Missional Training Community Church Planting Essentials

Hill Country Bible Church – Round Rock

MISSIONAL CHURCH PLANTING ESSENTIALS 2011 The Art and Science of Planting a Missional, Gospel-Centered Church

Session

#1 Seven Questions Every Church Planter Must Answer • Who is God and What is He Doing in the Universe? • Who is Man and What Does He Really Need? • What is Going on in the World (Cities)? • What is the Gospel? • What is the Church and What is Our Mission? • Who is a Leader and What is His Purpose? • Why Do We Need to Plant Churches? (Break away & prep a 7-10 minute biblical presentation)

#2 The Church Planting Pastor’s Inner Life • Ridley’s 13 Characteristics -- A panel of church planters unpack the most common qualities of effective church planters. • Understanding Myself – (DiSC, Strengthsfinder Strengths Assessment, Spiritual Gifs) • The Spiritual Life of a Pastor • Developing a Prayer Network

#3 Determining Your Strategy • Missional Church/Missional Living • Doing Neighborhood Research • Paul’s Gathering Strategy • Exegeting a Community • How to Study Demographics

#4 Engaging Culture in Context • Engaging Culture • Establishing a Missional Community -- Missional Core Development (Gospel Enlisting, Equipping, Engaging) • Missional Gospel Networking (E-1, E-2, E-3 Relationships) • Forming the Faith Community • When is it time to Create a Structured Community of Faith (Public Worship) • Social Networking Strategies – Gathering – Tracking – Targets

#5 Public Gatherings and the Structured Community • Distinguishing between Missional Core and Ministry Teams • Ministry Design -- Seven Core Systems 1) Children, 2) HUGs , 3) Worship, 4) Groups 5) Assimilation and Membership, 6) Finance , 7) Communications

#6 Developing a Ministry Plan

2 • Strategic Planning (Tactical vs. Strategic Planning) • Developing a Project Plan • An Eleven Point Business Plan with Deliverables • Creating and Celebrating Mileposts • Developing a Budget

#7 Developing a Comprehensive Communication Plan • Intro to Communication Planning (Website, social networking, blogging, elevator speech, timeline) • Mission, Vision, Values, Branding and Positioning • Starting with a Blog and Club Cards

#8 Leading the Church • Casting Vision, Building Team, Creating Morale and Buzz • Leader Development Systems (Based upon Seven Core Systems) • New Believer Follow-up • Disciple making plan • Missional Community Leader Development • Elder enlistment, envisioning, equipping • Principles and Practices • Measuring Church Health with the 7 CMCs • Daughter to Sister Church – Becoming Part of a Movement

3 Session #1 Seven Questions Every Pastor Must Answer 1. Who is God and What is He Doing in the Universe? 2. Who is Man and What Does He Really Need? 3. What is Going on in the World (Cities)? 4. What is the Gospel? 5. What is the Church and What is Our Mission? 6. Who is a Leader and What is His Purpose? 7.Why Do We Need to Plant Churches?

THE SEVEN QUESTIONS THAT EVERY PASTOR MUST ANSWER The planter needs to have clarity on the biblical imperative of planting churches, the biblical description of a local church, and the biblical values and convictions that shape church ministry. Without biblical certainty in these areas the planter will lack courage to face the task.

1. Who is God and What Is He Doing in the Universe? God’s Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

1) God is revealing himself. • General Revelation – Romans 1:18,20;Eccles.3:11 • Special Revelation - John 1:1-2,14;8:41-42;58

2) Theology is what we know about God. • Attributes- Romans 2:11; 4:21; 9:16; 9:20-21; Ps.121 • Purposes- Job 42:2; Ephesians 1:9-12;2:10

3) God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. Ultimate sovereignty is God’s. • God is the ruler of everything. I Chronicles 29:11-12 • God is the owner of everything. Job 41:11 • God is the controller of everything. Job 42:2

Immediate responsibility is ours. • Our primary responsibility is TO God, not FOR others. • To glorify God is to “enhance His reputation.”

4) God sovereignly places men... • At particular times Acts 17:26 • In particular geographies Acts 17:26 • For a particular reason: Redemption of the Nations

4 2. Who is Man and What Does He Really Need? Understanding the Doctrine of Man

• Man is lost, and needs to be reconciled to God and given purpose. Ephesians 2:1-5. • Man suppresses the truth. Romans 1:18, 21, 25 • Man is stubborn, unrepentant. Romans 2:5 • Man is immoral, even perverted. Romans 1:24,26-27 • Man is self-seeking, rejects truth, pursues evil. Romans 2:8 • Man is headed for trouble and distress. Romans 2:9 • Man is unrighteous, does not understand, does not seek God. Romans 3:10-18

More than anything, people need what R.C. Sproul calls, “a revelation of the true identity of God.” When they do, they at least understand what it is they are rejecting and what is at stake.

Human beings need more than practical help at being better people; they need to understand the ultimate seriousness of sin, the ultimate price that was paid so that their souls could be converted, transformed by the power of Jesus Christ.

3. What is Going On in the World? Developing a Theology of Culture and Historical Context

Current Worldview Context The Post Modern World view: (from “Post Modernizing the Faith”, Millard Erikson, Franky Schaffer, Stephen Grenz.)

• Detachment from Christian World view. • Disintegration of Community. • Distrust of old paradigm leadership. (access to information) • Denial of objective truth. • Dismantling of gender. • Disappointment with life.

A Biblical View of Cities (from Tim Keller, “Why New York City”, 1995)

• God began history in a Garden, but is ending it in a city. Hebrews 11:10; Revelation 21:10-11 • Under God, the city was designed to be a place of refuge from animals and enemies. Cities are a place of diversity where minorities, the weak and powerless are able to survive.

5 • Under Sin, the city becomes a place of refuge from God, where people with deviant lifestyles can run and hide because of the natural tolerance cities foment. • People are pouring into the cities all over the world. BELLAGIO, Italy -- Will Planet Earth be able to handle the mega-surge of people pouring into the cities of Africa, Asia and Latin America?

Back in 1950, there were 2.2 billion of us, mostly spread across the world's rural areas. Today the United Nations estimates world population at 6.6 billion. Half live in cities where an accelerating human flood of rural people -- many desperately poor -- generates slums, endangers water and sewage systems, and breeds local misery and potential pandemics.

If today's birthrates continue unaltered, U.N. figures suggest there could be 11.7 billion people by 2050.

The problem is that the global population base has increased so radically that even seemingly modest birthrates can have momentous consequences. Cohen calculates that if we do add 2.5 billion people by 2050, and virtually all this population increase, as expected, happens in poor countries, then the world will have to build one city of 1 million people every week for the next 43 years. "Is this," he asks, "feasible -- physically, environmentally, financially, socially?"

One sort of shudders at the answer.

One wonders how cities will receive the news. At current trends, Sao Paulo, Brazil, for example, will need a stunning 7.5 square miles and Shanghai an even more extreme 14 square miles of new development every year .

The bottom line is clear: The developing world's cities -- and the developed world's cities still expanding significantly -- must plan early, much more carefully, or expect to be overwhelmed by a virtual growth tsunami.

Sheppard sees a frightening tide of population growth enveloping cities. (Neil Pierce, Copyright 2008 , Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20071

6 • In every earthly city, there are two “cities” vying for control. (See Augustine’s City of God). • We are to redeem human families by spreading within them the family of God, so we are to redeem human cities by spreading within them the City of God.

Why the Austin Region is strategic

• Education: “Texas--What starts here changes the world.” • Technology: Dell, Freescale, et al • The Arts: Recently surpassed San Francisco as the #1 most creative city in the U.S. • Politics: Seat of State Government in one of the most populous states in the union, with an emerging Hispanic majority. • Spiritual Need: 8% evangelical, 83% unchurched.

4. What is the Gospel? Understanding Redemption Dallas Willard, Celebration of Discipline, chapters 1-3 “Bar Code Christianity” Tim Keller, “The Gospel in All its Forms,” Leadership Magazine, Spring 2008, p.75, Each Resident will make his own gospel presentation Residents will review and report on Willard and Keller

EDIT THIS:

See Hugh Halter’s Questions from Tangible Kingdom • Why are you planting your church? • Now describe how people are going to get to heaven. • And what will their appropriate response be? • How will you know they made that response? • Where will this transaction take place? • You are going to start a church so that you can preach the gospel, hope they believe your message, pray a prayer, and go to heaven? • What is the gospel? • So salvation is viewed as a gift you receive when you pray a prayer…and non-christians are those who are doomed to hell for eternity because they haven’t yet said the prayer? • This beautiful eternal wildly awesome place is only for those who have prayed a prayer. And hell, the fire, gnashing teeth, eternal torment is for everyone who didn’t come to your church, hear your sermon and pray the prayer? • “We have to be honest with ourselves and realize that if the message isn’t attractive, and the people of God aren’t attractive, then we must not be telling the story right, or we aren’t living the story correctly.

See the Gospel of God’s Kingdom (TK, p. 88-89)

See Another Angle (TK, pp 93-99)

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1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Romans 1:16; Mark 1:14

God’s Story: Creation ● The Fall ● Redemption ● Restoration

5. What Is the Church and What Is Our Mission? Developing a Theology of the Church and its Mission

Core theological assumptions

1) Jesus is the foundation. Matthew 16:14-19 2) Theology of the church. • The Church is people. I Corinthians 1:2 • Ecclesia = “Called out ones” II Corinthians 6:17 • Doctrine Matters. Acts 2:42; I Timothy 3:15 • Behavior Matters. Galatians 5:1; 6:9 • Priesthood of all believers. I Peter 2:9; Ephesians 2:18 • Body of Christ: Spiritual Gifts Ephesians 4:1; 11-13

3) The Mission of the Church • The Great Commandments Matthew 22:35-40 • The Great Commission Matthew 18:19-20 • The Great Prayer John 17:1-4 • The Fortress Mentality – “The church exists for the believer.” • The Mission Mentality – “The church’s mission is to win the lost.” • Both have an element of truth; taken together, we have a wonderful balance.

4) Discipleship with a Purpose (DWAP) Presentation

In the 18 th Century there were two great evangelists, John Whitefield and John Wesley. They gave each other significant advice: Whitfield: Preach to the Masses; preach in the open fields Wesley: Create “Methods” by which a covenant community can stimulate spiritual formation and growth. Whitfield became famous in his generation as a powerful preacher, but has been dismissed in terms of current impact. Wesley became famous for his “methods” and went on to foster the Wesleyan and Methodist Movement responsible for a great deal of the evangelization of pioneer America. DWAP is a proposed “method” for concretely defining discipleship in terms of three fundamental components:

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1. PURPOSE – Defining My Life Purpose General: Gen. 1:26-28 (Image); ICor. 6:19-20 (Temple); Isa. 43:7 (Glory); Specific: John 17:1-4

2. STRUCTURE – Clarifying My Focus Balance Two Points of Focus: God (Ps.) and People (Pr.); to foster this balance: Develop a Mindset of Modeling (Eph. 5:1-2; ICor. 11:1); Build Relationships (Mark 4:13); Pursue Personal Ministry=Feed (Jn 21:15)

3. MEANS – How I Will Achieve My Purpose Personal Holiness: Objective: Full Stature (Eph 4:13); Power (Heb 4:12); Method (ICor 10:31) Personal Ministry: Objective: Reach the World (Mt. 28:19); Power: Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; Eph 5:18); Method: Multiplication (2Tim2:2)

Douglas Hyde proposes in his treatise on the “Success Principles of the Communist Movement” called Dedication and Leadership, that the movement depended on a core assumption: “We have what the World needs; and it is our responsibility to pass it on as efficiently and effectively as possible.”

Our DWAP structure is a simple, memorable framework for efficiently and effectively passing on the fundamentals of movement.

6. Who Is a Leader and What is His Purpose? Developing a Theology of Leadership.

1) The Biblical Theology of Elders

The practical value of elders reveals the wisdom of God in structuring church leadership this way. When Hill Country Bible Church was a young church, it faced a crisis of leadership that became a defining moment. That crisis cemented the value of shared leadership and revealed the following benefits:

• It fosters an environment where those with the leadership gift are enabled to lead and give direction. • It provides a sustainable model for church life where change in pastoral leadership does not rock the entire organization. • It forces the pastor (and the congregation) to disciple and continually raise up mature leaders as future elders.

9 • It provides spiritual and performance accountability and protects the pastor from “dictator” labels; no one human being should be setting direction alone. Everyone needs accountability.

2) Biblical Qualifications: I Timothy 3, Titus 1

• Solid marriage & family • Temperate, self-controlled • Respectable • Hospitable • Upright, holy & disciplined • Able to teach • Not given to drunkenness • Not combative • Financially free • Spiritually mature • Good reputation in the church & community

3) Biblical Responsibilities: • To direct the affairs of the Church. I Timothy 5:17 • To teach and defend sound doctrine. Titus 1:9 • To oversee as a shepherd. Acts 20:28 • To feed and oversee the flock. I Peter 5:2 • To pray and minister the Word. Acts 6:4 • To appoint other elders. Titus 1:5

4) Specific Qualifications: • Faith: Ability to think in terms of vision. • Proven track record as a servant/leader • Consistent in the disciplines • Commitment to the core values • Agreement with “This We Believe” doctrinal statement

5) Specific Duties: • To establish policy for the organization and operation of the church. • To uphold, clarify, and defend the core values. • To evaluate the objectives, goals and priorities set by the staff / ministry leaders. • To approve the annual budget. • To provide accountability for the teaching ministry of the church and the performance evaluation of the lead pastor. • To serve as the final authority in all matters.

10 7. Why do we need to plant churches? Developing a Theology of Mission

The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for the numerical growth of the Church in any city. According to C. Peter Wagner, “Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven.”

1. Jesus’ essential call was to plant churches. Matt. 28:19-20

The Great Commission is not just a call for “decisions for Christ,” but to make disciples, to baptize, to teach. Implicit in this command is incorporation into an interdependent worshipping community involving accountability, care and spiritual nurture. Acts 2:41-47

The only way to be sure you are creating permanent new Christians is to plant new churches, where new believers are assimilated into the context of an on-going worshipping and shepherding community.

2. Statistically the case is compelling…and sobering.

85% (or more) of all existing churches in America have plateaued or are declining. (Most of these churches have completed their life cycle and are beyond their ability to be revitalized.) Of the 15% that are growing, only 1% are growing by conversion growth; most are growing by transfers from other churches. 1

Only 18.7% of Americans attend church on any given Sunday. 2

There has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last thirteen years. 3

Churches in America lose approximately 2,765,000 people each year; between 3,500 and 4,000 churches close their doors each year for the last time. 4

1 Aubrey Malphurs. Planting Growing Churches for the 21 st Century (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1992, 1998), 32. 2 “How Many Americans Really Attend Church Each Week” by Justin Taylor. 3 George Barna, 2006. 4 Charles Arn. “A Response to Dr. Rainer: What is the Key to Effective Evangelism,” Journal of the American Society for Church Growth , Vol. 6, 1995, p.74.

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Almost every denomination in America is declining because they have been unable to start enough healthy new churches to offset the number of churches closing.

The most unreached people group in the U.S. is the 20-something group.

Today there are approximately 200 million non-Christian people in the US! (Third largest mission field in the world!) 5

During the decade of the 90’s the US population increased 11.4% (24,153,000 people), while church membership declined 9.5% (4,498,242)!

No county in America has a greater percentage of churched people today than a decade ago! (Over half of all churches in America did not add one new member through “conversion” growth.) 6

U.S. church to population ratio: In 1900, there were 27 churches for every 10,000 people In 1950, there were 17 churches for every 10,000 people In 1996, there were 11 churches for every 10,000 people 7

By 2050 Hispanics will be the majority population in every U.S. city, and very few new churches are being started to reach this rapidly growing people group.

5 George Barna. Growing Your Church From the Outside In (Ventura: Issachar Resources, 2000),12-13 . 6 Neil Cole. Cultivating a Life for God (Carol Stream: ChurchSmart Resources, 1999), 11 . 7 Stetzer, 7.

12 APRIL 19 The Church Planter’s Inner Life • Ridley’s 13 Characteristics -- A panel of church planters unpack the most common qualities of effective church planters.

• Understanding Myself – Jim Moorhead (DiSC, Strengthsfinder Strengths Assessment, Spiritual Gifs)

• The Spiritual Life of a Pastor (John Reeves)

According to Charles Ridley there are at least 13 church planting behaviors that are common to a successful church planter:*

1. VISIONING CAPACITY: developing a theme that highlights the vision and philosophy of ministry and persuasively selling the vision to the people.

2. INTRINSICALLY MOTIVATED : having initiative and aggressiveness without the negative connotations, having a willingness to work long and hard. Being a self- starter with a willingness to build from nothing.

3. CREATES OWNERSHIP OF MINISTRY: helping people to “buy in” and feel responsible for the growth and success of the church, gaining commitment of the people to the vision.

4. RELATES TO LOST : quickly getting to know the lost on a personal level, breaking through the barriers erected by the lost.

5. SPOUSAL COOPERATION : having an explicit agreement regarding each partner’s respective role and involvement in ministry.

6. EFFECTIVELY BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS: getting to know people on a personal basis, making others feel secure and comfortable in one’s presence, appreciating and accepting a variety of people.

7. COMMITTED TO CHURCH GROWTH: committing to numerical growth within the context of spiritual and relational growth (more and better disciples).

8. RESPONSIVE TO COMMUNITY:

13 acquiring an understanding of the character and “pulse” of the community.

9. UTILIZES GIFTEDNESS OF OTHERS: releasing and equipping people to do the task of ministry, discerning of spiritual gifts in others, matching the gifts of people with ministry needs and opportunities.

10. FLEXIBLE AND ADAPTABLE : coping effectively with ambiguity, coping effectively with constant and abrupt change.

11. BUILDS GROUP COHESIVENESS, quickly incorporating newcomers into a network of relationships, dealing with conflict assertively, constructively, and tactfully.

12. RESILIENCE : experiencing setbacks without defeat, expecting the unexpected.

13. EXERCISES FAITH, believing in God’s action, having a willingness to wait for answers to specific prayer requests.

If one has not gone through an assessment, he is well advised to make arrangements for one through the local partner entity.

*Behaviors identified by Charles Ridley, How to Select Church Planters, Fuller Evangelistic Association, 1988.

Understanding Myself – Jim Moorhead (DiSC, Strengthsfinder Strengths Assessment, Spiritual Gifs)

The Spiritual Life of the Pastor – John Reeves

ASSIGNMENT: Take time with your spouse this week to assign a 1-10 scale for each of the characteristics and be ready to present your top three strengths and your top three challenges.

14 Enlisting Prayer for Your Movement

THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER FOR CHURCH PLANTING “With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” Eph. 6:18, NASB

“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Therefore BESEECH the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” Matt.9:37-38 NASB

I. Developing an understanding of the priority of prayer.

Experienced church planters will attest to the intensity of spiritual warfare in the cp environment. God plants His church through retaking enemy territory, by breaking down barriers and strongholds. Without prayer, the opposition is overwhelming.

The priority of prayer is a clearly established pattern in tracing the movement of God in the Book of Acts. (See Acts 16, the planting of the Philippian church.)

Your prayer life is a statement of your dependence on God and will help you to stay sensitive to the leadings of the Holy Spirit in establishing His church.

II. Developing your personal prayer life.

In church planting, prayer must begin in the life of the planter. Because of the awesome responsibility and the high demands in church planting, the personal prayer life of the planter must be vigorous.

Biblical examples:

• The example of Jesus (Mark 1:35-38). Prayer kept Him focused on His mission, what He came to do.

Even during a busy time of ministry, Jesus recognized the need to get alone with the Father. Out of this time with the Father He was able to stay focused on the work He came to do—preach in the next towns and not get distracted into a popular but limited ministry.

15 • The example of Peter (Acts 10:9-20). Prayer allowed him to be open to a new direction in ministry that opened a door to a new ministry focus group.

Because of this time of prayer, Peter was able to hear God speak to him about a new direction in ministry. God was opening the door to the Gentiles. God used Cornelius’s prayer time (v. 4) and Peter’s prayer time (v. 9) to connect the two. This new direction in ministry was not one that Peter would have taken of his own initiative. God had to convince him to take this radical step.

• The example of Paul (Acts 16:6-13). Prayer allowed him to hear God’s leadership in new methods and areas of ministry.

It seems that through prayer Paul was able to determine the Spirit’s direction as He closed and opened doors. Further in the Philippian church planting experience, prayer played a role in finding Lydia (v. 13) and opening the heart of the jailer (v. 25).

Every planter needs a robust devotional life in order to survive! For some the best time is early in the morning. Not only should prayer take place at a regular time, but also at a regular place. Plan enough time where you won’t be rushed and will spend ample time listening to God. A prayer journal can be a helpful tool. Use your journal to write your prayers, record specific impressions, and list your prayer needs. Reviewing your prayer journal can be a source of encouragement and refocus. (See Wayne Cordeiro’s website for S.O.A.P. method)

It is also suggested that each planter have at least one person with whom he or she can pray with on a deep level. This would include those most intimate prayer issues. This also would be a person who can hold you accountable for your quiet time.

III. Developing your prayer team.

Following this discussion, you will be given time to develop your prayer team. The following is designed to assist you in doing so.

Essential criteria in gathering your prayer teams.

• They have a passion for the lost and for church planting. • They are already people of prayer. • They have demonstrated an interest in you and your ministry.

16 • They are people who are faithful in their prayer commitments. • They are people who know how to keep confidences.

Elements of a Prayer Ministry

• Private Prayers • Family Prayers • Partner Prayer • Prayer-Walking • Small Group Prayer • Corporate Prayer • City-wide Prayer

Keep Your Prayer Ministry Visible

• Intercessors will not want to be noticed publicly, so recognize them appropriately. • Communicate the role & importance of the ministry regularly. • Provide training; create “fishing ponds.” • Budget for this ministry.

How to Mobilize your Prayer Team

Before you start your new church, build an Intercession Team. You should have at least two or three inner circle Intercessors and at least six priority Intercessors. Prayer is not just preparation for the battle, it is the battle!

Every planter should be committed to personal prayer; to developing a prayer ministry in the church that positions prayer as a very high priority, and should be committed to the formation of an intercession team prior to the launch of the planting venture.

Top Ten Ideas for Developing Your Prayer Team

1. Pray and ask God to raise up intercessors. 2. Make a list of individuals who might want to pray regularly. 3. Invite people from your commissioning church to join your prayer team. 4. Communicate your expectations – Total confidentiality, regular communication, at least weekly time in prayer focused for your plant. 5. Develop a monthly Prayer e-Newsletter. (See Laurie for Constant Contact Software idea) Include answers as well as requests.

17 6. Invite the prayer team to be involved in all events, gatherings and activities as a standard part of the execution of your plan. 7. Calendar to personally contact all your prayer team monthly. 8. Begin to pray for a Prayer Champion for your church. This should be someone with whom God knits your heart, who would assist you in the prayer task, and who would be willing to cover you in prayer immediately as situations in the church arise that need God’s intervention. 9. Focus your communication on the development of dependence on God in the planting process. 10. Take some time to think through all the miracles from God that you are going to have to experience between now and the time the church is healthy, thriving, and reproducing. Help your intercessors see the bigger vision!

Activity on Prayer Team Development:

At this time, begin developing a list of people whom you will invite to join your prayer team. We want to encourage you to think about developing a team of at least 20 to 25 persons.

Use the ideas listed above to begin to work individually compiling your list of persons whom you could invite to become members of your prayer team. Take 10 minutes and begin to develop that list.

ASSIGNMENT: Take time with your spouse and two others this week to assign a 1-10 scale for each of the characteristics and be ready to present your top three strengths and your top three challenges. (Rank yourself first, then get other feedback – note your “gaps” in self awareness.

18 April 26 Determining Your Strategy • Missional Church/Missional Living • Doing Neighborhood Research • Exegeting a Community • How to Study Demographics

I. An Introduction to Missional Living

"Missional living " is a Christian term that describes a missionary lifestyle; adopting the posture, thinking, behaviors, and practices of a missionary in order to engage others with the gospel message. The use of this term has gained recent popularity due to the Emerging church movement to contrast the concept of a select group of "professional" missionaries, with the understanding that all Christians should be involved in the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.

The missional living concept is rooted in the Missio dei , which means “the sending of God” in Latin. In 1934, Karl Hartenstein, a German missiologist, coined the phrase in response to Karl Barth and his emphasis on actio Dei (Latin for “the action of God”).

According to Lesslie Newbigin and Jesus' statements in the Gospel according to John, every Christian has been sent by Jesus with the gospel together in community to those in the surrounding culture for the sake of the King and His kingdom: “The Church is sent into the world to continue that which he came to do, in the power of the same Spirit, reconciling people to God.” [2] Jesus said, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

"No one can say: ‘Since I’m not called to be a missionary, I do not have to evangelize my friends and neighbors.’ There is no difference, in spiritual terms, between a missionary witnessing in his home town and a missionary witnessing in Katmandu, Nepal. We are all called to go—even if it is only to the next room, or the next block.”" [3] 4,000 MILES DOES NOT SUDDENLY MAKE YOU A MISSIONARY.

A missional (missionary) perspective

Missional living is the embodiment of the mission of Jesus in the world by incarnating the gospel. "It is imperative that Christians be like Jesus, by living freely within the culture as missionaries who are as faithful to the Father and his gospel as Jesus was in his own time and place." [4] This

19 embodiment of the gospel is often referred to as "contextualization" or "inculturation."

"Both refer to more than a simple translation of the gospel into different languages and cultures in the way that one translates a history book or a science text. Rather, they point to the embodiment of the living Word in human culture and social settings in such a way that its divine nature and power are not lost. True contextualization is more than communication. It is God working in the hearts of people, making them new and forming them into a new community. It is his Word transforming their lives, their societies, their cultures." [5]

FIVE WAYS THE CHURCH IS SENT:

1. By Jesus Christ. John 20:21; Luke 9:2; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8 2. With the Cross. ICor 1:18; Eph 2;16; Col 2:14; I Pet 2:24 3. In Community Acts 2:42:47; 5:42; John 13:34-35; IJohn 3:16-17 4. To every Culture. John 1:14; Matt 20:28; Acts 17:22-34; Luke 5:29 5. For the King and His Kingdom (Matt 10:7; 25:34; Luke 4:43; Rev 11:15–17; Jer 10:7; John 18:36)

Sent by Jesus John 17:18 (New International Version) As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

John 20:21 (New International Version) Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."

Luke 9:2 (English Standard Version) and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.

Jesus sent His disciples on a mission. The missional church defines itself in terms of its mission—being sent ones who take the gospel to and incarnate the gospel within a specific cultural context.

"Jesus was the first apostle. He was sent by his Father. He, in turn, sent the Twelve. They went to people who would then take the gospel to the rest of the world. Whoever received it would understand that they, too, had been sent. With the gospel being what it is, the church as bearer of the gospel is bound to be apostolic." [7]

20 Sent with a Cross Ephesians 2:16 (English Standard Version) and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Colossians 2:14 (English Standard Version) by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

1 Peter 2:24 (English Standard Version) He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Jesus said that He came to earth to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). He accomplished salvation through the cross. By dying on the cross, He paid the penalty for sin and satisfied God’s wrath. According to Scripture, without the cross, there is no salvation, no forgiveness, and no hope; because of the cross, there is eternal life. The mission and message of Jesus surround the cross. “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18).

Sent in Community Acts 2:42-47 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another."

1 John 3:16-17 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

Jesus loves the Church and He gave His life to redeem the Church. Community exists for Mission! Christians are to bring the gospel together to

21 the culture. "The church is called to do the work of Christ, to be the means of his action in and for the world....Mission, in its widest as well as its more focused senses, is what the church is there for. God intends to put the world to rights; he has dramatically launched this project through Jesus. Those who belong to Jesus are called, here and now, in the power of the Spirit, to be agents of that putting-to-rights purpose." [8]

Sent into every Culture Matthew 20:28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Luke 5:29 And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them.

Acts 17:22-34 Paul Addresses the Areopagus So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We will hear you again about this." So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

George Peters notes, “If man is to be reached, he must be reached within his own culture.” [9] This principle is observed when God became a man in the form of Jesus to come to earth and incarnate the gospel. As

22 missionaries sent by Jesus, every Christian must learn to exegete their surrounding culture, uncovering the language, values, and ideas of the culture. Using this information, they take steps to reach people with the gospel message in the context of the surrounding culture.

Sent on behalf of the King and Kingdom Matthew 10:7 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'

Matthew 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

Luke 4:43 But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."

Revelation 11:15-17 The Seventh Trumpet The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.

Jeremiah 10:7 Who should not revere you, O King of the nations? This is your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you.

John 18:36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

The kingdom was central to Jesus’ message and mission. The Book of Acts ends with Paul, under house arrest in Rome, “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance” (Acts 28:31). Christians are sent to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom so that others may enter the kingdom. George Hunsberger conveys the idea that the Church is pointing beyond itself to the kingdom of God. The Church is not an end in itself; God has a mission that goes beyond the Church which includes the kingdom. The kingdom

23 and the Church must never be divorced, yet they also must never be equated. In a similar way, “the reign must never be separated from the One who reigns.” [10] The kingdom is always at the heart of the King.

The missional church The missional church is sent out into a cultural context with the gospel. The missional church defines itself in terms of its mission — being sent ones who take the gospel to and incarnate the gospel within a specific cultural context.

The church exists, in other words, for what we sometimes call "mission": to announce to the world that Jesus is its Lord.

A missional church intentionally pursues the mission of Jesus for His glory among all peoples by engaging the culture with the gospel.

"Mission is not just a program of the church. It defines the church as God’s sent people. Either we are defined by mission, or we reduce the scope of the gospel and the mandate of the church. Thus our challenge today is to move from church with mission to missional church.

The Church has a mission because Jesus has a mission. There is one mission.

"Missional church is a community of God’s people that defines itself, and organizes its life around, its real purpose of being an agent of God’s mission to the world. In other words, the church’s true and authentic organizing principle is mission. When the church is in mission, it is the true church. The church itself is not only a product of that mission but is obligated and destined to extend it by whatever means possible. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that adheres to Jesus. To obstruct this is to bock God’s purposes in and through his people."

Missional living is a term that is used in contrast with historical institutional churches. Church leaders as well as Christians in general have often regarded the Church as an institution to which outsiders must come in order to receive a certain product, namely, the gospel and all its associated benefits. Institutional churches are sometimes perceived to exist for the members and depend on pastors and staff to evangelize the lost. The "missional church", on the other hand, attempts to take Christ to "the lost" and its members are personally engaged in reaching their communities with the message of Jesus Christ.

24 THE MISSIONAL CHURCH June 2001 TIM KELLER The Need for a 'Missional' Church In the West for nearly 1,000 years, the relationship of (Anglo-European) Christian churches to the broader culture was a relationship known as "Christendom." The institutions of society "Christianized" people, and stigmatized non-Christian belief and behavior. Though people were "Christianized" by the culture they were not regenerated or converted with the Gospel. The church's job was then to challenge persons into a vital, living relation with Christ. There were great advantages and yet great disadvantages to 'Christendom.' The advantage was that there was a common language for public moral discourse with which society could discuss what was 'the good.'The disadvantage was that Christian morality without gospel-changed hearts often led to cruelty and hypocrisy. Think of how the small town in "Christendom" treated the unwed mother or the gay person. Also, under "Christendom" the church often was silent against abuses of power of the ruling classes over the weak. For these reasons and others, the church in Europe and North America has been losing its privileged place as the arbiter of public morality since at least the mid 19th century. The decline of Christendom has accelerated greatly since the end of WWII. The British missionary Lesslie Newbigin went to India around 1950. There he was involved with a church living 'in mission' in a very non-Christian culture. When he returned to England some 30 years later, he discovered that now the Western church too existed in a non-Christian society, but it had not adapted to its new situation. Though public institutions and popular culture of Europe and North America no longer 'Christianized' people, the church still ran its ministries assuming that a stream of 'Christianized', traditional/moral people would simply show up in services. Some churches certainly did 'evangelism' as one ministry among many. But the church in the West had not become completely 'missional' --adapting and reformulating absolutely everything it did in worship, discipleship, community, and service--so as to be engaged with the non- Christian society around it. It had not developed a 'missiology of western culture' the way it had done so for other non-believing cultures.

One of the reasons much of the American evangelical church has not experienced the same precipitous decline as the Protestant churches of Europe and Canada is because in the U.S. there is still a 'heartland' with the remnants of the old 'Christendom' society. There the informal public culture (though not the formal public institutions) still stigmatizes non-Christian beliefs and behavior. "There is a fundamental schism in American cultural, political, and economic life. There's the quicker-growing, economically vibrant...morally relativist, urban-oriented, culturally adventuresome, sexually polymorphous, and ethnically diverse nation...and there's the small town, nuclear-family, religiously-oriented, white-centric other America, [with]...its diminishing cultural and economic force....[T]wo nations..." Michael Wolff, New York , Feb 26 2001, p. 19. In conservative regions, it is still possible to see people profess faith and the church grow without becoming 'missional.' Most traditional evangelical churches still can only win people to Christ who are temperamentally traditional and conservative. But, as Wolff notes, this is a 'shrinking market.' And eventually evangelical churches ensconced in the declining, remaining enclaves of "Christendom" will have to learn how to become 'missional'. If it does not do that it will decline or die.

We don't simply need evangelistic churches, but rather 'missional' churches.

25 The Elements of a Missional Church

1. Discourse in the vernacular. • In 'Christendom' there is little difference between the language inside and outside of the church. Documents of the early U.S. Congress, for example, are riddled with allusions to and references from the Bible. Biblical technical terms are well- known inside and outside. In a missional church, however, terms must be explained.

• The missional church avoids 'tribal' language, stylized prayer language, unnecessary evangelical pious 'jargon', and archaic language that seeks to set a 'spiritual tone.'

• The missional church avoids 'we-them' language, disdainful jokes that mock people of different politics and beliefs, and dismissive, disrespectful comments about those who differ with us.

• The missional church avoids sentimental, pompous, 'inspirational' talk . Instead we engage the culture with gentle, self-deprecating but joyful irony the gospel creates. Humility + joy =gospel irony and realism.

• The missional church avoids ever talking as if non-believing people are not present. If you speak and discourse as if your whole neighborhood is present (not just scattered Christians),eventually more and more of your neighborhood will find their way in or be invited.

• Unless all of the above is the outflow of a truly humble-bold gospel-changed heart, it is all just 'marketing' and 'spin.'

2. Enter and re-tell the culture's stories with the gospel • In "Christendom" it is possible to simply exhort Christianized people to "do what they know they should." There is little or no real engagement, listening, or persuasion. It is more a matter of exhortation (and often, heavy reliance on guilt.) In a missional church preaching and communication should always assume the presence of skeptical people, and should engage their stories, not simply talk about "old times."

• To "enter" means to show sympathy toward and deep acquaintance with the literature, music,theater, etc. of the existing culture's hopes, dreams, 'heroic' narratives, fears.

• The older culture's story was--to be a good person, a good father/mother, son/daughter, tolive a decent, merciful, good life. Now the culture's story is-- a) to be free and self-created and authentic (theme of freedom from oppression), and b) to make the world safe for everyone else to be the same (theme of inclusion of the 'other'; justice).

• To "re-tell" means to show how only in Christ can we have freedom without slavery and embracing of the 'other' without injustice.

26 3. Theologically train lay people for public life and vocation • In 'Christendom' you can afford to train people just in prayer, Bible study, evangelism--private world skills--because they are not facing radically non- Christian values in their public life--where they work, in their neighborhood, etc.

• In a 'missional' church, the laity needs theological education to 'think Christianly' about everything and work with Christian distinctiveness. They need to know: a) what cultural practices are common grace and to be embraced, b) what practices are antithetical to the gospel and must be rejected, c) what practices can be adapted/revised.

• In a 'missional' situation, lay people renewing and transforming the culture through distinctively Christian vocations must be lifted up as real 'kingdom work' and ministry along with the traditional ministry of the Word.

• Finally, Christians will have to use the gospel to demonstrate true, Biblical love and 'tolerance' in "the public square" toward those with whom we deeply differ. This tolerance should equal or exceed that which opposing views show toward Christians. The charge of intolerance is perhaps the main 'defeater' of the gospel in the non-Christian west.

4. Create Christian community which is counter-cultural and counter-intuitive. • In Christendom, 'fellowship' is basically just a set of nurturing relationships, support and accountability. That is necessary, of course.

• In a missional church, however, Christian community must go beyond that to embody a 'counter-culture,' showing the world how radically different a Christian society is with regard to sex, money, and power.

• In sex. We avoid both the secular society's idolization of sex and traditional society's fear of sex. We also exhibit love rather than hostility or fear toward those whose sexual life patterns are different.

• In money. We promote a radically generous commitment of time, money, relationships, and living space to social justice and the needs of the poor, the immigrant, the economically and physically weak.

• In power. We are committed to power-sharing and relationship-building between races and classes that are alienated outside of the Body of Christ.

• In general, a church must be more deeply and practically committed to deeds of compassion and social justice than traditional liberal churches and more deeply and practically committed to evangelism and conversion than traditional fundamentalist churches. This kind of church is profoundly 'counter-intuitive' to American observers. It breaks their ability to categorize (and dismiss) it as liberal or conservative. Only this kind of church has any chance in the non-Christian west.

5. Practice Christian unity as much as possible on the local level.

• In Christendom, when 'everyone was a Christian' it was necessary (perhaps) for a church to define itself over against other churches. That is, to get an identity you had to say, "we are not like that church over there, or those Christians over here."

27 • Today, however, it is much more illuminating and helpful for a church to define itself over against 'the world'--the values of the non-Christian culture. It is very important that we not spend our time bashing and criticizing other kinds of churches. That simply plays in to the common 'defeater' that Christians are all intolerant.

• While we have to align ourselves in denominations that share many of our distinctives, at the local level we should cooperate and reach out to and support the other congregations and churches in our local area. This will raise many thorny issues, of course, but our bias should be in the direction of cooperation.

Case Study Let me show you how this goes beyond any 'program.' These are elements that have to be present in every area of the church. So, for example, what makes a small group 'missional'? A 'missional' small group is not necessarily one which is doing some kind of specific 'evangelism' program (though that is to be recommended) Rather, 1) if its members love and talk positively about the city/neighborhood, 2) if they speak in language that is not filled with pious tribal or technical terms and phrases, nor disdainful and embattled language, 3) if in their Bible study they apply the gospel to the core concerns and stories of the people of the culture, 4) if they are obviously interested in and engaged with the literature and art and thought of the surrounding culture and can discuss it both appreciatively and yet critically, 5) if they exhibit deep concern for the poor and generosity with their money and purity and respect with regard to opposite sex, and show humility toward people of other races and cultures, 6) they do not bash other Christians and churches-- then seekers and non-believing people from the city A) will be invited and B) will come and will stay as they explore spiritual issues. If these marks are not there it will only be able to include believers or traditional, "Christianized" people.

28 How does the Institutional Church compare to the Missional Church?

Institutional Church Missional Church Focus: “ministry” to serve members Focus: “ministry” to serve others Witness = something you DO Witness = something you ARE Gospel = Propositional Gospel = Incarnational Evangelism – one of many ministries Evangelism - central to all we do Internal Focus External Focus Maintenance Ministry Information based discipleship Obedience based discipleship Success = Seating Capacity Success = Sending Capacity Support of Missions Participate in missions Low threshold for membership High threshold for membership Attendance Involvement Committees Teams

How will you relate to the culture around you?

Gospel Culture

Church

Our aim as missionaries:

To create a Biblically faithful, culturally relevant, counter-cultural community of faith.

The Missional Church Continuum:

Classic/Attractional Mission-Minded Externally Focused Missional

29 III. Exegeting a Community

Saturation Church Planting

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

The concept of filling our cities and filling the earth with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord in the form of congregations everywhere!

Saturation Church Planting demands that we ensure that the living Lord and His Kingdom is tangibly felt, seen and heard—in every geography, language and culture -- by every single person in a community, in a city, in a country, and in the whole world. The aim is to saturate each group with enough gatherings of believers to literally be able to reach every single person within the group.

WHAT KIND OF CHURCH ARE YOU GOING TO START? Most people start…

…the model they have known. …a reaction model …a success model

EFFECTIVE CHURCH PLANTERS ARE MISSIONARIES who learn to EXEGETE the culture to which they are sent! That is, we must apply the same rules of interpretation that we bring to understanding the scriptures:

• OBSERVATION: What does the culture say? • INTERPRETATION: What does the culture mean? • APPLICATION: What does the culture’s words, context, worldview, demand that I do in order to make sense of the Gospel to them?

What we must learn are principles of good interpretation, created to challenge you to think carefully about what you are starting! To be truly successful, you need to create a model that uniquely fits you, the people on your team and your context!

DON’T PLANT THE CHURCH IN YOUR HEAD, THE ONE YOU EMOTIONALLY PREFER. PLANT THE CHURCH THAT FITS YOUR CONTEXT!

i. Mapping Spiritual Activity -- Conduct research on what God is doing in the larger City Church of Austin.

30

Do survey work on church planting in Austin by talking with particular planters in the city.

a) Downtown Austin with Matthias Haeusel b) North Village Neighborhood Revisited with Michael Dennis c) Texas University with Denny Henderson d) No Perfect People with Brady Traywick e) The Burgeoning Suburb – Buck Giebelhaus f) Austin Plantr Network and Austin City Life Church – Jonathon Dodson g) Church Planting Church – Austin New Church’s Brandon Hatmaker.

ii. Self-Inventory

• Who am I? What is my background, ethnicity and experience? What factors have shaped me? • Where do my spouse and I feel at home? What is our heart language? • How culturally adaptable do others perceive us to be?

IN THE SPACE BELOW CIRCLE THE MOST ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE TO WHOM YOU WANT TO MINISTER. FILL IN THE COLUMNS.

Church Context People Group Where in Austin

Urban Professionals Immigrants 2nd Generation Poor Suburban

DISCUSS POSSIBLE “STRATEGIC” NEIGHBORHOODS WITH KNOWLEDGEABLE LEADERS.

Leaders Recommendations

Demographers Community Leaders Elders Other Planters

31 DO A PRELIMINARY DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY OF TWO OF THE MOST FAVORED AREAS. • Identify sources of information • Define the geographical boundaries of the area • Describe the changes taking place (ex: pop. trends) • Define people groups

DEFINE EXISTING CHURCHES • How old • Average Attendance • Ages they are reaching • Socio-economic profile of who they are reaching • Most productive ministries

iii. Selecting a People Group or Neighborhood.

(See sample report)

Research Access Points:

HCBC / Infinity Alliance Percept Yahoo Neighborhood Denominational Demographics (Austin Baptist Association)

Understanding the People of Your Target Area:

In order to effectively communicate the gospel to specific people in your area, you need to engage in an intentional ministry of “hanging out.” Four categories are helpful to consider as you seek to understand your people:

1) Interior Life--What are their hopes, aspirations, fears, and problems? 2) World view--What aspects of scripture do they understand or deny? What beliefs run deeply in their thinking? What are the chief points of conflict or tension with scripture? What is their story? 3) Social Context—Economic, education, social structure, power relations. What is the baseline cultural narrative? 4) Religion – How are the religious bodies within this group doing? How are they organized? How are they viewed?

32 The key to being effective in understanding the people you minister to is living within the community and with the people you seek to reach for Christ. To love them well, you must understand them. To understand them, you must spend enormous amounts of time doing life with them.

Three Methods of Research:

1) Networking—informally conversing with people everywhere you go. Focus on developing contacts, and earning the right to ask questions (the art of building trust). “I’m new to the area; what can you tell me about it? What brought YOU here? How do you like living here? What do you like about it?” Close the interview by asking for their digits and asking for referrals—names of others who they recommend you talk to. Your goals are to learn, gain access to gatherers, raving fans, mavens and influencers.

2) Team Research—a great way to test prospective missional core, this can be done by door-to-door surveys, as well as spending a Saturday morning in the park. Also Parent Teacher associations, referrals, people of influence that someone in your team may know (principals, mayors, city council).

3) Group Meetings—involving your prospective core in brainstorming. Invite seekers into your meeting. Begin each meeting with a devotional and then ask, “what are non-Christians here like? What are their fears, their hopes, their beliefs? Envision their half of the conversation and then ask, WHAT KIND OF CHURCH WOULD WE HAVE TO BE TO REACH THEM? WHAT WOULD OUR SIDE OF THE CONVERSATION HAVE TO BE? WHAT SLOGAN WOULD CONNECT?

4) You have only the thinnest sort of anecdotal evidence unless you talk to at least 200 people in this process. That is how real patterns emerge. Obviously, you cannot do that volume of work alone—nor do you want to!

5) These research methods and the people involved with them create the backbone of what will emerge as your

33 missional core—those on whose shoulders the church will emerge.

6) Finally, develop a profile of the people you are going after. Blow up a picture of him/her and use 5-10 descriptive statements about them. This will help send a subtle message that your church is going after people far from God!

34 iv. Soft Demographics: Exegeting a Community (Just like exegeting scripture) “You can see a lot by just looking.” -- Yogi Berra, NY Yankee catcher

Our task in this exercise is to exegete your experience through a three-part movement: 1) Observation, 2) Interpretation, and 3) Application. Your objective is to see the cultural context for what it really is, interpret the data honestly and then develop a valid strategy based upon the exegesis.

I. Observation (What do you see?) Our desire is to see the neighborhood as God sees it, to see its hurt, its beauty, its potential as a harvest field for God’s Kingdom. Make at least fifty observations about what you have seen, smelled, tasted. What has made you angry and offended? What has broken your heart? What has convicted you? What has excited and encouraged you? What have you seen God doing? Where do you see the mighty hand of God at work? What is not happening?

Examples of Observation Questions: • Are there any allies in the community? • Are there any enemies? • Are there public toilets anywhere? • How are yards kept? Fenced? Manicured? • Decorations? • What possessions seem to be most important to people? • What kind of cars? • Any parks? • Grocery Stores? Ethnic foods? • Political issues reflected in fliers, banners, yard signs • Social service agencies • Vacant lots? • 3rd Places? • What tends to bring people together?

35 II. Interpretation (What does it mean?) Our goal is to understand what our experiences mean and how to extract some meaningful principles upon which to build a cp strategy. Why do you think you reacted to certain experiences the way you did? Why do you think some of the groups you saw are thriving and others are not? What are the underlying order and causes that formed the area? Look for the DYNAMICS at work in creating a community. How do we transfer your observations into principles? What are the principles or conclusions you would create out of your observations? List at least five.

36 III. Application (What do we do?) ACTION LIST We need to determine specific actions to implement as we develop a comprehensive strategic plan for church planting an appropriate model for this community. What should your role be in fostering and promoting a cpm in this community? How are we going to leverage our resources – time, talent and treasure – in order to maximize the mission here?

IN ORDER TO FORMULATE YOUR IMMEDIATE STRATEGY AND YOU COULD ONLY DO THREE THINGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE AND WHY? WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND AS A LONG LIST OF ACTIONS?

37 MAY 10 Engaging Culture in Context • Engaging Culture • Establishing a Missional Community -- Missional Core Development (Gospel Enlisting, Equipping, Engaging) • Missional Gospel Networking (E-1, E-2, E-3 Relationships) • Forming the Faith Community • When is it time to Establish a Structured Community of Faith? (Public Worship) • Social Networking Strategies – Gathering – Tracking – Targets

Missional Gospel Networking

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…” (Mt 28:19) “And you shall be witnesses for me…” (Acts 1:8) “But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist , discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Tim 4:5)

How do we do the work of an evangelist? “Whatever a person is like, I try to find common ground with him so that he will let me tell him about Christ and let God save him.” I Corinthians 9:22 (LB) • What do you think it means to find common ground? • How do you find common ground with people? • Why do you seek to find common ground with people? • What is the ultimate purpose behind finding common ground?

We must build relationships with people who are far from God!

“Don’t set goals for people; Describe the problem for them.” – Andy Stanley

In David Kinnaman’s book, UNChristian and in Dan Kimball’s They Like Jesus, but they Don’t Like the Church, the authors describe the ugly stereotypes developed about Christians and Church people. Most of us are very unaware of these prejudices…until we fully engage people who don’t know Christ.

38 There are Six Broad Themes —the most common points of skepticism and objections raised by outsiders described on p. 29-30 of UNChristian by David Kinnamon and Gabe Lyons:

Unfavorable image Explanation Young Adult % 1. Anti-gay Bigoted, show disdain for them 91% 2. Judgmental 87% 3. Hypocritical Say one thing…do another 85% 4. Too Political Promote political agendas 75% 5. Sheltered Old-fashioned, boring, out of touch 72% 6. Too focused on They feel like targets rather than 70 % getting converts people.

Beyond the perceptions there is a common pattern that creates tension in our winsomeness as church planters. Over time, we have fewer and fewer non-Christian friends.

A COMMON PATTERN NON-CHRISTIAN FRIENDS

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 TIME

Over time, a common pattern is that the longer one is a Christ follower in the current church environment, the fewer non-christian friends one has. This means that if you only have in your missional core people who have been Christians a long time, you are faced with a difficult “spiritual re- formation problem.”

39 QUESTIONS: 1) Where do you build intentional relationships for evangelism? 2) Can you comfortably engage people in spiritual conversations?

KEY POINT: We must gather a following of both believers and non-believers! Example: Luke 10:1-12

A great mistake that many planters make is to spend all their time searching for mature, competent Christ-followers to join their missional core. The reality is that the best initial gatherings of people will be a broad spectrum from unbeliever to mature believer.

In 1999, sociologist Ray Oldenburg wrote “The Great Good Place”. In it, he offers a compilation of essays about the places in America where “everybody knows your name.: What Oldenburg calls “the third place” is somewhere people ca relax, in good company, on a regular basis. They are places of familiarity, where people can find and make friends. Starbucks has formed their international purpose statement around this idea. They want to become “the third place” for everyone. THE WORST MISTAKE HAS BEEN THAT CHRISTIANS HAVE TRIED TO MAKE THEIR CHURCH PROGRAMS OR WORSHIP SERVICES THEIR THIRD PLACE. THE KEY IS THAT THIRD PLACES NEED TO BE IN PUBLIC ZONES. (from Tangible Kingdom, p. 157-158)

QUESTION: How will you spend your time? We must look for the best ways to leverage our time to build more relationships! (Mt 9:37; 1 Cor 3:6-7) In the book Tipping Point, three categories of important people are identified that are vital to cultivate:

1) Salesmen (people who sell our cause to others) 2) Connectors (people of peace who bring others with themselves) 3) Mavens (people who know things – about the culture, about people).

40 The Priority of Engaging the Unchurched Culture

HOW WE MUST INVEST OUR TIME, ENERGY AND MONEY

Don’t invert the cone!!!

• Engage & Impact People - 75% First priority is to evangelize • Missional Core Development – 20% Envisioned, Engaged, Equipped to evangelize with you! • Programming – 5% Third priority is to mobilize a Structured Community

41 Paul’s Gathering Strategy Take the following passages and extract with the help of your missional core, Paul’s gathering strategies. Ask Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How did they gather? Did they gather systematically? Randomly? Slowly? Quickly? Did they gather leaders only? The poor only? Middle Class families only?

Acts 11:19–26 “So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and {began} speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and {began} to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain {true} to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch” (NASB ).

Acts 16:12–15 “and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia, a {Roman} colony; and we were staying in this city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. And a certain woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.’ And she prevailed upon us” (NASB ).

Acts 17:1–4 “Now when they had traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and {saying,} ‘This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.’ And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a great multitude of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women” (NASB ).

42 Paul’s Gathering Strategy (cont’d)

Acts 17:15–17, 34 “Now those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing {Gentiles,} and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them” (NASB ).

Acts 18:1–8 “After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working; for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul {began} devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. And when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood {be} upon your own heads! I am clean. From now on I shall go to the Gentiles.’ And he departed from there and went to the house of a certain man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized” (NASB ).

Acts 19:1–9 “And it came about that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper country came to Ephesus, and found some disciples, and he said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?’ And they {said} to him, ‘No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.’ And he said, ‘Into what then were you baptized?’ And they said, ‘Into John's baptism.’ And Paul said, ‘John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.’ And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they {began} speaking with tongues and prophesying. And there were in all about twelve men. And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading {them} about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus” (NASB ).

43 Engaging the Culture in Context The most difficult task a church planter has is gathering the first 50 people! The second most difficult task is gathering the RIGHT 50 people!

Missional Core must learn Live Out the Kingdom in four ways: (From The Hello Experiment from TK, p. 123-155)

1. Leaving (the Christian Bubble) – replacing personal or Christian activities with tie spent building relationships with people in the surrounding culture.

2. Living among (incarnating the Gospel) – If you want to help people, we have to dive into people, wade into the sea of humanity. Participating in the natural activities of the culture around you, with whimsical holiness.

3. Listening – watching and sensitively responding to the unspoken and spoken needs of Sojourners in ways that demonstrate sincere interest.

4. Loving without strings – “Blessing: Shalom references one person’s desire to see the peace of God touch every aspect of another’s life. It’s a holistic blessing that calls for action by the one granting the blessing. Blessing requires action. The blessing of God naturally attracts people.

Draw the Missional Triangle:

CULTURE Sojourners

Missional Community

CULTURE

44 Missional Gospel Networking

Networking for Missional Core

Missional Community

E-1 Engage, E-2 Explore, E-3 Express

Faith Community

Structured Community

When is it Time to Organize a Structured Community?

When the Missional Community has engaged 200 E-1s and cultivated them to 50 E-3 relationships. Those new relationships form an emerging FAITH COMMUNITY.

MISSIONAL GOSPEL NETWORKING involves setting appointments with “Salesmen, Connectors, and Mavens” sharing your elevator speech, cultivating favor, looking for “leads” to people looking for God and open to your MC. MISSIONAL COMMUNITY involves the planter and his Missional Core spending 70% of their time in networking activity. This would involve meeting a large number of people. To achieve a minimum of 200 E-1s, the planter needs to mobilize his Missional Core to discover together 40 new relationships per month (Ten per week).

45 The Three “E’s” of Engaging the Culture

EXPLORE EXPRESS

ENTER

E-1s (ENTER) are simply defined as people who have given you their digits and who could potentially become part of your community. You have entered their world and engaged them. E-2s (EXPRESS) are defined as people you have cultivated enough relationship with that you have had spiritual conversations, listening to their story, discovering their worldview, and earning the right to move things to E-3. E-3s (EXPLORE) are people with whom you have been able to share the gospel repeatedly. Sometimes a person is willing to go to E-3 fast. Other times it takes months and months.

PARTNERS are Christian people out of the harvest who have joined you and are fully engaged in seeing you accomplish the mission. They are learning with you how to ask three questions of everyone they meet:

1. Who are you? 2. Where are you spiritually? 3. How can I help you take the next step?

46 ENGAGING AND IMPACTING PEOPLE involves 1) Demonstrating and declaring the gospel in every means possible – gospel sowing, loving, serving, sharing, community wide. 2) Saturation Communication – letting everyone in the community know that you are there. 3) Intensive Prayer.

MISSIONAL CORE DEVELOPMENT – The very best MC you will acquire are those you win, disciple and deploy from the Target Area. The next best are other believers from the commissioning church who clearly understand the intensity of commitment needed: 1) reorient your priorities to focus on the new community, 2) invest the time to participate with us weekly, 3) the core function is evangelism and the MC meets weekly to pray and share progress, 4) is trained in stewardship and prayerfully planning to make commitments to First Fruits and monthly pledge, 5) Willing to serve in a ministry when the church launches. The MC must understand your vision and be invited to help you build an appropriate ministry design that they would buy into.

Create Momentum Momentum is simply defined as “strength or force gained by motion.” As a leader you want to create a sense of momentum. This encourages people and gives them a sense of hope and direction. You create momentum by identifying meaningful goals or milestones, by identifying “small wins” along the way, and by celebrating the good things that God is doing!

Keeping the Community Focused on the Mission

• Incarnate what you want: you must be the lead evangelist! • What gets celebrated gets done (grace stories, baptisms, etc). • Everyone is responsible for the Mission. Everyone gets simple training. • Think with missional sensitivity in every environment. • Plan “come backs” for every activity and event. • Every church is a church planting church.

JUNE 6

47 Public Gatherings and the Structured Community • Distinguishing between Missional Core and Ministry Teams • Ministry Design -- Seven Core Systems 1) Children –, 2) HUGs –3) Worship –4) Groups –5) Assimilation and Membership –6) Finance –7) Communications –

One of the most common mistakes many church planters make is thinking that starting a public worship service is the end game. This thinking perpetuates the reductionist notion that church is simply a gathering, and that we are trying to market our way into attracted a lot of people into a better gathering: better preaching, better worship, better pastor, better programs, better everything. The focus here is attractional, consumer oriented, and contrary to the real mission, and why we would go to the trouble to invest our lives in church planting.

One of the surest ways to lose momentum and confuse your FAITH COMMUNITY as to what you are all about is to focus all your energies on “launching a service” and organize a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY pre- maturely !

You are NOT ready to organize a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY until:

1. You are ready to offer a good quality WORSHIP experience!

2. You have your SEVEN CORE ministries enlisted, envisioned, equipped and in place! (E&A, HUGS, FACILITIES, CHILDREN’S MINISTRY, FINANCE, WORSHIP, SMALL GROUPS.)

3. You are CONFIDENT that you will have a CRITICAL MASS at your first service, and will be able to maintain it! We define critical mass as somewhere around 60-70 adults.

When gathering the first 50-100 people into the FAITH COMMUNITY: • The church planter and the missional core must spend their time almost exclusively meeting people, building relationships, and serving the community! • The most critical skills: 1) Entering third places, 2) Initiating Conversations, 3) Building Relationships, 4) Networking, 5) Gospel sowing. • Pray for open doors; look for open doors; step through open doors!

Additional Strategies for gathering the STRUCTURED COMMUNITY:

48 1. Luke 10 “Man of Peace” Strategy 2. Canvassing Strategy 3. Serve the Community in “press-worthy” ways! 4. Preview Services 5. Life Transformation Groups (LTG – see Neil Cole) 6. Faith Community Multiplication (cell groups, life groups, affinity groups) 7. Meet-up affinities(from Frisbee golf to rock climbing to pug dogs) 8. Mass Exposure prior to Structured Community Initiation: a. Direct Mail (still works in some places) b. Flyers/Handbills/Door Hangers c. Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter) d. Public Events (concerts, carnivals, service projects, etc.) e. Advertising – Website, Newspaper, Public Places, Television, Billboards)

REMEMBER : You never want to establish a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY until you have determined what you need for a CRITICAL MASS and are reasonably sure that you will achieve that at your first public service!

JUNE 14

49 Developing a Ministry Plan Values that Shape the Culture Strategic Planning (Tactical vs. Strategic Planning) Project Planning – An Eleven Point Business Plan -- Jason McNutt Developing a Budget Creating and Celebrating Mileposts,

Biblical Foundation for Planning

• Mark 4:1-20, 26-29 • James 4:13-15 • Psalms 20:4; Proverbs 12:5; 15:22; 16:3,9; 20:18; 21:5 • 2Chronicles 27:4 Jotham

Old Testament Examples: Ex 18; Num 13; Dt 20; Joshua; Nehemiah New Testament Examples: Mt 25:14-30; Lk 10; Lk 14:25-32; Acts

The Plannng Process

The High Level Plan The planning process will consist of two parts. First, there is the “High Leve l” plan that you will develop initially as you begin researching your community.

This High Level plan will consist of:

• Your Personal Story • Your Mission Statement • Your Values • Your Vision • Your Intercession Strategy

The Project Plan The second part of the planning process will be your “ Project Plan ”. This will be a living document that you look at daily .

• Objectives • Goals • Timeline/Critical Path • Budget/Resources • Actions/Tasks

50

THE HIGH LEVEL PLAN

OUR MISSION…

Ever since the days of the early church there has been broad agreement among believers on man’s purpose in this world, that is “to glorify God.” In fact, the chief end of all creation is to glorify God. Thus, the ultimate aim of the church is to glorify God. But, how does the church specifically do that? What is the unique mission of the church?

Every New Testament Church has the same Biblical mission. It is found in 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (NIV)

A good mission statement should state how your church is going to fullfill the Great Commission in your given context. It should clearly spell out:

• Who you are as a faith community,

• What you are hoping to become as a new church,

• Who you are trying to reach (Mission Focus Group), and

• What will make your church unique or distinctive

Remember: What you measure will be your mission! Wise leaders find strategic indicators (Key Performance Indicators) to measure themselves against their stated mission!

OUR VALUES…

Sincere followers of Jesus share Biblical values. However, over time some of these values become “core” to who we are! These values determine how we feel about things without thinking about them. Church planters

51 must thoroughly examine their values in order to discover what is “core” to them as leaders!

WHAT IS A “CORE VALUE?”

• CONSTANT – They don’t change with fads or seasons.

• ORDER LIFE – We organize our priorities, our time and our investments around our core values.

• RELEASE PASSION – They are deeply held and people fight to sustain, protect and promote their core values.

• EVERYBODY OWNS THEM – The organization has bought in from top to bottom.

• “Values are the constant, passionate, biblical core beliefs that drive a ministry.” 8

• How do values DRIVE the ministry?

Decision Making Risk Taking Goal Setting Conflict Resolution Problem Solving Determining Priorities Clarification of Roles

DIFFERENT KINDS OF VALUES 9

• Conscious vs. Unconscious Values • Shared vs. Unshared Values • Actual vs. Aspirational Values • Personal vs. Organizational Values • Congruent vs. Incongruent Values

WHOSE VALUES LEAD?

8 Aubrey Malphurs, Values-Driven Leadership (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996), 34. 9 Ibid.

52

In an existing church , a pastor must take the time to conduct a “values audit” within the congregation. The pastor must then clarify his own core values to evaluate his congruency with the congregation! Without a high degree of congruency there will not be long term effectiveness! In an existing church the pastor “joins” the values of the congregation.

In a church plant , it is best for the church planting pastor to define his values in a broad sense, and then invite others to “join with him.” The goal is value-alignment or “agenda harmony.” This is crucial in a new church plant!

7 WARNING SIGNALS (How you know there is not congruency or “agenda harmony”!)

1. Frequent confusion and disagreement 2. Overt cynicism and pessimism 3. A maintenance ministry 4. Plateaued or declining attendance 5. Lack of commitment or enthusiasm 6. Low tolerance for change 7. Distrust of leadership

DEALING WITH CONFLICT…

1. Never assume that you understand people’s agenda and never assume that they agree with your agenda! Learn to discern this over time!

2. Every person who has a church background brings BAGGAGE!

3. Expect conflict! Note these 10 potential conflict areas:

• Type and style of music • Seeker vs. believer service • Expectations of the pastor’s role & the pastor’s wife/family • Form of church government, the structure, decision-making, etc. • What kind of programs are we going to have (i.e. Sunday School, evening services, youth programs, etc.) • The appropriate time to implement desired church programming • Giving to missions vs. being a mission; amount of missions giving • When to sponsor your first church plant; how often to sponsor church plants

53 • Role of women in the church/docrtrinal interpretations • Relationship to sponsor church or denomination • Some others: - faith based system vs. economic based system - evangelism vs. discipleship - expository preaching vs. topical preaching - traditional preaching vs. creative preaching

4. Don’t be afraid to talk them out of joining you, especially if there is not AGENDA HARMONY! Give people permission to leave gracefully!

5. Know your preferred Conflict Management Style: 10 • PERSUADER • COMPELLER • AVOIDER • COLLABORATER • NEGOTIATER • MEDIATOR

OUR VISION…

Vision is what you see God doing in a specific church or context. It is what you see God doing through you to fulfill His mission.

“Jesus is the Lord of church planting and He has a UNIQUE VISION for every new church!” 11

Consider this…

1. A vision begins with A BURDEN!

We must feel the impact of the situation, and we must linger in the uncomfortable places in our soul.

2. A vision is a PICTURE of a preferred future!

Great visions capture the emotions of people. Great visions describe a future that gives hope. This emotion and hope creates

10 These descriptions come from Discovering Your Conflict Management Style by Speed Leas. 11 I first heard Paul Becker of Dynamic Church Planting International make this statement.

54 energy and motivates people to action.

3. A clear vision enables others to discover their PURPOSE.

When the organization has a clear sense of its purpose, direction, and desired future state and when this image is widely shared, individuals are able to find their own roles both in the organization and in the larger society of which they are a part. This empowers individuals… they can see themselves as part of a worthwhile enterprise. They gain a sense of importance, as they are transformed from robots blindly following instructions to human beings engaged in a creative and purposeful venture. 12

4. Church planters MUST LIVE and TEACH the vision!

5. Vision must be communicated repeatedly and in multiple ways!

THE PROJECT PLAN

Our Project Plan must reflect our values and move us toward our vision. We identify 3 distinct phases in the development of a new church:

Phase One : Engage the Culture through A MISSIONAL COMMUNITY Phase Two : Forming a Faith Community to include SOJOURNERS Phase Three : Organizing a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY

In each Phase you will have distinct Objectives . Each phase has some crucial milestones that must be achieved – these become your objectives! A milestone is a major objective that must be accomplished before proceeding.

PROJECT PLANNING/PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Successful organizations create projects that produce desired results in established time frames with assigned resources. That is what we are doing in church planting. A Project Plan always has the following

12 Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus. Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1985), 90-91.

55 ingredients:

• Specific outcomes : Products, results, DELIVERABLES • Definite start and end dates : Dates when project work begins and when it ends • Established budgets : Required amounts of people, funds, equipment, facilities, and information • Multiple steps or tasks : All projects consist of interdependent, yet individual steps or tasks. No piece of a project exists in a vacuum. If one task runs late or over budget, it typically affects other tasks, the overall schedule, and the total costs of the project.

Project management is concerned with: • Scheduling • Budgeting • Managing resources • Tracking and reporting progress

To manage a project you need a process or a set of procedures:

• Plan upfront : By preplanning the various elements of your project, you can more accurately estimate the time and resources that are required to complete the project. • View your progress : By examining your progress on an ongoing basis from various perspectives, you can see whether you are likely to meet your goal. • Recognize conflicts : By identifying time and resource conflicts early, you can try out various what-if scenarios to resolve them before the project gets out of hand. • Make adjustments : You can make adjustments to task timing and costs, and automatically update all other tasks in the project to reflect the impact of your changes. • Generate reports for communication : You create reports on the status of your project to help team members prioritize, and to help all stakeholders stay abreast of your progress.

The 5 phases of project management:

• Conceive : An idea is born. • Define : A plan is developed. • Start : Resources are identified and a team is formed.

56 • Perform : The work is done. • Close : The project is ended.

Software Available for Project Management

• Microsoft Project • Project Kick Start • Convergence (see www.passion4planting.com) • Excel • Others…

How do I create a Project Plan? a. First, define what opening day/month will look like! What is your goal for that day/month? (e.g. To launch a new church in “X” area of “Y” by [date] to reach “Z” type of people/community.) Then write a scope statement (e.g. By [date] we want to launch a church with a critical mass of 100+ people in weekly attendance, 4 small groups, and blah, blah, blah.) NOTE: You will not be able to determine your goal or scope statement until you have adequately researched your mission focus group. You will also need to get approval on who your mission focus group will be .

b. Second, begin working backward to determine the steps/tasks that you need to take to reach the goal. Look for major areas that must be covered (e.g. nursery, preschool, set up/tear down, missional core development, etc.) List tasks under each area (see the sample lists from www.passion4planting.com). c. Third, create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and a Critical Path Chart (milestones.) See examples of others.

d. Next, determine what resources you are going to need and how you will attain them (e.g. people, equipment, site, etc.)

e. Finally, create your overall timeline . (Project managers call this a Gantt Chart !) See examples of others.

57 DELEGATION: ENLISTING A TEAM

Your ability to lead is key to the success and effectiveness of your church plant. Nothing expresses leadership like effective enlistment and delegation. Delegation is putting faces with every step of the strategy. Consider this…

1. (1 Sam. 10:26) The first principle to remember in enlisting start-up team members is that GOD does the WORK not you! It must be bathed in PRAYER! 2. Recruiting is as much about who you should NOT select as it is who you do select. 3. Always be discerning – screen for REBELLION. 4. Improve your STORYTELLING skills! (Tell your story!) 5. Improve your skill at casting VISION. 6. Make sure you challenge your core to be “Missional Leaders” first! 7. Think carefully! What is your model? How will you start? Who do you need? 8. Think through the conversation and the challenge!

Identify the Roles Needed for Your New Church

1. Know your Mission Focus Group (MFG). What essential programs or ministries are going to be needed? What are the distinctives of your new church? Identify what you will absolutely have to do!

2. Make two lists -

Non-Negotiable Ministries Desired but Negotiable

3. Develop a brief ministry description for each ministry (review org chart.)

a. Title b. Purpose of Ministry c. Responsible to (or Relates to) d. Gifts, skills, or qualifications desired e. Responsibilities (be specific)

4. Begin listing possible people to approach. Begin praying for each person and each position. Enlist your Intercessors to pray as well!

58 5. Meet with the person face-to-face.

a. Re-state the mission of the new church. b. Re-cast the values & vision of the church. Make sure you have AGENDA HARMONY!!! c. Share how this ministry is vital to the health & success of this new church. d. Go over the Ministry Description with them. e. Answer any questions they may have. f. Ask them to pray for one week about taking this ministry. Set the time/appointment for follow up. g. Put the date on your calendar & follow up. If they decline, encourage them to pray about some other way that they might be involved! They may come up with a ministry that you did not think of that would make your new church unique!

6. Affirm them; communicate with them; support them; give them training.

7. Conduct “Team Building” experiences with them! Invest in them!!!

SUMMARY: To delegate effectively, you must:

• Identify all the key roles and tasks that must be performed • Identify potential people to share these roles and tasks with • Evaluate the readiness of these potential servants & leaders; intentionally develop them (see the Situational Leadership model in Session Seven, “Who Will Help Us Lead This Movement?”) • Always be giving the ministry away, without compromising your values

Finally, don’t forget to evaluate regularly and consistently. Implement and Evaluate!

59 June 21 Developing a Total Communication Plan • The Art and Science of Branding • Definition of Branding • Your Brand Really Matters • Six Parts of a Marketing Strategy • Recommended Must-haves • Website Examples and What is their Message • Blogs/Twitter • Other Web Tools • Website Design: DIY or Pro? • What’s Obsolete/What’s Current • The Door Hanger Example • Top Seven Mistakes to Avoid • Social Media Resources

The ART and SCIENCE of BRANDING

Wikipedia Definition of Brand: A brand is a name or trademark connected with a product or producer. Brands have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy, now being described as “cultural accessories and personal philosophies.”

Your Brand Really Matters… "A great brand raises the bar -- it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're drinking really matters.” -- Howard Schulz, president, CEO and chairman of Starbucks

RT@PhilCooke: Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. --Phil Cooke, author of Branding Faith

Six Parts of a Marketing Strategy 1. Support team 2. Messaging 3. Target Audience 4. Strategic Plan 5. Timeline 6. Budgeting

60 Support Team
Missional Core – “everybody is a raving fan”
Communications “Champion” within org
Marketing Expertise – printing company, designer, consultant Messaging • Who are we? • What are our goals? • What is our message? • Who’s the competition? • Who we are not? • What is our personality? Brand
Target Audience • Who will we attract? • Demographics • Geographic • Schools • Who are we NOT targeting? • Who have we already gathered? • Who are our E-1, E-2, E-3 People?

Target Audience RT@lindastanley: npr interview this a.m. with teens who said twitter is for old people, FB is cool & for white ppl, MySpace is for artsies & minorities. ??? about 8 hours ago from web --Linda Stanley, Leadership Network

Strategic Plan • Goals: What does success look like? • Strategies: How will we succeed? • Tactics: How do we execute?

61 Timeline • Milestones - Critical Path Points (MFG, 10 MCs, 200 E-1s, 50 E-3s, Elders, Ministry Plan, CP Team Green light, First Fruits, Charter, Worship) • 6-month • 12-month • 2-year
Budget
Total Cost
Priorities
Allocations
Assumptions • Everybody has a BRAND • Less top down, less formal and more democratic • If you think you can communicate your message with mailers and a website… • Social Media is cheap! • Find the tribes…talk to the tribes (Seth Godin) • Word-of-mouth and personal recommendations rule (raving fans, mavens, connectors) • Marketing won’t replace the personal relationship • Recommended Marketing Tools

Must Haves
Word of Mouth
Website/blog/club cards/Constant Contact
Community Involvement – Chamber, local businesses, other churches, neighborhood events, get in the community
Local Community Impact newspapers
Neighborhood newsletters
Saturation Communicate either side of launch

If Dollars Are Available
Billboards
Regional newspapers
TV/Radio spots
Yellow Pages
Website Examples
http://www.buckheadchurch.org/
http://www.crosspoint.tv/
http://www.lifechurch.tv

62
http://www.fbcrogers.org/
http://www.fbcjax.com/
http://www.thepeopleschurch.org/
http://www.centralchristian.com/
http://www.hcbcut.com/
Blogs
Blogging is communicating
Use video, podcasts, show personality to build community
Integrate Flickr, YouTube/GodTube, Delicious into your blog
Merchandise your blog (RSS, Feedburner integration, put everything there, friendly URLs)
Integrate blog into church website (Use Wordpress or CMS that integrates a blog)

Blog/Twitter Examples

Blogs
http://withoutwax.tv/
http://brandiandboys.wordpress.com/
http://leadingandlovingit.wordpress.com/
http://blog.buckheadchurch.org/
http://abbafund.wordpress.com/
Other Web Tools
Create an account on Flickr
Create an account on YouTube
If you’re not already, start a blog and use it (at least 3x per week)
Consider micro-blogging (Twitter)
Create a fan page on Facebook (versus a group)
Optimize your website/blog for SEO (Search Engine Optimization – how fast Google boinks your site)
Web Design - DIY or Pro?

Do I . . . .
Do it myself?
Hire an inside Web designer?
Contract out a freelancer?
Use a Church Plant specialty firm?
Obsolete Communications
Print newsletters
Slick Brochures
Traditional advertising – TV, newspaper
E-mail as primary means of communicating broadly

63 But what about Door Hangers? Pros
Direct geographical and demographic targeting
Can message to all audiences – men, women, teens, children
Unique message delivery – people will read your hanger
Less expensive than direct mail

Cons
Can be intrusive/irritating to resident
Immediate turn-off from some
Most effective for home services (painting, hail damage repair, etc)

Statistics
Effective rates from .8% to 10% - potentially higher than direct mail & less expensive. Expect delivery rate of 30-50 homes per hour.

Recommendations
Create unique packet (small bag) with brochure or 4-5 inserts for each ministry. Potential enclosures include DVDs, small gift (fridge magnet), etc.
Tie to specific event (launch, holiday event, special service)
Support with ad in Neighborhood newsletter or sign

Top Seven Mistakes
One-hit Wonders (Think saturation.)
No Research: Not knowing the audience
Overlooking the critical value of word-of-mouth
Identify who you are, say it, repeat it, stick with it – be consistent/constant/compelling/memorable/simple
Not using an integrated program: Being opportunistic, not strategic
Under-spending: Branding/visibility/marketing requires budget line item
“If we sell it, they will come.”

Current Websites/Twitter
Brandon Hatmaker – www.austinnewchurch.com _(@brandonhatmaker)
Michael Dennis -- www.northvillagechurch.com (@nvchurch)
Josh Cagle -- www.theroundrockproject.com (@joshcagleonline)
Jason McNutt -- www.Austinredeemed.com (@jcmcnutt)
Seth Kniep –www.dividetheword.org (@SethKniep)
Russell Johnson –www.rvchurchplanter.com (@fbcruss)
Jonathon Dodson – www.churchplantingnovice.wordpress.com
John Herrington – www.saturateaustin.typepad.com (@hcbcjohnh)

64 Social Media Resources
Twitter: http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter
Podcasting: http://www.commoncraft.com/podcasting
Social Media: http://www.commoncraft.com/socialmedia
Bookmarking: http://www.commoncraft.com/bookmarking-plain-english
Social Networking: http://www.commoncraft.com/video-social- networking
RSS: http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english
Wikis: http://www.commoncraft.com/video-wikis-plain-english
Chris Brogan: www.chrisbrogan.com (secular input on building community)
Seth Godin: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ (author of Tribes, secular view)
Church Communications: http://churchcommunicationspro.com/
Technology and Churches: http://churchcrunch.com/
Website Design Firm: http://www.agroup.com

Optional Communication
Bicycle rack displays
Benches
Bus shelter displays
Kiosks: telephone / information
News stands/Other display cases
Pedestrian panels
Transit – Cap Metro/taxis
Airport terminals
Kids’ sports complexes
Colleges/campuses
Planes over UT functions
ATM's and vending machine
Blimps and other inflatables
Bridges
Golf course (carts, tee boxes)
Human sandwich signs
Parking garages
Parking meters
Restroom walls
Road banners (like on Anderson Mill – south of 183)
State highway signs
Gas pumps/nozzles

65 Leading the Church • Casting Vision, Building Team, Creating Morale and Buzz • Leader Development Systems (Based upon Seven Core Systems) • New Believer Follow-up • Disciple making plan • Missional Community Leader Development • Elder enlistment, envisioning, equipping • Principles and Practices • Measuring Church Health with the 7 CMCs • Daughter to Sister Church – Becoming Part of a Movement

Review: What we have learned so far: • Seven Questions Every Church Planter Must Answer • The Church Planting Pastor’s Inner Life • Determining Your Strategy • Engaging Culture in Context • Public Gatherings & The Structured Community • Developing a Ministry Plan • Developing a Total Communication Plan

Leading the Church • Casting Vision • Building A Team • Creating Morale & Buzz • Sacrificial Giving o Stewardship Series  Principles of Contentment  Financial Responsibility  Systematic Giving  Sacrificial Giving o Treasure Principle

Leadership Development Systems • Training the leaders for the systems o Value of Shadowing/Apprenticing  HUGs  Children’s Ministry  Finance/Administration  Group Life  Worship  Evangelism/Assimilation  Facilities  Leadership Development Systems • New Believer Follow up o Campus Crusade Foundations Series

66  Confidence  Acceptance  Empowerment  Development

• Disciplemaking Plan o Cultivating a Life For God (Neil Cole) o Discipleship With A Purpose (DWAP)  Call of the Leader  Eternal Perspective  Servant Leadership  Modeling Christ  Personal Obedience o DWAP Ministry Model Chart

• Missional Community Development o The Tangible Kingdom o Tangible Kingdom Primer o Re-cap pg. 41-44 from Essentials Training Manual o Leadership Development Systems

• Elder Development o Charting a Bold Course o Principles & Practices o Elder Application

• Measuring Church Health o 7 Characteristics of a Missional Church o Daughter/Sister Church Relationship  Becoming a Multiplying Church  Part of a Movement • Renovation Center

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES DOCUMENT

67 This document contains the operating guidelines for Hill Country Bible Church Northwest. It is intended to be a dynamic document and will likely be revised as the church grows and takes on a greater scope of ministry. Revisions will be made according to section V. below.

I. GOVERNMENT: Scripture provides general principles which serve as guidelines for church leadership. These guidelines have been followed in formulating a philosophy of government for Hill Country Bible Church as follows: (Acts 6:3, 14:23, Col. 1:18, 1 Tim. 3:1-7, 5:17, Titus 1:5-9, Heb. 13:7, 17).

A. Christ (Col. 1:18) Christ is the true source of all the Church is and does, and His glory is to be the objective of every act, function, and motive of the Body, both individually and corporately. (1 Cor. 10:31)

Christ has provided His thoughts and His direction for the Body in the Word. The Bible reflects and contains His mind, His commands, His counsel, and His purpose for every believer. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17)

The Body is to conform to His Word, thus carrying out His will to His glory. That is the Body's reason for being. (Col. 3:15-17)

B. Elders Hill Country Bible Church has chosen to be an elder led church. The elders, as overseers of the local church, are responsible for the spiritual health of the Body. They are to glorify Christ by serving the Body according to the biblical principles of love and care. In practice, the elders establish the guidelines and policies for conducting services, programs, and the general conduct of church business. They are to lead by precept and example, realizing they are accountable to the Lord Jesus Christ for their efforts. (Heb. 13:17, Acts 20:24,28)

1. Qualifications The qualifications for an elder are set forth in the scriptural passages 1 Tim. 3:1-7, Titus 1:1-9, and 1 Peter 5:1-4. He is to be self-controlled, hospitable, able to teach, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, not a recent convert. He has a good reputation with outsiders, is not overbearing or quick-tempered, loves what is good, is upright, holy, disciplined, above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, respectable, not given to drunkenness, manages his own family well, sees that his children obey him, does not pursue dishonest gain, and keeps hold of deep truths. An elder demonstrates through leadership a commitment to the purposes, vision and the core values of the church.

2. Selection Any man who aspires to the office of elder is first approved by a vote of the elders, then a vote of the membership assembled at a duly called congregational meeting.

3. Number and Term There will be a maximum of nine elders at any time. Each man will serve for a four-year term. Under unusual circumstances, the Elder Board may extend an elder’s term one year by majority vote, not to exceed five consecutive years. Upon conclusion of his term, he must function in a non- elder role for at least one year before becoming eligible for eldership again.

68 A man filling an unexpired term of two years or less may be eligible to waive this one year at the end of his term and serve an additional term subject to the above prescribed selection process. The Senior Pastor serves as a perpetual elder and is one of the nine. The elders shall annually select a chairman to direct elder and congregational meetings. In the absence of the chairman, the elders will select an interim chairman.

4. Replacement A vacancy created by departing elder may be filled in accordance with B.2 above. The new elder will complete the departing elder's term .

5. Dismissal The dismissal of an elder because he is not fulfilling the responsibilities and/or qualifications of an elder is the responsibility of the other elders, and is accomplished by a vote of these elders. The exception is the Senior Pastor whose dismissal is covered in III B., below.

C. Senior Pastor The Senior Pastor is the spiritual leader of the congregation. In this unique position he provides for the equipping of the saints through a regular ministry of preaching, training, and encouraging the congregation as a whole. His goal is to mature the saints through insightful and accurate presentation and proclamation of the Word, stressing both the understanding and application of divine truths and principles. He provides vital input on planning, ministry challenges, and biblical guidance to the elders during the decision making process. He is often the primary agent in the implementation of the various programs and ministries undertaken by the church. He is accountable to the elders for the discharge of his ministry. He is also responsible for the management of the church office and supervision of all staff. (1 Tim. 4:11-13, 15, 16; Eph. 4:11, 12; 2 Tim. 3:16, 17, 4:2-4; Matt. 5:13)

D. Deacons At the discretion of the elders, deacons may be appointed to assist the elders in the discharge of the church ministry. They are delegated the authority for the execution of ministry. Each deacon is appointed annually by the elders for a specific area of service. Deacons must be members of Hill Country Bible Church Northwest and exhibit qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3:8-13.

E. Staff 1. Definition Staff members are defined as paid employees of the church, whether full or part-time.

2. Senior Pastor The Senior Pastor will be recruited and hired by the elders with the approval of the voting membership. His salary and benefits will be established by the elders and reviewed annually .

3. Church Staff (other than Senior Pastor) The Senior Pastor is the manager of the church staff. With the approval of the elders, the Senior Pastor may delegate responsibilities within the staff for the purpose of carrying out his responsibilities.

The Senior Pastor is responsible for the recruitment and management of all staff. Their salaries and benefits are established by the elders upon the

69 recommendation of the Senior Pastor. Final offers of employment or termination require mutual agreement between the Senior Pastor and the elders. However, the hiring and termination of non-pastoral staff is at the discretion of the Senior Pastor within the constraints of the approved budget. Except for the Senior Pastor, staff members will not be eligible for elder nomination .

4. Performance Review The performance of staff members will be reviewed on at least an annual basis. The Senior Pastor is responsible for church staff reviews. The elders review the Senior Pastor.

II. Membership A. Qualifications Membership in Hill Country Bible Church Northwest is open to all who testify to two elders, or two elder delegates of their salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and agree with both the Purpose and Doctrinal Statements. Associate membership is available for those under eighteen years of age who testify to two elders, or two elder delegates of their salvation by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Associate membership does not include the right to vote. Elders, pastors and deacons must be members of Hill Country Bible Church.

B. Expectations Members of Hill Country Bible Church are expected to support their church by participation in worship, instruction and giving of their time, talents, and treasures to the accomplishment of the purposes of the church. Members should take seriously the Great Commission and the admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ to love one another. (Matt. 28:19-20; 2 Cor. 9:7, Heb. 10:25, John 13:35)

C. Term The term of membership is permanent unless one of the following occurs: 1. The member is not in attendance at regular services for a period of six months.

2. The member asks to be dropped from the membership roll.

3. The member is dismissed due to action, behavior, or speaking in opposition to the Purpose or Doctrinal Statements of Hill Country Bible Church Northwest (see Dismissal below).

D. Dismissal The dismissal process for any member of Hill Country Bible Church Northwest must follow the pattern established by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 18:15-17. If the member refuses to repent and seek restoration of fellowship, as determined by the elders, that person's membership is terminated.

E. Reinstatement A former member in good standing can be reinstated to membership following an interview with at least two elders and a one-month period of regular attendance.

A dismissed member will be reinstated by repenting and seeking restored fellowship with the elders and then if deemed appropriate by the elders with the church assembled.

70

III. Voting A. Elders Voting within the eldership is preferably unanimous, but knowing the frailty of mankind, a simple majority will suffice. Exceptions are voting on major indebtedness, the purchase or long term leases of real or other property, and the selection or dismissal of elders and amendments to this document. These exceptions shall be approved with no more than one dissenting elder vote.

B. Members Voting by the membership is required for the following: The purchase of real property, calling or terminating a Senior Pastor, the appointment of elders, lease agreements of over 60 months and amendments to this document. A two-thirds majority vote of those present and eligible to vote is required for approval of the above-mentioned items.

IV. Congregational Meetings A. Annual Meeting In order to effectively communicate major issues and decisions, an annual congregational meeting will be scheduled in January.

B. Agenda An Agenda will be prepared and distributed to the congregation the Sunday prior to that meeting date. Agenda items submitted by a voting member(s) will be placed on the Agenda at the discretion of the elders. Agendas for meetings called by the voting members will be part of the petition calling the meeting. In case of emergencies, the requirement for distribution of Agendas may be waived.

C. Special Meetings A congregational meeting may be called by petition of 10% of the voting membership of the Church. Special meetings may be called by the elders as required.

D. Announcement Except in extreme emergencies, congregational meetings will be announced in the church bulletin two Sundays in advance of the meeting date.

E. Quorum The voting members present at a duly called congregational meeting will constitute a quorum.

F. Attendance Congregational meetings are generally open to regular attenders and members alike, however voting is limited to members 18 years of age or older.

V. Amendments and Revisions to these Practices Amendments and revisions to these Practices must be presented to the congregation at least one week prior to a congregational meeting and approved by a vote in accordance to paragraph 3B above. Current Elders and Terms: HCBC NW Elder Application

71 Elder Candidate ______Date ______

This survey is intended to help us and you determine if you are the person God has prepared to serve as elder at HCBCNW. It is designed to probe the areas of character, skills, experience, and preparation for eldership. It should help you and the elders of HCBC understand your present spiritual health. It will require frank and honest soul-searching before the Lord. However, it is not intended to be legalistic. No one is without sin nor does anyone have a perfect ministry history. Please view this as a tool to help measure your progress toward spiritual maturity. Allow a few minutes to answer each question. After you have finished, return this questionnaire to the board chairman for the elders to review. Then a follow-up interview will be scheduled to help determine how or if to continue the process. Your answers will be kept in the strictest confidence.

I. CHARACTER & RELATIONSHIPS: This is the most essential area for all elders. It is based on biblical standards.

A. Biblical Qualifications. (1 Tim 3; Titus 1). Circle the number that best characterizes where you think you are today in each area. (1=Failing; 2=Struggling; 3=Average; 4=Succeeding; 5=Modeling) If you have any questions about a particular area see The Measure Of A Man.

1. Above Reproach 1 2 3 4 5 2. Husband of One Wife 1 2 3 4 5 3. Temperate 1 2 3 4 5 4. Prudent 1 2 3 4 5 5. Respectable 1 2 3 4 5 6. Hospitable 1 2 3 4 5 7. Able To Teach 1 2 3 4 5 8. Not A Drunkard 1 2 3 4 5 9. Not Pugnacious 1 2 3 4 5 10. Uncontentious 1 2 3 4 5 11. Gentle 1 2 3 4 5 12. Not A Money Lover 1 2 3 4 5 13. Good Manager Of Household 1 2 3 4 5 14. Children Under Control With Dignity 1 2 3 4 5 15. Not A New Convert 1 2 3 4 5 16. Good Reputation With Outsiders 1 2 3 4 5 17. Not Self-willed 1 2 3 4 5 18. Not Quick-tempered 1 2 3 4 5 19. Love What Is Good 1 2 3 4 5 20. Just 1 2 3 4 5

Please comment on the areas in which you are struggling or failing. (Separate page)

B. Devotional Life. ("...you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed." 1 Tim. 4:6)

72 1. My time with the Lord is: a. Seldom c. Regular b. Sporadic d. Rich

2. One thing God has taught me in the last month from His Word is:

3. I experience answers to prayer: a. Never c. Sometimes b. Seldom d. Often

4. God's latest answer to my prayers was: when:______

C. Family Life. ("He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect." 1 Tim. 3:4) 1. My relationship with my wife is: a. cool c. growing b. rocky d. satisfying Please elaborate:

2. Have you and your wife been baptized as believers? yes no 3. My wife is supportive of my current ministry involvement: yes no not sure 4. My children are growing in their faith: yes no not sure 5. My children are obedient: yes no not sure

D. Financial & Material Stewardship: ("...not a lover of money." and "...must have a good reputation with outsiders…" 1 Tim. 3:3b; 3:7)

1. When it comes to what the Bible teaches about money, I: a. Don't know c. Understand it plainly b. Am a little unclear d. Could teach others 2. My personal practice of stewardship is: (May circle more than one) a. Living beyond my means. b. Living at a comfortable level. c. Giving to God regularly. d. Giving to God sacrificially. 3. Would any of your ______be surprised that you are a church elder? a. creditors yes no b. co-workers yes no c. neighbors yes no d. friends yes no e. relatives yes no

II. MINISTRY EXPERIENCE & SKILLS : Elders should have a life that reflects a history of proven faithfulness and effectiveness in ministry. Paul says of Timothy, "...has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel." (Phil. 2:22)

A. History. (1 Cor. 4:2)

73 1. How long have you been a growing believer?______Please explain: ______2. How long have you been attending HCBC?______3. What church positions or ministries have you served in? at HCBC at another church a.______a. ______b.______b. ______c.______c. ______d.______d. ______

4. In what area are you currently leading? ______

Who is following and what is the evidence of the following?

B. Effectiveness. (1 Tim. 4:14; 1 Cor. 12:7) 1. What is/are your spiritual gift(s)?______2. How have these gifts been confirmed?______

3. What would you consider your greatest ministry success?______

failure?______

4. Who would you list as a personal reference that would testify to your faithfulness in ministry? Why?______

C. Evangelism & Discipleship: (Matt. 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 2:1-2)

74 1. Can share my personal testimony & a gospel presentation. (To be given in interview) 2. Have you: a. Led a person to Christ? yes no who?______b. Helped a new convert? yes no who?______c. Discipled another: yes no who?______d. Currently discipling? yes no who?______

D. Teaching. ("...able to teach." 1 Tim. 3:2b) 1. In what settings have you taught the Bible: a. Never c. Small Groups b. One-To-One d. Large Groups

2. What age groups have you taught: a. Children c. Adults b. Youth 3. Have you ever led a Realife Group or other small group? yes no

E. Relationships: 1. Are you currently reproducing yourself in someone else? yes no who?______

2. Are you currently involved in a Realife accountability relationship? Who?______

F. What ministry training have you had? (Explain in brief ) G.

III. DOCTRINE & PRACTICES: Elders are responsible before God to protect the church from false doctrine as well as teaching the truth. ("Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock…" Acts 20:28)

A. Doctrine: 1. Do you fully agree with the church doctrinal statement? Yes No (Please explain) 2. What is your position on: (To be explained in interview) a. Lordship Salvation: b. Role of Women In Leadership c. Charismatic Theology d. Prosperity Theology e. Divorce & Remarriage f. Church Discipline g. Dispensationalism h. Reformed/ Covenant Theology

75 B. Practices: 1. Do you fully agree with our Principles & Practices? Yes No (Please explain) 2. What is your view on: (To be explained in interview) a. Different Methods of Evangelism b. Missions c. Definition of Discipleship d. Worship Style e. Counseling f. Role of Pastoral Staff g. Parenting h. Church growth i. Church planting j Finances k. Baptism

C. Is there anything that we are currently doing that you cannot support?

IV. PREPARATION: To function effectively as an elder at HCBC, you must be prepared. (see next page)

1. Memorize the Purpose Statement. have haven’t 2. Digested & Can Explain The Church Documents. can can’t (This We Believe) (Principles & Practices) (Church Discipline) (Core Values) 2. Completed the Spiritual Formation Seminars. Membership (Applied for Membership) have haven’t Maturity have haven’t Ministry have haven’t Mission have haven’t 4. Completed One-To-One Discipleship have haven’t 5. Completed Becoming a Contagious Christian have haven’t 6. Participate in a Realife Group. do don’t 7. Attend Sunday School or serve in a ministry do don’t

SIGNATURE ______DATE

SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A MISSIONAL CHURCH

76

 Reliance on God’s Word All church life centers on a reliance on God, His promises, and the authority of His Word. • Are the elders planning, setting goals and making decisions based on the Word? • Are we preaching & teaching the Word at all levels? • Are we counseling people from the Word? • Are people learning and growing in the Word? • Α re we risking, taking steps of faith showing our reliance upon God? • Is it possible for someone to be part of the church and not hear the Word of God?

 Anticipation of God’s Empowering Presence People approach all life and ministry with an anticipation of God’s presence actively working in and through them. • Are leaders modeling the priority of prayer and acknowledge God’s presence? • Are we telling & retelling stories of life-change? • Do we see new life-change stories around us? • Are we actively praying for God to show up? • Are we connecting transcendently with God in worship? • How many people have an active impact list, expecting God to intervene? • Do we approach every meeting, service and contact anticipating God might act in a big why? • Do our goals and dreams anticipate God showing up and are people stretched in commitment to their part of accomplishing the vision?

 Intentionally Missional Reaching the lost dominates the church agenda, relying on God for a yearly goal of at least 10% conversion & retention growth, maintaining a collaborative and aggressive regional and global plan to plant churches. • The pastor and other key leaders are involved in evangelism and discipleship. • All teaching, training, leadership development, etc., must be to expand the kingdom through evangelism and discipleship. • A yearly goal of 10% conversion and retention growth (not counting children of believers, i.e. biological church growth as opposed to conversion growth) – 10% have gift of evangelism (Mittelberg). • The church has a vision for a geographical region (city, community, country)—not just those already in the seats. • Church planting is part of the vision and strategy, and concrete plans are in place to plant. • Do we know how many members are actually sharing their faith?

 Strong Leadership Development Leaders are taught and practice “incarnational and servant leadership” and a minimum of 10% of the men & women are being developed as reproducing leaders. • Are we moving people through the leadership pipeline (helping with next step)? • What are we using to move leaders from step to step (curriculum/relationships)? • Where to do we look for these leaders? (peer ministry leaders, small group leaders) • What kind of coaching & mentoring is involved?  Expanding Network of Small Groups

77 The church is organized into reproducing communities of small groups committed to developing life-changing relationships with at least 75% participation. • If evangelism dominates the agenda, are we helping our REALife groups focus on evangelism at least once a year? • Are the REALife group shepherds leading people into life-changing relationships? • Do the REALife group shepherds understand their role in brokering relationships tohelp people take next steps, not hosting an event or weekly study? • Are our small groups experiencing 10% conversion growth each year? • How many of our groups are multiplying and reproducing leaders regularly? • How can we incorporate some leadership development into our small groups? • Are we pursuing the appropriate number of small groups to see 75% of our members and regular attenders actively involved in a group?

 Intentional Disciple-making (Maturation Process) The church maintains an intentional discipleship process (from conversion to maturity) that results in 65% of the church consistently practicing spiritual disciplines, personal ministry, evangelism, and personal discipleship. • Α re Christians maturing in their relationship with God, their relationship with the body, and their relationship with the world? • Are people relationally connected where someone knows where they are spiritually and can help them take the next step? • How many people are involved in ministry? • Are ministry leaders actually keeping up with the spiritual development of their people? • Do we have a once-a-year survey for our church so that we can determine how our people are doing in their maturation process?

Sacrificial Giving Church leaders teach and model biblical stewardship resulting in over 65% of members and regular attenders involved in regular giving to the local church. • Is the leadership modeling biblical stewardship and sacrificial giving? • Is compelling vision being cast to expansion of the kingdom so that people are giving to kingdom work, not church need? • What % of each of the following groups is involved in regular giving? (members, members & regular attenders, leadership community, REALife group shepherds, staff & elders, pastors & elders) • How much are we preaching and teaching about sacrificial giving and telling stories about financial life-change? • Does the church model faithful stewardship by giving to a % of undesignated funds to missions and church planting?

AHCC Daughter/Sister Church Relationship:

78

The aim is for the resident to launch a spiritually vibrant AHCC “daughter church” that will eventually mature into a sister partner, sitting at the table with partners in a movement. • Churches plant churches, so the residents would be planted by one of the churches of the association. How does a church plant transition to full autonomy?

1. Initially a daughter church has accountability and oversight from mother church involving the following:

• Principles and practices of the church are in place on a provisional basis. The daughter church operates in an autonomous way to gain a feel for autonomy. However, the elders of the mother church can set aside the principles and practices in the event of mitigating circumstances that require, in the judgment of the mother church, intervention. • Coaching and mentoring with an agreed upon plan of regular interaction. (initially a weekly one-one with coach assigned by Church Planting Director.) • Resources are made available – people, ideas, finances • Annual Church Budget is presented for approval by NW elders. • Annual Ministry Plan is presented for approval by NW elders • Elder candidates are presented for approval by NW elders • DASHBOARD: Criteria for performance-- “Seven Characteristics of the Missional Church

2. As the plant matures and develops, the daughter church may formally apply for sister church status when the following criteria are met: • A strategy for church planting is established. • Minimum of 200 adults in worship attendance. • One additional pastoral staff member is hired. • Increase elder board to 5. • Demonstrate Financial Autonomy to include 10% of budget to mission causes, 2% of which is directed toward church planting.

3. When a church achieves sister status, they are a voting member and become fully autonomous.

4. The purpose of the AHCC is focused on the notion that our mission-- reaching every man, woman and child in greater Austin—will be achieved as we link into a likeminded movement that overlaps with other movements which are part of the larger City Church whose goal is to redeem the entire culture of the City.

79 5. Additional benefits of being part of the association include the greater impact of shared resources, cooperating for global as well as local mission, coordinated strategic outreaches, curriculum sharing, strategy, learnings and experience.

Appendices

Appendix I. Key Terms and Milestones you must know

INTRODUCTION: Key Terms and Targets that You Must Know and Understand

MILESTONES: Critical Path Checkpoints approved by the Church Plant Team --that must be accomplished before you move ahead. These Milestones allow for flexibility in light of planting in South Austin with a greater challenge for enlisting Missional Core.

• MILESTONE 1 – (OCTOBER 1 to NOVEMBER 1) Approval of Mission Focus Group – Based upon an MFG/Target Area assignment matching the planter, and a compelling exegesis of that community. • MILESTONE 2 – (FEBRUARY 1 to APRIL 1) Approval of First Draft Ministry Plan – Engaged a Missional Community of Ten Families or 20 total people considered the Missional Core. • MILESTONE 3 – (JULY 1 to SEPTEMBER1) Approval to establish a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY – Faith Community including 50 E-3 friends and 25 PARTNERS (in addition to Missional Core) • MILESTONE 4 – (NOVEMBER 31 TO DECEMBER 31) Charter and Commissioning

MISSION FOCUS GROUP – (A.K.A. Target Area) – The area God has led you to evangelize as a result of exegeting the community by engaging in massive numbers of conversations and developing an exhaustive analysis of the demography/psychography of that community.

80 MINISTRY PLAN – A document drafted in light of the Mission Focus Group. It outlines how you would CONTEXTUALIZE THE GOSPEL and the FAITH COMMUNITY – its strategy, mission, vision and values, ministry efforts and programs appropriate to the MFG.

MISSIONAL COMMUNITY – A group of likeable leaders who love lost people and who gather with a willingness to engage in missionary work with you. They must set aside other ministry commitments and pull back from their Christian friends in order to devote a significant amount of time to engaging lost people. The planter’s job is to enlist, envision and equip these friends into a missionary team.

FAITH COMMUNITY – The incubator where new believers and SOJOURNERS gather with PARTNERS and MISSIONAL CORE as the community begins to take shape as a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY.

SOJOURNERS – Those E2 and E3 friends with whom you have enough relational equity that they would join into the conversation as part of the faith community even though they are still exploring faith.

PARTNERS – An added network of Christ Followers who wish to join the missional core in relational gospel networking. This group is invited into the community not as consumers, but as people who Jesus bids come and die for the sake of the gospel. This group cannot be larger than the E-3s in the FAITH COMMUNITY.

STRUCTURED COMMUNITY – A FAITH COMMUNITY that has demonstrated adequate relational bandwidth to organize with a fully developed MINISTRY PLAN, Elders, leaders and public worship services.

RELATIONAL GOSPEL NETWORKING TARGETS

E1 – ENGAGE 200 (NAMES, DIGITS) E2 – EXPLORE 100 (3+ SPIRITUAL CONVERSATIONS) E3 – EXPRESS 50 (3+ GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS)

QUESTION: How many people would you need to engage per week to hit these targets?

• 10 Missional Core connecting with 2 new E-1s per week = 20/week, 80/month, 400 in five months • 10 Missional Core moving one E-1 to E-2 per week = 10/week, 40/month, 200 E-2s in five months

81 • 10 Missional Core moving two E-2s to E-3s per month = 20/month, 100 E-3s in five months.

ENLISTING MISSIONAL CORE

WHAT IS MY VISION? (ELEVATOR SPEECH) WHO AM I TARGETING? WHAT DO I WANT TO REPLICATE? WHAT DO I EXPECT OF MC? WHAT IS MY PLAN? (GOALS, TARGETS, TIMELINE)

GOSPEL SOWING (2CORINTHIANS 9:6-7)

QUESTION: What are the three basic kinds of bountiful sowing needed? 1. Sowing Prayer 2. Sowing Vision for Missional Core 3. Sowing the Gospel

FALL FOCUS–

1. RECRUITING-- and communicating to-- a PRAYER NETWORK, as well as spending large amounts of time in fervent prayer. 2. EXEGETING the community by engaging in massive numbers of conversations and developing an exhaustive analysis of the demographics/psychographics of the community. 3. ENLISTING a MISSIONAL CORE (10 couples/singles that total 20) and establishing them as a MISSIONAL COMMUNITY. 4. First Draft of MINISTRY PLAN

KEY OUTCOME – A vibrant, targeted MISSIONAL CORE who has made significant progress toward E-3 relationships

SPRING FOCUS –

1. EQUIPPING and engaging the MISSIONAL COMMUNITY in relational gospel networking that result in having cultivated a faith community of 50 E3 Friends and 25 PARTNERS who have been enfolded into the original missional core. 2. CONTEXTUALIZING the ministry design around those you have reached and are reaching. 3. ESTABLISHING A FAITH COMMUNITY from which a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY may emerge. 4. A COMPLETE 12-month MINISTRY PLAN.

82 KEY OUTCOME – A vibrant FAITH COMMUNITY that is ready to transition to a STRUCTURED COMMUNITY.

SUMMER FOCUS –

1. Organizing the FAITH COMMUNITY into TEAMS. 2. Preparing the FAITH COMMUNITY to commit their time, talents and treasure to the STRUCTURED COMMUNITY. 3. Preparing ELDERS.

KEY OUTCOME – Ready to conduct public worship services.

Appendix II. 2009-10 CPTC Residency Reading List

September Theology as Big as the City Ray Bakke

October The Tangible Kingdom Hugh Halter

November Confessions of a Reformission Rev Mark Driscoll

December Present Future Reggie McNeal Or Unchristian: David Kinnaman

January Branding Faith Phil Cooke

February No Perfect People John Burke

March Primal Leadership Daniel Goleman

April Elders & Leaders Gene Getz

May Church Planting Movements David Garrison

Appendix III. Writing a Ministry Plan

In church work there are always three spheres of consideration: 1) Cause, 2) Community, and 3) Corporate. The Ministry Plan demonstrates how well you have thought through all three, and is designed to “sell” your church plant to those who intend to financially support your work. Remember, you are asking for a significant investment.

83 The suggested page lengths for a comprehensive plan are given in parenthesis after each section's heading within the outline. A missional core, straightforward church plant proposal should work within 20-25 pages. Note the importance of the marketing (communications) and Contacts/Connections/Christ Followers (formerly known as Prospects, Gatherables and Saved) in terms of the suggested number of pages for these sections.

Avoid going into too much detail within the plan's body by placing detailed or supplementary material in accompanying appendices. Bear in mind that most investors – in this case, the church plant team -- dislike having to read overlong church plant plans just as much as church planters dislike writing the plans in the first instance!

Work on the assumption that whoever reads your plan will not have time to exhaustively study your plan and will be seeking answers to relatively basic questions and key issues, for example, what will the church plant do, what evidence of progress is already apparent, how soon will it break even and become self-sustaining, is there a well-conceived strategy and a tactical plan to support it?

1. Introduction (2)

Include a color copy of your Website front page, and introduce your plan. Provide a profile of yourself and your management team.

2. Summary (1-2)

Write this section last. Present the highlights of the plan, including a table of contents, appendices and conclude with the year end (120-Day) deliverables.

3. Mission, Strategies etc. (1-2)

What are the central purposes (Mission, Vision, Values) and activities (basic simple program) of the planned church plant? What are its SWOTs? What are its major objectives, key strategies and prime goals?

4. Current Status (2)

Summarize achievements and performance (3-4 Highlights of Learnings from Residency, Funds Raised, Total Missional Core and Contacts, E-3 Connections, and Christ Followers to date. Introduce the stakeholders in the church plant (investors, missional core, volunteer staff, and other launch team.)

5. What Our Ministry is Going to Offer People (1)

84 Keep descriptions short and confine them to broad groups. Avoid predictable “brochure talk.” Explain briefly what makes them special, or why you have chosen them.

6. Profiles of Mission Focus Group – Who We are Going After (3)

Demographics and Psychographics: Size, segments, trends, competition and people profiles. Use your previous research on your Mission Focus Group. Include other churches in the area, and who you will partner with to reach every man, woman and child in your area.

7. Marketing Strategies, Outreach Plans & Projections (3-5)

How will the church plant “market” its ministries? How will you distinguish yourself from other churches in the community? In other words, how will you saturate the community with an awareness of your presence--Indicate costs (example: mailers, door hangers, canvassing, radio, TV, newspaper, service events, pre-launch previews.)

How do you concretely intend to gather them—both in the pre-launch summer as well as post-launch fall? (For example: Each Missional Core owns an impact list of five unchurched contacts who they have cultivated through a weekly touch so that they would show up if invited to weekly worship gatherings. How will you monitor and measure their performance? What numbers will be achieved in your core Mission Focus Group by Launch Date and by Year End? How will you assimilate members as stakeholders and partners in your ministry?)

9. Operational/Training Plans (2-3)

Cover leadership training activities 1) for Elders, 2) for Stewardship, 3) for Missional Core, 4) for the seven core ministry systems: Finance, Hospitality/Ushers/Greeters, Facility Set up, Children/Youth, Worship/Sound, Evangelism/Assimilation, and Small Groups. Highlight major elements only. Indicate organization, resources, costs etc.

10. Management & Administration (1)

Introduce the proposed management team, elders, ministry structure etc. Indicate administrative arrangements (how will you track data, budget, attendees, etc). Specify overhead costs.

11. Financial Projections (1-2)

Use simple tables to present key financial projections e.g. summary P&L, cashflows, balance sheets and key ratios. Include a separate sheet for Start up costs for equipment, marketing, etc. Place any detailed analyses in appendices.

For more help, download a trial version of a business planning financial planner. No need to go beyond a year. Buck did a good job with this. Rick Peralez may be of help here, too.

12. Funding Requirements & Proposals (1)

85 Summarize funding requirements, possible sources (outside fundraising, giving from members/attenders, and, for investors, the projected return on their investment. Be realistic!! In this case, the ROI would be planting another church within a short time, repayment of the loan by a particular date, and your core deliverables.

13. Implementation (1)

Explain the major decision points, time scale and actions required by your team and others to progress the plan. Create a broad timeline to year end with critical path points highlighted. The 120 Day Post Launch should include a granular detail of your assimilation plans. In church planting, retention/assimilation is a critical success factor. Some of the post launch is a shot in the dark, but should demonstrate that you are intentionally thinking and planning beyond launch. Most church plants think the launch is the superbowl, but it’s really just the start of the season.

14. Conclusion (1)

Indicate why the church plant will succeed and why it should be supported. Use your 120-Day Post Launch Deliverable List as a key outcome.

Appendices

Use appendices at the very back of the plan to present important background data and detailed plans. This will avoid disrupting the flow of the plan or cluttering it with excessive detail.

Appendix IV --History of the Association of Hill Country Churches

INTRODUCTION Hill Country Bible Church--Northwest is a vital congregation with thousands of worshipers who have joined together to see to see that all 1.5 million people in greater Austin have the chance to experience the life- changing reality of Jesus Christ.

THREE POINT STRATEGY Believing that no one church can be large enough and diverse enough on its own to see the entire city reached, we have developed a three point strategy: 1) make disciples and thus develop vibrant Christ-followers in our own congregation, 2) spread the gospel through the most effective means available to us--planting churches, and 3) partner in church planting with like-minded ministries beyond the residency and the association. In response to our strategy the Church Plant Training Center

86 has been established to recruit, assess, coach, equip, and resource church planters.

CURRENT CHURCH PLANTS Hill Country Bible Church was founded in 1986 by 17 people; it has grown over the years to a congregation of over 5,000. Our own planting efforts have netted fourteen churches, including HCBC Georgetown in 1996; HCBC Pflugerville in 2000; HCBC Southwest in 2002; HCBC UT in 2005; HCBC Leander and Crossroads Community Church in 2007; and Two Rivers Bible Church of Gonzales in 2008.

In the fall of 2008, HCBC launched The City Community Church in downtown Austin, Origins Church in the Arboretum and Lakeshores Church in Marble Falls. In 2009, we launched HCBC Northpoint Church in the Cedar Park/Round Rock Area, HCBC San Saba, North Village Church in Burnet/Anderson Rd., and HCBC—Dripping Springs.

Additionally, HCBC Pflugerville started HCBC Hutto and HCBC Round Rock North in 2007, Wells Branch Community Church in 2008, and Round Rock North started Summit Community Church in East Round Rock.

THE ASSOCIATION OF HILL COUNTRY CHURCHES Each church is included in our voluntary Association of Hill Country Churches (AHCC). As a church is planted it is known as a daughter church. When the church achieves certain standards of stability (for example: attendance, budget and elder establishment) it is eligible to be invited to become a sister church in the Association. Daughter churches remain under the leadership umbrella of their sending church by elder development and selection, coaching of lead pastors, and financial assistance in some cases.

Our AHCC strategic five year plan reflects an accelerated rate of planting as more daughter churches begin to multiply. Our desire is to see 100 new churches started in the next five years.

87 Appendix V: AHCC QUARTERLY FIRST YEAR REVIEW YEAR ONE PASTOR’S MISSIONAL TRACKING SUMMARY Name: ______Date: ______MINISTRY PLAN CHECKPOINTS • Deliverable

• Deliverable

• Deliverable 7 CMC HIGH LEVEL EVALUATION

1. Reliance on God’s Word 2. Anticipation of God’s Empowering Presence 3. Intentionally Missional • Worship Attendance • New Christ Followers • People Involved in External Serving • Missional Community Engagement • E-1s • E-2s • E-3s 4. Leader Development 5. Missional Communities/Groups 6. Disciplemaking 7. Sacrificial Giving

QUARTERLY FINANCIAL SUMMARY

Budgeted Received Spent

Over (Short)

EVALUATION: Biggest Win: Biggest Challenge:

88 Appendix VI: Church Planters Strategic Coaching Planner (see attached)

89