Your Church ALIVE

1. Your Church ALIVE David Schoen – Congregational Vitality and Discipleship schoend@ucc.org

2. Your Church ALIVE • How I Stopped Worrying & Learned to Love Evangelism • Conversational Faith Sharing and Invitation • Going Local – Getting Your Church Outside Itself • Missional and Relational Outreach • What Does YELP Say About Your Church? • Online Ministry, Outreach and Invitation

3. The E.WORD - Evangelism • What do you think of when you hear the word • EVANGELISM

4. Celtic Evangelism The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West…Again George Hunter writes about the difference between what he describes as the evangelism approach in Roman and Celtic Christianity.

5. Celtic Evangelism Roman Model Celtic Model Presentation Fellowship Decision Ministry and Conversation Fellowship Belief, Invitation, Commitment

6. Belonging and Believing Christianity is more caught than taught! As Professor Robin Gill observes, belonging comes before believing. For this reason, evangelism is now about helping people belong so that they can believe.

7. No Matter Who You Are, or Where You Are on Life’s Journey, You Are Welcome Here!

8. You Are Welcome Here! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5BzusJvw_io http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5BzusJvw_io

9. Building Relationships through Conversations • Conversational ministry is central to the future of the church in 21st Century • Count conversations, not conversions • Brian McLaren, More Ready than You Think

10. Conversational Ministry • The postmodern world calls for disciples who reach out to a world that is hungering for good conversation about faith, values, hope, meaning, purpose, goodness, beauty, truth, life after death, life before death and God. Engaging in everyday faith conversations will not only help others become disciples, it will help us become disciples, who know and love the stillspeaking God more than ever.

11. Just because people aren’t in church doesn’t mean they don’t believe

12. Unchurched USA • Since 1991 adult population in the US grew by 15%. • During that same period the unchurched population grew by 92%! 75 million US adults do not attend church • 'Unchurched' Americans say church is 'full of hypocrites'  consider Christianity to be more about organized religion than about loving God and people, …“unchristian”.

13. 44 percent -- agreed that "Christians get on my nerves.“ • Vast majority of young non-Christians view Christianity as anti-gay, judgmental hypocritical, unwelcoming, too political, out of touch. • But 78 percent said they would be willing to listen to someone who wanted to tell them about his or her Christian beliefs. • Almost three-quarters -- 72 percent -- agreed that God "actually exists“ and an even larger percentage -- 86 percent -- said they believed they could have a good relationship with God without church involvement.

14. Start Conversations • Spiritual Seekers want to talk. • We are the ones not talkingReverence for God - Silence and WorshipFear of Intruding on Other’s faith • Missional outreach is faith-sharing. • An unchurched world doesn’t know but wants to hear why we do what we do and believe what we believe.

15. If God is still speaking, Shouldn’t we be?

16. Conversational Evangelism • How I stop worrying and learned to love evangelism. • Buzz Marketing • Evangelism - One beggar telling another where there is food • Come and See!John 1: 46

17. Still Speaking Conversation and Invitation with Neighbors • Informal moments at work, shopping or…. • Be attentive for moments for a still speaking word • Wear your still speaking witness • Home dinners with neighbors • First Welcomers • New Neighbors Sunday Guests • Public Worship/Activities • Ashes to Go • Communion to the street • Community Fairs/Events

18. Stillspeaking Witness!

19. God is still speaking, Through you and me!

20. Eight Challenges Richard Peace – Holy Conversations • Learn how to talk about Jesus • Create spaces that bring seekers and Christians together to explore their spiritual journeys. • Learn how to invite others • Move beyond our stereotypes, fears and negative experiences of evangelism for new creative and authentic ways of outreach.

21. Eight Challenges Richard Peace • Evangelism and justice issues are a both/and not an either/or. • Find the energy to engage in and to sustain an outreach ministry. • Stay open to transformation, our own transformation even as we invite others to be transformed. • Learn how to discuss all of this in non-theological terms.

22. E. Word = Elbow • “The e.word today is elbow.” • Jim Griffith • Still today the way most folks find a community of faith is when they are invited to come and brought by a friend or neighbor.

23. Conversational Invitation

24. Come and See • Who are you going to invite to come and see? • Audiences for evangelism • Outsiders Become Insiders • Forgetters made Rememberers • Beloved Children become Belief-ful Adults

25. How To Get Started • Pray, pray, pray • Practice your stillspeaking ‘elevator’ response • Find a partner to practice speaking about faith • Start a Faith Sharing Group at church • Share ‘What My Faith/Church Means to Me’ Testimonies in worship • Pray for those you who want to reach out to • Just get started, talking and listening!

26. QUESTIONS?

27. Are You Ready to Talk? When did you have a moment of experiencing God’s presence in your life? What impact has believing in God and following Jesus made in your life? How is God still speaking in your life?/ What would you tell someone about your church and why you participate/love it?

28. Are You Ready to Talk • What are you going to do to get started? • Who do you want to share a conversation? • Where will you talk? • How can your church help?

29. Eleven Commandments for Ordinary,Everyday Evangelists

30. God is still speaking, Through you and me!

32. Your Church ALIVE • How I Stopped Worrying & Learned to Love Evangelism • Conversational Faith Sharing and Invitation • Going Local – Getting Your Church Outside Itself • Missional and Relational Outreach • What Does YELP Say About Your Church? • Online Ministry, Outreach and Invitation

33. Times Have Changed • 96% claim spirituality • 48% participate in faith communities • Total church participation in US has declined even though 51 million new people • Younger generation opting out in masses • Growth in Racial ethnic population decline in Anglo growth rate • Mobility rates increased • 500 Year Phenomena

34. Disciples and Churches ALIVEMissional, Relational & Conversational • Missional in purpose • Relational in outreach • Conversational in witness in person and online

35. Missional Discipleship • “The Church exists to serve God’s Mission” ~ Mission as Missio Dei, UCC Committee on Structure, 1992 • The church of Jesus Christ is the instrument and sign of God’s mission and realm. • God’s mission is calling and sending us, the to be to be a missional church in our own societies, in the cultures in which we find ourselves.

36. Missional in Purpose • Vital disciples • clear sense of purpose • Vital disciples • are sent people • Vital disciples • reach out beyond themselves • reclaim Biblical focus on neighbors • Vital disciples • multiply new disciples/ministries/congregations

37. Who are they, and where do they come from?(Revelation 7:14) • MissionInsite Demographics • http://missioninsite.com/ • flexible web based information system • comprehensive socioeconomic and lifestyle data • interactive mapping platform • strategic information resource for ministry

38. Meeting Your Neighbors

39. MissionInsite Reports 1.5 Mile 12 Mile

40. Racial/Ethnicity 1.5 Mile 12 Mile

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44. Socio-Economic-Consumer Types1.5 miles v 12 miles v