Transforming Congregations Network
2 Corinthians 3:18
Revitalization Beginning in Florida/Georgia
I'm posting this for my friend, Ron Biel. He wrote this for the Florida/Georgia District's newsletter. Check it out and look him up on our site!
Revitalizing A Congregation’s “Mission”
By Ron Biel
What can a congregation do to stop the spiraling trend which seems to exist across the nation? Is it just a mark of the times as “hearts grow cold”? Is it a sign of the end times? Does living in the 21st century automatically assume that churches must be on the decline?
It is painful to read about closures of churches and others which only seem to be hanging on by a single thread. For bodies of believers who can no longer afford to have a pastor, or even share one, times are tough. It is indeed an alarming fact that 80-90 per cent of all congregations are annually declining in their worship attendance, even here in FL-GA where so many people have moved. A faulty economy, loss of jobs, fears about the future, societal indifference can all be blamed. Has our response been what Christ wants from His Church? From the people for whom He’s already paid the sin’s ultimate sin? For a world the Father has so loved that He sent His Son to be its Savior? No. No. No!
There is another possibility, maybe a better and more godly answer. It is given the rather bland title, Transforming Congregations Network (TCN), but it is generating momentum throughout the LCMS. It seeks to reverse this negative trend, to infuse our congregations again with a stronger sense of Christ’s Mission, of vision, of why we exist. TCN is a grassroots response, one aspect of Synod’s “Ablaze!” Movement; it works with congregations regardless of their size or history, but who have begun to realize that all is not well, that all is not right.
Our own Florida-Georgia District is now piloting a project to see what cen be accomplished with the power of the Holy Spirit. That 80-90 per cent is startling! If not reversed, many congregations will simply die. How are your congregation’s statistics? Down 5-10% worship over the past few years? Stopped growing at all? Where will it be five years from now?
Congregations which once were growing and vibrant, may now have started to resemble many who occupy our pews. Tired, lacking energy, getting older each day. Ours is an aging population today, throughout our society but even more noticeably in our churches. Look around you.
Since the beginning, God placed within all of His living creatures a desire and an ability to reproduce its own kind, from one generation to the next. Except in the case of “endangered species”, propagation goes on from generation to generation. This was also Jesus’ plan for His Church in the Great Commission to “go and make more disciples”. Those words were not intended for just that one generation of twelve disciples, or for one more next generation of believers, but for all times, and for us! Christians, we are not “an endangered species”!
Jesus places us on a Mission to bring His message of salvation to the whole world around us, all kinds of people. Immigrants and strangers and sinners rarely enter our doors. We must exit those doors to listen to all the real and even the imagined needs of the people in our communities. Why? Because the love of Christ constrains us!
Congregations can still be revitalized, re-invigorated, transformed into being “mission outposts, with all its members serving as the Lord’s missionaries”, doing battle with Satan and his cohorts for the very souls of dying men, women and kids – the lost. The “lost” numbers seem to be expanding.
During this pilot project time between now and next summer’s triennial District convention, a District Futures Committee appointed by our Board of Directors has started this endeavor which becomes fully implemented in the Orlando area Sept. 12-14 with six congregations, who seek to become “transformed” by becoming mission-led and outwardly-focused with all their ministries, energies, gifts and efforts. Plans are already in place for other parts of our district as well, possibly Ft. Lauderdale in early 2009, Atlanta later, and then eventually to all of Florida and Georgia.
With this goal in mind, two coordinators (Revs. Ron Biel and Milan Weerts) for are now at work to implement this strategy. “What makes this whole TCN approach different anyway? We’ve tried new programs for years!”
It begins with a serious congregational self-study directed toward a Consultation Weekend (Friday-Sunday) when trained LCMS Consultants from around the country will be brought in to assist a congregation which wants to change. In the case of the fist one in Orlando, we expect 30-50 such consultants to be involved to get us off to a fast start. They will write five very specific prescriptions for the congregation they work with. After presenting them on Sunday afternoon, the congregation and its pastor will then have six weeks to decide if they will seek to implement them.
Should they agree to do so, our District pledges to stand beside them and help them each step of the way for one full year, and possibly two. There will be an individual “Coach” for the senior pastor and the congregation. Built-in accountability on various levels as the pastor-leader will be directed by the congregational goals and targets which will all be mission-impacting. Events will be planned monthly, most to occur off-campus and in the community.
The pastor must also agree to participate in a Learning Community with 3-6 other Lutheran pastors from his region for one day each month for one year, completing assignments, making reports, sharing stories, and providing encouragement. He will then create a Learning Community with selected leaders from within his own flock. The whole staff, the whole congregation, will be involved.
Too often, we have simply been content to sit by and do the same old thing, “while the souls of men are dying”. It is not just a pious song we sing. The Master calls us, each of us.
Please pray for this process – for the six initial congregations which will become involved and for many others which will follow, for consultants and their expertise, and our own district’s leadership and facilitating team, for coaches – that we might all be fed and led into the fields of His glorious harvest.
For more information, you may refer to Synod’s new web site – www.transformingcongregations.com . Or, District Coordinator Rev. Ron Biel,
RDBMarco@aol.com ; or, Assistant Coordinator Rev. Milan Weerts, Mweerts@cfl.rr.com
Revitalizing A Congregation’s “Mission”
By Ron Biel
What can a congregation do to stop the spiraling trend which seems to exist across the nation? Is it just a mark of the times as “hearts grow cold”? Is it a sign of the end times? Does living in the 21st century automatically assume that churches must be on the decline?
It is painful to read about closures of churches and others which only seem to be hanging on by a single thread. For bodies of believers who can no longer afford to have a pastor, or even share one, times are tough. It is indeed an alarming fact that 80-90 per cent of all congregations are annually declining in their worship attendance, even here in FL-GA where so many people have moved. A faulty economy, loss of jobs, fears about the future, societal indifference can all be blamed. Has our response been what Christ wants from His Church? From the people for whom He’s already paid the sin’s ultimate sin? For a world the Father has so loved that He sent His Son to be its Savior? No. No. No!
There is another possibility, maybe a better and more godly answer. It is given the rather bland title, Transforming Congregations Network (TCN), but it is generating momentum throughout the LCMS. It seeks to reverse this negative trend, to infuse our congregations again with a stronger sense of Christ’s Mission, of vision, of why we exist. TCN is a grassroots response, one aspect of Synod’s “Ablaze!” Movement; it works with congregations regardless of their size or history, but who have begun to realize that all is not well, that all is not right.
Our own Florida-Georgia District is now piloting a project to see what cen be accomplished with the power of the Holy Spirit. That 80-90 per cent is startling! If not reversed, many congregations will simply die. How are your congregation’s statistics? Down 5-10% worship over the past few years? Stopped growing at all? Where will it be five years from now?
Congregations which once were growing and vibrant, may now have started to resemble many who occupy our pews. Tired, lacking energy, getting older each day. Ours is an aging population today, throughout our society but even more noticeably in our churches. Look around you.
Since the beginning, God placed within all of His living creatures a desire and an ability to reproduce its own kind, from one generation to the next. Except in the case of “endangered species”, propagation goes on from generation to generation. This was also Jesus’ plan for His Church in the Great Commission to “go and make more disciples”. Those words were not intended for just that one generation of twelve disciples, or for one more next generation of believers, but for all times, and for us! Christians, we are not “an endangered species”!
Jesus places us on a Mission to bring His message of salvation to the whole world around us, all kinds of people. Immigrants and strangers and sinners rarely enter our doors. We must exit those doors to listen to all the real and even the imagined needs of the people in our communities. Why? Because the love of Christ constrains us!
Congregations can still be revitalized, re-invigorated, transformed into being “mission outposts, with all its members serving as the Lord’s missionaries”, doing battle with Satan and his cohorts for the very souls of dying men, women and kids – the lost. The “lost” numbers seem to be expanding.
During this pilot project time between now and next summer’s triennial District convention, a District Futures Committee appointed by our Board of Directors has started this endeavor which becomes fully implemented in the Orlando area Sept. 12-14 with six congregations, who seek to become “transformed” by becoming mission-led and outwardly-focused with all their ministries, energies, gifts and efforts. Plans are already in place for other parts of our district as well, possibly Ft. Lauderdale in early 2009, Atlanta later, and then eventually to all of Florida and Georgia.
With this goal in mind, two coordinators (Revs. Ron Biel and Milan Weerts) for are now at work to implement this strategy. “What makes this whole TCN approach different anyway? We’ve tried new programs for years!”
It begins with a serious congregational self-study directed toward a Consultation Weekend (Friday-Sunday) when trained LCMS Consultants from around the country will be brought in to assist a congregation which wants to change. In the case of the fist one in Orlando, we expect 30-50 such consultants to be involved to get us off to a fast start. They will write five very specific prescriptions for the congregation they work with. After presenting them on Sunday afternoon, the congregation and its pastor will then have six weeks to decide if they will seek to implement them.
Should they agree to do so, our District pledges to stand beside them and help them each step of the way for one full year, and possibly two. There will be an individual “Coach” for the senior pastor and the congregation. Built-in accountability on various levels as the pastor-leader will be directed by the congregational goals and targets which will all be mission-impacting. Events will be planned monthly, most to occur off-campus and in the community.
The pastor must also agree to participate in a Learning Community with 3-6 other Lutheran pastors from his region for one day each month for one year, completing assignments, making reports, sharing stories, and providing encouragement. He will then create a Learning Community with selected leaders from within his own flock. The whole staff, the whole congregation, will be involved.
Too often, we have simply been content to sit by and do the same old thing, “while the souls of men are dying”. It is not just a pious song we sing. The Master calls us, each of us.
Please pray for this process – for the six initial congregations which will become involved and for many others which will follow, for consultants and their expertise, and our own district’s leadership and facilitating team, for coaches – that we might all be fed and led into the fields of His glorious harvest.
For more information, you may refer to Synod’s new web site – www.transformingcongregations.com . Or, District Coordinator Rev. Ron Biel,
RDBMarco@aol.com ; or, Assistant Coordinator Rev. Milan Weerts, Mweerts@cfl.rr.com
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