1. Heartbeat of Vitality THE HEARTBEAT OF VITALITY!
David Schoen – Congregational Assessment, Support and Advancement
Unite Church of Christ
VITAL
DISCIPLES
VITAL
CHURCHES
THE HEARTBEAT OF VITALITY!

2. When Michelangelo talked about his work as a sculptor, he said that that his job was to free the being that was encased in stone. The figure, the art, was in there all along. His job was to bring it to light. This is our task as well.

3. I want you to invite you to go on a journey with me
I want you to invite you to go on a journey with me. Imagine that here in front of us is a blank canvas. On this canvas is a picture of the future church, but we can’t see it yet. Each of us can see it in part – and maybe a better descriptive is to say that each of us can sense it in part. But the whole of the image in its details and structure and even its artistic technique is still emerging.
I am here today to talk to you about the future of the church. I spend my days pondering this, researching it, experimenting with it, imagining it, playing with it, trying to uncover and discover it. But I can see only part of what is to come. Each of you will have a piece of this picture. So I want to share what I am seeing emerge from the stones of our modern steeples and then listen to what you see. Let us imagine ourselves as artists, scientists, seekers and futurists, who are bringing shape to the future we seek.
Phyllis Tickle

4. First the bad news…
“The church of Jesus Christ in the Western world is in terrible shape.”

5. Dec Edition

6. 2000 - Failure of our political system

7. 2001 – 9/11 – Failure of our security

8. 2002 – Iraq War – Failure of Military Mission

9. 2004 – Failure of American Economic Superiority (China)

10. 2005 – Failure of our ability to control a natural disaster (Katrina)

11. 2008 – 2010 – Failure of our economic system

12. Our Shifting World… 2000 – 2010 - Failure of the Institutional Church
Failure of our political system
2001 – 9/11 – Failure of our Security
2002 – Iraq War – Failure of Military Mission
2004 – Failure of American Economic Superiority (China)
2005 – Failure of our ability to control a natural disaster (Katrina)
2008 – 2010 – Failure of our economic system
2000 – Failure of the Institutional Church

13. I Quit Being a Christian

14. What Happened to the Mainline?

15. What Happened to the Mainline?

16. One of our most common temptations is to turn the way into a place, to turn the adventure into a status, to trade the runway for a hangar, to turn the holy path into a sitting room – even if we call it a sanctuary. When the movement becomes an institution, those whose hearts call them to pilgrimage get restless. – Brian McLaren

17. Now the good news…
“The church of Jesus Christ in the Western world is in terrible shape.”

18. The Great Emergence

19. William McLoughlin
Awakenings begin in periods of cultural distortion and grave personal stress, when we lose faith in the legitimacy of our norms, the viability of our institutions, and the authority of our leaders in church and state. They eventuate in basic restructuring of our institutions and redefinitions of our social goals.

20. The Awakening Cycle Crisis of Legitimacy Cultural Distortion Vision
Attraction
Transformation
We tend to spend most of our time as leaders consumed with the first two phases. This obsession has led to a cultural paralysis – a systemic abdication of our evangelical calling. I have the privilege of travelling all around the country and I get to work with so many people. But I can’t help but notice that even the most creative among us – the most generative among us – have a hard time fighting the depression that is taking root.
When we first focused on church development we assumed that we would immediately start training people in the tactical, practical aspects of starting and renewing churches. But what we found was that too many people didn’t believe that they were capable of using them. They didn’t believe in their own leadership abilities. So we have had to change strategies because what we realized quickly was that what the United Church of Christ and its leaders needed more than anything else was a REFORMATION OF HOPE. They needed to believe that we could actually grow and create and innovate – and that they could play a key role in getting us there.
The Awakening Cycle

21. Crisis of Legitimacy Cultural Distortion Crisis of Legitimacy
Individuals lose their bearings; neurosis, psychosis, and violence increase in prison populations; family breakdown.
Crisis of Legitimacy
Cultural Distortion
People conclude their problems are not personal, but are the result of institutional dysfunction; the prevailing order has failed; ordinary techniques for handling social stress no longer work; no agreement on solutions; nativist/scapegoating movements develop at this point; these people resist change and seek to return to old ways.
Cultural Distortion

22. Holy Hand Grenade!

23. Appearance of New Vision
Individuals appear who embody the cultural crisis and begin to articulate a new way of being, new insights, new understandings of identity, and new moral and ethical possibilities. Typically these people “shed new light” on ideals and practices that the community already values; they act as prophets of the new way that is faithful to what has gone before. They bridge old and new.
Vision

24. Attraction
Some people (often younger generations) begin to “get it” and begin to reorder their lives according to the new way of life articulated by the prophets; innovation and experimental stage, with both positive and negative consequences in the search for a new order. Revivals, conversions, and emotionalism are often marks of this stage as well. Conflict, division and partisanship roil between the followers of the new way and the maintainers of the old order.
Attraction

25. Transformation
People who previously had been moderates or “undecided” regarding the necessity of change accept the new vision, new patterns and new behaviors. Considerable revision of institutions, political reforms, reorganized communities, shifts in family structures, new economic practices.
Transformation

26. Transformation
People who previously had been moderates or “undecided” regarding the necessity of change accept the new vision, new patterns and new behaviors. Considerable revision of institutions, political reforms, reorganized communities, shifts in family structures, new economic practices.
Transformation

27. Shape of Church

28. FACTS on Growth:
More important than theological orientation is the religious character of the congregation and clarity of mission. Growing churches are clear about why they exist and about what they are to be doing. They do not grow because they have always been at the corner of 2nd and Main. They do not grow because they are focused on themselves. They grow because they understand their reason for being and they do the things well that are essential to their life as a religious organization. One of the stronger correlates of growth was the extent to which the congregation “has a clear mission and purpose.”

29. Clear Sense of Mission and Purpose “Stand for Something”

30. Mission and Spirituality
Essential to the mission of any religious congregation is to create a community where people encounter God.

31. Mission and Spirituality
Essential to the mission of any religious congregation is to create a community where people encounter God.

32. Willingness to Change Making a Difference

33. Whose Growing?

34. What Church Will You Create to Invite Others Into?

35. The Heartbeat of Vitality
How I Stopped Worrying & Learned to Love Evangelism
Conversational Faith Sharing and Invitation
Going Local – Getting Your Church Outside Itself
Missional and Relational Outreach
What Does YELP Say About Your Church?
Online Ministry, Outreach and Invitation

36. What do you think of when you hear the word EVANGELISM
The E.WORD - Evangelism
What do you think of when you hear the word
EVANGELISM

37. Celtic Evangelism
The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West…Again
George Hunter writes about the difference between what he describes as the evangelism approach in Roman and Celtic Christianity.

38. Celtic Evangelism Presentation Fellowship
Roman Model Celtic Model
Presentation Fellowship
Decision Ministry and Conversation
Fellowship Belief, Invitation,
Commitment

39. Belonging and Believing
Christianity is more caught than taught!
As Professor Robin Gill observes, belonging comes before believing. For this reason, evangelism is now about helping people belong so that they can believe.

40. No Matter Who You Are, or Where You Are on Life’s Journey, You Are Welcome Here!

41. You Are Welcome Here!

42. Building Relationships through Conversations
Conversational ministry is central to the future of the church in 21st Century
Count conversations, not conversions
Brian McLaren, More Ready than You Think

43. Conversational Ministry
The postmodern world calls for disciples who reach out to a world that is hungering for good conversation about faith, values, hope, meaning, purpose, goodness, beauty, truth, life after death, life before death and God. Engaging in everyday faith conversations will not only help others become disciples, it will help us become disciples, who know and love the stillspeaking God more than ever.

44. Just because people aren’t in church doesn’t mean they don’t believe

45. Unchurched USA Since 1991 adult population in the US grew by 15%.
During that same period the unchurched population grew by 92%! 75 million US adults do not attend church
'Unchurched' Americans say church is 'full of hypocrites'  consider Christianity to be more about organized religion than about loving God and people, …“unchristian”.

46. 44 percent -- agreed that "Christians get on my nerves.“
Vast majority of young non-Christians view Christianity as anti-gay, judgmental hypocritical, unwelcoming, too political, out of touch.
But 78 percent said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to tell them about his or her Christian beliefs.
Almost three-quarters percent -- agreed that God "actually exists“ and an even larger percentage percent -- said they believed they could have a good relationship with God without church involvement.

47. Start Conversations Spiritual Seekers want to talk.
We are the ones not talking Reverence for God - Silence and Worship Fear of Intruding on Other’s faith
Missional outreach is faith-sharing.
An unchurched world doesn’t know but wants to hear why we do what we do and believe what we believe.

48. If God is still speaking,
Shouldn’t we be?
Pastor had helped congregation simply to ask, do have a church you go to
Are you ready to talk
Why do you love your church
What difference has knowing god, Christ, and the holy spirit made in your life
No theological words
Richard peace, practice with unchurched

49. Conversational Evangelism
How I stop worrying and learned to love evangelism.
Buzz Marketing
Evangelism - One beggar telling another where there is food
Come and See! John 1: 46

50. Still Speaking Conversation and Invitation with Neighbors
Informal moments at work, shopping or….
Be attentive for moments for a still speaking word
Wear your still speaking witness
Home dinners with neighbors
First Welcomers
New Neighbors Sunday Guests
Public Worship/Activities
Ashes to Go
Communion to the street
Community Fairs/Events

51. Stillspeaking Witness!

52. God is still speaking,
Through you and me!

53. Eight Challenges Richard Peace – Holy Conversations
Learn how to talk about Jesus
Create spaces that bring seekers and Christians together to explore their spiritual journeys.
Learn how to invite others
Move beyond our stereotypes, fears and negative experiences of evangelism for new creative and authentic ways of outreach.

54. Eight Challenges Richard Peace
Evangelism and justice issues are a both/and not an either/or.
Find the energy to engage in and to sustain an outreach ministry.
Stay open to transformation, our own transformation even as we invite others to be transformed.
Learn how to discuss all of this in non- theological terms.

55. E. Word = Elbow “The e.word today is elbow.”
Jim Griffith
Still today the way most folks find a community of faith is when they are invited to come and brought by a friend or neighbor.

56. Conversational Invitation

57. Come and See Who are you going to invite to come and see?
Audiences for evangelism
Outsiders Become Insiders
Forgetters made Rememberers
Beloved Children become Belief-ful Adults

58. How To Get Started Pray, pray, pray
Practice your stillspeaking ‘elevator’ response
Find a partner to practice speaking about faith
Start a Faith Sharing Group at church
Share ‘What My Faith/Church Means to Me’ Testimonies in worship
Pray for those you who want to reach out to
Just get started, talking and listening!

59. Are You Ready to Talk?
When did you have a moment of experiencing God’s presence in your life?
What impact has believing in God and following Jesus made in your life?
How is God still speaking in your life?/
What would you tell someone about your church and why you participate/love it?

60. Are You Ready to Talk What are you going to do to get started?
Who do you want to share a conversation?
Where will you talk?
How can your church help?

61. God is still speaking,
Through you and me!

62. QUESTIONS?

64. The Heartbeat of Vitality
How I Stopped Worrying & Learned to Love Evangelism
Conversational Faith Sharing and Invitation
Going Local – Getting Your Church Outside Itself
Missional and Relational Outreach
What Does YELP Say About Your Church?
Online Ministry, Outreach and Invitation

65. The Heartbeat of Vitality Missional, Relational & Conversational
Missional in purpose
Relational in outreach
Conversational in witness in person and online

66. Missional Discipleship
“The Church exists to serve God’s Mission” ~ Mission as Missio Dei, UCC Committee on Structure, 1992
The church of Jesus Christ is the instrument and sign of God’s mission and realm.
God’s mission is calling and sending us, the to be to be a missional church in our own societies, in the cultures in which we find ourselves.

67. Missional in Purpose Vital disciples clear sense of purpose
are sent people
reach out beyond themselves
reclaim Biblical focus on neighbors
multiply new disciples/ministries/congregations

68. Reclaiming the Biblical focus on NEIGHBORS
Hebraic Scripture focuses on neighbors
Ten Commandments and Torah
You shall love your neighbor as yourself ~ Leviticus 19:18
Jesus commandment - You shall love your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind and your neighbor as yourself. ~ Luke 10:27
Love of God and love of neighbor combined
If we love our neighbor and God, we will find an appropriate way and time to share our faith with them
Jesus, Paul and James
extend ‘neighbor’ to all humankind (with some surprises)

69. Who are they, and where do they come from? (Revelation 7:14)
MissionInsite Demographics
flexible web based information system
comprehensive socioeconomic and lifestyle data
interactive mapping platform
strategic information resource for ministry

70. Meeting Your Neighbors

71. MissionInsite Reports
1.5 Mile Mile

72. Racial/Ethnicity
1.5 Mile Mile

73. Population Growth

74. Household Incomes

75. Religious Practices

76. Socio-Economic-Consumer Types

82. Who Are they?

84. Mission Impact and Outreach Guide Singles and Starters– Digital Dependents

85. Mission Impact and Outreach Guide Singles and Starters– Digital Dependents

86. Mission Impact and Outreach Guide Singles and Starters– Digital Dependents

87. Survey of Religious Beliefs, Preferences and Practices

88. How to use MissionInsite
Map your congregation homes
Learn their mosaic types
Compare to communities, learn your niche
Gear programs, small groups to meet population to to needs and interests
New neighbor listings
Track guests and friends
Cluster home groups

89. How to Register

90. QUESTIONS?

91. Missional in Purpose Relational in Outreach
The days of waiting for people to us to welcome them in church are over.
Instead of waiting inside, we go outside
Bridge the gap by building relationships

92. Relational in Outreach
“I stopped wondering about how to draw younger folks into my church and started focusing on how to draw my congregation out of its building and into relationship with the world outside its doors.”

93. Missional Outreach Walk or Drive your neighborhood
Watch for where God is at work
Take notes, make a map, collect contact data
Who lives where
What are community needs
Who are allies and good neighbors
Do this again and again
Talk to your neighbors & community leaders
What are the hopes and challenges of neighbors
How can the church be a good neighbor?

94. Relationship Building
‘Hang out’ with your community
Meet neighbors where they gather
Spend Sunday morning with your neighbors
Soccer matches, Lowes, Coffee Shop, Exercise
Pastors ‘office’ in a coffee shop, fast food, bookstore.
Make Worship and Faith Public
Have meetings outside the church.
Bible/book studies in coffee shop, book store
Council meetings in neighborhood context
Create Community Garden
Engage in conversation, build relationships, Collect data of names/addresses/ s

95. Faith,In Project

96. Be Bold !

97. What not to do!

98. Joining God in the Neighborhood
Getting Started
Develop New Eyes for Your Neighborhood
Teach Radical Neighborliness – “No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey…”
Meet Neighbors where they are, Listen to Neighborhood Stories
Discern What God is Up to in the Neighborhood
Get Involved
The congregation will begin to do ministry “with” the community— not “to” it.
What am I/We learning - What Do I/We Do Next?

99. QUESTIONS?

100. Your Church ALIVE How I Stopped Worrying & Learned to Love Evangelism
Conversational Faith Sharing and Invitation
Going Local – Getting Your Church Outside Itself
Missional and Relational Outreach
What Does YELP Say About Your Church?
Online Ministry, Outreach and Invitation

101. Go Forth into the Digital World

102. The Socialization of the Web
You Now Control the Message!
“The socialization of the web ... is now forcing a renaissance that is transforming information distribution, human interaction and everything that orbits this nascent ecosystem.”
Brian Solis, PR2.0, “Unveiling New Influencers” 6/29/2009

103. Let’s Get Digital

105. Outreach on-line Church Website Invitational Interactive Messaging
E.newsletter
Links

106. Outreach on-line Facebook Church fanpage Your own Like/Share Links
Advertising

107. Outreach with new Technology

108. Twitter

109. Useful tools for Church Life
Skype calls, meetings, visits
Go to meetings
Webinars - On line bible studies
Wikipedia, Google Documents

110. Yelp.com

112. Church of the Wider Fellowship

113. Extravagance UCC

114. Interactive Digital Worship
Tweet, Text, Post
I’m in worship at (your) UCC
Insights, prayers, quotes from worship
Tweet or Text prayer requests to screen
Tweet or Text comments and questions to screen
Text a friend that you are praying for them

115. Through you and me.. In person and Online!
God is still speaking,
Through you and me.. In person and
Online!

116. QUESTIONS?

117. Conversational in witness in person and online
Heartbeat of Vitality
Conversational in witness in person and online
Missional in purpose – Go!
Relational and Invitational in outreach

118. Resources

119. New Beginnings

120. Resources

121. The Heartbeat of Vitality
What have you learned today?
What one thing will you do to start?

122. Making a Decision
Given our resources, passion and skills: What is God calling us to do?
What would that require us to give up?
What would we look like when we are doing it?
How would the world be different if we did?

123. Heartbeat of Vitality
Blessings as you discern God’s mission for your congregation,
and discover what God is calling you to be & do as vital disciples and vital churches in the place and world where God has placed you.

124. Thank You! Thank you for your vital leadership and discipleship!
Thank you! Your financial support is
Changing Lives: That’s Our Churches’ Wider Mission