“thinSlice” is a blog that I share my notes and highlights of chapters from books I have read.
Some slices are thinner than others.
Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates
of Hades will not overpower it.
~ Jesus, Matthew 16:18 nasb
Clarity > Movement > Alignment > Focus
“thinnestSlice” - The Theology of Gates - Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates
of Hades will not overpower it.
When it is all said and done we win!!!!
The question is, how much will we win by? How big of a dent in the gates of hell will we make? Will we run up the score? Will we push the movement of the gospel forcefully through the gates of hell?
Story 1: Immanuel
Immanuel Baptist Church (IBC) is vibrant, alive, and growing. Tony Cecil is the pastor of IBC.
Clarity at Immanuel
Tony gathered a group of godly leaders in his church.
Tony and the group chose to describe their discipleship focus as a process. They call it Connecting, Growing, Serving. First, Immanuel seeks to connect people to God and others. They desire to see people become “connecting believers.” Next they challenge “connecting believers” to become “growing believers” by engaging in opportunities for deeper spiritual growth. Finally, the process ends with “growing believers” committing to become “serving believers.”
thinnerSlice - See the book for the detail story of Immanuel.
Movement at Immanuel
They use their Sunday morning worship services to make “connecting believers.” The worship service is designed to bring people into a relationship with God and other Christians.
People are intentionally moved from the “connecting believer” level to the “growing believer” level. There is a clear overlap between the worship service and the next step. The overlap promotes movement. Without an overlap people fall through the cracks.
Alignment at Immanuel
Since Immanuel is not a large church, there is not a myriad of ministries to align. The primary ministries at Immanuel are the age-specific ministries to children and teenagers. Both the children’s and the youth ministry use the same simple process: connect, grow, and serve.
Focus at Immanuel
They have chosen to focus all energies and resources into a simple process that is clearly defined and moves people.
Fringe Benefits at Immanuel
· Increase morale.
· Urgency. There is an ever-increasing sense of urgency in moving people into spiritual maturity.
· Conversions. We’ve seen a significant increase in adult conversions and baptisms.
· Stewardship improved.
· Unity – overall unity was strengthened.
Story 2: Christ Fellowship
Christ Fellowship is a multicultural church consisting of more than seventy nationalities. Rick Blackwood is the senior pastor, and Eric serves as his executive pastor.
There are lots of programs and events, and many people are happy or should I say, comfortable.
However, at Christ Fellowship, God assembled a team of pastors and leaders who were not satisfied. They sought to define the kind of disciple their church was seeking to make.
God impressed on their hearts to focus people on four things: an intimate relationship with God, community with others, serving, and influencing nonbelievers.
Clarity at Christ Fellowship
They committed to one statement that features their simple process: Connect to God, others, ministry, and the lost. Christ Fellowship's purpose is their process.
During staff and leadership meetings, the process takes center stage.
Movement at Christ Fellowship
The first step in the process is to connect to God. During the weekend worship services people are able to begin or deepen their relationship with Christ.
The second step in the process is to connect to others and that is done through small groups.
The third step in the process is to connect to ministry and minister to others in tangible ways. People are challenged to join a team that is engaged in ministry they are passionate about.
The final step in the process is to connect to the lost. At Christ Fellowship, this step is not a program but a relational lifestyle. People are challenged to invite friends and families to church. is
To facilitate movement to ministry, people are challenged to test-drive a ministry. A test-drive is serving once.
Alignment at Christ Fellowship
Alignment is evident at Christ Fellowship. The children’s, middle school, high school, and young adult departments have the same process.
Children, middle school, and high school ministries provide their own Connect to God worship experience. They are offered every time an adult worship service occurs. Each age-specific department also offers small groups on Wednesday nights to connect their group to others. Each department also provides ministry opportunities for their specific age groups.
Focus at Christ Fellowship
Eliminating programs that did not fit became necessary to maximize the impact of the process.
Over a two-year period, the church-wide Sunday night worship service was eliminated. And home groups, discipleship groups were combined into one small-group strategy. All groups were placed under the same leadership and philosophy.
Christ Fellowship made many changes to foster their process.
“thinnerSlice” - See the book for details of North Point's simple process.
"7 Practices of effective ministry" is a great place to discover how to assemble a simple but effective ministry.
Now What
You have been introduced to the simple revolution. It is now time to become a simple church.
—Group Discussion Questions—
- Why is it much easier to begin as a simple church than it is to become one?
- What is the relationship between focus and excellence in ministry?
- Of the four simple church elements—clarity, movement, alignment, and focus—which will be the most difficult to implement? Why?
- What does the movement of the gospel look like in our community?
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