Transformation Fueled by the Acts 16:5 Initiative

Reflections from an Acts 16:5 Pastor                                         Part Three

Thomas Presbyterian Church is celebrating a renewed passion for "Glorifying God and Serving Others".   It took fourteen years to transform a "social" congregation based on friendships to a Christ centered congregation united to serve Christ by making disciples, loving each other and serving the greater community around us.

This transformation has been shaped and fueled by our participation in the Acts 16:5 Initiative training four years ago. Furthermore, the principles taught in Stan Ott's materials continue to mold and direct our leadership and 300 member congregation.

Because of the energy from new emerging leaders, we launched  a new outreach event - The Thomas Day of Caring.  We set a goal of engaging 50-75 volunteers in a one day effort to make significant changes in people's lives and homes.  God blessed the vision with a volunteer planning team of eight and 78 volunteers working on eight community projects.  The planning team held to the vision of reaching homeowners that were not members of Thomas Church.  To layer evangelism with meeting human need, we added the following aspects to the day:

1.     At the kick off breakfast, participants were given simple tools for sharing their love of Jesus Christ with the homeowners they helped.

2.     Each participant wore a tee shirt with not only the PCUSA symbol but also our mission statement… "Glorifying God and Serving Others."

3.     Signs were placed in the homeowners' lawns with our vision statement.

4.     Homeowners were invited back to our facility for dinner with the whole team, and one homeowner is now attending worship regularly

There was so much energy and enthusiasm during and after the day, we are making plans for the 2012 Thomas Day of Caring.

v There are Acts 16:5 Principles Just Beginning to be Utilized.

1.     Leaders beginning to  "layer"  REACH aspects of all present programs.

2.     I am launching a new emphasis on faith sharing ... "saying your faith story in 2 minutes."

3.     Hosts with "people-eyes" are now recruited for major outreach events.

By the way, we emerged  from our leadership conflict with renewed strength and faith in God's healing power.  Yes, we lost some members and leaders in the process, but God's renewal has touched every aspect of congregational life.  In 2010-2011 we-

·       Added 27 new members

·       Launched another round of Lenten small groups

·       Increased giving to all time new levels

·       Added new leaders to planning teams

·       Started a parish nurse ministry

·       Renewed Stephen Ministry

·       Started our own Christian preschool

·       Expanded the use of our facilities by the community at large

Jesus Christ has used the Acts 16:5 Initiative to bless his work in and through Thomas Presbyterian Church!  

In Christ - Reverend Linda Jaberg

Praise from a Acts 16:5 Initiative Participant

The major work of the Vital Churches Institute is the Acts 16:5 Initiative bringing fresh vitality to denominational regional areas and to congregations whether they are small or large, flourishing or floundering. 

In his March 3, 2011 blog entry, Michael Kruse describes his own experience attending the launch event of the Acts 16:5 Initiative in the area around Kansas City...

As someone who has read tons on congregational transformation and seen many models come and go, and as someone who spent almost a decade working for transformation in a congregation that finally dissolved, and as someone who has consulted and participated with other struggling congregations, I come with some skepticism toward transformational programs. My impression is that Vital Churches has incorporated the best of what has been learned from previous transformational efforts. I think a key piece they offer that fills a critical gap in other processes is the development of a cohort of congregations who go through the process together with periodic input by a coach over an extended period.

Michael is the chairperson of the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church ((U.S.A.) which is the group that works to implement the policies of the denomination's top governing body, the General Assembly. 

Check out his post: http://www.krusekronicle.com/2011/03/the-acts-165-inititative.html