In the book, Activate, they offered an image of the church as a rocket ship. They talked about how important it is for a rocket ship to eliminate drag. Even the smallest item that impedes that nose cone shape can cause tremendous problems when the rocket reaches extreme speeds. In church, drag is anything that asks people in our church to divert their attention from what will help them grow in Christ most effectively. This is one of the activate principles, "If you give people too many options, their involvement will be so spread out that you won't have their full participation or momentum in any one area."
Their Rocket Ship looks like a pyramid turned on its side. One half of it is the weekend worship services and the other half is small groups. The observation the authors have made at Journey Church is that NOTHING is more effective in leading people to a deeper relationship with Christ than these two ministries. In their opinion, everything else creates drag -- especially when it diverts attention away from the two halves of the rocket ship. Listen to this quote, "When you focus your energy on your two most effective avenues helping move people toward a fully developing relationship with Jesus -- your weekend service and small groups -- you will be able to create an atmosphere that God will pour his blessing on -- an atmosphere you can move through without resistance."
Reading about this has made a tremendous difference for me. It has affected how I see my job. I've even made a note for myself that 75% of my time needs to be spent on weekend services and small groups. That means 25% of my time for staff supervision, pastoral counseling, building management, hospital visits, etc. I don't know if that is possible or not -- but thinking about the church as a rocket ship has really made me think about the cost to our church if I don't.
Tell me your thoughts. Looking forward to your feedback.
Charla, I'm glad to hear that you're on the road to recovery and finding relief!
ReplyDeleteI was hoping to see more comments posted to educate myself on what other people were saying about the proposed calendar for small groups. Missing that couple of weeks in late May early June I feel like I'm playing catch up! It seems I've missed out on a LOT of good information!
My initial take on the calendar for small groups is definitely positive. Based on my experience with the Lenten Study Groups I like the idea of a finite time frame and objective (if you will) for a small group. The small group setting allowed me to mingle with folks I might not otherwise have gotten to meet and know. That alone was worth it for me! There are so many folks that I still don't know who I'm sure have great stories and insight that I could benefit from. Different perspectives are wonderfully eye opening and mind opening!
I'd like to think folks, both new folks and members who don't currently participate in Sunday School classes or other activities, would be more apt to participate in a small group given the short(er) duration and the break between semesters. One word everyone seems to use when describing their life is "busy". Having a predictable schedule with a relatively short commitment would make it seem like less of a time burden on a person's busy schedule. And as we all know that "perception IS reality". If it SEEMS like less time out of our busy schedule we might just be inclined to participate! And variety is the spice of life so having their choice of groups to join might make it worth sacrificing that time!
I'd also like to think we'd be more apt to get new paricipants since they'd be able to join a group at the beginning rather than jumping in midstream and being the new face in the crowd. Walking into an established Sunday School class or other group is probably a bit much to ask of most folks. Everyone would be a new face.
A couple of things you mentioned about what those small groups would do really appealed to me. The first was having each group do a service project. Since I enjoy that I thought that was a GREAT idea! I think we'd be surprised at what kinds of things people could come up with for service projects in our own community! The second thing that really appealed to me was the idea of having a night out as a small group! It's a great way to build those bonds that make us feel like we belong, make us feel like family, and keep us coming back for more.
The one thing that I wondered about was the number of small groups that you're proposing. It took me a bit by surprise and seemed like it was way too high! Expecting 200 or so people to participte in groups of 12 to 15! That's 12 or 13 groups though as I recall your numbers were even higher! That just struck me as a LOT! Of course I was full up IN the box when I was thinking about it. I was thinking of a SS type class, meeting during the SS hour, in a SS classroom. Could I have been anymore more IN THE BOX! When I started to think outside the box I can see where the small groups would allow for a whole lot of creativity and flexibility as long as we're focusing on the real purpose of our fellowship time, helping people connect with God! I can see now where that number of small groups could really swell once we all catch on and really embrace it!
The number of small groups opens up a lot of opportunities for folks to lead without being tapped right out of the gate for what we consider the more traditional leadership positions in the church. Small groups offer a more informal type of leadership. As such I would think that would be a LOT less intimidating and perhasp more appealing for those just dipping their toes in the water.
I'm anxious to hear what other folks are thinking and I look forward to seeing how we put this into practice!!
Charla, here's my two cents. It occured to me the executive committee has to see it to consider it.
ReplyDeleteJulie's comment addressed some of my questions. I'm really anxious to see some examples of ideas that have really worked. I was not really surprised by the potential number of groups. Ideas of common interest are almost limitless but I'm sre there would be a selection and screening process of some kind.
That brought my first question to mind. How do we find the time and space for that many groups? We can be more creative of time and space at the church but that may not be adequate. That leaves other public places and homes.
Second, how do we assimilate the present small groups like SS classes, UMW and UMM into the new system? My understanding is that all groups will be operating on the same semesters and recruitment periods. I can readily see how this can be an enhancement for many groups but there could be one or two that just can't fit that mold but justifiably should continue.
The way the "new" plan it presented to all segments of the congregation will be very important in my opinion. Since we are not the first to face these challenges I'm hoping there are some good ideas of what has worked best.
I'm very excited about this endeavor. It addresses a concern several of us have had since January. Most discussions ended with a consensus that small groups were the answer but an imaginative way to initiate it didn't come. I pray this one is it. It won't be easy. Even with a bullet proof presentation there will be those who will not understand the reason for it. They will be in the minority and there is no reason they should feel threatened by it. If it's right for us God will bless our effort.
Grace and Peace, Afton