Journal: Well that was a bit of a day off!

Today was a mixed day as I needed to get some copy off to to meet a deadline and then found that the local newspaper needs everything asap for the church service page. This year we have forty-one churches featuring (plus the Good Friday Witness) so it's looking really positive again.

managed to creep out for a film (read about it elsewhere on the blog) and also managed to get over to Lichfield for some Easter requisites too. Whilst there managed time with the wife and a bit of nosebag so been a really positive day thus far.

That said it's 23:40 and I'm just about to pull the plug and get off to bed - so it has been a really good day and although I haven't managed a full day off with Easter and missioner stuff creeping in, I feel really chilled.

Lord, for the encounters today I give You thanks and praise.

For the people I have blessed, I thank You, and for those I haven't, "Hey Ho, let's keep banging those rocks together, eh?"

Mystery Worshippers and a welcoming church

I wonder how many of us in churches have thought of enlisting the services of a 'mystery worshipper'? The diocese I find myself in offers this wonderful service and it is something that I can recommend as a most valuable exercise.

Thus far we have generally come out well in the reports that follow a visit and what we were told was not only pleasing (apparently we are a warm, welcoming and accessible bunch) but also help us raise our game in areas that we had missed (which were all generally building related).

One of the biggest problems that churches face with regard to welcoming new people is that we regulars tend to smooth out the rough edges and lines blur after a while so that what we see is not what a visitor to our building might see at first glance. The same goes for our services and it is here, especially it seems in the sharing of the peace, that what we see as merely 'being friendly and accepting' can be interpreted by visitors as a complete and utter madhouse. Comfort zones are a personal item and these can be trampled upon with a hearty hug and a holy kiss, after all there are many for whom even eye-contact of a handshake is a cause fo concern.

So why not find someone to be your mystery worshipper and have a go at looking at you church and the services they have through the eyes of a visitor? You might be pleasantly surprised (and better still, so might any visitor as a result of what you find).

A little video which makes you laugh a bit (and hopefully think a lot):



Happy Friday

Volunteers - Communicating the Need

One of the most interesting comments in what has been a most interesting week so far (can't believe it's only Wednesday as the week so far has been crammed full of so much!) has bee that of a stressed cleric regarding the needs in their place of worship.

"I can't get them (the congregation) to understand what needs to be done or get them to do it!"

There was this church with loads of opportunities for people to get involved and yet they not only didn't want tio but (apparently) didn't seem to understand why they should be doing it anyway! A nightmare scenario indeed.

So I asked questions (as I do) and got answers (which often I don't) and it went like this:

So what needs doing? The answer to this covered the areas of outreach, children's work, music and doing general tasks in and around the service. It appeared that there were always people who were willing to have the jobs on the stage but when it came to being out of sight or engaged with people who were not church the volunteers all cried off. Many of those asked had done various roles when they'd first come to the church and were reticent to pick them up again. "Done that before" and "Don't have the time' were the top two responses.

In a time when we are looking at reducing clergy numbers the clergy are being blessed with the opportunity of engaging, equipping and releasing the laity (you know - God's people) to fulfil their baptismal calling and become the evangelistic, church-maintaining, church-growing people that they are meant to be. This is our (those who have been 'collared') opportunity to raise up a generation who will engage the world and take (and make) the Gospel real in it. To set people on fire for God such that others will come to watch them burn!

But of course there's the problem with volunteers in that whilst they can be enlisted and tasked with various aspects of being Church, many will submissively take the roles and produce little fruit ("I'm sorry it hasn't been done but I'VE been busy Vicar"). Some of my suggestions had been tried and when whatever it was hadn't happened the response was something along the lines of, "But at the end of the day that's your job isn't it?"

The person in question had come up with an amazing strategy for the church and its problems; They were going to leave! The intended destination was a flourishing church with teams for everything and a life where they, the minister, could spend time reading the Bible, praying and writing sermons. The problem is that they weren't opting out for an easy life but were opting in for a place which would see them establish some security of mind, body and spirit and have them working shoulder-to-shoulder with those who were seeking to build the Church.

A really lovely person came up to me recently and pointed out some areas that 'we' could be engaged in. My response was to applaud the fact that they were open and aware to the needs of the community and I asked how I might help them engage with this. The response was: "Oh, I'm not looking to do it, but I thought you ought to know so that you could!"

The problem before us is one of communicating the needs and helping those around us to understand that the needs exist and the solution stares at them in the mirror every morning. Older congregations are a great resource and newer members (give me twenty new believers and we can take the world) are a blessing but the job is there for all of us. But we can't try the 'embarrass the members' model (which some do) and we can no longer merely assign jobs (as in the 'Father knows best' model) but we can take someone and show them the needs and point them in areas where their passion is (or perhaps once was) and rekindle a fire within them.

So the answer to this? I don't have a clue!

I meet more and more clergy who are doing more with less and they are, generally, responding by closing stuff. Youth groups that were twice weekly now happen once a week. Coffee mornings have ceased and cloth is being cut accordingly. Where we had a church which was engaged with the outside world we are seeing the congregations huddle nearer and nearer the fire to escape the chill winds of mission and engagement outside.

But the future is bright - just wish this cleric was for all I have is a Bible and a desire to reach those outside and and use those inside tho be the vehicles of evangelism, social action and engagement.

As I say - been a long and exhausting week so far - still two hundred plus children are before me today as I engage with 'Open Door' in the parish church and the opportunities for conversation and the sowing of seeds with teachers, parents and the general populace outside the doors of the building has me buzzing and expectant.

Hallelujah!

Mission Action Plan Season (2)

One of the most common complaints I hear about the MAP is that churches are 'forced' to do them and this, it seems, makes the MAP a chore rather than a blessing. As a result some of those I come across a solo efforts intended merely to tick the box (which is actually worse than useless)!

Others are seen as an invitation to 'dream dreams'. One of these saw what was a declining and critically failing church reversing the trends and growing to a thriving community of hundreds. When I looked at the ageing congregation and experienced the desperate 'we're declining and doomed' atmosphere my first question was to ask how they (the church) thought they were going to reach their goals. The answer was a bit of a surprise: "We're expecting God to send them in!" The same answer was given as to the workers they would need, the skill sets and any other resource.*

Now, I am often troubled by those with whom I engage in that one of the critical factors in creating a MAP, having a vision and engaging with it, is the often perceived lack of prayer. Obviously this wasn't the case for this church, they had prayed and had faith a plenty - but the goal and expectations weren't realistic. This caused me great problems because I had found myself in the role of doubting what they believed God could do, and of course He could, couldn't He?

As conversations with both of the two examples here progressed it was obvious that timescales and performance indicators (i.e. did it happen?) were the missing, and much needed, elements here.

One of the common problems with the MAP is that like the one-armed fisherman, there is no way of understanding just how big the result of their efforts was! ("It was this big," they cry, "Holding out one arm!").

A PLEA

When you set about writing your MAP (we'll revisit the process some time soon) PLEASE:

1. Set timescales for the things (goals or objectives) you are planning/hoping/praying to see.

2. Review them at regular (predetermined) periods (6/12/18/24 months?)

3. Be realistic. If you have expected to see 50% growth and the result is different, review the goal and the means by which you were hoping to achieve it and modify (or even 'bin') the goal and/or process.

4. Keep the congregation informed and 'on side'. A congregation that owns and works towards the goals is one that is engaged and 'doing' rather than 'done to'.

5. Pray. In small groups, in services, in special events and anywhere and everywhere (ouch! Do I do enough of this? Probably not, but I can resolve that now!).

I hope this provides some stimulation for those who are struggling with MAPs. If you have problems, contact you local missioner (or mail me and I'll help if and where I can).

Happy Friday

* The goals for the 'church of hundreds had been in place for two years during which there had been rather rapid decline and the MAP hadn't been visited since it was written. If we don't understand where we are how can we hope to move towards our intended/hoped for destination?

Diamond Jubilee Bibles

These Bibles are a fantastic gift for the schools (and others( that we serve.

A 'not to be missed' gift on a very special occasion:

Pax

When growth means 'build'

Last Sunday was another one of those mornings where there wasn't an empty seat in the house and this brings home in an extremely aggressive manner the fact that we need to build!

One of the greatest blessings that a church can have is to find itself growing but there needs to be some awareness about growth and the problems it brings. The first of these relates to the available space. Let's call it the seventy percent rule - which goes like this:

We all look for growth as a sign that we are being effective in making disciples and preaching the Gospel and yet whilst we pray, plan and get out there and 'do the stuff', we often overlook the place we are seeking to bring the new sheep into. One of the first considerations is that of space (there are others and we will discuss them over the coming days).

A few years back we found ourselves with loads more seats than people and the spaces cried out to us to be filled. So we open our doors and took the Church outside the building and invited the world into it. We engaged with people and slowly, one by one, people came into relationship; first with us and then with God. Slowly but surely we found the seats begin to be filled and we were excited that we were running out of space.

More recently we have had days when all the seats were filled and new faces appeared on a Sunday never to be seen again. "Was it the preaching?" we asked ourselves. "Was it the peace?" I prayed and considered what it might have been that saw people not want to be part of our, even if I say so  myself, extremely welcoming and friendly little asylum?

Recently I met a couple who had been to a service and then vanished and so I asked them what had caused them not to come again. The answer was twofold. The first difficulty they had was lay in the feeling that the place was so crowded; the second was that the peace was a little overwhelming!

Within the missioner/church growth circles there is an empirical rule that tells us that once a congregation reaches seventy percent of its available space it ceases to grow. It doesn't matter how good the preaching is (phew!), how brilliant the music is, what refreshments you serve or how lovely the existing members are - once you've reached seventy percent of your available space you are about to plateau (or even decline as some feel a little claustrophobic and leave). So here's a simple test:

1. Count the number of seats you generally have available in your worship space.

2. Now multiply that number by 0.7 (we have 40 seats 40*.7 = 28) this is you 'comfort factor'  (CF)

3. Take a look at the service register and see what your average attendance was over the past few weeks (removing any anomalies). Our average for the first three weeks of January was 37 adults and 9 children)

4. Ask the question, "Is the average attendance greater than the comfort factor (ours was 28). If the answer to this is 'Yes' then you have to provide more seats and if you have a problem here because of the space isn't available then you need to move the venue or build!

Now this is a real problem for some for a number of reasons, namely:

i. Putting our more chairs will make it look like we have less people!

• This is true. One of the biggest problems when considering growth is the fact that some want to feel cramped because this says that the fellowship is successful.
• Not putting out more chairs will keep those members you have cosy and crammed in, but will not grow and we are about growing the kingdom not supporting our own wants!

ii. We don't have any more space available to us.

• If you are in the happy position of renting a space (says he remembering the happy days of using schools, gymnasia and community centres - and lugging all the kit in and out!) then the answer is simple - a change of venue is indicated. Perhaps a larger room within the current venue or a 'We are growing so much we have to move' move.
• If you own the building and cannot use a bigger space within it then, if it is possible, re-ordering (if you can do it without cramping sight-lines and squeezing the people in like sardines) is the first step. 
• Having done this, the next step is to see how you can physically alter the building to provide more useable space. This might mean removing walls or extending and if this is not possible, then
• It's time to build a new building (or perhaps find a church with space who would be willing to engage in a shared-accommodation project with you.

iii. We need to build but don't have the money.

• Yeah, us too. Watch this space (or give us advice on how to raise the funds - we've managed £40k internally)

One of the temptations that some succumb to when the comfort factor is reached (or exceeded) is to explore the 'second-service' option. The problem with this is that you can destroy the dynamic that causes the growth (they might just like each other) and can bring about one large congregation service and one smaller congregation service. The larger flourishes and the smaller feels second-class (or elite) and differences grow. The family feeling is lost.

Some churches opt for early and later services and in my experience this often shakes down into the older folk and the younger/family congregations respectively. Multiple services means different congregations and this is a great way forward if you have BCP (Book of Common Prayer) early on and Common Worship (CW) or something a little spiky at the later but if you go down this route be aware that you are about to house two churches in the same building and making them one might be another challenge to be considered but we will look at the multiple service route shortly.

I hope this might stimulate some of those who come across this blog to consider whate their situation is in regard to comfort factors and available space - feel free to challenge and suggest, provide anecdotes and examples - all grist to the mill and most welcome.

pax

Static church

Following on from the four state diagram of church based upon the two parameters of 'Resource' (Spiritual health, People, networks, building, equipment, money, etc.) and 'Mission' (Going into all the world, making disciples, being Christ to the world - taking Christ to the world.), I thought it might be helpful to consider each of the fours states of 'being church' that exist, beginning with 'Static Church'.

In the two parameter (MR - Mission and resource) model a static church is one that has enough money to pay its way and generally exists for those within its walls rather than outside. Traditionally churches like these will continue to potter comfortably along doing as it always has and attracting new members who usually come into an area from a church which is similar. A conversation with a static church member told me that the people did church as they wanted and because they paid their share and kept well below the radar (after if there's nothing to shout about, good or bad, then people tend not to notice you) they were generally left to their own devices.

The church did everything it always did, Fairs and Fetes, Harvest Supper, Candlelit Carols, Beetle Drives (is that something to do with farming?) and all the other stuff that made church the place to be when the members were kids all still happened. There was a choir with an organ and nowhere was there a guitar to be found. It was fifties church made possible today - a sort of Beamish Museum for the Anglicans!

The members assumed that because they paid and maintained their numbers they were a successful church and you know what, I don't think they were wrong! There is something to be said for maintenance in places where mission isn't anything other than a nice concept, after all the community was pretty static and the nature of the place was such that those moving in, when homes became available, were pretty much the same people. The problem will come when those who start moving in to the area are dechurched or unchurched and fresh stocks to replenish the pews diminish. The sudden awareness that mission is needed to pay the share and fill the pews is more than just a culture shock (as some of those with whom I engage are beginning to find)!

So if you're in a static church why not start to look at how you might add a missional element into what being church is for those around you? It's what we are called to be and it's much easier to start the ball rolling in an environment that is relaxed and working to its own agenda than to trying to engage in looking outwards when you find you can't pay your bills and the share is looking unpayable.

Pax

Pioneer Ministry - What People Want!

conversing with a colleague on their journey towards having a Pioneer Minister, this outline document came to mind:

JOB DESCRIPTION

Working with others to plan, develop and sustain a fresh expression of church for those who are non-churched. Task and roles includes:

1. Exploring and engaging with the culture and context of the community where the fresh expression of church is to be established. Consulting and liaising with others who are working both within the local church community and in the wider community.

2. Leading the emerging Christian community in ways which are culturally relevant and authentic having an obvious connection with the church and subscribing to the views and practices of orthodox Christianity and the Anglican tradition.

3. Assembling a team of committed volunteers who subscribe to the vision and who have the suitable gifts and potential to assist in establishing the fresh expression of church. Supporting, pastoring and mentoring those team members as they grow in personal and Christian formation and in effectiveness in leading a fresh expression of church.

4. Establishing suitable processes for mutual and individual accountability within the project.

5. Reflecting prayerfully on the most appropriate ways to establish a form of church for non-churched people (adult and young people) within that community.

6. Co-ordinating appropriate worship (having due care for the need for an appropriate sacramental life), prayer, fellowship, outreach and social engagement within the life of the community.

7. Putting in place a strategy for the continuing development and future sustainability of the project. Identifying and securing the necessary resources for all, and any, new forms of church.

8. Drawing up and managing the budget for any fresh expressions of church that may come into being.

9. Convening and facilitating the management group for the project.

10. Sharing within the wider parish/diocesan/denominational setting the experience and learning gained from the project as might be fitting.

11. Contributing to the evaluation of the project as required, preparing such reports as may from time to time be requested.

12 . Acting as coach/mentor to other pioneer mission leaders within the project/area [optional - depending upon experience and skills]

13. Engaging in any continuing professional development or other appropriate ongoing training as is required.

14. Any other duties reasonably requested by the incumbent or project manager (where applicable).

Not a job for the fainthearted when it is put on paper like this is it? More than just sitting in cafés and dossing around with non-Christians, more like a load of work (often without the support structure that a standard parish role which perhaps indicates some benefit in a curacy of sort being with those starting out?)

Pax
V

All Member Ministry - Part the first

Following on from the 'Father knows best' model we are now residing in a period of glasnost whereby we enjoy the privilege and benefits of 'All Member Ministry' (AMM). This is the means by which the members of a fellowship, congregation or church are equipped, enabled and released to do the work of the Church.

Well, that's the theory anyway, but as is often the case, the reality is not always the same as what it says on the packet! Recently I have come across a few variations on the theme and thought I'd ponder them in this safe (ie. away from public gaze) place:

The Stage Manager

This appears to be the most common performance model in that the dog-collar has an idea about something that 'the church' could be engaged in and having investigated the needs, found a way to meet them and established a time and place to do the meeting of the needs takes it to the church council.

The church council, applaud loudly and approve the idea as sound and it is taken to the church with a communal sense of 'here we are, send them!'- a quote from Isaiah 6:8, Not Committed Version (NCV).

The church listens, rapt with concern and inspired to respond, as the needs of 'the lost' are paraded before them. They gasp with amazement at the ways the newly exposed needs might be met and praise God that the church will be making a difference where they are. Oddly, though, few come forward to volunteer their time and energies and those who do turn out to be the same people who are doing everything else. Still, the task is passed over to those who have volunteered and a few people are 'invited' to join in (this is a special dog-collar trick whereby people are given the job but the victim somehow feels they've invited!).

A first meeting is held and ideas (usually from the dog-collar or one of the over-committed) are batted around for a bit and the project is underway. A second meeting is held and ideas are batted around, people apologise for not having done the preparatory work, others apologise for the fact that they will be visiting family on the date set for the first iteration of the project and they agree to meet again. At a third meeting the dog-collar suggests a few things and tells the gathered group that the venue is set, the programme is set and all is in place for the first attempt at meeting whatever the need was when they first started planning.

On the day, the dog-collar and a few of the over-committed turn up and the first event takes place. It is a success (in the same way that there is no such thing as a bad parish weekend away) and the following Sunday the dog-collar parades 'the leader' (or even the team) and the assembled gathering applaud at what 'All Member Ministry' has achieved.

Content that the members now believe they have discovered, planned and executed a wonderful piece of work, the dog-collar applauds with the congregation, content that yet another piece of stage management has proved successful.

Those who get the applaud feel pleased and yet slightly confused that they are being recognised.

Those who were already over-committed realise that the applause signals even less time for themselves or their family (is it any wonder some kids rebel against the very same church that committed their parents energies away from them as kids?).

Those who are applauding really think that the church is 'active' and that the members are running the show.

Only the dog-collar, the gardener and the little house know the truth*

Pax

* If this sentence confuses you, it's a reference to Bill and Ben (the flowerpot Men!)

Church of Dreams - If you build it, they will . . .

Watch!

Just had an interesting conversation with someone regarding Church growth and building church. They started developing areas of ministry which brought together both church and community assuming that as they did people would get excited about the engagement and come rushing in to be part. In fact what happened was people stood on the sidelines and applauded loudly while pointing out further areas with potential for engagement.

Leaning heavily upon 'Field of Dreams' (neatly summed up on the Japanese DVD cover as 'man builds baseball field and meets dead father') this person assumed that if they built the ministry areas then people would indeed come, just like the film. Of course they forgot that the people did indeed come, but they came as spectators, not players - the players were the dead guys!

So, perhaps a good piece of advice from a missioner perspective here - perhaps the key is to get them to build it?

This is an area I will have to go away and think about a bit = but thought I'd let you share the experience with me.

Perhaps we need to change it to, "If you build it, they will come . . . and watch!"

Pax