The Exploration & Discovery of Mission Frontiers in Your Own Community

1. Pray!!! As you begin the exploration of mission frontiers in your own community, pray, pray, and pray a lot more. Make sure the “Season of Exploration and Discovery” is being lifted up in prayer in formal ways through the bulletin, newsletter, prayer teams, divine services, Bible study groups, and all times that are possible. This process will depend on the grace of God and the discernment of God’s will for the congregation.

2. Week 1: The council organizes an Ad-hoc Task Force to oversee this time of exploration, discovery & planning.

A. This task force will assist the pastor(s)/vicar in developing a community focused outreach plan for the congregation.

B. This taskforce will do or/and oversee the following tasks:

1. Organize the prayer walks

2. Surveying community leaders (e.g. mayor, school principals, police chief, social workers, teachers, pastors, etc.)

3. Organizing the membership for community surveys

4. Gathering, organizing and synthesizing data

5. Sharing key findings with the congregation

6. Identify and begin to implement three to five incarnational “net-fishing” expeditions

C. The taskforce should consist of 3-5 people, including the pastor(s)/vicar.

To Do List:

 Pray!

 Set the date for the “Planning Day” with the congregation

 Finalize taskforce members

3. Week 2/3 – Hold a Taskforce meeting to organize the plan for prayer walks and surveys.

A. Review the taskforce duties and tasks.

B. Plan to Hold Prayer walks in the neighbourhood. Assign two or three people to lead this prayer walk in the immediate neighbourhoods around the church building.

 Recruit members of the congregation to take part in the walk(s). 2

 Identify the neighbourhoods in which you want to conduct the prayer walk(s).

 Meet at the church building. Give brief instructions that people are to go out in teams of at least two people; pray for the homes, the families, the schools, the community centers, etc.; talk with people you meet and ask them if they want you to pray for them.

 Return to the church building to share observations and needs of the community. Pray with one another.

 The prayer walk should last about 2 to 2 ½ hours from beginning to end.

 Include the “prayer needs” that you discovered on your prayer walk in your Sunday prayers (e.g. pray for the local school; the apartment complexes; the social agencies, etc.)

C. Assign taskforce members (or recruit other congregational members) to meet with key community leaders.

Community Leader Survey Questions

1. What are the greatest strengths of our community?

2. What would you like to see different in our community in 5, 10, and 15 years?

3. What are the three greatest challenges that may prevent these “dreams” from developing?

4. What are the most pressing problems facing people living in our community?

5. How might we partner with you to improve our community?

D. Plan a community assessment survey

 Select the date for the survey

 Recruit volunteers to conduct the survey

 Identify the neighbourhoods that will be surveyed (probably the same as the prayer vigil)

 Meet at the church building on the day selected; divide into pairs; assign neighbourhoods to be surveyed; review and discuss the survey

Community Survey Questions

Briefly identify and introduce yourself, saying, “Hi, we are members of ______Lutheran Church. We are conducting a brief 3 question community survey. May we have a couple minutes of your time so you can answer our survey questions?” 3

1. What is the greatest strength of our neighbourhood/community?

2. What are the most pressing problems facing people living in our neighbourhood/community?

3. What would you like to see different in our community in 5, 10, and 15 years?

Additional Questions (if desired to be used by the congregation)

4. What three words would you use to describe ______Lutheran Church?

5. What characteristics or qualities would you hope to find in a church?

Jot down their answers, thank them, and then ask, “Do you have any prayer requests that we can pray for during our Sunday service?”

Return to the church building (e.g. “mission outpost”) to debrief, share stories, and turn in results. Pray with one another and for the neighbourhood.

The community assessment survey should take about 2 to 2 ½ hours from beginning to end.

To Do List:

 Pray without ceasing for the community!

 Set dates for Prayer Walks, the Community Leader’s Survey, and the Community Survey.

 Announce to the congregation the dates of the “Season of Exploration & Discovery” activities, inviting people to participate.

 Recruit participants for these three events.

4. Weeks 4-7 – Prayer Walks/Surveys are Completed

To Do List:

 Pray expecting God to do miraculous work in your congregation and community!

 Support those leading each activity and assist in recruiting additional people to participate.

 Publicize the date of the “Planning Day” and the importance of this day in the life of the congregation.

 Send the teams outs to pray and to discover the mission frontiers/opportunities through interviews.

5. Weeks 8-9 – Taskforce holds second meeting

A. Review all material gathered from: the interviews with community leaders; prayer walk; community door-to-door survey; and the self-study demographics from the consultation. 4

B. Identify the top 5-8 issues/needs of the community that the congregation could be addressing in the next 1 to 3 years.

C. You are encouraged to share the top mission priorities that will be presented on the “Planning Day.” Remind them that more information will be provided for each potential outreach project on the “Planning Day” but encourage them to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide the selection process as these options will be narrowed down to three or four projects that the congregation will adopt and implement. Invite the members to provide the task force with comments with the idea that the options might be refined as a result of the feedback.

6. Week 10 – Taskforce meets to finalize the top mission opportunities for the next 1 to 3 years and to prepare for the congregational “Planning Day” in Week 12.

To Do List:

 Pray for discernment of God’s direction

 Review any feedback received from members of the congregation and refine the outreach project proposals accordingly

 Invite leaders (and all members) to the congregational “Planning Day” and keep track of who is attending

 Finalize all details for the “Planning Day”

7. Week 12 – Planning Day (Saturday)

Sample Schedule

9:00-9:15 Welcome and Prayer

9:15-9:45 Bible Study (Planning Day leader)

9:45-11:15 Findings, explanation, rationale of the potential mission projects. As you went through the process of prayer walking and interviewing local leaders, what surprised you? About God? About the community? The Congregation?

11:15-noon Small groups of 3 discuss rationale: “Why might these projects be appropriate for this congregation?” -- from a God perspective (faith), a congregation/self- perspective (resources), community (need) Pray about each project.

12:00-12:45 Lunch (Individual votes done over lunch. Write down, put in bowl of baptismal font)

12:45-1:45 SMART goals developed for highest voted projects. (At this point help direct them to not only establish “attractional” outreach goals/plans but also “incarnational” outreach goals and plans!) 5

1:45-2:45 Sharing and Individual Development

2:45-3:00 Concluding remarks by the Guest “Planning Day” leader and from a representative of the local T4M Task Force (e.g. the chair)

What are SMART Goals?

Specific: Answer the 5 “W” questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why.

Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for measuring progress toward the attainment of each goal you set.

Attainable: When you identify goals that are most important to you, you begin to figure out ways you can make them come true. You develop the attitudes, abilities, skills, and financial capacity to reach them.

Realistic: To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which you are both willing and able to work.

Timely: A goal should be grounded within a time frame. With no time frame tied to it there’s no sense of urgency.

8. Weeks 13-15

The pastor(s) is the do the following:

1. Begin sharing the “rough” Outreach Plan in preaching, teaching, and visiting.

2. Conduct a mission audit of the existing ministries of the congregation and how they fit with the newly established outreach focus of the congregation.

3. Begin to organize an “incarnational” “net-fishing” strategy.

The Taskforce is to:

1. Start sharing the new plan with other members.

2. Covenant to share the new church outreach plan with at least 4 non-churched people (friends, coworkers, leaders surveyed, etc.) in the next 14 days to receive their feedback. You might ask questions like: How helpful will our plans be in addressing the needs of our community? Is there something in the vision that you want to do?

3. Meet with the pastor(s) and other team members (after 14 days) to discuss the feedback from the non-churched.

4. Assist the pastor(s) in developing a “net-fishing” event. 6

9. Week 16

Share the “final” plan with the congregation.

Celebrate the church’s new community outreach focus.

Create a worship celebration and other means of celebrating what God is doing in the congregation and the community.

Live the Mission!!! “Go Net-fishing!!!!”

Pray for the Lord’s blessings as you live the Mission!!!

*Adapted by Rev. Dr. Glenn E. Schaeffer with permission from Missions International Research & Development, Inc. 2009. Version 3.2. For residents in the USA, additional assistance in implementing a community-focused, incarnational outreach plan is available from Transforming Churches Network. (http://transformingchurchesnetwork.org/). Members of Lutheran Church – Canada are encouraged to contact Rev. Dr. Glenn E. Schaeffer, Executive Assistant – Outreach of the Alberta-British Columbia District at [email protected] if interested in the Transforming for Missions process.