User Friendly Churches

I. Growth

A. Don't imitate.

B. Each church is unique

C. Tactics to develop strong spiritual character are very different from those required to generate numerical growth.

D. Have a positive attitude.

E. Vision for ministry.

F. A spirit of expectancy.

G. People not program oriented. A program not pulling its own weight should be axed.

H. Most desirable ministry is outreach.

I. You can only do so much

1. Focus. A church cannot be all things to all people.

2. A specific mission.

3. Measured expansion. A few things done well.

J. Take inventory of your church.

K. Remain Biblically oriented

L. Avoid denial trap

M. Take inventory each week. What did we do well? What can we do better?

II. Quality

A. Integrate

B. Excellence in effort

C. Consistency

D. Credibility

E. Reliability

III. Second Mile Motivation

A. Teaching. Every believer is to minister.

B. Equipping the saints

C. Reinforcement

D. Modeling

E. Relevance

F. Take inventory. Are we relevant? Who is in charge of monitoring, evaluating, coordinating the content of teaching in your church?

IV. Sacred Cows

A. Eye on excellence, not protectionism.

1. Evaluation, not insulation.

2. Change for the positive.

B. Methods of evaluation.

C. Inventory what you have done.

V. The Master's Plan for You Church

A. God's Vision for your church.

1. Each successful church has a clear understanding of God's plans to give the church a hope and a future.

2. This was arrived at through prayer, study and counsel.

B. Owning the vision.

1. In each successful church, the vision was passed down from the top.

C. Articulating the vision.

1. The average member was able to articulate the vision.

D. Vision was focused, not "to win the world to Christ."

E. Vision transmitted to all through publications, sermons, personal conversations, etc.

F. Take inventory to determine your vision. State it with precision.

VI. Everyone's A Marketer

A. People came because the individual members invited them, or others who knew about the church recommended the church.

B. People usually do not depend upon a newspaper article or ad.

C. The pastor was the marketeer who instilled in others the desire to market.

D. Conventional advertising is not very useful. Persuading people about a church is the most useful advertising.

E. Need to maintain contact with those outside the church to be able to invite them.

VII. Grow or Go

A. Life-style commitment

B. Felt-needs approach to gearing ministries.

C. Adopting Christ's perspectives. People want solutions to their everyday problems.

D. A hands-on laity

E. Look outward, not inward.

F. Missions as mainstream

G. Facilitate grown.

H. What is the view of the community about your church?

VIII. You Have Not Because You Do Not Ask

A. A Call to Prayer. How? One church did the following:

1. The congregation was exposed to biblical teaching about the role of prayer in the Christian life.

2. Church leaders (staff and laity) modeled prayer as normal and significant behavior in all aspects of the Christian life.

3. These churches had learned to celebrate the fruits of prayer.

4. The congregation was held accountable for prayer.

B. Marks of a praying church.

1. Groups whose sole ministry was to pray

2. Meaningful prayer during services.

3. Extended prayer for different things.

C. What is your prayer life? Your church?

IX. Investing in Tomorrow's Leaders

A. Ministering to kids is one way of attracting adults.

B. Kids represent the highest potential for conversion.

C. Kids have a way of impacting the church environment dynamically

D. Todays youth are the leaders of tomorrow.

E. Offspring frequently have a more profound effect on the spiritual development of their parents than do the pastor or church staff.

F. Kids serve as a creative testing ground for new ministry.

G. General items:

1. Used material available but tailored to needs.

2. Divided by age group or grade level.

H. Do you have a baby-sitting ministry?

X. Unyielding Flexibility

A. A commitment to ministry over structure.

XI. There's No Substitute for a Real Leader

A. User Friendly churches have strong leaders.

B. Portrait of an Effective Pastor.

1. Grasp of the big picture.

2. Understanding of his personal calling.

3. In tune with details, but not bogged down by them.

4. Delegates

5. Is confident

6. Interacts well

7. Makes decisions

8. Is visible at various organizations, etc.

9. Is practical

10. Is accountable

11. Is discerning.

C. How do you stack up?

XII. Whose Church is it Anyway?

A. The pastor as a team leader.

1. Pastor planned absences/

2. Ministry is avocation. Enjoys it.

3. More than a one man show

4. A link in the chain

5. Time away from home

XIII. Investing in the Volunteer Bank

A. What's your gifts?

1. Identify those gifts and talents;

2. Refine those gifts;

3. Provide opportunities for the individual to utilize those gifts in significant ministry; and

4. Support the individual in that ministry.

B. Growing in Giftedness

1. Team leadership

2. Make resources available

3. Train or make training available

XIV. What User Friendly Churches Did Not Do

A. Successful churches did not limit God

B. They didn't beat a dead horse.

C. They did not humiliate visitors.

1. Make them feel welcome, but do not overdo it. Anonymity for visitors was not considered negative by the leaders of growing churches. Many people want to come in and not be recognized.

D. They were not insulated from the community

E. They did not alienate those who are different

F. No cold-call evangelism.

1. They had an evangelism team but it was either response to those requesting a visit, or event visitation.

G. They did not apologize for Seeking Help

H. They did not Avoid Confrontation

I. Staffing Not Based on Precedent

J. They Didn't Take the Safe Route

XV. Can Your Church Grow?

A. Can any church grow? Probably.

B. Key elements in the growth equation

1. Strong leadership

2. Vision of God's Mission for the congregation.

3. Congregation commit to growth.

C. Mission Possible

1. Growth is not an overnight process

2. Better done in newly planted churches.

D. Is an Extraordinary Pastor Essential?

1. Yes and No

2. Each successful church had an extraordinary man of God as Pastor.

3. Each pastor had a single purpose: to bring honor and glory to God through whatever service they are capable of performing.