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by David Roth

• The standards by which we measure ourselves as a church.
• The symptoms of a maintenance culture church vs. a vision culture church.
• Practical tools for changing the way we act as a church so we can get in touch with the Lord's vision for spreading His church, and so help that vision reach its potential in our church and in our local congregations.

Standards By Which We Measure Ourselves As A Church

• Worship Attendance
• Contributions
• School/No School
• Doctrinal Knowledge
• Others?

Standards Of Measurement

• What is a church?
  • A church is a church from doctrine and according to it. Coronis 18
  • Love of truth is the very love by which a church is a church. Apocalypse Revealed 357
  • A church is a church by virtue of its affection for truth. Arcana Coelestia 4449
  • A church is where the Lord is known and the Divine truths are to be found which enable people to be linked to Him. Heavenly Doctrines 5
  • For a church is where the Lord is adored and the Word is read. Heavenly Doctrines 8
  • The Church is not the Church because the Word is there, the Lord known there, and the sacraments are there, but because it lives according to the doctrine from the Word, Arcana Coelestia 6637
  • Charity makes the Church. Arcana Coelestia 809, 916, 1798, 1799, 1834, 1844, 4766, 5826
  • A church is a church by virtue of good. Arcana Coelestia 6440
  • Life makes the church. Arcana Coelestia 4468
  • There is not any Church where charity is not acknowledged as its essential, Arcana Coelestia 4766

Break Teachings Down To Two Main Things

• · The Lord is known and the Word is read
• o Doctrinal integrity
• · Charity or life
• · Historically we have been focused on the first - feel pretty confident about it
• · But are we really that strong here?

Lord is known and Word is Read

• By whom?
• Tends to be Clergy driven and dominated
  • "that's their job to find out and then tell us"
  • That's a beginning, but not the goal the Lord has set for us
  • People are to go to the Word for themselves - Lord will teach
• Question: Do we really have that part covered?
• The Lord knows where He is taking us
  • we need to find out His will
• Read His word and you read His will
• Perhaps the Lord is saying to us "find out what I wrote, and pray for it to happen"
• The Word should be searched with devout prayer to the Lord for enlightenment Arcana Coelestia 5432
• For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

Different Types Of Churches

• It is a question of Focus
  • Mission Driven
  • Maintenance Driven

Basic Assumptions?

• There is a God
• We are here to serve Him
• He has a plan
• He has revealed His plan
• Are we part of that plan?
• Have we bothered to find out?
• Are we in sync with God's plan?

What is maintenance culture?

• Maintenance is essential · Maintenance culture is not
• Culture of an institution is developed from the behavior of the people within the institution
• Culture is the spirit that people can discern. When FTA (first time attenders) attend your church, they can feel the spirit of your church.

Maintenance Culture Standards:

• Does your church have Maintenance Culture Statistics?
  • 98% of all growth in the American church is church transfer
  • 2% fulfillment of the Mission statement
  • 95% of all Christians are barren (they do not produce more Christians)
  • 80% of churches retain 10% or less of their visitors
  • 80% Are non growing churches
• The Maintenance Culture vision: The "Building Church" vision
  • Building Church: This church serves people who come to the building
  • In this model the staff ministers
  • Ministry occurs primarily in the building
  • Limited view of church
• Eighty-Twenty Principle
  • 80% of your church does only 20% of the giving and serving
• Membership
  • What does membership in a church mean?
  • It usually comes with the thought of:
    • Entitlements
    • Expectations
    • You complain about problems you see
    • Example: a country club
• A New Notion of membership
  • As a member we all contribute
  • We don't tell someone else so they take care of it
  • We step up and help out o No more 80/20 rule
  • Ownership is spread among all congregants
  • We all pray for the church
  • We all read and study and work together on Soundness and purity of doctrine
  • We all care for the people in the church - new and exist.
  • We all minister to the needs of others
• Three keys to Breakthrough :
  1. Modify your thinking - think outside of the box
  2. Motivate with a fresh vision from the Lord
  3. Mobilize with a breakthrough plan

Self Examination - Evaluate Your church or community

• Does your church have the:
  • Maintenance Culture standards?
  • Maintenance Culture symptoms?
  • Maintenance Culture statistics?
  • Maintenance Culture results?

Breaking Through To The Next Level

• Breakthrough requires -
  • an equipped church
  • an empowered church
  • A praying church
• The church must be trained for a breakthrough
• Breakthrough is a process not an event

To be mission driven you need a mission statement

• "Why, what and who"
• Why are we here?
  • If you can't answer that question you won't be there a long time
• What are we trying to do?
  • Have church or fulfill the Lord's mission
• Who is going to do it?

The Lord ministered to meet needs "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD." [Luke 4:18-19]

First Model: Impact ministry model

• How do we meet the unique needs of the first time attendees (FTA) so they have a positive experience from parking lot to parking lot?
• Pre-service and post-service activities often have more impact on FTAs than the worship service or preaching.

Questions the First Time Attendee asks

• Did this church communicate authentic care for me?
• Did this church meet my heart felt needs?
• Did this church meet my family needs?
• Do I have someone who cares about me here?

Self Evaluation: Do we have these mission driven features?

Examples:

• Ushers/greeters
• Trained members serving FTAs
• Hospitality table or room
• Escort to classes/children's Sunday school
• Visitor parking
• Friendly church
• Visitor packet
• Gift for first and second time visitors
• Map of facilities - if relevant
• Clear signs

Second Model: Follow up ministry model

• Follow up ministry model is the care the FTA receives after they leave your church to motivate them to return
• Six principles of the Follow Up Ministry Model: o Maintenance culture churches do not meet needs outside the building - mission driven do
  • The last time an FTA is contacted by a stranger is the first time they attend
  • The first Sunday you must "earn the right" for ongoing contact
  • Follow up ministry is part of the one-on-one assimilation process
  • The model is much less effective if it is staff driven. People want a friend not a paid professional
• Fallacy = strangers contacting strangers is personal
  • The connections made on Sunday will lose their impact without authentic follow up care

Ways to follow up

• Card or letter (hand written)
• Copy of latest newsletter
• Phone call from a contact made Sunday
  • Within 36 hours
• Drop off bread or cookies - leave door open - They know you didn't come to stay

Third Model: Assimilation Ministry Model

• The structure we have in place to lead the visitor from the decision to attend church to the decision to be a contributing member and champion of the faith of the New Church
  • Membership classes
  • Small group involvement
  • A Use to serve
  • New friends
  • Opportunities to share their experience and new found beliefs with visitors

Negative Results of an Ineffective Assimilation Model

• 80%-90% of growth is the "crowd" that never becomes core workers
• Core of workers is proportionately smaller as church grows larger
• Not enough workers to serve the attenders
• Workers become discouraged
• Workers become angry at staff
• Workers quit
• Staff and pastor bear burden of ministry

The Acts Church

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

What did they do right?

• Focused on essentials
  • Not distracted by a need that could be handled by others
• A natural use
  • Kept focused on prayer and ministry
  • Empowered others to do the work

Why do our churches have different results than the church described in Acts?
We must change our Culture

Things We Can Do?

• Sheep produce sheep not shepherds
  • Lay driven
• Everyone who walks in the door has a need
• A God need - parenting, marriage, etc.
• What is your need?
• Prayer - hurting
• Ignore them and they will ignore you

Overcoming Obstacles To Breakthrough

• What if it doesn't work?
• What if we don't have enough volunteers?
• What if we don't get the leaders we need?
• What if this is not the right time?
• Can we afford to do this?
• Why doesn't the pastor/staff just do it?
• What if the people won't stay committed?

Well….

• We are in prayer with the Lord
• We are in touch with His Word through reading and study
• We are trying to care for people and offer true charity - serving people's needs and leading them to the Lord
  • So how can it go badly?