On November 18th, about 15 people gathered for a two hour session during which we began to put some specifics onto the framework of the Natural Church Development process for 2008. Although you may not have heard much about the process lately, rest assured that in 2008 you will hear more about how we are seeking to become a church that develops and uses the spiritual gifts of its members.
One thing we discovered at the meeting was that it is difficult to make specific goals in a group the size that we had present at the meeting. Thus, many of the ideas that came up are still ideas. The Church Health Team must meet and make specific goals and plans based on these ideas. Among the items discussed were:
The need for more grassroots involvement in the process.
We need to use a wide range of venues to communicate what we will be trying to do in 2008.
We will need to educate our congregation on the concept of spiritual gifts using methods such as personal testimony and witness, sermon series, and Bible studies.
We will seek to train persons to more effectively use their spiritual gifts. Specific training will be offered for acolytes, ushers, greeters, and communion stewards.
We will also use the first meeting of each committee in the new year as a training session to help orient everyone to the purpose and goals of the committee.
We will seek to affirm persons in various ways and thank them for the ministries that they perform.
We realized that what we are seeking to do is to change the way that the church understands and relates to the topic of gift based ministry. We realized that this would not happen overnight but would be a longer process. Such change might best take place one small group at a time as we seek to introduce these new concepts to the congregation.
As you can see, the meeting was quite productive. Continue to pray about this process and the role that you might play in helping to make the idea a reality as we begin to expand our efforts in the year ahead.
I hope by now that you have put the date of November 18th on your calendar and that you are planning to attend the Vision and Planning workshop after church on that day. Just in case you were wondering what we’ll be discussing, take a look at the agenda for the meeting.
Vision and Planning Workshop Agenda
• Review NCD basics with a focus on the growth forces
• Review NCD profile
• Work through the following seven steps to action planning below
1. Picture the future
Dream about the future and envision how your church’s minimum factor will be different 12-36 months from now.
Use the APA Analysis to help people dream.
2. Brainstorm initiatives
For each of the key issues to be addressed, brainstorm possible actions that could be taken.
3. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals
Generate S.M.A.R.T. goals for each key issue that you will implement in the next 12 months to improve your church’s minimum factor.
4. Prioritize initiatives
Summarize input from APA exercise and brainstorming sessions to identify the top priorities. Identify which initiatives will help you reach your goals and make the most difference to improve your minimum factor.
5. Develop growth forces
Use the growth forces summary sheet to help shape your strategies. This is not an easy process. Strategies that do not integrate the growth forces will do little to improve your score and the overall health of the church.
6. Finish action plans
Assign specific people to the various tasks to be accomplished. Agree upon specific dates for completion.
7. Determine next steps
Celebrate development of your action plans. Review the checklist for Step 4 of the NCD process to clarify next steps to be taken.
