Shifting to a Missional Culture

1
Shifting to a Missional Culture

• The Story of First CRC Hamilton

2
Shifting Our Identity

• Forming a Missionary Identity
• Preaching the Biblical Story
• Forming a dynamic understanding of the
• Triune Gods kingdom mission
• Israel's special role in the Gods kingdom
  mission
• Jesus' special role in Gods kingdom mission
• Churchs special role in Gods kingdom mission
• A missionary people existing to serve the
  purposes of its missionary God.

3
Shifting Our Essence

• Mission as Essence of the Church
• Preaching the Contemporary Testimony

Following the apostles, the church is
sent1sent with the gospel of the
kingdom2to make disciples of all nations,to
feed the hungry,3and to proclaim the assurance
that in the name of Christ4there is
forgiveness of sin and new lifefor all who
repent and believeto tell the news that our
world belongs to God.
4
Shifting Our Essence

• In a world estranged from God,where millions
  face confusing choices,this mission is central
  to our being,5for we announce the one name
  that saves.We repent of leaving this work to a
  few,we pray for brothers and sisterswho suffer
  for the faith,and we rejoice that the
  Spirit6is waking us to seeour mission in
  God's world.

5
Shifting Our Essence

• The Spirit thrusts1God's people into worldwide
  mission.He impels young and old,2men and
  women,to go next door and far away3into
  science and art,media and marketplacewith the
  good news of God's grace.The Spirit goes before
  them and with them,4convincing the world of
  sinand pleading the cause of Christ.

6
Role of Leadership (1999-2004)

• Creating Momentum
• Leadership Retreat (May 2001)
• Outgrowing the Ingrown Church by Jack Miller
• 6 Core Commitments
• To be an all-embracing fellowship that provides a
  nurturing home for people of all ages.
• To be a welcoming and enfolding church.
• To be involved in outreach and the needs of its
  community.
• To have a praise-filled joyful, and flexible
  worship service.
• To be a "kid-friendly" church in its whole
  ministry.
• To be devoted to prayer.

7
Role of Leadership (1999-2004)

• Attached working groups to each core commitment
• Fellowship Alpha, Small Groups, Renewal
• Welcome New People, Propaganda, Pathways
• Youth Patch existing and starting new programs
• Outreach Priming the Outreach Pump
• Outreach Director
• Ministry to Mentally Ill
• Foundation and ICMC
• Worship Taskforce on blended worship
• Prayer Prayer Coordinator, Dunamis training

8
Role of Leadership (1999-2004)

• Key Lessons in Leadership
• Pain of resisting power brokers
• Power of personally embodying mission
• Story of The Angel
• Power of group process
• Place of functional structures
• communication strategies
• character core staff

9
Role of Leadership (2005-2006)

• Articulating and Owning as Leaders
• Missional Core Values
• Mission/Vision
• Strategies/Goals
• Structures
• Staffing
• Space
• Communicating to the Congregation

10
Ministry Core Values

• Anticipating Gospel Change
• Personal Changewe expect the Gospel to change us
• Corporate Changewe expect the Gospel to change
  our families and our congregation
• City Changewe expect the Gospel to change our
  city
• Ripple effect of GospelGospel Changes Everything

11
Ministry Core Values

• 2. Accountability
• Concern for nominal church members
• Clear expectations and responsibilities for
  church members
• Members have clear expectations of the church
• Relationships of accountability are fostered

12
Ministry Core Values

• 3. Authenticity
• Show authenticity in faithReal, not Religious
• Authentic with one anotherHonesty and
  transparency
• Act authentically in the worldOur message is
  validated by our actions in the community

13
Ministry Core Values

• 4. Active Discipleship
• Teach to obey not simply to know
• Encourage and celebrate spiritual disciplines
• Intentional Praying community
• Immersed in the biblical story and identifying
  our place in it

14
Ministry Core Values

• 6. Apostolic Living
• A people sent on a mission
• A people scattered in the public square
• City PositiveSent to renew the city

15
Ministry Core Values

• 7. Agency of Release
• Success defined not by growth in numbers, but by
  ability of church to release members into
  ministry
• Capacity to release vs. ability to retain
• Give awaypeople, resources, make new disciples,
  birth new congregations
• Intentional Leadership Development

16
Ministry Core Values

• 8. Advocate Kingdom Cooperation
• Partner with Others in Community
• Promote Unity between churches in Kingdom Mission
• Equip members for Kingdom-vocation in all areas
  of life

17
Ministry Core Values

• 9. Alternative Community
• Corporate witness that is a sign and foretaste of
  the Kingdom of God
• Embrace the mentally ill
• Walk with the poor
• Pursuing justice and mercy
• Exist separate from and for the sake of the city

18
Ministry Core Values

• 10. Acting on Purpose
• We know and live out of our purpose
• We analyze and assess all our practices based on
  achieving our purpose
• We let go of that which does not serve our
  purpose

19
Mission Why exist?

• We are a missional mother church that exists to
  serve the sons and daughters of our community
  embracing one another in love, forming authentic
  disciples of Jesus, and being sent by the Spirit
  to renew our city and the worldall for the
  Fathers glory.

20
We will see the emergence of an ethnically
diverse church worshipping in many places across
the city of Hamiltona church deeply investing in
its communities engaging its culture and seeing
the gospel transform peoples lives, their
families, and their neighbourhoods. We will see
other churches planted in other cities across
Canada and other countries around the world.
21
Our Basic Strategy

• Embrace (embracing each other in love)
• Enfolding (Non-Christians, Inactives, Student
  Members, Transfers)
• Outreach

22
Our Basic Strategy

• Form (forming authentic disciples of Jesus)
• Worship
• Discipleship and Leadership (Children, Youth,
  Adult Discipleship, Prayer, Leadership
  Development)
• Pastoral Care (Small Groups, Pastoral Counseling,
  Inactives, Seniors, Crisis)
• Diaconal Ministry

23
Our Basic Strategy

• Send (and being sent by the Spirit to renew our
  city and the world)
• Outreach
• Church-planting
• Missions

24
Role of Leadership (2005-2006)

• Continuing to Work Out the following on basis of
  core values, mission, vision
• Structures
• Staffing
• Space
• Continue communicating to the Congregation
• Continuing to love one another in midst of
  differences