Compassion By Design

For church planters, the horse we intend to ride is a well planned church planting effort complete with a healthy team, budgets, role descriptions, work-plan management (see converge), supporters and church style. So much rides (pardon the pun) on our effective thinking and preparation. We know that this is a faith adventure that we are undertaking, and we know there will be some rough spots, that is why we plan ahead. Proverbs 21:31 tell us that our “horse is made ready for battle, but victory rests with the LORD.”

For some a different proverb should be written, “our horse is malnourished and unshod, and we ride forward like Don Quixote to tilt at windmills” (Mills translation). In other words our preparation is really an important key to our success. Another Proverb (21:5), confirms this reality, “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” I think the support offered by converge related to work planning and the coaching that goes with it is a worthwhile way to help new churches stay on track. Also, needs assessment is an initial planning tool that also helps us to find and focus on people that we can serve and reach.

No matter the supports we include, the challenge is always taking the time to plan, and requiring focus along the way. This challenge to plan well and adjust while we trust in the Lord is even more critical when we add missional community service as a part of our new church.

Effective community service is not offered or sustained through unplanned or hasty efforts. Things that we get away with in ministry space (that’s a sad commentary), won’t stand the light of public scrutiny in a broader community space. We can’t move forward without essential charitable documents, budgets, defined roles and careful thinking that lines up our gifts and talents with community needs. If we ever want to move past experimental, occasional outreach to long term missional service, we have to get serious about effective preparation and planning. So, how is your horse? Have you tuned up your plan lately, or are you running a hasty race that will require lots of repair work later? Are you laying a foundation of focus and discipline? Are you doing the essential planning, communication and documenting that lead to later success? Those things are hard for us all, but we know that our trust in the Lord’s grace isn’t permission for sloppy Agape, or loose horseshoes.

According to the research completed by Ed Stetzer about what makes church plants most sustainable, new churches that include outreaches like block parties fare better than those that use door to door evangelism strategies. These outreaches serve several important purposes: 1) they help build team cohesion; 2) they stretch team members outside their comfort zone; 3) they provide another marketing opportunity; and 3) may help us connect with potential visitors to our launch.

Many of our outreaches however, are more marketing than missional. Being missional has to do with organizing our church life AND the personal discipleship of our team around relational connections with people. Being in the community is an important step toward growing a real missional DNA, but the postman is in the community too, and he/she is not necessarily missional. Being “sent” means not only “showing up” in the community, but actually connecting with people in a caring way. Missional DNA shows up as our people become more committed and comfortable in reaching out to new people on their turf.

The number of people in your team that actually make a personal connection with someone new during the outreach is often very limited. Our people get busy during these outreaches, but they don’t always talk to anyone. Could we use our planned outreaches to build a greater relational and incarnational DNA in our plant team? We know that the more that the entire team becomes connectors, the healthier and larger the church launch.

Here are some suggestions about making our outreaches missional growth opportunities.

Structure outreaches relationally. Don’t do ring and run outreach. Plan the outreach to require some kind of conversation—make it comfortable and non-invasive, but conversational. This is the difference between just washing windows for free, or taking a brief survey while you wash windows. Surveys, like those in a needs assessment help those who are not highly skilled talkers to learn to start conversations.

Model relationship building. Talk about this in advance and tell success stories when you are done that amplify the importance and ease of talking with people. Share skills in conversation starting. Don’t only tell the most exciting stories, tell the simple ones where a quiet team member had a positive conversation.

Pair people to stretch their networking skills. Place those who are not easy talkers, with those who make this look easy. Teach the strong relational leaders, to take turns talking with others and to encourage those who are being stretched.

Do Needs Assessment survey work during the outreach, so that lots of conversations are started. By simply adding needs assessment to your existing outreach calendar, you ensure that in every contact a conversation is started. To learn more about needs assessment, join a free conference call, or attend the February 5,6 Needs Assessment Training in the national capital area of Virginia.

Do you really read the pre-printed messages in greeting cards? Does it make it any less meaningful when you think about how that the same message is mailed to tens of thousands of people, sometimes only modified by adding a signature? Personally, I am really more interested in the family letter, and the little personal note—and of course the fact that they remembered to send a card.

If we wanted to count on one hand the important messages that we must communicate in our effort to reach the emerging generation and post-modern’s, then Christmas, and the incarnation would have to go on the short list. The heart cry of the emerging generations, is don’t tell me—words are irrelevant—I want to SEE Jesus. I don’t trust a gospel that isn’t tied to action and connected to a reality that I can see, touch and smell. They want to experience truth, not just listen to it. It’s a “be the message generation.”

Isn’t that the message of Christmas? God didn’t write us a note, and have his signature machine imprint his name at the bottom. He didn’t even write us a family letter—he sent his son as a personalized message. Nothing impersonal, inexpensive or detached about this greeting card. If there is one message that we need to learn to communicate to the emerging generation, it is the message of the incarnation—God come in the form of man to demonstrate his character.

How do we bring this message home? How can we communicate the truth of the God/Man so that people see that no matter what preconception they may have about the church, God is not just a talker. How do we share the mystery of this truth in a way that allows people to see that the life of Christ in us, is about daily meaning and not just sectarian rhetoric.

While I have seen many of the best Christmas pageant and extravaganzas, I am not sure that camels and choirs with angel wings really get it. For the initiated, we can enjoy the glory of God revealed to shepherds and the details of the story—but for those on the outside, it can become just another seasonal story fading into the white noise of Christmas.

The God-man– now that is an outrageous story. This is not the shallow substitute of a snowman possessed by a lost father, or zombies who are alive but not really, or even disembodied souls who can’t leave earth until a psychic helps to solve their problem. This is the creator setting aside his power to join us, to become one of us, to walk with us and to touch and be touched.

We have to get this message right. One way is to participate in the demonstration of his character through service. Our acts of service show his love in a profound way, especially when delivered in a personal and relational way. That was also the MO of Jesus’—demonstration along with proclamation. Before the season comes again, we have a whole year to become Christmas cards, to learn to better embody the message in our service, listening and caring. And that is a message that many WILL hear.

We have several upcoming trainings that you should be aware of. They all provide cutting edge instruction that will help your church plant, compassion ministry or church committed to community engagement move forward. This is training that is designed for faith based community service that is both sustainable and high impact.

Free Conference Calls about Needs Assessment– Join David Mills for an overview of how needs assessment can help you plant a healthier new church, build new credibility and missional heart with a church in revitalization or move your church into strong community connection. These calls include a detailed overview document and are available monthly. click here

Needs Assessment Intensive– February 5th and 6th in Historic Northern VA, get intensive training, additional needs assessment tools and get prepared to lead or train others in needs assessment. This training is for those who want hands on training to lead their new church or church committed to community, or faith based non profit into greater community impact. The fellowship and shared learning make this intensive an important opportunity for those who want to increase community impact. The venue is located just 7 miles from the Historic Mannassas Battlefield, 30 miles from Mt. Vernon, and just minutes from the new Air and Space Smithsonian as well as other DC locations. The venue is located so that you can add some tourism to your trip without the expense of staying inside the beltway.

Quick Start Ready to Serve is a one day training on January 15th in Greensboro, NC that will lead you through the right steps to start and grow a community based ministry. Appropriate for churches and faith based ministries, the training is based on the best available approaches to starting strong and sustaining high impact, mission oriented community service. The Trainer is David Mills. click here to learn more.

Design for Service . This teleconference training will take you through the Design for Funding workbook form the comfort of your own phone– allowing you to describe your services in a way that funders and donors can support. During this series of calls, you will learn to describe your services in the standard formats that funders want to see, and also create communication and critical thinking tools that will improve your services and help you to recruit more volunteers and effective board members. This is a series of calls that begin January 14th. click here

Join us!