Step 2: Begin where you are

Implement an Effective Strategy

Starting Out

When lost in London a few years ago I eventually overcame my embarrassment to ask directions from a local. The joking reply came

“Well I wouldn’t start from here” – not very helpful!

A first task is to honestly asses where we really are in our church life and mission. Knowing where we are means we can then plan simple achievable steps.

Exercise:

Try Mapping Our Galilee Exercise:
On the linked map list all the people and organisations that your church has regular contact with.

What Do You Mean By Growth?

Many people find counting numbers – in services, congregations etc – demoralising and difficult.

Are Numbers Important?

Question: “What is God’s favourite number?”

Answer “One; because every-one counts”

Every-one is a valuable human being loved by God who could be experiencing His blessing and wholeness – so numbers are important, but they are not everything. In LyCiG we long to see growth in the number of ‘ones’ (Numerical Growth), but also growth in every-one’s depth of relationship with God (Spiritual Growth), and growth in every-one’s impact in our world (Missional Growth).

The 4 Ps of an Effective Strategy

Most churches already do some of these – including a combination of all 4 is a very effective path to see growth in your church.

Prayer (for growth)
Presence
Proclamation
Persuasion

Each one is a stage along the journey of faith for someone.

A really helpful exercise is the Eggs In Basket exercise at the end of this section – it will help you see how you are currently spending your time and resources and spot any gaps on the journey that might be worth filling. But before doing that you need to have an idea what each P – means…

Prayer:

Praying for growth in lots of different ways in your church.

See Step 1: Prayer

Presence:

Events, services and just being there in the community. Our church building are often prominent ‘presences’ as our activities undertaken like foodbanks, toddler groups etc.

Presence is a lot about building relationship and caring for people (who are not church members, we’ll consider them in Step 5).

Exercise: List as many ways your church has ‘presence’.

Examples of Presence

Website and social media
Weddings, christenings and funerals
Vicar in clerical collar
Foodbanks
Parents/Carers and Toddlers group
A good school ministry
(use resources like 'open the book' etc. and provide training)
'Open Church'
A coffee morning in the church where those who might feel socially isolated can come for a hot drink and either meet others or just read the paper (provided) in a welcoming environment.
Uniformed groups
Lunch and breakfast clubs
Church building and your noticeboards including banners
Involvement in other community groups
Litter picking
Volunteering in local park

Proclamation:

At Easter in our services we ‘proclaim’ “He is Risen” – as well as reminding ourselves of the good news of the resurrection we are informing others of the amazing truths of the Christian faith. Christmas, Harvest, All Souls, even funerals can incorporate appropriate proclamation.

Suggested proclamation events

A social event in a pub or coffee shop with an opportunity to share the Gospel (for example you might have a quiz and tehn get a guest speaker in to share their testimony etc.)
Messy Church or Family Service (these can also be 'persuasion' events - it depends on the feel.
Major Festivals (Christmas services, Easter, Harvest etc.)
Mission Weekends - Planned events over a weekend culminating in a great seeker-friendly Sunday service.
Events around foood and/or drink (chocolate tasting, gin evenings, craft beers, pizzas etc.)
Proclamation events especially aimed at men or women.
Music night - link teh Gospel to contemporary music.
BBQs and dinner parties.

Persuasion:

This is not bible bashing unwilling onlookers but respectful conversation with people who have expressed a genuine interest in faith. It can happen one to one but usually is most effective in an organised way.

See Step 3 – Practice Fruitful Evangelism for more ideas

Suggested persuasion events

Small groups for men, women or young people.
One-to-one visits
Confirmation course
Running an enquirers course (Start, Alpha, Pilgrim...)
'If you could ask God one question what would it be?'
Apologetics evening

Complete the following exercise: You have 12 eggs and 4 baskets representing Prayer for Growth, Presence, Proclamation, and Persuasion. Divide the eggs into the baskets according to how your church currently devotes its time, energy and resources. No Half-Eggs!

Next step