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Discovering Your Church’s Story: A Bible StoryIntroduction – Discovering Your Story within God’s Story

Week 1Participants’ Guide

INTRODUCTIONTaking a few minutes find the following items in your wallet or purse. Starting with something that …

You’ve had a long time You’re proud of

Reveals a lot about youReminds you of a fun timeConcerns or worries you.

ANCHORING IN SCRIPTUREAccording to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, the purpose of each local United Methodist congregation is "to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." Effective mission-field congregations are making and supporting disciples in direct ministry in the community and world.

CHARTING YOUR CHURCH’S STORYIt is anticipated that completing this assessment will have these important benefits for your faith community:

Deepened understanding of the mission of a United Methodist church Heightened awareness about how our faith communities engage their

mission fields; Increased commitment to align attitudes, behavior, and resources

towards making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Tell about a time when you felt very proud or excited about your local church's effort to reach out to its community and meet a felt need.

What was going on, what happened, who was involved?

What do you value most about the contributions people made to achieve success?

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When did something not go as well as you thought it would go?

What did you learn from this experience?

Which Biblical story best defines your current status as a congregation? Why? (Choose one)

NEXT STEPSIn what way does your church have impact beyond its own walls? Does your answer to this question give you satisfaction or concern?

If your church disappeared tomorrow what would the impact be on the local community?Join together in reading:

Love never gives up.Love cares more for others than for self.Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.

Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head,Doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always “me first,”

Doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,Doesn’t revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,Puts up with anything,

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Trusts God always, always looks for the best,Never looks back, but keeps going to the end.

From 1 Corinthians 13 in The Message

Discovering Your Church’s Story: A Bible StoryPart A—Engaging Your Mission Field

Week 2Participants’ Guide

If we were writing a 3 chapter book titled ‘Living as Christ Directed,’ what should the title of those 3 chapters be?

ANCHORING IN SCRIPTURE AND WESLEYAN TEACHINGSRead Matthew 22:35-40 and Matthew 25:14-30

How do each of these scriptures relate to engaging in missions?

Which of our chapter titles are directly tied to the commands of Christ in these scriptures?

General Rule of Discipleship

John Wesley’s General Rule of Discipleship instructs us in the life and spiritual formation Christ directed for each believer. It can be summed up with three phrases that are written on your handout.

First by doing no harm, avoiding evil of every kind…; Secondly, by doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as possible,

to all…; Thirdly, by attending to all the ordinances if God.” (Ordinances of

God include worship, ministry of the word, the Lord’s Supper, prayer, scripture reading, and fasting.)

Reuben Job simplified the rule further as “Do no harm; do good; stay in love with God.”

Wesley believed that this rule divided Christian conduct into works of mercy done in relationship with our neighbors and works of piety that grow our personal relationships with God. All these works were to lead to a balanced spiritual life in both private and public practice.

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The contemporary version of the rule is: “To witness to Jesus Christ in the world and to follow his teachings with acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

The Jerusalem cross (Shown on the slide) is a graphic representation of this relationship. Today we are concentrating on the top half. Acts of compassion are actions that alleviate the needs of individuals in need. Act of justice are actions that address the causes of need.

Read: Matthew 9:27-34 Matthew 14:34-36 Mark 2: 1-12

Mark 10:13-16 John 12:44-50

From these instances from the ministry of Christ, what would you conclude about his ministry priorities?

DISCOVERING YOUR MISSION FIELD

Read: Matthew 9:35-36 John 21:15-17

In our world today, who do you think the sheep and lambs are?

CHARTING YOUR CHURCH’S COURSEWhat do you consider to be your congregation’s mission field?

How many people live within your mission field?

What is their average age?

Income level? Family situation (married, single, single-parent households, etc.)? What are the main subcultures?

PRAYER Lord, forgive us where we have done harm….to You….to others….to ourselves.Lord, we give thanks and praise for where we have seen Your goodness…thank you for allowing me to be Your hands and feet in these situations….

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Lord, help me to stay in love with You by spending time with you in these ways….Amen.

Discovering Your Church’s Story: A Bible StoryPart B—Engaging Your Mission Field

Week 3

DEFINING YOUR MISSION FIELD

The mission field of a local faith community is its parish, whether defined geographically or by affinity group. The mission field will change with the context of the local faith community.

ANCHORING IN SCRIPTURERead Luke 10:25-37What does the story of the Good Samaritan teach us about engaging in missions with the unlovely?

CHARTING YOUR CHURCH’S COURSEHow are the demographics and subcultures different than the make-up of your congregation?

How has the faith community shown flexibility in the past 2 years in engaging the mission fields?

What are the top three most pressing needs of people who live within your mission field?

Who, outside of the congregation, has confirmed these as pressing needs?

Which of these needs is your local church most equipped to meet? Give reasons for your choice.

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What else would be needed to begin this as a sent-out ministry? What should be the next step?

ASSESSING YOUR CONNECTION TO THE MISSION FIELD We do our own

thingWe know we’re disconnected

We’re making adjustments to accommodate

and/or invite our mission field

Our ministry reflects and is in touch with our mission field.

1 2 3 4

REFLECTIONWhat are common concerns and misgivings that people have about engaging the local mission field?

How could those concerns be alleviated?

“There are many obstacles to this way of living, and at the top of the list may be my desire to be in control. I like to know where I am going, and I like to know what it will cost to get there. That is why doing all the good I can is such a frightening idea….What if I offer my gift of goodness, small or large, and it is rejected? Suppose I were to seek compromise in conflict and my efforts were ridiculed? What if my efforts were seen as weakness and my concerns were overlooked? What if my gift of goodness was accepted and then misused in ways that are abhorrent to me?The truth is that my gift of goodness may be rejected, ridiculed, and misused. But my desire to do good is not limited by the thoughts or actions of others. My desire to do good is in response to God’s invitation to follow Jesus, and it is in my control. I can determine to extend hospitality and goodness to all I meet. I can decide to do good to all, even to those who disagree with me and turn against what I believe is right and good. And the reward for my doing good is not cancelled or diminished by the response to my acts of goodness. I will have the reward of knowing I did what was right and pleasing to God. I will still be identified, known, and loved as a child of God. What could be a greater reward than this?” Three Simple Rules: The Wesleyan Way of Living by Rueben Job pp.39-41

Wesley’s Covenant PrayerI am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

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Put me to doing, put me to suffering.Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.I freely and heartily yield all things

to thy pleasure and disposal.And now, O glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Mission ReadingsThe Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church—2013. ¶ 104, pages 76-78. Nashville, Tennessee: United Methodist Publishing House, 2013.

Davis, Lindsey. Congregational Health. The Kentucky Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, March 2013. Web. 12 March 2013.

Farr, Bob. Renovate or Die, Ten Ways to Focus Your Church on Mission. Nashville, Tennessee: Abington Press, 2011.

Job, Rueben P. Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living. Nashville, Tennessee: Abington Press, 2009.

Smith, Debra and Harris, Cindy, editors. What Every Teacher Needs to Know About Theology.  Discipleship Resources, Nashville, Tennessee, 2002.

Wallace, Rocky. Wildcard: Servant Leadership and the 21st Century Church, Transforming Communities with the Christ Model.

Mission Information Sources

LocalThe Family Resource and Youth Service Centers: work to alleviate the conditions that keep children from being available for learning. They are excellent sources of realistic information about the needs of their school and children. They can also provide information about other community agencies that serve families with children. Contact your local schools.

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The United Way: maintains a county directory of a wide variety of agencies serving local populations. Connect with your local office through http://www.unitedway.org. Alcoholics Anonymous: http://www.aa.org/ Narcotics Anonymous: fsmail@na.org or 818.773.9999 x771Detention CentersNursing HomesKentucky Drug Court: http://courts.ky.gov/courtprograms/drugcourt/Pages/ContactDrugCourt.aspx

Kentucky Annual ConferenceMissionInsite: community demographic information relevant to missions and ministries.Connectional Café: Online listing of trainings available for local congregations in the Conference. Cost is the presenter’s traveling expenses. Trainings related to missions are included. Videos of some training sessions will be available in the future. Direct contact information for presenters is listed or contact http://www.connectionalcafe.com (1-800-530-7236, ext. 314).

Pathways to Mission: provides information to churches on how to get involved in United Methodist based mission experiences. http://www.kyumc.org/pages/detail/2028

Campus Ministries: Listings and information about Wesley Foundations on Kentucky campuses. http://www.kyumc.org/pages/detail/998

Camps: Information about the UM camping ministries. http://www.kyumc.org/pages/detail/953 Global United Methodist Committee on Relief: a non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating human suffering due to crisis or chronic need in over 80 countries around the globe, including the United States. http://www.umcor.org (1-800-554-8583)

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Discovering Your Church’s Story: A Bible StoryConnecting with Christ

Week 4Participants’ Guide

INTRODUCTIONWhy did you decide to commit to your church?

ANCHORING IN SCRIPTUREPeople come to faith in Jesus in a variety of ways:Paul – (Acts 9) – dramatic, one-time event Lydia (Acts:11-15) – She believed for a time before knowing Christ. More of a slow and gradual over a period of time Philippian jailer (Acts 16:25-34) – in a crisis Timothy (Acts 16:`1-3, 2 Timothy 1:4-7) – grew up in the faith

What do these scriptures tell us about hospitality?Genesis 18:1-8Hebrews 13:2Matthew 25:34-40Deuteronomy 10:19

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Matthew 22:8-10Romans 15:7

CHARTING YOUR CHURCH’S COURSEWhat happens in the first five minutes of someone arriving at your church? What will they see? Who will they meet?

What is your intentional plan of welcoming visitors before the worship service even begins?

What is your plan for welcoming visitors after the service?

What is your church’s follow up plan for your guest?

Why do people need Christ?

Why do people need a church? Why do people need your particular church? How does your church offer what people need?

What does your congregation do to engage, invite, and welcome the unchurched?

What process does your church have in place for introducing new people to Christ?

Do you have opportunities where people have a variety of ways of coming to know Christ?

How many new members were received on Profession of Faith in the last year?

What steps can you take to improve this process for making new disciples?

Who are the people God has laid on your heart to share your story and/or invite to church?

Rate your system of making disciples:We don’t

intentionally make disciples

We’re considering starting a

disciple making

We have parts of a system in place

Disciple making is what we do

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program1 2 3 4

“Gracious God, give me a heart that remembers the strangers who may be in my path today. Help me share your all-encompassing love with them, just as you have shown love to me.” Bishop Robert Schnase, Cultivating Fruitfulness, p. 10

Resources

Schnase, Robert. Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 2007.

Swanson, Roger K. and Shirley F. Clement. Faith-Sharing Congregation. Discipleship Resource, Nashville, TN, 2002.

Discovering Your Church’s Story: A Bible StoryDeveloping Disciples

Week 5Participants’ Guide

INTRODUCTION

What does being a disciple mean to you?

Disciple: One who responds to God’s invitation to follow Christ in community by doing and becoming like Jesus through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

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Is there a difference between being a believer and a disciple?

What does each of these Scriptures tell us about how Jesus “made” disciples?

Matthew 4:18-22

Mark 2:13-14

Matthew 5:1

John 14:15-16

GROUNDING IN SCRIPTURE AND WESLEYAN TEACHING

WESLEYAN THOUGHT ON DISCIPLE-MAKING1. As Methodists we are the beneficiaries of a wonderful heritage. 2. John Wesley and George Whitfield were greatly used of God in the

1700's to bring revival to England. 3. The Wesleyan movement survives today due to the genius of Mr.

Wesley's organizational skills. 4. Through the use of the Societies and Classes he formed everywhere

he went, people who were introduced to the Gospel were supported in their spiritual growth and held accountable for their actions. The early Methodist class meeting was focused on helping people come to know Jesus Christ and learn how to give every part of their lives to loving and serving Christ.

5. The pattern of the meeting was simple – people gave testimony to their experience of God over the past week.

6. The class meeting served to keep every person connected, made sure people were doing all that they could to their journey in grace toward sanctification, and ensure no one was left behind or forgotten.

ASSESSING YOUR CHURCH ON MAKING DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD

How do you incorporate discipleship into each existing small group?

List the groups your church offers in each of these categories:Affinity groupsInformation-driven groups

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Transformation-driven groups

How intentional is your disciple making?

What kind of training do you offer for leadership?

Membership Model Discipleship Model It’s about getting something

for yourself It’s about paying dues It’s about belonging to a

select group with certain privileges

It’s about giving of yourself It’s about stewardship It’s about changing and

shaping lives through God’s grace

REFLECTIONSRate your church’s small group and disciple support system

We have no plans for disciple

support

We’re considering a

disciple support program

We’re starting a disciple support program right

now

We have disciple support in place

1 2 3 4

If we are supposed to be making disciples, what priority does this task have in the allocation of our resources (time, people, money)?

Are you making progress in living out the purpose of making disciples?

What steps will you take to continue to improve your process for making new disciples?

What other small groups does your church need to form to further personal discipleship?

The Prayer of St. FrancisLord, make me an instrument of thy peace;

where there is hatred, let me sow love;where there is injury, pardon’

where there is doubt, faith;where there is despair, hope;

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where there is darkness, light;and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine master,grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console;to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Resources

Covenant Discipleship groups are another resource available for our churches. This is supported by the General Board of Discipleship. "Experience and tradition tell us that disciples make disciples. The Wesleyan tradition provides us with a proven and effective method for disciple-making in the 21st century." This quote comes from the GBOD web site (http://www.gbod.org/leadership-resources/covenant-discipleship) where you can find more information about this ministry under the direction of Dr. Steven W. Manskar, Director, Wesleyan Leadership.

Foss, Michael W. Power Surge: Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church. Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2000.

Watson, Kevin M. The Class Meeting: Reclaiming a Forgotten (and Essential) Small Groups Experience. Seedbed Publishing, 2014.

Discovering Your Church’s Story: A Bible StorySending Disciples Who Are Transforming the World

Week 6Participants’ Guide

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INTRODUCTION

What comes to mind when you hear the word “transform”?

Read Acts 9:1-22. If you had to write a newspaper article title (or make a hashtag for a twitter post) about this story, what would it be?

Read Acts 16 In what ways so we see their world turned up-side-down in this passage?

Decide the extent of your personal involvement in the following areas of the life of your congregation:

Spiritual Formation

Worship and Committees in

the ChurchMission within

the ChurchMission in the

Community

What appears to be this congregation’s strength?

How do individuals in your faith community live out their Christian discipleship in the world?

How does your faith community facilitate engagement of members in responding to the hurts and hopes of persons in the mission field?

How many individuals participate in direct service missions outside your community?

Inside the church?

Other than giving money to other organizations, what success stories can you share about how your congregation is involved in mission beyond its walls?

REFLECTIONS

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Rate your congregation’s success at engaging people in direct ministries of transforming the world.We give money

but aren’t directly involved

in transformational

missions

We have a few who are directly

involved in transformational

missions

Many are involved in

transformational missions

Most are involved in

transformational missions

1 2 3 4

Resources for this section:Hamilton, Adam. Leading Beyond the Walls. Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 2002.

McNeal, Reggie. Missional Communities: The Rise of Post-Congregational Church. Jossey- Bass, 2011.

McNeal, Reggie. This Present Future. Jossey- Bass, 2003.

Quinn, Robert E. Changing the World: How Ordinary People can Accomplish Extraordinary Results. Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Swanson, Eric and Rick Rusaw. The Externally Focused Quest. Jossey-Bass, 2010.

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STUDY CONCLUSIONParticipants’ Guide

Review your previous rankings:We do our own

thingWe know we’re disconnected

We’re making adjustments to accommodate

and/or invite our mission field

Our ministry reflects and is in touch with our mission field.

1 2 3 4

We don’t intentionally

make disciples

We’re considering starting a

disciple making program

We have parts of a system in place

Disciple making is what we do

1 2 3 4

We have no plans for disciple

support

We’re considering a

disciple support program

We’re starting a disciple support program right

now

We have disciple support in place

1 2 3 4

We give money but aren’t

directly involved in

transformational missions

We have a few who are directly

involved in transformational

missions

Many are involved in

transformational missions

Most are involved in

transformational missions

1 2 3 4

Rank overall where your congregation would fall in its overall involvement in the mission field, connecting with Christ, developing disciples, and sending them into the worldWon’t leave the

buildingAt the doorstep On the sidewalk Walking

alongside the community in

direct to community need

1 2 3 4

Is your study group comfortable/satisfied with where your faith community is along this spectrum?

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Is it your perception that the entire faith community would agree with your assessment?

Is there a desire within your faith community to move to the next step?

What do you think it will take to do this? List specific steps you could take.