Category: Church Decline

Posted in Buildings and Property, Change Management, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Death and Dying, Healing / Grief Work, Hospitality, Leadership Development, Mission and Vision, Pastoral Care, Stewardship Tagged with

8 min 18 s

Rev. Dr. Jill H. Small

  • I was encountering a lot of aging congregations in aging buildings…
  • The science of Place Identity
  • Helping a congregation have a conversation about their “stuff”
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Posted in Boundaries, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Leadership Development, Managing Expectations, Pastoral Care, Preaching, Volunteers Tagged with

10 min 58 s

Rev. Quentin Chin

  • Helping the congregation think realistically about part-time ministry
  • Reframing part-time ministry from loss to gain
  • Ideas for how to lead Confirmation, preaching, etc., in new ways
  • Is attending church suppers considered “work” for the pastor? If so, how to negotiate that
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Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Change Management, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, Legacy Churches / Church Closing Tagged with

10 min 43 s

Rev. Dr. Jonathan New

  • How I think about the church’s capacity to be and to do church
  • The 5 things that bear directly on a congregation’s capacity to be/do church
  • Helping the congregation to increase its self-understanding
  • The pattern of who leaves a church and who stays
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Posted in Buildings and Property, Church Decline, Denomination Related, Legacy Churches / Church Closing, Legal, Mission and Vision Tagged with

13 min 29 s

Rev. Cindy Mueller

  • Definition of a “Threshold” moment
  • Letting go of the notion of having “failed” & navigating with authentic hope
  • Guiding question: “What do you see as your future?”
  • The role of the congregation’s values guiding your decision of what to do next
  • Why navigating the threshold moment takes time – don’t rush it
  • Where to look for help: resource recommendations for navigating the threshold/legacy time
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Posted in Change Management, Church Decline, Contracting and Negotiating Before Beginning, Denomination Related, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, Governance, Leadership Development, Staff Tagged with

14 min 06 s

Rev. Gail Irwin

  • A case study in pastor sharing that began with sharing an interim pastor as a feasibility experiment for sharing a settled pastor;
  • Helping a cong. accept the reality that they can no longer afford a full-time pastor, and leading them into new territory in creative and hopeful ways;
  • Leading the creation of a shared culture when two congregations decide to share a pastor.
  • Good questions to ask when considering a shared pastor ministry model (two congregations sharing a pastor);
  • Helping a cong. understand the details of moving from a full-time to a half-time pastor;
  • Key things that made the half-time pastor sharing model work successfully;
  • My 3 key training areas to equip the lay leaders for success in a half-time pastor-sharing ministry model;
  • How the interim minister can be a catalyst for helping a congregation move into a pastor-sharing model.
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Posted in Boundaries, Children and Youth, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Contracting and Negotiating Before Beginning, External Relations, Governance, Managing Expectations Tagged with

13 min 28 s

Rev. Gail Irwin

  • Non-threatening ways to help a congregation declining in numbers begin to think about sharing a pastor (or their building) with another congregation;
  • Using your position as the interim minister to investigate the wider community on behalf of the cong.
  • Good questions an entering interim minister can ask to help a congregation declining in numbers gain a positive mindset;
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