Now then, what is going to be our strategy?
Andy Stanley asks the question: When people think of your organization, what is the word they will associate with it?
Another question is: What do we want it to be?
Are we an "evangelistic" church?
Are we a "worship" church?
Are we a "doctrinal" church?
Are we a "recovery" church?
Are we a "service" church?
Or are we a combination of any of these?
What is "our" word?
What we are seeking is to be a "relational" church.
We desire to emphasize our relationship with God, intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders.
In the pursuit of these relationships:
Some come to faith
People worship
Truth is taught
the broken recover
and material needs are met.
We want to "do" ministry in the context of relationship in communities, as Stanley writes, "not on committees."
Churches need strategy. And I agree that finding our "word" is a great place to start in defining what our strategy will be.
So...let's go on.
How do we choose our strategy (our plan of action..Intended to accomplish a specific goal)."
A great strategy is simple to understand and easy to implement.
I understand the philosophy of "seeing people saved" at church. I lived that for almost 20 years of being a pastor.
I still desire to "see people saved" at church.
Sometimes, however, people want to belong before they are willing to believe.
As Stanley writes, "they want to "taste and see" if it is good before they are willing to jump in.
Why small groups?
Groups decentralize church leadership and care. Our groups gives us many shepherds in our church, not just a few.
Groups enable more people to serve.
Groups help develop authentic community.
Groups offer maximum flexibility.
This point is especially important for group leaders who might be experiencing burnout.
Groups members can schedule their own meetings times around their personal schedules. No one is tied down to meeting at one time on one particular day. The group can meet on the day they choose.
Some might meet once a week, some twice a month, some once a month.
Groups don't only offer flexibility when they meet, but also where they meet. They can meet anywhere or, if they so choose, they can rotate meeting locations to avoid burnout on one specific leader.
Groups allow us to be better stewards.
Groups remove the primary limits to growth.
What is the overall goal of a small group? Multiplication! Multiplication in the short term is hard, but in the long term is very profitable. Like every living thing, every group has a life cycle (Randall Neighbor said 18 months). Every group eventually comes to an end.
That's why one of our ultimate goals is to start a group so that other groups might be started!
Stuff to chew on.....
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What I would like to add is that the difference between youth and adults is that adults have years and the ability to reach people long-term. Whereas with youth you have but a moment. My son is already finishing his freshman year. We began working with youth two years ago. I'm realizing with him and the other youth that our time is short and every moment, every year counts with them. If we think we can wait another year to reach their lives and plan the perfect event, we are wrong, it must be today. This in itself is a huge plus for small groups and building relationships with youth.
It is important for everyone to get connected today and fortunately a church can transform itself through years to continue to reach people where they are. What I'm realizing with my own child is that we can't afford to do this with youth - we have but a moment. I would hope that all adults and youth would get connected this way. I would also hope that new leaders rise up to take them on and how wonderful it would be to see youth be those leaders.
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