Your Church

ALIVE David Schoen – Congregational Vitality and Discipleship

schoend@ucc.org

Your Church ALIVE

Going Local – Getting Your Church Outside Itself Missional and Relational Outreach

Becoming Public with your Faith Conversational Faith Sharing and Invitation

Getting Digital What Does YELP Say About Your Church? Online Ministry, Outreach and Invitation

Times Have Changed

96% claim spirituality

48% participate in faith communities

Total church participation in US has declined even though 51 million new people

Younger generation opting out in masses

Growth in Racial ethnic population decline in Anglo growth rate

Mobility rates increased

500 Year Phenomena

Disciples and Churches ALIVEMissional, Relational & Conversational

Missional in purpose

Relational in outreach

Conversational in witness in person and online

Missional Discipleship

“The Church exists to serve God’s Mission” ~ Mission as Missio Dei, UCC Committee on Structure, 1992

The church of Jesus Christ is the instrument and sign of God’s mission and realm.

God’s mission is calling and sending us, the to be to be a missional church in our own societies, in the cultures in which we find ourselves.

Missional in Purpose

Vital disciples clear sense of purpose

Vital disciples are sent people

Vital disciples reach out beyond themselves reclaim Biblical focus on neighbors

Vital disciples multiply new disciples/ministries/congregations

Who are they, and where do they come from?

(Revelation 7:14)

MissionInsite Demographicshttp://missioninsite.com/

flexible web based information system comprehensive socioeconomic and lifestyle data interactive mapping platform strategic information resource for ministry

Meeting Your Neighbors

MissionInsite Reports

Population Growth

Population Age

Racial/Ethnicity

Religious Practices

Socio-Economic-Consumer Types

Who Are they?

Survey of Religious Beliefs, Preferences and Practices

How to use MissionInsite

Map your congregation homes

Learn their mosaic types

Compare to communities, learn your niche

Gear programs, small groups to meet population to to needs and interests

New neighbor listings

Track guests and friends

Cluster home groups

How to Register

How to Register

QUESTIONS?

Missional in PurposeRelational in Outreach

The days of waiting for people to us to welcome them in church are over.

Instead of waiting inside, we go outside

Bridge the gap by building relationships

Celtic Evangelism

The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West…Again George Hunter writes about the difference between what he describes as the evangelism approach in Roman and Celtic Christianity.

Celtic Evangelism

Roman Model Celtic Model

Presentation Fellowship Decision Ministry and Conversation Fellowship Belief, Invitation, Commitment

Belonging and Believing

Christianity is more caught than taught!

As Professor Robin Gill observes, belonging comes before believing. For this reason, evangelism is now about helping people belong so that they can believe.

No Matter Who You Are, or Where You Are on Life’s Journey, You Are Welcome Here!

You Are Welcome Here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5BzusJvw_io

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5BzusJvw_io

Relational in Outreach

“I stopped wondering about how to draw younger folks into my church and started focusing on how to draw my congregation out of its building and into relationship with the world outside its doors.”

Missional Outreach

Walk or Drive your neighborhood Watch for where God is at work Take notes, make a map, collect contact data

Who lives where What are community needs Who are allies and good neighbors

Do this again and again Talk to your neighbors & community leaders

What are the hopes and challenges of neighbors How can the church be a good neighbor?

Relationship Building ‘Hang out’ with your community

Meet neighbors where they gather Spend Sunday morning with your neighbors

Soccer matches, Lowes, Coffee Shop, Exercise

Pastors ‘office’ in a coffee shop, fast food, bookstore. Make Worship and Faith Public Have meetings outside the church.

Bible/book studies in coffee shop, book store Council meetings in neighborhood context

Create Community Garden Engage in conversation, build relationships, Collect

data of names/addresses/e-mails

Joining God in the Neighborhood

Getting Started

Develop New Eyes for Your Neighborhood

Teach Radical Neighborliness – “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey…”

Meet Neighbors where they are, Listen to Neighborhood Stories

Discern What God is Up to in the Neighborhood

Get Involved

The congregation will begin to do ministry “with” the community—not “to” it.

What am I/We learning - What Do I/We Do Next?

Michigan 2 x 2

Faith,In Project

Be Bold !

Becoming Public with your Faith through Conversations

Conversational ministry is central to the future of the church in 21st Century

Count conversations, not conversions Brian McLaren, More Ready than You Think

Conversational Ministry The postmodern world calls for disciples

who reach out to a world that is hungering for good conversation about faith, values, hope, meaning, purpose, goodness, beauty, truth, life after death, life before death and God. Engaging in everyday faith conversations will not only help others become disciples, it will help us become disciples, who know and love the stillspeaking God more than ever.

Just because people aren’t in church

doesn’t mean they don’t believe

•Since 1991 adult population in the US grew by 15%.•During that same period the unchurched population grew by 92%! 75 million US adults do not attend church 'Unchurched' Americans say church is 'full of hypocrites' consider Christianity to be more about organized religion than about loving God and people, …“unchristian”.

Unchurched USA

44 percent -- agreed that "Christians get on my nerves.“

Vast majority of young non-Christians view Christianity as anti-gay, judgmental hypocritical, unwelcoming, too political, out of touch.

But 78 percent said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to tell them about his or her Christian beliefs.Almost three-quarters -- 72 percent -- agreed that God "actually exists“ and an even larger percentage -- 86 percent -- said they believed they could have a good relationship with God without church involvement.

Start Conversations

Spiritual Seekers want to talk.

We are the ones not talkingFear of Intruding on Other’s faith

Missional outreach is faith-sharing.

An unchurched world doesn’t know but wants to hear why we do what we do and believe what we believe.

If God is still speaking,

Shouldn’t we be?

Still Speaking Conversation and Invitation with Neighbors

Informal moments at work, shopping or…. Be attentive for moments for a still speaking word Wear your still speaking witness

Home dinners with neighbors

First Welcomers New Neighbors

Sunday Guests

Public Worship/Activities Ashes to Go Communion to the street Community Fairs/Events

Stillspeaking Witness!

God is still speaking,

Through you and me!

Eight Challenges Richard Peace – Holy

Conversations Learn how to talk about Jesus

Create spaces that bring seekers and Christians together to explore their spiritual journeys.

Learn how to invite others

Move beyond our stereotypes, fears and negative experiences of evangelism for new creative and authentic ways of outreach.

Eight Challenges Richard Peace

Evangelism and justice issues are a both/and not an either/or.

Find the energy to engage in and to sustain an outreach ministry.

Stay open to transformation, our own transformation even as we invite others to be transformed.

Learn how to discuss all of this in non-theological terms.

E. Word = Elbow

“The e.word today is elbow.” Jim Griffith

Still today the way most folks find a community of faith is when they are invited to come and brought by a friend or neighbor.

Come and See! One beggar telling another where there is food.

Conversational Invitation

Come and See

Who are you going to invite to come and see? Audiences for evangelism

Outsiders Become Insiders

Forgetters made Rememberers

Beloved Children become Belief-ful Adults

How To Get Started

Pray, pray, pray

Practice your stillspeaking ‘elevator’ response

Find a partner to practice speaking about faith

Start a Faith Sharing Group at church

Share ‘What My Faith/Church Means to Me’ Testimonies in worship

Pray for those you who want to reach out to

Just get started, talking and listening!

Are You Ready to Talk?

When did you have a moment of experiencing God’s presence in your life?

What impact has believing in God and following Jesus made in your life?

How is God still speaking in your life?/

What would you tell someone about your church and why you participate/love it?

What not to do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82bNyssUrLQ

QUESTIONS?

Your Church ALIVE

Going Local – Getting Your Church Outside Itself Missional and Relational Outreach

Becoming Public with your Faith Conversational Faith Sharing and Invitation

Getting Digital What Does YELP Say About Your Church? Online Ministry, Outreach and Invitation

Go Forth into the Digital World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB99MjUz7YQ

“The socialization of the web ... is now forcing a renaissance that is transforming information distribution, human interaction and everything that orbits this nascent

ecosystem.”

Brian Solis, PR2.0, “Unveiling New Influencers” 6/29/2009

“The socialization of the web ... is now forcing a renaissance that is transforming information distribution, human interaction and everything that orbits this nascent

ecosystem.”

Brian Solis, PR2.0, “Unveiling New Influencers” 6/29/2009

The Socialization of the WebThe Socialization of the Web

You Now Control the Message!You Now Control the Message!

Let’s Get Digital

Outreach on-line

Church Website Invitational Interactive Messaging E.newsletter Links

A Welcoming Website

Outreach on-line

Facebook Church fanpage Your own Like/Share Links Advertising

Outreach with new Technology

Twitter

Useful tools for Church Life

Skype calls, meetings, visits

Go to meetings

Webinars - On line bible studies, courses

Wikipedia, Google Documents

Yelp.com

Yelp.com

Church of the Wider Fellowship

Interactive Digital Worship

Tweet, Text, Post I’m in worship at (your) UCC

Tweet, Text, Post Insights, prayers, quotes from worship

Tweet or Text prayer requests to screen

Tweet or Text comments and questions to screen

Text a friend that you are praying for them

God is still speaking,

Through you and me.. In person andOnline!

QUESTIONS?

You and Your Church ALIVE

Missional in purpose – Go!

Relational and Invitational in outreach

Conversational in witness in person and online

Resources

Resources

Crossroads Mass. &

New Beginnings

FAST FACTS:

• Designed to lead “stuck” congregations to make a BOLD DECISION about their future

• Entire process takes about 6-8 months

• It works best when leadership teams work in clusters with other congregations

• Helps a congregation face reality, and gain courage for contextually relevant mission

The New Beginnings Process:

The Assessment

House Meetings

Making a Decision

Crossroads Coaching

Making a Decision

Given our resources, passion and skills: What is God calling us to do?

What would that require us to give up?

What would we look like when we are doing it?

How would the world be different if we did?

New Beginnings – This Fall 2013

COME and SEE EventIntroducing New Beginnings in Michigan ConferenceFor Pastors & Congregational Leaders September 14 & 15 Saturday 10 AM and 2 PM Sunday 2 PM

QUESTIONS?

What one thing stood out today?What does it mean for you?What one thing will you do to get started in your own life, in your congregation?

You and Your Church ALIVE

Your Church ALIVE

Blessings as you discern God’s mission for your congregation,

and discover what God is calling you to be & do as disciplesand a church ALIVEin the place andworld God hasplaced you.

Thank You!

Thank you! Your financial support isChanging Lives: That’s Our Churches’ Wider Mission

Thank you for your vital leadership and discipleship!