Know Your Church Pastor Leaves Leading a church from Anxiety to Anticipation Interim Descison Know Your Community Know the Plan Know God Know the Path.

Know Your Church

Know Your Church

Pastor Leaves

Leading a church from

Anxiety to

Anticipation

Interim Descison

Know Your Community

Know the Plan

Know God

Know the Path

New Pastor

Assessment Renewal

Planning

Anxiety

Anticipation

Transitional Interim Pastor

Implementation

Know Your Church

Know Your ChurchKnow Your Church

1. Who are we?

a. Review the History

b. Full Church Assessment

2. Where do we need to go?

--Becoming a Healthy Church

“Where We Need To Go in a TIPS Church…

Toward Church Health”

“Some church growth concepts are so focused on

the fruit..

that they fail to remember

the roots that produce the fruit.”

Mark 4:26

"Jesus also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on

the ground.”

Mark 4:27

“Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though

he does not know how.”

Mark 4:28

“All by itself the soil produces grain--first the

stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”

Mark 4:29

“As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it,

because the harvest has come.”

Jesus Explained What We Can And Cannot Do

•We can prepare the soil

•We can sow the seed

•We can sleep & can get up

•We can harvest the crop

•We CANNOT

bring forth the fruitNCS © 2007

The Institute TodayThe Institute Today

• 45,000 churches• 60 countries• 25 languages• 32,000 churches

in USA

Models & PrinciplesModels & Principles

Model:Imitation

1 : 11 : 1

Models & PrinciplesModels & Principles

Model:

Principles:

Imitation

IndividualizationIndividualizationAbstractionAbstraction

1 : 11 : 1

Growing and declining churches vary

significantly in eight quality areas…areas TIPS leaders must be aware of and strategically address

Schwarz’ research teaches us:

Quality CharacteristicsQuality Characteristics

• Empowering Leadership• Gift-oriented• Passionate• Functional• Inspiring• Holistic• Need-oriented• Loving

MinistrySpiritualityStructuresWorshipSmall Groups

EvangelismRelationships

The Adjective is the key!

Empowering Leadership

Note

the

adje

ctiv

e

s

Empowering Leadership

TIPS leaders “equip, support, motivate, and mentor individuals

to become all that God wants them to be. . . They know that God has an unique calling for

every individual.”

Empowering Leadership

Gift-oriented MinistryNot

e th

e

adje

ctiv

e

s

Gift-Oriented Ministry

TIPS leaders help members “identify their gifts and integrate them into ministries that match

their gifts.”

Empowering Leadership

Passionate

Gift-oriented Ministry

SpiritualityNot

e th

e

adje

ctiv

e

s

Passionate Spirituality

The faith of the people in the TIPS church is “actually lived out with commitment, fire, and

enthusiasm.”

Empowering Leadership

Passionate

Functional

Gift-oriented Ministry

Spirituality

Structures

Note

the

adje

ctiv

e

s

Functional Structures

The evaluation of forms and structures of the TIPS church determines whether they fulfill

their purpose or not. If they don’t they are changed

or laid to rest.

Empowering Leadership

Inspiring

Passionate

Functional

Gift-oriented Ministry

Spirituality

Structures

Worship Service

Note

the

adje

ctiv

e

s

Inspiring Worship

Worship in the TIPS church is an “inspiring experience” that is

described by attendees as “fun.”

Empowering Leadership

Inspiring

Passionate

Functional

Holistic

Gift-oriented Ministry

Spirituality

Structures

Worship Service

Small Groups

Note

the

adje

ctiv

e

s

Holistic Small Groups

The TIPS church is developing a system of small groups where “individual Christians can find intimate community, practical help, and intensive spiritual

interaction.”

Empowering Leadership

Inspiring

Passionate

Functional

Holistic

Need-oriented

Gift-oriented Ministry

Spirituality

Structures

Worship Service

Small Groups

Evangelism

Note

the

adje

ctiv

e

s

Need-Oriented Evangelism

The TIPS church shares the gospel “in a way that meets the

questions and needs of non-Christians.”

Empowering Leadership

Inspiring

Passionate

Functional

Holistic

Need-oriented

Loving

Gift-oriented Ministry

Spirituality

Structures

Worship Service

Small Groups

Evangelism

Relationships

Note

the

adje

ctiv

e

s

Loving Relationships

The relationships and fellowship in the TIPS church is

characterized by “authentic, practical love.”

NCS © 2007

May 2007

May 2007

May 2007

The Minimum BarrelThe Minimum Barrel

Worship Attendance

Minimum Factor

Quality Characteristics

What Jesus Taught That We Can & Can Not Do

•We can prepare the soil

•We can sow the seed

•We can sleep & can get up

•We can harvest the crop

•We CANNOT

bring forth the fruitNCS © 2007

Mark 4:28

“All by itself the soil produces grain--first the

stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”

“The key is quality.

Jesus taught, if the root is quality, it

will produce the right

fruit.” Matt 7:17

Strategic Focus For A Healthy TIPS Church

The key issue is NOT church growth

It’s

CHURCH HEALTH

“Healthy churches are always growing, but

Not all growing churches are

healthy churches!”

“…the fire will test the quality of each man’s (& church’s)

work.” (1 Cor. 3:13)

“In TIPS, if we fail to plan, we plan to fail.”

“If we plan with God, we will not

fail!”

So, we say we attend a

healthy TIPS church.

What will that look like?

This is a church

in which the leadership is

committed heart and soul to church

growth;

This is a church

in which nearly every Christian is

using his or her gifts to edify

the church;

This is a church

in which most members are living out the faith with

power and contagious

enthusiasm;

This is a church

in which church structures are evaluated on

whether they serve the growth of the

church or not;

This is a church

in which worship services are a high

point of the week for the majority of the

congregation;

This is a church

in which the loving and healing power of Christian fellowship can be experienced

in small groups;

This is a church

in which nearly all Christians, according to their gifts, help to

fulfill the Great Commission;

This is a church

in which the love of Christ permeates all

church activities.

Christian A. Schwarz in Natural Church Development (p 40)

Who would vote “No” on working to develop that

kind of TIPS church ?

Who would be interested in

attending this kind of TIPS

church?

for the Body of Christ

TheBottom Line

The Quality of Health