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A View
from the Summit with
Rev.
Elder Lillie Brock
"What's
Size Got to Do With It?"
 Well, that's a
question the Elders have been asking all year! And
without a doubt, we have discovered that, SIZE has everything to do
with how a church behaves, structures itself and commits itself to
ongoing transformation.
Most
of you know that since December of 2009, the Elders have been
facilitating a 2 day experience for churches that we call The
Church Size Summits. These summits have a two-fold
purpose:
1. To
offer thorough education to churches about Church Size
Theory
2. To do a
thorough assessment of every church and offer one-on-one feedback
and recommendations at the summit
We are
VERY pleased with the level of participation on the part of our
churches and based on the feedback we have received, believe this
is one of the best things that has ever been offered to our
churches by the denomination.
A
few fun facts about the Summits:
� To
date, 72 churches in the U.S. have participated in a Church Size
Summit and a thorough assessment/feedback has been
provided.
� We have
held Church Size Summits in Austin, TX, Tampa, FL, San Francisco,
CA, Kansas City, MO, Detroit, MI and Washington,
D.C.
� November
11-12, 2010, we will hold the final Size Summit for this year in
Las Vegas, NV.
� To
date, 9 churches have invited one of the Elders to come and do
Mini-Size Summits for their congregations.
� A total
of 374 individuals have attended Church Size
Summits.
Key
Things We have Learned:
� The
dynamics of Church Size DEFINITELY explain why our churches are, by
in large, stuck and gives concrete strategies for changing our
trajectory from flat to growing!
� Of the
churches we have assessed, when churches have a Stewardship Program
with 3 key elements present, their per capita giving (per person
per week) is $38.11 and when those key elements are not present,
the per capita giving is $18.68. Do the
math!!!!
� Of the
six key functions of the church, the amount and quality of
programming and required staffing are the two areas
where our churches have the greatest challenges.
� The
collective Congregational Surveys that are part of the assessment
process show clearly that our congregants are hungry for spiritual
growth but perceive that our churches do not make it a
priority.
� The
role of the pastor, depending on size, changes so we must do a
better job of matching the gifts and skill of the pastor with the
appropriate size church.
Plans
for 2011
Since
the Church Size Summits have been so well received, these are our
objectives for 2011:
1. Determine
a way to continue delivering Church Size Summits through 2011 in
North America
2. Explore
the possibilities of doing Church Size Summits outside North
America that are culturally relevant
3. Work
with The Fellowship to determine how Church Size Summits might be
helpful to them if made culturally relevant.
4. Begin a
new series of Summits that serve to offer crucial follow up
information and experiences to the Size Summits.
Summit
Schedules for 2011:
(Look
for final locations and dates to be published
soon)
Church
Size Summits
� January
21-22 - Atlanta, GA
� April -
TBD
� May
13-14 - Toronto, ON
Stewardship
Summits
� June
24-25 - TBD
� September
- TBD
Worship/Programming
Summits
� August
- TBD
� November
- TBD
According
to Arlin Routhage, "Size is the most obvious factor affecting
congregational life!" Please include attendance at
one or more of the summits as you do your planning for
2011!
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