focus: How do these ministry opportunities help achieve our missional outcome?

• Clarity: Do those who attend our public worship service understand our process and the next steps they need to take?

10. Mobilize missionaries to serve the world, not just members to serve in the church. Acts 2:47

The new term for assimilation is mobilization. In the book of Acts, we see that Peter not only called the crowd into the life of the church but also called them to be engaged in the mission of Jesus. This is how “…the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Several years ago, I wrote on the differences between church-centric and mission-centric philosophies of ministries. For years the church has practiced a church-centric philosophy of ministry where the goal was to create healthy members for the betterment of the church. But in recent years there has been a paradigm shift where churches are embracing the need to be mission-centric, in that the goal for the church is to create missionaries for the betterment of society and cultural transformation.

Churches are in the sending business. One of the questions we must ask in evaluating a church’s health is, ‘How many people are being mobilized for the Great Commission?'” Reggie McNeal reinforces this paradigm shift in his book, “The Present Future”, when he writes, “The first Reformation was about freeing the church. The new Reformation is about freeing God’s people from the church (the institution). The original Reformation decentralized the church. The new Reformation decentralizes ministry.” The only way we can decentralize ministry is by seeing each member as a missionary to be sent by the church into their personal mission field.

The critical principle I take away from Acts 1-2 is this: “Missionally focused leadership will lead a church towards missional evangelism by engaging them in missional edification. Both are key to seeing the church fulfill God’s redemptive purposes in their communities.”

Conclusion

Fellow pastors and church leaders, the opportunity is ripe for you to relaunch your church this fall. Don’t miss this opportunity to envision your people, equip your leaders, and expand your reach deeper into your community for the glory of God and the good of all people.

Spreading the Message through Technology

I was raised in a Christian family with strong values and ethics. My father owned an auto parts store as I was growing up. Mom was always at home raising my sister and me. Many times when I was at my dad’s shop I witnessed the pleasant interaction of his customers and himself.

I’m very happy to say that my dad was very well respected in business, life and most importantly our church. It was my father who inspired me to become a small business owner.

Through a series of numerous life experiences, I created Copier Consulting, LLC out of the 15 years’ selling copiers and printers coupled with my late father’s business influence. I wish he could see me now!

As a child, I was taught by my dad a lot about standing up for the ‘underdog’. I guess it was a sports metaphor mostly, but he truly embraced making sure people were treated fair and reasonable.

His roots go back to the 1920s and as child growing up in the Great Depression he instilled many of my conservative values today as well as small business practices. It is this core value system that I decided to embrace wholeheartedly with what I knew the most about, which – although it may sound crazy – was in the copier industry.

From 1992-2007 I sold copiers. From 2010-present I have worked only for the buyer, educating and training them on the negotiating processes of today’s copier selling strategies.

Most times we discover confusing terms and conditions in the copier contract, service arrangements and on-going invoices. It really doesn’t have to be that way but it often is. Contracts are designed that way to benefit the seller. Enter a technical term:

Asymmetric Information

What is that?

Asymmetric information, also known as “information failure,” occurs when one party to an economic transaction possesses greater material knowledge than the other party. This typically manifests when the seller of a good or service possesses greater knowledge than the buyer.

Copier Consulting, LLC’s™ founder and president Al Kietzmann transitioned after 15 years as the seller. Today we only work for the buyer and are an independent and vendor-neutral consulting firm to help you make the best decisions while purchasing or leasing copiers and printers. We will discuss your current copier and printer situation, work toward reducing costs in the purchase or lease process while saving you time when researching and acquiring your best options, all without sacrificing user needs. Please note they do NOT sell or service copiers and/or desktop printers.

The result of working with Copier Consulting is an improved contract, waste exposure, and spend reduction. Collaborations historically average 33% financial savings for our clients.

A.R.E. Process™ will:

Assess your current contract(s), costs and needs
Research market opportunities, vendor omissions and preferred financing
Evaluate all future contracts to ensure most favorable terms and conditions

Imagine finding out that you were paying thousands more than you had to. What would you use the money for?

Contact me at al@copierconsultingllc.com for a free assessment and review of your current contract and future options.

We work remotely and nationally via phone, email and Zoom video conferencing.