Category: Mission and Vision

Posted in Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Governance, Leadership Development, Managing Expectations, Mission and Vision, Spiritual Formation, Volunteers Tagged with

14 min 30 s

Rev. Jeff MacDonald

  • How the pastor can overcome resistance by the laity;
  • How can a pastor help a congregation move beyond the resistance that just comes up when, when change is in the air;
  • Being intentional rather than reactionary in the move to a part-time pastorate;
  • Questions to help the laity get clear about their roles in the move to a part-time  pastorate;
  • Key questions to ask yourself to understand how your pastorate is structured now;
  • Formal vs. unspoken expectations and their consequences;
  • Allowing the laity to do what they’ve long been authorized to do but don’t realize it;
  • Helping the laity to see that there’s actually very little that is doable only by the pastor;
  • Seeing the pastor as a strategic resource to advance the mission of the congregation;
  • Why being clear about the congregation’s mission is so essential to a successful part-time

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Posted in Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Governance, Leadership Development, Managing Expectations, Mission and Vision, Volunteers Tagged with

14 min 03 s

Rev. Jeff MacDonald

  • How a part-time pastorate can actually be more empowering for lay people;
  • How part-time ministry can be a career boon for creative types who have other streams of income;
  • How a part-time pastorate can be life-giving for both the pastor and the congregation;
  • How a part-time pastorate can create a grounding and stable life for the creative gig worker;

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Posted in Change Management, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Contracting and Negotiating Before Beginning, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, Is Interim Ministry for Me?, Mission and Vision Tagged with

12 min 30 s

Rev. Chris Mereschuk

  • When is Designated Term appropriate?
  • Designated Term puts everything on the table
  • When serving as an interim pastor, what if calling a settled pastor next isn’t what’s really needed?
  • Designated Term: you do have goals, but maybe not a specific outcome (like being ready to call a settled pastor)
  • How Interim Pastors and Designated Pastors can work together
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Posted in Change Management, Church Decline, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, Legacy Churches / Church Closing, Mission and Vision Tagged with

10 min 43 s

Rev. Chris Mereschuk

  • Key questions to build relationships with people at the beginning;
  • How to avoid closed ended questions;
  • Getting the congregation to think more deeply about their future when closure is a real possibility;
  • Helping the congregation get to its “Why”
  • Assessing the capacity of the congregation for ministry; Questions to help a declining congregation think realistically about its options;
  • Questions to help a declining congregation think realistically about its options;
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Posted in Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, External Relations, Faith Formation, LGBTQ / ONA, Mission and Vision, Social Justice Tagged with

17 min 03 s

Rev. Dr. Todd Grant Yonkman

  • It was a white church with people of color in it, rather than a truly multiracial multicultural model.
  • The message shifted from, You’re welcome if you come to, we want you here.
  • Racial justice work and church vitality work are, in my approach, connected; they go together.
  • Whatever town you are in, there are people of color there that you can build authentic relationships with, and you can do this work!
  • You know the relationship is authentic when you’re inviting their stories and experiences to change you also. Granby Racial Reconciliation;
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Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Buildings and Property, Change Management, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Church Mergers, Legacy Churches / Church Closing, Mission and Vision Tagged with

15 min 33 s

Rev. Dr. Todd Grant Yonkman

  • When the energy gets low, churches often don’t know there are other options to closing;
  • Thoughts on various options: merger restart, adoption, consolidation, redevelopment…;
  • Barrier for vitality is shame and blame;
  • Avoiding the “Twin Titanic” model (throwing a rope from one sinking congregation to another);
  • Key to church mergers: learn to love other things together;
  • The challenge of trying to do vitality work and consolidation work at the same;
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Posted in Buildings and Property, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, External Relations, Healing / Grief Work, Legacy Churches / Church Closing, Mission and Vision Tagged with

15 min 33 s

Rev. Dr. Todd Grant Yonkman

  • An inspiring story of a church that sold its building and joined the community;
  • Shift from, “The church is falling apart,” to, “The church is falling open;”
  • Wisdom about the twists and turns of a building sale;
  • The shift from a downsizing to a restart;
  • Selling a building is highly context dependent;
  • Renovating the building without reconnecting with the community is futile;
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Posted in Assessments and Evaluations, Buildings and Property, Change Management, Church Decline, Contracting and Negotiating Before Beginning, External Relations, Legal, Mission and Vision, Social Justice Tagged with

12 min 33 s

Rev. Dr. Rochelle (Shelly) Stackhouse

  • Book of Acts reminds us that the first congregations shared space;
  • Many New England churches originally called themselves “meeting houses” – places for all kinds of meetings, not just Sunday worship;
  • Assessing the many ways your congregation adds value to your community;
  • “Partners for Sacred Places” can help your church think creatively about uses for your building;
  • Over the centuries, churches have functioned as patrons of the arts;
  • Integrating social justice in multi-purposing your space;
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Posted in Church Growth & Vitality, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, Faith Formation, Is Interim Ministry for Me?, Mission and Vision, Preaching, Spiritual Formation, Worship Tagged with

11 min 26 s

Rev. Holly MillerShank

  • Prayerful and playful!
  • What to do if a playful style doesn’t come naturally to you?
  • How a posture of giving permission can unlock new possibilities for a congregation;
  • Tips for getting out of our heads and into our hearts in our role as interim minister;
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Posted in Boundaries, Church Decline, Church Growth & Vitality, Entering and Engaging the Congregation, External Relations, Faith Formation, Mission and Vision, Spiritual Formation Tagged with

19 min 18 s

Rev. Dawn Adams

From a 20-hour/week pastorate to a 30-hour/week one and more – how we’re doing it

Boundaries: balancing clergy self-care with the practical realities of renewal;

Success metrics, and a rhythm of communication about critical topics…

A practical step-by-step story revealing what did work and what didn’t (and why);

Instilling a spirit of experimentation into a congregation;

Helping the small congregation know that there is a larger congregation that exists that may never ever sit in a pew in our building;

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