Category: External Relations

Posted in Church Growth & Vitality, External Relations, Faith Formation, Is Interim Ministry for Me?, Leadership Development, Mission and Vision, Team Building, Volunteers Tagged with

15 min 02 s

Rev. Peter Ilgenfritz

  • First four minutes Peter shares a bit about his entry into interim ministry
  • Sparking curiosity among parishioners for change
  • Instilling ownership among parishioners for change
  • Making space for imagination in times of anxiety
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Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Buildings and Property, Church Growth & Vitality, External Relations, Hospitality, Mission and Vision, Stewardship Tagged with

10 min 28 s

Rev. Dr. Jill H. Small

To the 3 standard questions of the interim period, consider adding a 4th one: “What do our buildings say about who we are as God’s people in our community?”

  • Plus an “Identity & Facility Discussion Guide” (5 questions to engage parishioners’ conversation around the “4th” question.)
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Posted in Buildings and Property, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, External Relations, Financial Management, Staff, Stewardship, Volunteers Tagged with

8 min 16 s

Rev. Dr. Laura Barnes

  • What their financial documents reveal about the condition of the congregation – what to look for
  • Here’s when and how I ask for their financial documents and what I do with them
  • What if I don’t have any financial training? Should I just leave all that to others?
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Posted in Boundaries, Contracting and Negotiating Before Beginning, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, External Relations, Managing Expectations, Mission and Vision Tagged with

9 min 45 s

Rev. Philomena Hare

  • Getting to know the congregation is not just during my first 30 days
  • Why setting good boundaries at the start is so important
  • How I give feedback to the congregation
  • Why I write monthly reports
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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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Posted in Buildings and Property, Change Management, Church Decline, Conflict Management, External Relations Tagged with

16 min 36 s

Rev. Dr. Rochelle (Shelly) Stackhouse

  • The book of Acts is an underutilized resource for discerning about the building
  • There’s more than one way to solve the problem…
  • Solutions to the building problem only surface by going deeply into discerning your relationship with the community around you
  • What might you have to do to your physical space to make other people want to use it?
  • Learning not to underestimate the beauty of our spaces… > Dealing with idolatry of the building
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