In November, Pastor Chris Childs, Grace Ottumwa UMC, and I took a trip to Platte Woods in Kansas City, MO to learn about the challenges we’re about to dive into. Here’s a recap from some of the presenters along with references to external sources for further research.

Monday

2. Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values, and Cultures

Rev. Jeremy Vickers, Grace UMC

  • Purpose, Why
  • Mission, What
  • Vision, Where
  • Values, How
  • Culture, Who

Verses that shape the church

  • John 1, The Word Became Flesh

    In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.

  • Romans 12:1-2, A Living Sacrifice

    Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

  If someone doesn’t want to stay, reccomend some churches to visit
  Part of building Grace Albia is spreading awareness for other churches in the area.
    Jesus first approach

  If you want to reach younger generation, people long to be in a community
    i.e. lgbtq

  Grace Ottumwa Discord server confirmed

3. Have a Plan

Rev. Matt the Gathering St.L, Rev. Jeremy Vickers, Grace UMC

  Don’t burn out
  Do the work, get the ball rolling, let it roll
  Remember to thank

  Database to track membership
    Check how many events they’ve attended

  What written processes at Grace can be digitized for Albia
  It’s easier to expand and share tech infrastructure than physical.

  Pool of people needs to be bigger to increase expected Sunday worship
    Small group ministry is important
    Options to connect
    ~1/3 of congregation can be expected to show up on any given Sunday

  What does a ‘good’ or ‘fulfiling’ worship look like in Albia?

  How to grow momentum in the pre-season in preperation for launch.

  6.5 million methodists / 2% population
    56,000 in St. Louis

4. Communincating Your New Thing

  • Do Something, Do it Consistently, Don’t leave them Hanging
  • Photos from worship and within the community displayed on the website
  • Grace Ottumwa twitter/live steam feed for online participation
  • Kahoot style online participation can be inclusive for the online crowd
  • Know how to design posts for each platform environment.
  • Canva Non-Profit Pro
  • Younger generations pay attention to your aethstetic
  • Schedule all social media posts and keep them consistent
  • Define a newsfeed and location and KEEP IT CONSISTENT
  • If you’re going to setup an email list, don’t limit the newsfeed to this list.
  • NO dead ends
  • Find a data analyst

Tuesday

5. Worship

6. Building a Team

  People don’t come to church because of flashy pictures, they go to a church because of the people they TRUST.

  Where you start is relationships within the room. Then they branch out beyond via networking.

Look for People of Peace

  • Matthew 10, Jesus Sends Out the 12

    5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

  • Acts 10, Cornellius Calls for Peter

    At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

  • These people will be the cornerstones of your church. You will NEED them to build the foundation of your worship network.

Evangalism is…

1 Invitational

  • You don’t need to know anything about your faith.
  • Don’t weigh it too heavily.
  • Send out as many invites as possible.
  • Make it known that Grace is having events and we’re not afraid to invite non-members to come.
  • Link invitations. NO DEAD ENDS!
  • For each event we plan, make sure to have a follow up event to invite them to next.
  • Get their information at the event and add them to the necessary mailing list.
  • Special drawing like a raffle can be used to collect info.
  • Sit on Santa’s lap and steal people’s contact info to send photos from the event.

2 Relational

  • Have a relationship before you invite someone.
    • Or, invite people you already have a relationship with.
  • Or, don’t. Learn to meet new people.

3 Christological

4 Transformational

5 Incarnational

6 Missinal

  • We are missionaries

Events
  YOU SHOULD BE GROWING
  Track this…
  Check to see if your attendee list is continually changing or you have the same crowd of supporters.

  You are TESTING the invitational prowess of your team. If you have an event and the launch team is the only attendee, then they AREN’T inviting.

  Give them opportunity to grow and track their progess.

  Get their name and their email address and determine which class they fall into:

  • Perspective launch team member. Most committed. Consider inviting them to join the launch team.
  • Interested people. The general congregation. They may not regularly attend, but still invite to interest events and preview events.
  • Supporters. Followers who already have a church or live in another community, but can still attend events or stay active. Invite them to events, but make sure you are STAYING CONNECTED with them.

Types of Event

  • Interest Events
    • Just fun. First focus should be creating engaging events that will spur attendees to return.
    • Thank attendees and have a short 3 minute pitch at the events, don’t forget to promote, but don’t prioritize self-promoation.
  • Preview Events

7. NextGen Ministry

  Rev. Mona Candea: [email protected]

  Our kids and youth aren’t the future of the church, they are the NOW of the church.
  The spirit lives within us whether or not we acknowledge or understand its precense in our lives. So, we must also include our children in our church.

  • Luke 18:15-17, The Little Children and Jesus

    People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

  • Matthew 28:19-20

    Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

  • Acts 2:1, The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

    When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.

  • Romans 8:11

    And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[e] his Spirit who lives in you.

Who will own the vision?
Who will execute the vision?

  • Don’t burn anyone out. Make sure to surround yourself with people you trust who can help execute the vision.

What will their responsibilities be?

  • Build a team so no one member is overburdened by responsibility. Make sure to prepare so you can effectively delegate tasks.

Additional Resources: OrangeBooks
Ministry Architech books Generation Alpha Book
Dandelion Marketplace
NextGen Curr Discount from ThinkOrange
NextGen leaders of America

Stay connected with NextGen

8. Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches

Rapidly growing churches…

  1. Believe in **miracles** and act accordingly
      The more willing you are to embarass yourself, the more likely you are to experience a miracle. Put your faith in God and he will reward you. Pray for something big. Don’t limit yourself by mortal expectations. Trust in God. He holds the power.
  2. Integrate new people quickly
      Know what to do when new people show up for worship so you don’t drop the momentum when they start showing up. If you know the overarching network, help to connect new members with people who they know or may connect well with. Make sure they feel seen, and reach out to new members.
  3. Love the local
      The focus has to be on what the local community needs. Not what we or our community need or want for Albia.
  4. Are unapologetically evangelical
      Continually reinforce invitations and encourage others in leadership / community to reach out to their families, co-workers, or other loved ones.

  5. Elevate the practice of giving, teach tithing, and effectively talk about and manage money
      Do it in a way that feels genuine. Ask quesetions. What’s one thing you regret or wish you had done differently: talk about money.
      If your church grows, you will require generosity from the discipleship of your people. If the culture isn’t properly stoked, your congregation will be choked.
      For new members: don’t ask them not to contribute. Use the DRIP method to talk about giving.

    • Talk about giving slowly and a little at a time to build a culture of giving instead of an expecatation to give.
    • If you talk a little about it all the time, then you can ease the pain when finally bridging the subject

      < = > LESS IS MORE

      For big events, commit the offering to a cause. This can encourage new members to donate along with old members and build an atmostphere of giving around holidays.

      Giving Pathway
        Beginning, first time giver.
        Consitent, marking tithing a regular practice.
        Intentional, scheduled or regular giver who regularly grows their tithe.
        Transformative, going above and beyond to give to the church in a meaningful way.
        Lifetime, the focus on money becomes about giving instead of earning.

  6. Have highly effective number twos
  7. Know how to speak to unbelievers, outsiders, and skeptics
      Those who don’t grow up with Christianity will not know what all of these liturgical words mean or who these biblical figures are.
  8. Exploit the benefits of a denominational system and contribute to it while mitgating the challeneges of such a system

9. Post Launch, Benchmarks, and Problems You Will/May Face

  • Create a system and use your team.
  • On launch Sunday, announce how every person can find a small group and become involved.
  • Set up at least 10 primary sundays to focus on through the year and prioritize those for outreach.
  • What does victory look like and how can we use data visulation to track progress. Which metrics do we need to track throughout the launch to track our progress.
  • What does ‘critical mass’ look like for Albia? What will tell us when the satellite is self-sufficient and ready to take off.

Ephesians 4:11-12

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up

Available in Recording

  • 11 Things you WILL Face
  • 11 Things you MAY Face

Wednesday

10. Closing Remarks

  ACT YOUR AGE. You’re not going to be a 20 year church with loads of history to build off.
  Know your team and know who you’re trying to reach with your plant.

11. Panel Discussion

  1. What do you know now that you wish you knew sooner?
    - You’re going to hear a lot of different perspectives and approaches to worship. Not everyone is going to have the same passion or concerns as you have.
    - You’re going to need to have thick skin and be able to stand up for yourself, but be loving and open to alternative perspectives.
    - Having a secondary who can devote themselves to the work will ease the process.
    - With God EVERYTHING is POSSIBLE
  2. How do you branch the cultural divide?
    - People want to feel faith and feel the prescense of God.
    - People aren’t so worried about specific denominations or what it means to be Methodist, Baptist, etc.
    - Show them the gospel and spread the word of God. He will carry the message to their hearts.
    - New worshipers are not going to know all of the figures in the Bible. Especially the old testament. Introducing more variety and teachings as their faith progresses.
    - Show them who Jesus is and why He matters.
  3. How do you balance pastoral care with evangalism?
    - Know their name and connect with them. Pray for them!!
    - Know about their lives and touch base with them. Everyone loves to be noticed and know that your church family is thinking about you.
  4. What does managing your personal spiritual life through the planting process and what effect does it have on your church plant?
    - Continue your current practice. Don’t become lax on your routine.
    - Give yourself rest. Sabbath is important for Christians, not just Judaism.
    - Pray, fast, read the bible.

    Go In Peace

Monday

  1. Keynote | Rev. Matt Miofsky, The Gathering St. Louis
  2. Purpose, Mission, Vision, Values, and Cultures | Rev. Jeremy Vickers, Grace UMC
  3. Have a Plan | Rev. Matt and Rev. Jeremy
  4. Communicating Your Thing

Tuesday

  1. Worship
  2. Building a Team
  3. NextGen Ministry | Rev. Mona Candea, Blue Springs UMC
    Lunch
  4. Virtues of Rapidly Growing Churches
  5. Post Launch, Benchmarks, and Problems You Will/May Face

Wednesday

  1. Closing Remarks
  2. Panel Discussion