Presentation by Pam Vig at the 2012 Southeastern Minnesota Synod Assembly as part of a workshop on communication. More on the workshops and the synod at http://semnsynod.org/assembly/workshops/

1. Pam Vig
Director of Children’s Ministries
Bethel Lutheran Church
Northfield, MN

2. Matthew 22:37-40
And Jesus said to him, “You shall love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your mind. This is the
great and first commandment. And a second
is like it, You shall love your neighbor as
yourself. On these two commandments
depend all the law and the prophets.”

3. …working with other congregations in the
same locale, whether or not those other
congregations embody the same or similar
heritage to one’s own is an opportunity
often missed by congregations. It is time
to recognize that various Christian
traditions working together have much to
offer the local community in both service
and witness on behalf of Christ.
Vibrant Faith in the Congregation, Anderson, p. 27

4. The church is more authentic in the eyes
of the young when it presents a
common face to the world. To be one in
Christ, Christians don’t have to speak the
exact same language or use the same
symbols and gestures. To say, “Jesus is
Lord” is to acknowledge that the Spirit of
Christ has gifted everyone.
Vibrant Faith in the Congregation, Anderson, p. 27

5. …a key ingredient for the gifts of the Spirit
is to serve larger efforts “for building up the
body of Christ,” or as Paul puts it in 1
Corinthians 12:7, “for the common good.”
These gifts are meant not to shine a light
on the gifted individual but on the larger
needs of the community both within and
beyond the church.
Vibrant Faith in the Congregation, Anderson, p.27

6.  Trusted Relationships
 Engaging Worship
 Focused Prayer
 Life Care Groups
 Experiential Bible Study
 Service Projects
 Pilgrimages and Retreats
 Vocation and Leadership
 Partnership with Household

7.  Trusted Relationships
 Engaging Worship
 Focused Prayer
 Life Care Groups
 Experiential Bible Study
 Service Projects
 Pilgrimages and Retreats
 Vocation and Leadership
 Partnership with Household

8.  What is our congregation’s identity?
 Are most members in agreement on our
identity and are they comfortable with it?
 Ifnot, what would our congregation like to
look like and what might we need to do to
get there?

10.  Competition
 Theological differences
 Others…

11. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous
or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love
does not insist on its own way; it is not
irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at
wrong but rejoices in the right. Love bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

12.  Follow 1 Corinthians
 Don’t negatively compare your
congregation to another – one way or the
other
 Acknowledge the good qualities in each
congregation
 Ask for advice
 Coexist
• Support rather than compete
• Speak well of and defend
• Share ministries and resources

13.  ShareGod’s love with the greater world
through our words and actions
• Share our time, talent and resources
• Support and rely on each other in our joys
and in our struggles
 Helppeople in our communities find the
church home that works best for them

14.  Don’t undermine them
 Don’t try to mimic them
 Look in the mirror

15.  Get together
 Host events together
 Pray for each other’s congregations

16.  What collaborations are already taking
place in our community?
 What are the challenges?
 What are the blessings?

17.  Share the work and the expense
 Share the resources and the wealth
 Community building
 Fellowship
 Members become aware of the larger
scope of the church

19.  Prayer
 Blessing– May God bless you and your
congregation as you seek to be a good
neighbor in His world.

20.  The Church of Irresistible Influence by Robert Lewis
 Once and Future Church By Loren Mead
 Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren
 The New Paradigm Church by Donald Miller
 American Church in Crisis by David Olson
 Doing Church As A Team by Wayne Cordeiro
 Pastor Merv Thompson – Lutheran Church of Hope,
West Des Moines, IA