Reformation%20of%20the%20Multipoint%20Parish%20Doesn't%20Have%20to%20Be%20Scary!

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Reformation of the Multipoint Parish Doesn't
Have to Be Scary!
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Overview of Day

• Dwelling in the Word
• Types of Multiple Point Parishes
• History and Community
• Leadership in Multipoint Parishes
• Forming, Strengths, and Challenges of Mutliple
  Point arrangements
• Importance for Community

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Multipoint Ministry Positives

• Sense of shared ministry and mission
• Shared parish council with representation of all
  partners
• Opportunities for staff fulfilling specialized
  ministries
• Youth, music, education, nurse, others
• Shared visitation

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Multipoint Ministry Positives

• Efficiency in sermon preparation
• Coverage during days off, vacation
• Need for development of lay ministry
• Congregations have own council
• Congregations retain property and
  congregation-specific ministries
• Shared office supplies, secretarial services

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Multipoint Ministry Positives

• Perhaps increased financial viability for some of
  the partners
• May allow presence of Christian worship and
  witness longer than if not in place

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Multipoint Ministry Challenges

• Independent congregational attitude
• Past rivalry of congregations and communities
• Defining shared mission
• Budgeting and Assessments
• Perceived unequal treatment
• Scheduling of preaching circuit, on-call, council
  attendance, etc.

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Multipoint Ministry Challenges

• Different congregational traditions in worship
• Wanting our pastor
• Where pastors live, parsonages
• Congregation size incongruence
• Between congregations
• Affecting Staff

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Multipoint Ministry Challenges

• Hidden surprises
• Parsonage repair
• Endowment fund
• Conflict within ministry team
• Pastoral transitions
• Taking seriously Gods preferred and promised
  future

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Multipoint Agreements

• Who is lead/administrative pastor?
• Are calls coterminous?
• What is the funding plan?
• Based on membership? Attendance? Other?
• What is each congregations percent of parish
  budget?
• How is plan adjusted? How often? What criteria

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Multipoint Agreements

• How is parish council membership defined?
• Equal representation? Proportional
  representation?
• Terms
• How elected? Same process in all congregations?
• How parish council reports to congregations

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Multipoint Agreements

• What are shared parish expenses?
• Is there a central office?
• Where will pastor(s) live?
• How is worship schedule approved?
• How is parish budget approved?

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• Important to attend to these because multipoint
  parishes can model community our identity as
  missional people of God
• Overcoming competition
• Acceptance of others
• Working on shared vision and mission
• Stewardship, sharing resources beyond ourselves
• Concern for and support of wider community beyond
  ourselves

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Questions

• What have been best practices, or what has
  worked well in multipoint arrangements in your
  context?
• What are the biggest challenges to multipoint
  arrangements in your context?
• What is the biggest priority to address in a
  multipoint arrangement in your context?

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• Participate in missio Dei, what God is doing, by
  being sent into the world to actually touch
  people with service and gospel of forgiveness,
  acceptance, and hope
• John 13 12-15
• plane incident

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• Do this to show Gods grace and power in Jesus
  Christ
• II Corinthians 4 7-12
• Cracked pots

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• Participate in missio Dei for sake of the world
• John 12 27-33
• LBJ and helicopter

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• This is heart of reformation and ministry all
  people know promises of God in Jesus Christ
• Will do and say some crazy things
• Will do and say them because they are true