Making Your Church a Vital Congregation

West District of the Indiana ConferenceThe United Methodist Church

Complement to our DNAMembership Vows• Prayers• Presence• Gifts• Service• Witness

5 Vital Signs of Vital Congregations• Disciples engage in

growing their faith• Disciples worship• Disciples give to mission• Disciples engage in

mission• Disciples make new

disciples

Five Fruitful Practices (Imagine Indiana)• Intentional faith

development• Passionate worship• Extravagant generosity• Risk-taking mission and

service• Radical hospitality

Why Vital Congregations?

We have the language and the practices for making disciples in the Five Practices.

We have what it means to be a disciple stated in our membership vows.

Vital Congregations now gives us the tools for being held accountable for making and being disciples.

Vital Congregation Measurements:

# of small

groups

Engaged in growing

their faith = Prayers = Intentional

faith development

Ave worship

attendance

Worship regularly = Presence

= Passionate

worship

$$ given to outreach

Share by giving in mission = Gifts =

Extravagant

generosity

# engaged in mission/ outreach

Engaged in mission = Service = Risk taking

mission

# professions

of faith

Help make new

disciples =

Witness = Radical hospitalit

y

Why set goals?Provide clarity and focus to ministry for the MissionGive the congregation shared vision for the MissionMove the church forward toward the MissionCreate greater accountability of the Mission

Each number represents a soul

TimelineNow

Meet with Leadership TeamSet Goals

TimelineCharge Conference in NovemberJanuary 2012 begin online reporting

VitalSignsUMC.org Share your story and successes Learning best practices from others Peer to peer support and sharing Easy to use and understand Open, accessible and evolving

March – Bishop’s meetingApril – General Conference

Critical DatesYour charge

conference Goals presented

January 2012Reporting begins

online

Every Monday

What is to be reported?# in weekly attendance at worship

service(s)# of Professions of Faith# of Small Groups (including Sunday

school & Bible study)# of people participating in Outreach

locally and globally$$ given toward Mission

Plan for MondaysYou’ll get an email every Monday reminding you to

report your data (Starting 1/2/12)

Talk with key leaders/volunteers/admin staffWho will count and report worship attendance? Who will track the number of Small groups? Who will track the number participating in

missions?How/when will the above be reported?Who will enter the data on Mondays into the Vital

Signs webpage?

How To Set GoalsStart with a time of prayer and discernmentEnter into worship praising God for the

opportunity to participate in God’s Mission.Study the Scripture to see clearly what the

Church is to do and to be. (See next slide)Respond by clarifying where God is already at

work in the church you serve and where God is calling you forward.

Set your four-year goals in each of the five goal areas. (Make the goals realistic yet a stretch)

How to Set Goals, Con’t.Scriptures:

Acts 1:8 – the scope of the MissionActs 2 and the outpouring of the Holy SpiritMatthew - The Great CommissionMatthew - The Great CommandmentMatthew 22:36-40I Corinthians 12 – the church as a healthy bodyEphesians 4:10-13 – all have spiritual gifts from

ChristGalatians 3:26 – all are welcomeMicah 6:8 – God expects righteousness and justice

from God’s people

Action Steps:Establish Action Steps that are SMARTSpecificMeasurableAttainable Relevant Time-framed

Examples of SMART Action Steps Worship Attendance:

(Name) will find at least (number) greeters every week. One will welcome people at the entrance, one will move around the room engaging visitors or newer attendees, proactively helping them as needed, one will___.

(Name) will make contact with every visitor by (when).

(Name) will train the volunteer greeters.All of the above will be done to assist in

reaching our goals for 2012.

SMART ExamplesProfessions Of Faith :

Invitations for professions of faith will be offered at least ____/year from the pulpit and through Sunday School Classes, youth group, and Small Group Bible Studies.

All leaders will be asked to invite any attendees to make a profession of faith and attend confirmation.

Adult and Youth Confirmation/Membership classes will be offered at least (how many times?)

(Name) will evaluate our progress/effectiveness in this area every 3 months and make adjustments as needed.

All of the above will be done to assist in reaching our goals for 2012.

SMART ExamplesSmall Groups/Sunday School/Bible Studies:We will host two 4-week studies as

outreach/discipleship opportunities. One in March on “Relationships” after Valentine’s

Banquet. One in October on “Finances.” Groups will meet in homes or at the church. Guests

will be invited to attend Sunday Worship.(Name) will evaluate progress/effectiveness in this

area every 3 months and make adjustments as needed.

All of the above will be done to assist in reaching our goals for 2012.

SMART ExamplesOutreach in Mission:We will celebrate the outreach we’re currently doing

by having a member share about his/her experience during a Sunday Worship Service each quarter. We will invite our congregation and new members to

participate in at least one outreach event each year.We will participate in the District’s Great Day of

Serving with our cluster in our community.We will ask our congregation for new ideas on

outreach and mission locally, regionally and globally.All of the above will be done to assist in reaching our

goals for 2012.

SMART ExamplesGiving to Mission:We will celebrate the giving we’re currently doing by

having a member share about our mission partners during a Sunday Worship Service each quarter. We will have an article in the church newsletter about

“Your Giving: God’s Work” highlighting where our giving dollars go.

We will have a bulletin board with mission giving opportunities and information.

We will invite (Name)to talk about mission and giving opportunities.

All of the above will be done to assist in reaching our goals for 2012.

Fruit: A Vital CongregationWorship AttendanceProfessions of FaithSmall GroupsMission & OutreachGiving toward Mission

Remember…