Purpose Driven InternationalZu »Kirche mit Vision« gibt es eine Vielzahl internationaler Materialien und Beiträge. Wir möchten Ihnen an dieser Stelle einen Zugang zu einem Teil diese Materialien und Beiträge im Original eröffnen. Small groups give every member personal care and attention How do you maintain that "small church" feeling of fellowship as your church grows? This is one of the biggest fears your church members have about church growth. The answer is two words: affinity groups. Affinity groups can provide the personal care and attention every member deserves, no matter how big your church becomes. Skills for preaching to the unchurched When I first came to the Saddleback Valley, I discovered that the number one complaint of the unchurched in my area was “boring, irrelevant sermons.” I decided I’d better seriously re-examine my preaching. I reviewed 10 years worth of sermons, asking one question: Would this message make sense to a totally unchurched person? I quickly discovered that I needed to develop a whole new set of preaching skills. Turning attendees into a part of the family Today, a lot of Christians are what I call “floating believers.” It is an expression of America’s rampant individualism. Anywhere else in the world, being a believer is synonymous with being connected to a local body of believers. Pastors, we need to be teaching those in our congregations why joining a church family is so important. Here are a few ideas to help you do that. De-mystify spiritual growth Mention the term "spirituality" today and many people will conjure up images of wearing white robes, sitting in a yoga lotus position, burning incense, and chanting "ommmmm" with their eyes closed.
Pastors, we need to be communicating the truth about spirituality. The truth is that spiritual growth is very practical. We need to take the mystery out of spiritual growth by breaking the components down into practical, everyday habits. Teens need to live on purpose too God made the teenagers in our communities for five very biblical reasons – worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism. How are we helping teens discover these purposes? Discovering these purposes is vital to teens becoming the kind of adults God wants them to become. Here is a brief look at how these purposes can impact the teens in our lives. On becoming a wise preacher My method of sermon preparation is based on Ecclesiastes 12:9-11. It’s actually the only passage in Scripture that explains how a speaker prepares wisely. The preacher of Ecclesiastes prepares constantly in order to communicate more effectively. In fact, this passage explains five different ways in which we should prepare before proclaiming God's Word. Help your church's men grow in God's purposes If your church is typical, there are more women attending and involved in ministry than men. But it doesn't have to stay like that. God wants to raise up godly, purpose driven male leaders for your community. For your church to be part of that, you'll have to take the needs of men into consideration in all five purposes of the church. Bouncing back from failure If you make mistakes, you're not alone – you're human. But did you realize that God wants to use your mistakes to help you grow? In fact, mistakes can be some of life's greatest teachers. The key comes in how we respond to our failures. What to do about conflict Conflict happens everywhere – even in the church! Many people try to ignore conflicts that arise, hoping the situation will just go away. It won’t. When conflict comes up, you have to deal with it head on. Don't let it go on and on. Confrontation is the key to settling conflict. Focus on raising the commitment of your leadership One of the ways I believe you can assess whether or not your church is maturing spiritually is this - the standards for leadership keep getting tougher as time passes. You keep turning up the heat every year, requiring a deeper level of commitment to Christ and spiritual growth. To raise the bar like that, you must confidently ask people for big commitments. Pastors who lead the way learn to delegate We'll never be the pastors God has called us to be until we learn to delegate. If there is a part of your work load you aren't shaped to do – and there most certainly is – there is probably someone in your church who is. Here are few ideas that have helped me with delegation in the last 25 years at Saddleback. Creating strong sermon points Pastors, don't look at preaching books to help you put together sermon outlines. It has been my experience that they lift up the wrong kind of sermons as examples. They tend to teach you to prepare academic outlines so vague and general that they are robbed of power. You can avoid this pitfall by taking a few simple steps toward creating points that make a point. Get some rest Few problems plague America's pastorates more than exhaustion. Our muscles are not overworked – our minds are. We’re tired mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. You probably need soul rest far more than you need physical rest. You need release from worry, tension, stress, guilt, fear, bitterness, and anxiety. You need soul rest. And that’s exactly what Jesus promises you if you’ll come to him. Where do you turn to find that kind of rest? There's really only one place. How big is your vision? Over the years, I've learned that – contrary to popular opinion – the bigger the vision, the easier it is to reach that vision, and, ultimately, the size of your vision should be determined by the size of God. How big do you think God is? The issue is not who do you think you are, but who do you think God is? In your dreams for your ministry, don’t limit yourself by saying, “What can I do?” Instead ask, “What can God do in this place?” Keys to developing self-control Learning self-control is an essential part of you becoming the kind of pastor God wants you to become. Like a finely tuned precision automobile, your life stays on course with the slightest touch of steering. The results of self-control – for you and your congregation – are confidence and an inner sense of security. Preaching tips that will change lives I'll say it over and over: The purpose of preaching is obedience. The great weaknesses of preaching today is that there are a lot of folks who are afraid to stand on the Word of God and humbly but forcefully challenge the will of people. Will you? These nine principles can help you prepare messages that can change the way people live. Discovering my purpose driven principles In the early 1970s, as I was trying to figure out exactly what God was calling me to do, two men in particular – Donald McGavran and W.A. Criswell – helped me during this journey. Criswell's ministry convinced me that God was calling me to serve as a a pastor, and McGavran sharpened my focus on planting a new church rather than pastoring an existing one. They would also teach me quite a bit about what makes healthy churches. Through them I learned the importance of a long-lasting pastorate and developing missionary strategies to reach the unchurched. Other pastors' sermons - the commentaries of the 21st century When I was planting Saddleback Church, other pastors’ sermons fed my own soul – and eased my preparation. In fact, I still use other pastors’ sermons in my preparation time. They give me ideas. They help me see Scripture in entirely new ways sometimes. I believe these sermons are like the commentaries of the 21st century. You should always preach for commitment Pastors, we should always offer unbelievers an opportunity to respond to Christ in a seeker-service. They may choose not to respond, but you must offer them the opportunity to turn their lives over to Jesus and an opportunity to tell the church about that decision – whether that's through an altar call, a decision card, or another method. Here are a few lessons I've learned along the way about preaching for commitment. Communicating the purpose of your church Pastor, God has established your church for a purpose. Too often, though, we fail to communicate that purpose to the people who would be most interested in hearing about it – the church itself. Use every opportunity you can – whether it's through sermons, bulletins, banners, etc. – to communicate God's eternal purposes to your congregation. How to recognize spiritual receptivity in your community You've got people all around your community who need to hear the Gospel. Some are more likely than others to respond. So where do you start? Start with the most receptive – it's simply a good use of your time. Here are a few ideas to help you locate people in your community who are particularly ready to respond to the Gospel. Targeting for evangelism Pastor, who specifically is your church trying to reach? Odds are if you aren't targeting specific segments of your community, you're not reaching people as effectively as you could. Although God has called the Church to share the Gospel with every segment in society, he has specifically shaped your congregation to reach particular groups. And, as your church grows, you'll have opportunities to reach even more groups. But you need to start with a target.
I'll be talking about this subject in even more depth at the Purpose Driven Church Conference, May 16-19, but here are some tips to help you start to reflect upon targeting. How to get your community's attention When Jesus spoke, people listened and crowds gathered. If we look to minister in our community like Jesus did, people will come to our churches. How did Jesus do it? He met the needs of the people he met.
I’ll talk more about this at the upcoming Purpose Driven Church conference at Saddleback Church, May 16-19, but these tips will help get you started. Some rules for selecting music Pastors, many ask me what I’d do differently if I could start Saddleback over. That’s easy. I’d put more resources into developing a top-notch music ministry that matched our target. In this article, I’ll share with you a few tips on how to build music into your worship services in a way that is appropriate for spiritual seekers and believers alike. Develop a plan to assimilate members Pastor, you may have a large crowd of attendees on Sunday morning – and still not have a congregation. Your crowd must become a church. To do that, you need an intentional process that moves people who are casually checking out the church into full membership in your congregation. As you assimilate your visitors into the life of your church, you'll need to answer five specific questions that every newcomer to your church is asking. Enhancing your Bible study - verse-by-verse Pastor, if you want to maximize your personal Bible study time, I’ve got a simple suggestion for you: verse-by-verse study. It’s not hard. In fact, you can glean an enormous amount from just five simple steps. Just pick a passage, grab a pen, and follow these procedures. The evangelistic power of worship When unbelievers watch genuine worship, it becomes a powerful witness. On the day of Pentecost, God’s presence was so evident in the disciples' worship service that it attracted the attention of unbelievers throughout the entire city! Acts 2:6 says, “... a crowd came together.”
Why were those 3,000 people converted? Because they felt God’s presence and they understood the message. I believe both of these elements are essential for worship to be a witness. Three ways to apply Scripture Pastor, if you want to make a difference in the lives of your congregation, you have to help them apply God's Word to their lives. The problem is that many of us were taught in seminary how to transmity information about the Bible in our sermons, but not how to help people apply it to their lives. Here are three different methods to finding applications in whatever Scripture you are looking at. The secret of a loving church A church attracts people like a magnet when it really offers love to each other and those who are welcomed into it. You’ll have to lock the doors to keep people out! In the second half of Romans 14, Paul says it’s not enough to just accept – or tolerate – the people you don’t get along with in the church. Instead, he says the secret to building a loving church is to actively build each other up. Here are five ways we can build others up in the church. What to do when you are discouraged Pastors, ministry is tough. It’s tough for all of us. It takes a lot of energy to do everything on our to-do lists. Often the struggles of ministry lead to discouragement. Next time, instead of letting yourself get discouraged, remember why you are doing what you are doing. Understanding your purpose is one of the best cures out there for discouragement. What to do when your church hits a plateau Is your church stuck at a growth plateau? No pastor likes to see his church in a holding pattern. But I've got good news for you! It doesn't have to stay there. It will take work and a lot of time, but you can push past whatever growth plateau your church is stuck at. Here are three tips that are essential for getting over the hump and watching your church grow. Helping your members feel special Your churches should be like functional families, with everyone feeling as if they belong. That won't happen by accident. You'll have to create an environment where new members feel as if you, your staff, and the congregation care about them. Here are a few ideas to get you started. How to communicate your vision Once you've developed a vision for your church, you've got to communicate that vision to your people in order to mobilize them for what God wants to do. It doesn't matter how grand your vision is, if you can't communicate it, the vision will stall. Pastor, here are five ways to communicate your vision to your congregation. An easy method for sharing your faith We'd all like to see our church members become more effective in personal evangelism. If you want a plan that'll communicate with the widest variety of spiritual seekers in your community, you'll need a simple one that isn't weighed down by terms only known in the Christian community. Here's the plan we use at Saddleback. Feel free to use it in your own church context. How to increase baptisms at your church As pastors, we all want to see more people celebrate brand-new relationships with Christ through baptism. Nothing symbolizes life change like it. We’ve baptized more than 20,000 people in the past 26 years at Saddleback. Along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two about giving people an opportunity to make this kind of commitment. Here are some tips to help your church increase its number of baptisms. Studying the Bible topically Pastors, learning to study the Bible topically can help you a great deal as you put together sermons on biblical topics. Digging into the Bible this way will help you and your congregation get a broad view of what the Word says about what you’re dealing with from day to day. And it’s particularly good for new believers who need to know what all of Scripture says about issues they are facing. So pick a topic, grab your Bible, and try these six steps. How God builds you while you are building your ministry God gave you a dream for a reason. Yes, part of that reason is because of what he wants to do through you. But he also gave it to you in order to make you more like Jesus. Our faith is built one step at a time as we go through a six-part process of turning our God-given dreams into reality. Secrets of a fruitful ministry God wants us to have fruitful ministries, so this week I want to show you some principles that will produce a godly fruitfulness in your life. I believe there are four conditions that are essential for a fruitful ministry... |
