Church Transformation

Evangelism and Transformation February 26, 2009 Webinar with Dr. Ron Crandall www.evangelismcoach.org

Housekeeping

Q & A panel to the right. Submit questions there.

We’ll tackle them at the end.

Occasional sound skip – VOIP.

Who is Ron Crandall?

United Methodist minister in the Kentucky Annual Conference,

Retired: Dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary

Ministry focus: smaller membership churches and effective Christian witness.

Small Church Leadership Initiative of SLI

ABIDE.

Turnaround and Beyond—A Hopeful Future for Small Membership Churches captures half of this story,

WITNESS : Learning to Share Your Christian Faith

“ Turnaround and Beyond” Leading Turnaround :

CONTENTS

Pathways to Turnaround

Pastors as Turnaround Leaders

Turning Toward the Spirit

Overcoming the Obstacles

Turning Toward Others

Developing True Disciples

Turnaround and Pastoral Transitions

Turnaround and Abiding

Participant/Contributors

Indices

Notes

A LITTLE BACKGROUND A study of 100 “ turnaround” small churches in 26 states and Puerto Rico.

“ The Turnaround Study”

Leaders of over fifty of the largest denom inations were asked:

“ Would you identify for us two or thre e of your smaller churches (under 200 members and/or 100 at worship) which have shown a remark able turnaround in the last two to five years, including: A new sense of hope and empowerment, a new vision for mission, a new readiness to reach out to the community, a new effectiveness in evangelism, and new growth in membership/church school/ worship attendance?”

Over 200 churches were nominated, 186 were able to be contacted, 136 agreed to participate, 97 returned usable surveys. Three others were selected = 100.

We Found That . . . Turnaround Pastors in Smaller Churches 1. Understand “Small” Differently

Their Biblical Perspective

Turnaround Pastors 1. Understand “Small” Differently

Their Biblical Perspective

Their Sociological View

We Found That . . . Turnaround Leaders 2. “Step Forward”

Loving the People

Shaping the Vision

Courting the Future

3. “Step Into the Spirit”

Special Events

Small Groups

Mission Experience

Prayer

Worship

4. “Step Over the Obstacles”

With . . .

a confident, vibrant faith

a deep appreciation for grace

a soft touch and tough skin

an understanding of conflict

a passion for reaching others with a gospel of transformation

5. “Step Out for New people”

With . . .

A Missionary Mindset

A “Missionary Mindset”

MISSION -aries . . .

1. Have a clear mission and believe it is of God;

Dennis to Joey “ Don’t ever play hide-go-seek with Mr. Wilson . . . He don’t SEEK.”

Just for fun, a new cartoon . . . . What’s the Problem here?

Favorite Biblical Sources for Creating the Vision

1. The Great Commission (Mt 28) -- 27x

2. The Body of Christ (Eph 4) -- 14x

3. Life / Good Shepherd (Jn 10) -- 11x

4. Pentecost (Acts 2) -- 10x

5. New Birth in Christ (Jn 3) -- 10x

6. God’s Activity in the Church (Acts) 9x

7. Seeking the Lost (Lk 15) -- 7x

8. Talents / Unto the least of these (Mt 25) -- 6x

9. Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) -- 5x

10. The Spirit makes us witnesses (Acts 1:8) -- 5x

“Whom Shall I send?”

“ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt 28:19-20)

2. Exist more to touch their mission field with the love of God and offer them Christ, than they do for their own pleasure and comfort;

2. Exist more to touch their mission field with the love of God and offer them Christ, than they do for their own pleasure and comfort;

3. Speak the language of the people and adjust their methods and ministries to fit the culture and meet the needs of those they want to reach.

5. “Step Out for New People”

With . . .

A Contagious Witness

“Whom Shall I send?”

Isaiah 43:10 “ You are my witnesses , says the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen.”

Acts 1:8 “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

We found that . . . the pastors we studied were not just shepherds , they were “good shepherds” (Jn 10; Lk 15)

In addition to caring for their sheep, they:

pursued lost sheep

had been found themselves

believed in “push” & “pull” evangelism

continued learning and growing

helped others live as Christ’s witnesses and practice evangelism through invitation, visitation, and conversation.

Barna Research 2003

4265 Telephone Interviews

“ Shared your faith with non-believers during the past year”

Assemblies of God (67%)

Non-denominational (51%)

Pentecostal (50%)

Baptist (40%)

Presbyterian (31%)

Lutheran (24%)

Methodist (21%)

Episcopal (13%)

Catholic (10%)

The “How” of Contagious Witnessing 10,000 Interviews over 15 years.

What Characteristic of the Person Led You to Decide 3571 Cases relationship with God explained the Bible cared for me 1. 2. 3.

The Role of a “WITNESS” 1 Peter 3:15

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

NIV

Contagious Christians

In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord . Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect . (1 Pet 3:15 NIV)

Rel w/ God Cared for me Explained

Twenty-five weeks of adventure with a small group of fellow pilgrims learning to walk the walk and talk the talk of being Christian Witnesses.

5. “Step Out for New people”

With . . .

A Contagious Witness

A Commitment to “Adopt”

Successful Small Church Evangelism MUST include Adoption .

As old as Acts 6:1-7

Hospitality, invitation, and visitation must lead to adoption

Leadership is defined in terms of relational discipleship

Programs are developed with both an outside & inside view

So… 10 Years Later I did a follow up study of the original 100 congregations to see the long term impact of this kind of leadership.

Some Startling Discoveries

Only 36 churches could be contacted

52 interviews were conducted

75% experienced loss of momentum or worse at first pastoral transition

Greatest success was when the congregation kept same pastor

What could this mean? “ Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John 16:7

How can we help pastoral transitions lead to brighter and more hopeful future?

First, I’m hopeful that this new book with discussion questions for groups will have an impact.

Second, A new approach for creating missional leadership teams for smaller membership churches is already underway.

A Movement for Renewing the Fruitfulness of Smaller Membership Churches ABIDING in Christ, ADVANCING God’s mission, ALIVE in God’s glory. ABIDE

John 15:1-11 “I am the Vine, you are the branches.” (grafted into the Life of Christ)

1. (15:4-5) abide in me

2. (15:7) my word abides in you

3. (15:8) bear much fruit

SPIRIT (quality & quantity)

(Gal 5:22)

“ pruned” (15:2) “cleaned” (15:3)

SON

“ rooted in love” (Eph 3:14-19)

FATHER

The ABIDE Model

Event 1 -- Celebration & Renewal

A refreshing overnight retreat encouraging faith and stirring a vision of what Christ can achieve in any congregation willing to abide in him and be shaped for God’s glory