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Is your church facing a period of change? Are you overwhelmed with too much to do? Or are you searching for a new vision? If you are looking to take your church in a new direction, then How to Develop Your Local Church can help you decide which path to follow.
Written by an experienced practitioner, it will help you to understand your congregation better: how it operates, what its members take for granted, what their priorities are and what the 'character' of the congregation is.
The book then explains some of the reasons for frustration and conflict in church life, and points to positive ways forward, giving guidance on planning and decision-making. Just as no two churches are the same, there is no 'one-size-fits-all' answer to how your church might develop. Rather, it is only by drawing upon the collective wisdom of the local congregation that worthwhile change will begin to happen.
DISCOVERING OUR PRACTICAL WISDOM
1 Our story: Discovering and interpreting our identity 3
2 Numbers make a difference: Changing size is not
straightforward 16
3 The purposes of local churches: Balancing potential rivalries 33
4 Our outlook on the world: Not everyone sees things the
way we do 56
5 Stages on a life cycle: Planning for inevitable change 70
6 The importance of home: Reasons for choosing a local
church 90
7 Our context limits us and gives us scope: Some other
important factors which make us unique 103
Part 2
WORKING WITH OUR PRACTICAL WISDOM
8 Wisdom and development: Genuine wisdom is always
ready to learn 117
9 Wisdom is a way of life: Creating conditions which
encourage shared learning 134