Shared Learning Experience Session Two Becoming a Fruitful Church Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 1
Today s Objectives Understand the key concepts in the book, Bearing Fruit Discover how to use MissionInsight demographic tool in order to better understand our community Spiritual Centering Scripture: John 15:1-8 (Common English translation) 1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 He removes any of my branches that don t produce fruit, and he trims any branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. 3 You are already trimmed because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch can t produce fruit by itself, but must remain in the vine. Likewise, you can t produce fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, then you will produce much fruit. Without me, you can t do anything. 6 If you don t remain in me, you will be like a branch that is thrown out and dries up. Those branches are gathered up, thrown into a fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified when you produce much fruit and in this way prove that you are my disciples. Jesus Christ Reflection 1. Describe a time when your church was fruitful. What seemed to bring about the fruitfulness? 2. What does it look like when your church is connected to Christ (the vine)? How does your church intentionally nurture this connection? 3. Has your church gone through a period when it was pruned? What sustained it during that time? What resulted from the pruning? Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 2
Action Plan Review Please share with your group: 1. Accountability: Were you able to accomplish what you said you were going to do? If not, what got in the way? 2. Application Learning: What happened when you applied what you learned in the books or Saturday sessions to your specific situation? 3. Peer Mentoring: Look for opportunities to help each other with any challenges. (Chances are we all have similar struggles or have dealt with the same types of struggles in our careers.) How did your homework assignments go? 1. How did your team meeting back home with your pastor go? 2. Did you do something fun together as an FCJ Team? 3. Did you choose to make a team covenant? 4. Did you make sure your church has a prayer team for the Fruitful Congregation Journey? Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 3
Bearing Fruit! Churches are called to be faithful and. Fruitfulness among churches has little to do with or. When a church is fruitful, it will have ministry that to its community. is as much a part of a fruitful harvest as is planting. John Wesley asked three questions of his leaders: Have they faith? Have they gifts? Have they fruit? The ultimate focus must always be not on what we are but on what we are toward the mission. Two key questions: Are we fruit? Is it fruit? Many of your fruits will not become for many, many years. There are seasons a time for the soil (spring), and (summer), the fruit (fall), and a time of (winter). The two most powerful words for leadership are. Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 4
The problem with much talk of vision today is that the word vision is proceeded by. It is critically important for Christian leaders to understand the difference between a personal vision and vision. The most aspect of planning in your church is to ask what God s desire is for your congregation in its setting. The problem in most churches is that there are good ideas competing with other God-sized visions can only be accomplished through the. They require a certain level of trust in the Lord that could easily be described as. Three groups must have around the vision: the governing board, the church staff, and the members. Each plays a role in helping to keep the church s ministry with its vision. Becoming a more fruitful church is a journey, more a than a sprint Pain will be a part of the process and it will stretch us A fruitful church will experience numerical Occasionally someone argues, God desires faithfulness, not fruitfulness. Whoever suggests this might benefit from an evening of study with a Bible and a concordance, looking up references to fruit, harvest, sowing, vines, and seeds. Fruitfulness is clearly expected of Christian disciples. Lovette Weems. Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 5
Our hope is sure because it comes not from what God may do in the future but from what God has God has brought us this far and will not leave us orphaned. MissionInsite.com is a great resource for us to use in order to know our communities. Too often we fall into the trap of thinking that we know our communities better than we really do. This happens because we get into a comfort zone of going to the same places, seeing the same people, doing the same activities and fail to recognize how everything is changing around us. To help churches get to know their communities better, the Indiana Conference is pleased to offer its churches unlimited access to demographic information through the on-line based resource MissionInsite. Through the site, Indiana United Methodist churches have 24/7 access to a wealth of local demographic information at no charge. (It s paid for by the Conference tithe.) In order to use the information, however, one must first become a registered user. Churches can have an unlimited number of registered users, again at no cost. To become a registered go to the Church Development section of our conference website (www.inumc.org), click on MissionInsite and follow the directions. MissionInsite produces demographic reports that will give you a great overview of your community along with a projection of where it is heading. The reports include areas such as: population/households/families, age, income, phase of life, ethnicity, and MOSAIC lifestyle types. To access such data and to become familiar with the site, click on the Help tab at the top of the home page and then Support Videos. Begin by viewing the Getting Started video. To unpack the data found in the reports, use the ExecutiveInsite Worksheet and the MissionInsite Application Guide by Bandy, which are both found in the Documents section of the Help tab. Both of these will help you begin to analyze how the data can help you sharpen your church s ministry approach and strategy. For assistance in using this site, contact your Church Development staff person by calling the Conference Center, 877 781-6706. Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 6
Action Plan List some specific steps you could take and/or resources you could consult to develop your skills in the areas that we covered today: What is one action that you will take between now and our next session together? What will success look like concerning that action? Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 7
Action Plan Assignments for the Next Session: 1. As a team, make a plan for how you will share what you are learning in the Shared Learning Experience with others in your church. 2. Register with MissionInsite and discuss your findings in your debriefing sessions with your pastor. Best Practices Connect with the local Chamber of Commerce(s), city government and any other agencies where you can get demographic information on your community. Meet with a local realtor (you may have one in your congregation) who can keep you updated on trends in the market. Find someone you trust (not in your church) who can visit a service and give you some honest feedback. [hospitality, cleanliness, signing, music, worship, etc.] Deep and Wide, by Andy Stanley Church Unique, by Will Mancini Additional Resources Continue the Conversation! You can continue to share and learn from each other between sessions by going to the Indiana Conference Church Development Facebook page and blog site. Facebook page = http://www.facebook.com/makingdisciplestransformingcommunities Blog Site = http://churchdevinumc.wordpress.com/ Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 8
Session Evaluation Facilitator: Date: Overall 1. How would you rate the session overall? Poor (1) Fair (2) Good (3) Strong (4) Excellent (5) 2. Presentation of session 3. Session content What, if anything, would you suggest to improve this session in the future? What is your biggest take-away from this session? Other comments: Thank You! Copyright Indiana Conference UMC 2014 Page 9