Welcome to the Newmarket Alliance Discipleship plan 2015! Table of Contents

Transcription

1 Welcome to the Newmarket Alliance Discipleship plan 2015! This document has been a work in progress and still does not represent everything that God has been teaching us. It does however represent a long hard process of reflection, review and refinement. For many years NAC tried to copy the great things other churches were doing and had varied success. In 2010 NAC elders read the book Simple Church and a process was begun to reshape NAC and become determined to be more effective. NAC leadership was seeking to find what God was asking NAC to be and live it out more effectively. NAC is still on that journey, but better able to articulate where we are headed. Through many hours of prayer, discussion, review, elders meetings, committee meetings and document refinement, NAC began developing a journey of engagement that would frame not only the discipleship experience at NAC, but would begin to effect everything we do. Table of Contents Vision, Mission & Strategic Priority Strategies Big and Small The Journey of Engagement Reviewing the Journey stages Seasons of the Journey Fall Winter Spring Summer Ministry Application Small Group Children s Ministry Youth Ministry Additional Resources Overview Evaluation Tool Kit Overview The challenge from the District to write out the discipleship experience at NAC was a good process to put the elements of our mission, vision and things we were doing together into one document. This is certainly not a complete document and it is still very much a work in progress, but it is a reflection of the lead elders philosophy of ministry, the elders work in agreement and the leaders of each department applying the vision, mission and strategic priorities.

2 Vision: Transformed people, transformed in community, transforming their world. E3 Mission: Engage people with God, with this church, and with their world Empower people for their God-given purpose Strategies: Big & Small E3 Celebration The objective of... - Celebration worship is to provide an atmosphere where people can engage with the church, God and the Holy Spirit through singing, drama, prayer and creative media in a culture of empowerment. Equip Engage E3 Empower Equip people for their work of ministry Strategic Priority: Every person of NAC is seamlessly integrated in a journey of engagement with God, with this church, and with their world. Every person is empowered in a balance of small group and larger congregational experiences, which maintains an external focus, and equips them for the purpose of reaching others for Christ. Congregation: Small groups, plus other individuals, that come together for large group experiences including equipping, dynamic worship, edification, and evangelism. Small Groups: 3-15 individuals that meet under the oversight of NAC elders for worship, edification, and evangelism. Seamless integration: When individuals are retained in the community of faith, in a victorious Christian experience, through their life transitions from birth, through pre-school, primary and secondary school, postsecondary, into the career/single/marriage life events, as adults making a difference in their communities. - Celebration community is to engage with the church through informal conversation over coffee & beverages and to share transformational stories from the open microphone in a culture of empowerment. - Celebration teaching is that people will catch a vision for their role in transforming the world through Jesus teaching and the transformational power of the scriptures and gain practical insight that will empower them through the Holy Spirit in their own call as a world changer. E3 Equipping E3 Equipping at NAC is built on three foundations; a knowledge and love for God s Word, healthy families & healthy finances and training for the ministries that God has called them to. E3 equipping can happen in large events such as conferences & congregational events, mid-sized events such as seminars and workshops and small more intimate events such as small groups, breakfast meetings and personal mentoring. 2

3 The Journey of Engagement In this model, Engagement is not separate from Empowerment or Equipping. Empowerment and Equipping are the dynamic elements that enrich a person s experience during their journey of Engagement. While a person s journey of engagement with God begins (usually) long before their experience with NAC, this tool is used to describe their journey with us. Even for those that come to NAC as Christians and may have a lot of ministry experience, their journey of engagement starts at the beginning. It would allow time to observe and confirm their desire for full engagement and it would reveal the depth of equipping that has already occurred in their faith walk. The left side of the chart becomes our observation of a person s progress through their Journey of Engagement. Empowerment is all those affirming and releasing dynamics that build up and encourage. The progression of empowerment dynamics is linked to a person s engagement experience. (e.g., we wouldn t commission a person we had just contacted or reconnected with). Equipping is all those opportunities for personal/ministry development that will contribute to a person s effectiveness as they progress through their journey of engagement. The nature of equipping, and a person s readiness to undertake equipping disciplines, grows and there is a greater amount of equipping needed at the earlier stages. The sweet spot in the engagement chart, is that darker section and and the orange circles shown in the Seasons of the Journey where empowerment and equipping overlap and the greatest maturing is observed. This is not exclusively linear in progression. We have observed that each person s journey includes steps, both forward and back. We have seen people who have made contact, and immediately outreached, in terms of inviting a friend to come and join them in their journey, and both have continued to move through the journey together. Generally we have observed, a person s journey includes the milestones described on the left side of the chart and we can observe a person s interaction with God and the church, and identify where they are in their journey. (See definitions) It would be reasonable for us to assume that, if we placed every person of NAC, somewhere along the vertical axis of this chart, we may observe 20% in the lower 2-3 groups, 20% would be in the top 2-3 groups, and 60% would be in the center 3-5 groups. The green area represents a level of empowerment and the blue area on the grid represents equipping. We believe both enrich a person s engagement experience. 3

4 Reviewing the Journey Stages A person, at first contact, will be more responsive to a word of encouragement than any equipping we might offer. A person who re-connects is probably willing to learn more about how we can enrich their lives, and a combination of encouragement/prophecy will give them incentive to begin the journey of lifelong learning and relationship with NAC. The result will cause us to see where we are currently failing to bring people to the sweet spot, and make the adjustments necessary to achieve better effectiveness in our ministries. As a person enters community, by beginning to identify themselves with NAC and with God, their hunger to learn prompted by Holy Spirit, and the church continues to speak affirmation into the person s progress all throughout their journey. At the point a person begins to voluntarily enter into NAC activities, we are comfortable to release them to appropriate ministry assignments. After several weeks of attending NAC, a person is asked how they might like to get more involved. The focus on the disciplines (Scripture memorization, Bible reading, tithing, using spiritual gifts, spiritual freedom, developing a lifestyle of worship and outreach) refine a person s character and competency. Their willingness to accept those disciplines enables that person to grow deeper in their reliance on God, and out of that God-centered relationship, emerges a passion for the lost, for justice, for ministry on a broader front than just NAC. Our hope is that each individual will readily step into the focused equipping opportunities that will build on what they have already learned and build on an identified need. Commissioning occurs when the leadership team observes a person who has undertaken the disciplines of equipping, with a reflection of the passion for outreach. This person is fully engaged, with NAC, with God, and with God s purpose for them in the world. Like every chart, this fails to describe the non-linear nature of each person s faith experience. Its intent is to identify a fluid dynamic, with a sweet spot balance, where engagement progresses effectively and NAC s ministries can best be placed along the sweet spots. Contact (someone comes to NAC for the first time or makes a contact with someone from NAC) Re-connect (a person is interested enough to come for a 2 nd visit or makes a 2 nd contact, reconnection may happen a few times until a regular pattern is determined) Enters into community (experiences community in a small group and/or celebration, attends regularly, dialogues more freely, identifies friendships, feels welcomed, has learned God loves them) Adopts activities (repeat visits, joins in activities, monthly events, receives weekly publications, luncheons, willing to contribute, no longer needs to be invited) Begins to embrace disciplines (adopts prayer into their life, begins to read the Bible, spiritual discussions and questions, assesses lifestyle as they learn more about their life in Christ, tithing, spiritual gifts, desires baptism & membership) Participates in ministry (has a desire to serve in a ministry capacity, gets involved) Invites others outreach (values their engagement enough to share it with someone else) 4

5 Seasons of the Journey We have come to recognize that if we look at a year in terms of seasons and focus our E3 strategy more effectively to meet the discipleship needs in each season, we can see a higher level of effectiveness in the growth and development of the people we serve. We recognize that people may begin their journey in any season, but this process keeps our strategy intentional and moving along a journey. Fall Orientation Winter Motivation Engage Equip E3 Empower Summer Celebration Spring Evaluation 5

6 Fall: September - December Winter: January - April Spring: May - June Summer: July August - September Culmination - Launch Sunday Contact Reconnect Community Courses Disciplines & Training Bible Survey, Marriage, Plan to Protect Celebration Teaching Small Groups Culmination - Advent Vision Sunday Community Activities Disciplines Courses Disciplines & Training Financial Learning, Prosperous Life Celebration Teaching Small Groups Culmination - Easter Community Activities Disciplines Ministries Courses Disciplines & Training Freedom, Spiritual Gifts, Parenting Celebration Teaching Small Groups Culmination Commissioning & Baptism Activities Disciplines Ministries Commissioning Rest & Rejuvenation Preparations Contacts Reconnections Celebration Teaching Small Groups summer format Culmination Launch Sunday Engage Equip E3 Empower 6

7 Fall Seasons Metaphor Season 1 Planting & watering E3 Journey Key focus areas - Vision casting/launch Sunday - Outline plan for small groups - Set up coaching teams for small groups - Ministry Teams - Orientation Leadership meetings Weekly staff meetings Monthly Elders meetings Monthly+ executive board meetings leading up to annual meeting third Sunday in November. TEAM meetings Orientation (Transformation stories, Equipping, Affirming the group, Making a difference through prayer) Monthly Youth Leadership meetings Sept. Children s ministry orientation Oct. Hospitality orientation Nov. Celebration ministries E3 Celebration Season 1 Begins with Launch Sunday. We cast the net wide, to embrace all who are considering Christianity for the first time, or those reconnecting all over again. This is teaching by informing people at a basic level, what we believe, what it s like to be a Christ Follower, and inviting them to join us on the journey. Culmination in Advent. This is a wide season to teach God s grace and His invitation of each person to fully comprehend the meaning and implication of incarnation. Equipping Courses offered - Welcome to NAC, lunch & welcome package - Bible Survey - Love & Respect - Plan to Protect -Promise Keepers (men invite a friend) Journey of Engagement Contact and reconnection - observe movement to becoming part of the community. Empowered through encouragement & prophetic words. Equipped to navigate their experience with NAC. Small Groups Curriculum - Sermon Based Thematic based Sept. Small Group Leader Training TEAM - Equip Engage E3 Empower 7

8 Winter Seasons Metaphor pruning, watering, fertilizing, looking for roots to go deep E3 Journey Key focus areas - Review vision 1 st Sunday in January - Go Deep! - Motivate teams - Monitor coaching Leadership meetings Weekly staff meetings Monthly Elders meetings Bi-monthly executive board meetings TEAM meetings Motivation Monthly Youth Leadership meetings Jr. & Sr. Youth Winter Retreat Jan. Children s ministry TEAM Feb. Small Groups TEAM Equipping Courses offered Financial Learning Experience Money & the Prosperous Soul Promise Keepers (Men s Go Deep) Small Groups Curriculum Sermon based Expo Study TEAM motivation key focus E3 Celebration Season two We are focused, assuming people have made the commitment to enter in, and learn about life as a Christ follower and for people to get a good understanding of the implications of following Christ. Culminating in Easter it is a wide season, but we also are deliberate and unapologetic about our declaration of Jesus as Saviour and resurrected Lord.... and we invite people to come alongside and agree with this declaration. Journey of Engagement Being part of the community leads to participating in the activities of the church and fosters a desire to move into spiritual disciplines. Empowered through encouragement, prophetic words and invitation to ministries. Equipped with the tools to develop biblical disciplines. Equip Engage E3 Empower 8

9 Spring Seasons Metaphor Season 3 harvest time, recruitment for ministry teams, need for spiritual parenting, growth in community life E3 Journey Key focus areas - Importance of community life - Spiritual parenting, go deeper - Evaluation Leadership meetings Weekly staff meetings Monthly Elders meetings Bi-monthly executive board meetings E3 Reviews TEAM meetings - Evaluation Monthly Youth Leadership meetings Apr. Celebration Ministries May Children s ministry TEAM June Hospitality TEAM Courses offered Alpha Parenting Spiritual Gifts Spiritual Freedom/ Sozo/ Lie Busters E3 Celebration Season three We deliberately seek confirmation of buy- in among the congregation. Every teaching event is a closer event, and we celebrate by releasing and commissioning those who have responded. Culmination in baptism and commissioning - This will be evidenced by baptisms, memberships, multiplications, commitment to serve and go. Journey of Engagement Regular spiritual disciplines lead to a discovery of spiritual gifts and a desire to plug into a ministry, also motivating the need for more equipping. Outreach and making new connections is the observable growth in discipleship. Empowered by encouragement, prophetic words, released to ministry, evaluating effectiveness & contribution and then commissioned. Equipped for the work of the ministry in response to the call of the Holy Spirit. Small Groups Curriculum Needs based/ determined by each group TEAM Evaluation (Tool Kit), re-purpose and focus for the fall, prepare for multiplication & baptism, Recruit new leaders & reaffirm commitment of existing leaders Equip Engage E3 Empower 9

10 Summer Seasons Metaphor Celebrating God s goodness, thankful for His provision, taking a rest and focus on rejuvenation. Moving into planning and preparation, soil preparations Key focus areas - June Evaluations & Fall planning - Commissioning - July rest - August preparations E3 Journey Leadership meetings - Staff meetings begin again in August August planning meetings TEAM meetings - Celebration Aug. Celebration Ministries Aug. Youth Leadership Camp E3 Celebration Season Four We encourage people to rest, rejuvenate and spend time listening to God s direction Recharge & Regroup In August, begin preparation and move into place for an effective September launch. Culmination in Launch Sunday and begin again the cycle of the seasons!! Small Groups No formal meetings in the summer. Outreach Focus investing in others, building connections, BBQ, neighbourhood connections, family connections, Journey of Engagement Engage Outreach focus, building connections to carry into Fall Contacts & Reconnections Equip E3 Empower 10

11 Small Groups Launch Sunday Focus: Contact & reconnection Sermon Based Curriculum leading to Advent Leader Equipping - TEAM orientation Equipping track option marriage or bible survey Celebration - Advent Vision Sunday Focus: Community, Activities & Disciplines Sermon Based Curriculum Study a book of the Bible leading to Lent Leader Equipping - TEAM motivation Equipping track option Finances or Prosperous Life or spiritual Freedom event Celebration - Easter Disciplines Scripture memorization, Bible reading, tithing, using spiritual gifts, developing a lifestyle of worship and outreach. Focus: Community & Activities & contacts, needs based, some groups will take a break, some will rebuild with summer events Celebration Launch Sunday Small groups regroup. Focus: Activities, Disciplines, Ministry & Commissioning Needs based Curriculum Leader Equipping - TEAM Evaluation Equipping track option Parenting or spiritual gifts Celebration Baptism & Commissioning 11

12 Children s Ministry Launch Sunday Focus: Get to know me, building up group dynamics through integrated teaching themes Forge monthly events begin again Leader Equipping We ask for our leaders to give us a one year commitment and reevaluate that in June. - Plan to Protect, TEAM orientation, new volunteers training Celebration - Advent Disciplines Scripture memorization, Bible reading, tithing, using spiritual gifts, developing a lifestyle of worship and outreach. Vision Sunday Focus: building on friendships, activities & refocus on disciplines through integrated teaching Forge monthly events Forge Winter retreat Leader Equipping - TEAM motivation Celebration - Easter Focus: Maintaining connections with children & families, modified programming Integrated summer teaching series, combine classes, reduce the number of volunteers Forge 2 family events in the summer Celebration Launch Sunday Focus: Activities & reinforce disciplines through integrated teaching Celebrate milestones, growth markers, Commissioning (Graduations), baptisms Forge monthly events Leader Equipping - TEAM Evaluation & regroup teaching teams Celebration End of the year party, baptism 12

13 ROCK high school ministry Connecting Contact & reconnection Friendly events, get to know us events Introduce worship & small groups Leader Equipping TEAM orientation, once a month leader s meetings Establish matrix connections. Culmination(s) Girls retreat & worship experience Growing Community, Activities & Disciplines ROCK talks, more indepth worship, regular small groups Leader Equipping - TEAM motivation, once a month leaders meetings Strengthening matrix connections. Culmination(s) Snow Camp, baptism Doing Community & Activities Recruiting, screening & commissioning leaders, graduations Year end party TEAM celebration, baptism Rest Softening the matrix, summer events Culmination(s) Annual Leadership Retreat Matt. 16:18 Experiencing Activities & Disciplines & Ministry scouting Emphasis on getting more involved, serving and giving back Youth leaders given more responsibilities Outward focus Leader Equipping monthly leader s meeting, more collaboration, TEAM Evaluation Empowering through the matrix Culmination(s) dinner theatre 13

14 Additional Resources The core materials that we consistently recommend to support the discipleship process are the following. Supplementary books and materials are added on a series basis that coordinate with the integrated curriculum and strengthen and edify the church. Comiskey series LIVE, ENCOUNTER, GROW, SHARE, LEAD DISCOVER, COACH Biblica Books of the Bible NAC Welcome package NAC Annual Meeting Brochure Baptism Brochure John 3:16 sharing the hope that is within you Sharing Your Testimony Spiritual Gifts Inventory Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts Right Now Media Library A video library that NAC subscribes to with over 3500 resources for children, youth and adults, a customizable training library with over 2000 training videos for all areas of ministry and a leadership events library with current conference teachings. 14

15 Evaluation Tool Kit Overview Tools for Evaluation Journey of Engagement Tracking Identifying Movement to the Core Growth Indicators Worksheet Spiritual Gifts Inventory Effectiveness Records Ministry Leader Evaluation E3 Review Template Course Evaluations Contact (someone comes to NAC for the first time or makes a contact with someone from NAC) Re-connect (a person is interested enough to come for a 2 nd visit or makes a 2 nd contact, reconnection may happen a few times until a regular pattern is determined) Enters into community (experiences community in a small group and/or celebration, attends regularly, dialogues more freely, identifies friendships, feels welcomed, has learned God loves them) Adopts activities (repeat visits, joins in activities, monthly events, receives weekly publications, luncheons, willing to contribute, no longer needs to be invited) Begins to embrace disciplines (adopts prayer into their life, begins to read the Bible, spiritual discussions and questions, assesses lifestyle as they learn more about their life in Christ, tithing, spiritual gifts, desires baptism & membership) Participates in ministry (has a desire to serve in a ministry capacity, gets involved) Effectiveness Records Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 special Oct Nov Dec Invites others outreach (values their engagement enough to share it with someone else) 15