(Due Saturday, Week #4 - 100 points) Select  a leadership-needy ministry or church.  The church or ministry may be  one that you participate in, or one in your community.  Evaluate the  ministry for the following strengths and weaknesses: Describe the major paradigms  in operation at the church, which seem to govern the shape and form of  the ministry – what makes it “tick?”  What are the origins of these  paradigms?  Are they shaped by the people, the local culture, a  denominational culture, or other internal or external factors?  Are they  associated with church forms for ministry that produce an associated  strength or weakness for the church or ministry? Note the formal core directives  that are in place for the ministry or church – does the church have a  written vision, purpose or mission statement?  Does the church have  written core values?  Are these core directives written out?  Do they  seem to exist on paper only, or are they actively being worked out in  the ministry, guiding its form and direction? Describe to communication  of core directives within the church or ministry – does the leadership  communicate them to the people in the ministry?  Do the people know what  the core directives are?  How do they communicate the church or  ministries core directives? How does the church or ministry mobilize  people to serve in fulfilling its core directives?  Does the church or  ministry have sufficient human resources and sufficient financial  resources to carry out its core directives?  What percentage of the  people associated with the ministry are actually participating in the  work of that ministry?  What is the attitude of the people working  within the ministry – are they tired, inspired, worn out, or on fire to  serve? Does the ministry or church have a strategic planning  mechanism which guides and focuses the human and financial resources it  has toward the fulfillment of its core directives?  Are the goals and  associated strategies written down and/or communicated to those working  within the ministry?  How are they communicated?  How are they updated?   How efficiently are they directing the focus of church or ministry  resources? In a reflective paper of 7 - 10 pages,  evaluate the church or ministry you have chosen by answering as many of  the questions listed above as possible.  If the church or ministry is  one where you have major responsibilities in leadership, interview  others in the ministry (other leaders and members/participants) to  collect data to answer these questions objectively.  If the church or  ministry is one in the community, for which you have no direct  leadership responsibility, your answers should be based on interviews  with key leaders and participants in that ministry. You  may decide to use the ministry or church chosen to be the subject of  your post-session assignment, acting in the role of a ministry  consultant.  If the ministry or church is not one where you have major  le ...

1. (Due Saturday, Week #4 - 100 points)
Select a leadership-needy ministry or church. The church or
ministry may be one that you participate in, or one in your
community. Evaluate the ministry for the following strengths
and weaknesses:
Describe the major paradigms in operation at the church, which
seem to govern the shape and form of the ministry – what
makes it “tick?” What are the origins of these paradigms? Are
they shaped by the people, the local culture, a denominational
culture, or other internal or external factors? Are they
associated with church forms for ministry that produce an
associated strength or weakness for the church or ministry?
Note the formal core directives that are in place for the
ministry or church – does the church have a written vision,
purpose or mission statement? Does the church have written
core values? Are these core directives written out? Do they
seem to exist on paper only, or are they actively being worked
out in the ministry, guiding its form and direction?
Describe to communication of core directives within the church
or ministry – does the leadership communicate them to the
people in the ministry? Do the people know what the core
directives are? How do they communicate the church or
ministries core directives?
How does the church or ministry mobilize people to serve in
fulfilling its core directives? Does the church or ministry have
sufficient human resources and sufficient financial resources to

2. carry out its core directives? What percentage of the people
associated with the ministry are actually participating in the
work of that ministry? What is the attitude of the people
working within the ministry – are they tired, inspired, worn
out, or on fire to serve?
Does the ministry or church have a strategic planning
mechanism which guides and focuses the human and financial
resources it has toward the fulfillment of its core directives?
Are the goals and associated strategies written down and/or
communicated to those working within the ministry? How are
they communicated? How are they updated? How efficiently
are they directing the focus of church or ministry resources?
In a reflective paper of 7 - 10 pages, evaluate the church or
ministry you have chosen by answering as many of the
questions listed above as possible. If the church or ministry is
one where you have major responsibilities in leadership,
interview others in the ministry (other leaders and
members/participants) to collect data to answer these questions
objectively. If the church or ministry is one in the community,
for which you have no direct leadership responsibility, your
answers should be based on interviews with key leaders and
participants in that ministry.
You may decide to use the ministry or church chosen to be the
subject of your post-session assignment, acting in the role of a
ministry consultant. If the ministry or church is not one where
you have major leadership responsibility, you must secure
written permission from a key leader to use the church or
ministry as the subject of this consulting work. You may also
choose to change the name of the church or ministry, as well as
its leadership and participants, for the purposes of this
assignment, to protect their privacy

3. Turn in your written reflection paper for this assignment by
email on Saturday, OCTOBER 24, 2014, through the
“Assignment Tool” in Blackboard. Bring a copy of the paper to
class with you, as it will be used in group discussion within the
class, and as a backdrop for class lecture and discussion.
Be ready to comment and discuss the particulars of your
ministry or church focus in class during the lecture and
discussion time