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THE IMPLODING CHURCH

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  imploding church

By Ken Blue

How do you keep from having an imploding church? Let’s assume you are going to start a church from nothing. The one thing you must consider is, where are we going to meet? Will we meet in a home, a barn, or some other facility?

Next, on your priority list will be soul winning. You can’t have church without people, and you can’t have people without some form of contact. Therefore, every thought, and effort will be on how to reach others, and get them into the new church. This will be the driving force at the time, and rightfully so.

As new families come into the church, you have the challenge of how to teach the different age groups, and provide child care for the infants. These are just a few of the growing pains, but you learn how to solve them.

New growth brings new needs. People need real discipleship. They need ministries to serve in. At this point, you may have to consider a new meeting place to care for the growth. So, property is located, buildings are built, and finances are needed. More and more the church adds new demands. The church is humming with excitement.

That is why success may be your downfall. Little by little, the vision shifts. Everyone now has someone to fellowship with. They are becoming one happy family. Everybody knows each other, and pays extra attention to each other.  The growth has brought new demands. Thus, most of the money, time and service is bestowed on the existing congregation. Everyone is busy, but something subtle has happened.

Planning meetings are no longer about soul winning, and growth. All the plans now are about how to feed the monster. The outreach has shifted to programs, and activities.  A new missionary may be added once each year for conscience sake.

The church has now reached its stagnation point. Everything is about the “church family.” The very thing that gave life and growth, is now forgotten and left behind. Most of the members have grey hair. They are comfortable and don’t want to be disturbed.

The death of the church is inevitable. The only way to keep a church alive is to have new, young blood added every week.  Where are all the great soul winning churches of fifty years ago? They are either dead and gone, or dead and being embalmed each year. Your church, too, will die unless you keep outreach hot, and on the front burner. A church must be a maternity ward, or it becomes a museum.  If you neglect these, stand back and watch the implosion.

PLANNING YOUR MINISTRY

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PLANNING YOUR MINISTRY # 1

planning

It is a fact that most pastors and churches never create plans extending beyond next Sunday’s sermon. They have no written annual plans for outreach, maturity, worship, buildings or missions. One reason is the pastor may not understand its value. Another might be fear or laziness. You may wonder why one would be fearful to establish a plan. The answer is simple; if you plan, you might fail. Thus, the safest course of action is not to act or plan.

October is a good time to hold the planning session for your church. The date, time, place and who will attend should be put on your calendar months prior to the scheduled date. The pastor must spend some time alone looking at his purpose statement and asking himself some questions about it. Each question must be prefaced with “What do we need to do to…” The answers should be written down for his personal guidance at the planning meeting. This is pre-planning.

Prior to the meeting, an agenda should be created and distributed to all who attend. The time to be granted on each item must be listed. The moderator should ensure that the meeting stays on course and adheres to the allotted time. 

Write the question on the board, and then the moderator should ask, “What do we need to do to…” Answers should be written on the whiteboard under the question. The only response allowed to each idea is, “good, write that down. Now, what else do we need to do…?”  Do not allow any discussion or comments on the ideas until the team has run out of suggestions, if you do, you will squelch the meeting and people will stop giving ideas. Follow this procedure with all major ministry questions. This is the brainstorming of the session.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]A clear plan not only gives direction, it liberates and gives purpose.[/pullquote]

Once all the ideas are in on each ministry, decide which ideas the church should turn into ministry goals. Once this has been done on the major ministries, set dates on when each idea will be implemented and completed. Also, determine who will be responsible for that goal and what the expense will be. This gives ownership and responsibility for each goal. Review points should be set to determine progress.

A clear plan of how you are to achieve each goal, not only gives direction, it liberates and gives purpose. I want to challenge each pastor to schedule a planning session for his ministry. It will be one of the most helpful things you can do. So, start planning to plan.

HOW TO STAY FOCUSED IN THE MINISTRY

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THE USE OF THE PURPOSE STATEMENT

purpose statementBy Ken Blue
The most difficult task in the ministry is keeping the church on target and focused on its stated purpose. Like a ship or a plane without a rudder, a church will begin to drift if navigational controls are not built in and monitored.

Once you are clear on your purpose, and are able to state it in a simple sentence, it becomes your Northern Star to guide, and keep you on course. Let me give you a few purposes statements. See if you can determine what each organization is about. 1. Focus On The Family. 2. Child Evangelism. 3. Bringing Families From Spiritual Infancy To Spiritual Maturity. 4. The Church With A Heart. 5. Youth For Christ. 6. Campus Crusade.

Once you have figure out what your church is going to do, state in no uncertain terms what you believe God wants you to do. The purpose statement should be on your letterhead and your church bulletin, and it must not be vague. Everyone in your church should be keep informed about what you are aiming at. The purpose statement should be the bull’s-eye on the target. Sad to say, the reason many pastors have no purpose statement or they make it vague, is so they cannot fail or be accountable.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The reason many pastors have no purpose statement is so they cannot fail or be accountable.[/pullquote]

Next, you need to determine what objectives you must establish to move toward your Northern Star. Your objectives must be consistent with your purpose statement; otherwise your statement means nothing. You will notice the lines coming back from the shaft of the arrow. Your objectives should be written on each line. It is best not to have more than seven objectives.

Keep in mind that an objective and a goal are not the same. Objectives are the ministries you must implement to carry the church toward its purpose. For example, if you choose number 3 as a purpose for your church, one of your objectives would be to win families to Christ and the church. Objectives are ongoing and will continue till Jesus comes. Whereas, goal are the measurable activities you will use to work at your objectives. Each one of the lines on the shaft of the arrow tells you what you ought to be about to accomplish your purpose for existence.

Once you have done the above, you will have a clear picture of who you are, what you must do and how to go about it. The most difficult part of planning is not how to do what you want; the most difficult is to determine what your church will do. Once the what is established, the how, comes relatively easy. To stay focused, put your planning arrow in a place where you can see it. When you seem to be in a fog or get off course, get the arrow out and view it like you would a roadmap to get back on track. Let it be your guide and you will stay focused.

(Pastor Blue has a complete seminar on the planning process. For a PAL ministry in your church, contact him.)

THE OLD CROSSCUT SAW

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TEAMWORK AND THE CROSSCUT SAW

crosscut saw

By Ken Blue

I am old enough to remember my Grandpa and others use the crosscut saw to cut down trees, and cut them into firewood. As a boy, I even tried my hand at it. There were a few lessons I had to learn.

Each saw was about eight to ten feet long. Upright handles were on both ends, and were long enough for a man to use both hands when sawing. It was virtually impossible for one man to use this saw. It was made to be a two man operation.

Some agreement was necessary prior to beginning. Which trees would be cut? Where do we want them to fall, and what length should each piece be? Once these were decided, it was time to go to work.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Some church members want to pull when they should relax, and others relax when they should be pulling.[/pullquote]

Some skill was needed when working with a crosscut saw. Each man takes hold of the handles. One man will pull the saw towards himself. The other will simply keep his hand on the handles at his end of the saw. Once the man who pulled the saw has reached his limit, the other man begins pulling the saw back toward himself. This back and forth motion moves the saw through the largest of trees.

If both man decide to pull on his end of the saw at the same time, all movement will stop. In addition, if either man pushes the saw from his end, the saw will bend and bind up. So teamwork was vital if things were to operate, as they should.

Some church members want to pull when they should relax, and other are relaxed when they should be pulling. It really isn’t hard work when everyone knows their job, works as a team, and has the same objectives. Wouldn’t it be great if each member of your church knew what his tasks were, and would work as a team? You are the teacher.

 

 

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN; GET ME TO VISIT YOUR CHURCH

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CHURCH BUILDING GUIDELINES

CHURCH

By Ken Blue

The average church in America and Canada has about 75 in attendance. In some parts of the country, that may be the best anyone could do. However, many are averaging less in greatly populated areas.

I do not believe some pastors are reaching their full potential. They have hit a glass ceiling. Some are stuck in a rut of faulty training about church growth. A few pastors think their church will grow if they preach great sermons. It will not. Others believe if they get many professions of faith the church will grow, again, it will not. Although the above are important, they are only part of the reasons people attend church. You may be able to do better than you are.

One of the problems for pastors is they continue to attend meetings and conferences hosted by those who believe and practice the same things they themselves are doing. You will learn very little about church growth if that is your little world. You should branch out and learn from others who are making things happen. It may surprise you, but lost people do not visit because you are a K.J.V, independent, premillennial, dispensational, Baptist. All those things are good, but they mean nothing to the unsaved.

Here are some reasons the unsaved visit churches:

  1. They are invited by a family member or friend. This is the number one reason.
  2. Your advertisement is interesting and attention getting, and might meet their perceived needs.
  3. They have seen your attractive and interesting web page, face book, or you tube add.
  4. They drive by each day and see your building.
  5. They feel a need in their life.
  6. A recent death in the family.
  7. A recent divorce.
  8. The birth of a child.
  9. They want to know about the future.
  10. They want to know how to be saved.
  11. It is Christmas or Easter time.

Now, the above are some reasons why people visit your church. However, they are not reasons why they will return or stay; that is a different matter altogether. It important for the pastor to know the differences why people visit, why they return, and then set about to improve in each area.

Here are some reasons why people return or stay:

  1. A friend or family member attends the church.
  2. They found it easy to make friends. If a person does not have a friend or a family member in the church, they will not stay.
  3. The members were friendly toward them.
  4. The gospel was presented in such a manner it was easy for them to trust Christ.
  5. It was easy to find a parking place.
  6. Signs clearly directed them where they wanted to go.
  7. Bathrooms and nurseries were easy to find, and were spotless.
  8. They were challenged to attend a membership class.
  9. A follow up letter, visit, or phone call was made.
  10. Programs were available for the whole family, and were top quality.
  11. The personality, character, and aptitude of the pastor was evident.

These are a few reasons people return or stay in your church. Reverse each one, and discover why they never return. If you are going to catch young families for Christ, you must do the right things.