I jumped the gun a while ago when I started this series of posts on the book, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley and his team from North Point Community Church in Atlanta, GA (You'll find previous posts here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.). Back in late February I suggested that I would let you in on Granger's identified "win" in the next few weeks.
A "next few weeks" has come.
I have a number of readers from our local conversation. I wanted them to hear these "wins" from our Senior Pastor before I posted them here. That communication has been happening in various venues around our church for the past few weeks now, so I'm ready to continue the dialog for those who remember what we were talking about (if not, jump back and read Parts 1, 2 and 3 now - in the first paragraph above).
We are at our infrastructure driven by five core purposes. Although Rick Warren wrote two books that explore them (The Purpose-Driven Church and The Purpose-Driven Life), we accept with others that the biblical story exposes these five purposes as central to God's heart and his agenda for his kingdom on earth.
Key #1 in identifying and communicating the "win" to your church: the "win" cannot be perceived as an "add on", one more thing to remember or achieve. The "win" must clearly express what is central to the church, central to our mission and vision.
Our "win" at Granger Community Church throughout 2006 is expressed in what we're calling, "Focus on 5". What if every person at Granger focused on these 5 over the next eight months? What if every person experienced a personal win in one or more of these areas? What would happen as a church if everyone focused in this way? That'd be a grand "win"!
- Invest and Invite: Invest - spend time, care, connect - in a personal relationship with someone who does not attend church, who does not currently experience Jesus as their Savior... and invite them to "come see" through the weekend service.
- Have a Friend; Be a Friend: Build at least one relationship with someone at Granger in which you "have each other's back" and you mutually lift each other toward Christ.
- Read the Bible: Wherever you are in your reading practice - read the Bible. Start reading it. Read it daily. Read regularly.
- Serve Once a Month: At least once a month. Think about someone else. Put your attention on others, then leverage your time, gifts and resources to make a difference in our church, community or world.
- Do the Next Right Thing: Whatever it is. Work on a broken relationship. Seek counsel with your spouse. Join a small group. Do the next right thing.
What if every person focused on these 5? We can hardly wait to see!
This doesn't need to be the "win" for your church. Develop your own.
But... what if your church focused on these 5? What if your people were empowered to sift through all the demanding voices of their lives and they got clarity - focus for eight months? What might God do in your local church?
What's the "win" in your church?
