This past weekend, three
other pastors and I facilitated a consultation weekend at Bakers Mills
Wesleyan Church. This church, which was
founded in 1881, has had multiple life cycles, but for the past 20 years has
been on a plateau in their growth. The community
has changed over the years as young people have left for jobs and the Adirondack
families have gotten smaller. However we
found a resolute band of believers eager to reach the township of Johnsburg for
Christ.
The Saturday training
session was very exciting and on Sunday, close to 60 people gathered in the
worship center to hear the prescription that follows. This morning I heard from pastor Chris that
there had been nothing but positive response and that the people were eager to
see what God has in store for them. So following
are the strengths, concerns and prescription for the 18th church to
go through this process.
As I write that, it seems
impossible. Eighteen of our churches
over the last two years have experienced consultations/interventions that have
refocused and recaliberated them to be community-impacting, life-changing
churches. We have two other consultations
scheduled for late winter. Then we will
wait to see if God opens the doors in other district churches to go through this
process.
By the way, our church in Hague, now known as Lakeside Regional
Church moved their service to Ticonderoga yesterday. They met in a motel ballroom—216 strong. This was a record attendance for this
church. Pastor Skip reported that 31
individuals had filled out cards indicating interest in receiving Christ as
personal Saviour. The whole move to
reach Hague, Ticonderoga, and points north is a direct result of the
prescription they received closed to 18 months ago.
Yesterday the Forest Dale Wesleyan
Church in VT dedicated their facility upgrades.
Pastor John McDonald reports that approximately $80,000 worth of work
was done with the cost to the church being only $60,000. A nice children area, a pastors office, an
enlarged parking lot, a restroom on the main floor of the church and an
enhanced nursery are a few of the things that were accomplished. Sixty people were present for the dedication. We salute pastor John and his people who have
joyfully and courageously stepped up in an effort to reach their community for
Christ.
Now here is the report for
Bakers Mills. Enjoy.
BAKERS MILLS WESLEYAN CHURCH
CONSULTATION REPORT
DECEMBER 7-9, 2012
STRENGTHS
1.
Pastor
and Spouse - Pastor Chris Taylor and his
wife Lisa have been embraced by this congregation since their arrival one year
ago. Many spoke of the spiritual
progress and growth they have experienced under Pastor Chris' ministry. His teaching is greatly appreciated and his
impact on the community is noticeable.
Lisa is developing the growing children's ministry and is building a
team to assist her. Her volunteer work at
the school is also building bridges into the community.
2.
New
People - Over the last few months there has been an influx of new people
checking out BMWC. Some of them are
staying. The enthusiasm, energy and
ideas that they are bringing are exciting.
This younger cadre of attendees can only add positive momentum to the
ministry of making more disciples for Jesus Christ and impacting the township
of Johnsburg.
3.
Children's
Ministry - A year ago only a handful of
children attended BMWC. Today there can
be up to eighteen boys and girls in children's church. Other weekday ministries are in the planning
stage. As the number of children
continues to grow more and more young families will be exposed to the message
of Jesus Christ.
4.
Bridge
Events - During the past year the congregation has been amazed to see large
crowds attend the Easter Extravaganza and the Back Yard Bash. The success of these events brings hope that
BMWC, although off the beaten path, will be able to generate a steady flow of
guests that will feed the growth of the church.
5.
Faithful
Core Group - Although the church has been on a plateau for the past twenty
years, a steady core group has kept the doors open and bathed the ministry in
prayer expecting that God would hear and bless.
Is it possible that the sense of the Holy Spirit we are experiencing is
the forerunner of a spiritual revival in this area?
CONCERNS
1.
Vision/Mission
- Although the vision process is underway the entire congregation must
understand and embrace reaching the seven hamlets for Christ. Touching people with the love of Christ and
leading people to a relationship with Christ must be the work of this
congregation.
2.
Facilities
- The buildings are old and tired.
Although the old timers have become accustomed to the building and
grounds as they are, new comers and those who view the facilities through fresh
eyes immediately see maintenance and decor issues that need to be addressed.
3.
Ministries - The newly launched children's
ministry, though effective, will soon outgrow its area. As this ministry continues to expand it must
be leveraged to reach young families in the target area. Also, the grow groups
are in need of leaders who have been trained to start small groups of all kinds
(Bible study, prayer, service and affinity) in hamlets all over the township.
4.
Assimilation
- Although progress has been made in greeting and member care, more attention
needs to be given to follow up and retention of guests.
5.
Structure/Leadership
Development - In order to reach more souls for Christ the structure of the
church must be modified. In addition,
the pastor must see leadership development and deployment as a priority.
PRESCRIPTIONS
1.
Vision/
Mission - The pastor will lead the congregation in a day of solemn
assembly. The congregation will seek
God's forgiveness for not being intentional in its efforts to reach their
community for Christ. The congregation
will acknowledge the tendency for inward-focused and self-centered approach to
"church." Following this
service prayer drives throughout the seven hamlets region will be conducted for
the purpose of opening the eyes of the church to see the needs of the
area. This service will take place by
Jan. 20, 2013.
The two vision numbers
that the leaders have proposed will be adopted by the entire congregation and
strategic plans will be made to reach them.
The pastor will appoint a launch team that will be trained and empowered
to plan monthly services in North Creek.
Beginning in September 2013 the church will move their services to rented
facilities in North Creek (one Sunday a month for six months) This experiment will allow the leaders to
ascertain the viability of reaching the region from this more populated
base.
A name change to reflect the
broader regional target will be made. In
an effort to get to know leaders in education, safety, government, etc., Pastor
Chris will collect the names of community leaders and schedule fact finding
meetings with them. He will now consider
himself the pastor of the region and not just of BMWC. These meetings will be ongoing and never
ending! During 2013 the pastor will lead
the church in four bridge-building events.
"Next date" follow up plans will be in place before the bridge
events take place.
2.
Facilities
- The rusted front doors will be replaced by March 1, 2013. Outdoor lighting will also be
installed by then. As you enter the
church the closet to the right will be removed giving unhindered access to the
"Adirondack Room”. This space was formerly the
fellowship hall/adult Sunday School room.
This room will be remodeled with new ceiling and recessed lights,
wainscoting and hardwood floors, fireplace and Adirondack furniture. It is anticipated that this room will be used
as a foyer on Sunday morning where folk mix and mingle before church and
between services. It will also serve as
an Internet Cafe during the week where children can come to do homework and
have access to Wi-Fi and where adults can gather for fellowship. The current nursery will be outfitted as the
kitchen, enabling the hospitality team to serve cafe style into the new lovely Adirondack
Room, as well as to serve into the worship center for banquets and holiday
meals. Bathrooms will be upgraded with
modern colors and flooring. The current
kitchen will become the entrance into the new children's center.
Located in a modular that will be located behind the Sunday
School wing, this center will house a state of the art nursery and spacious
open Children's Church areas. Attention
will be given to details that will enhance the children's learning experience—big-screen
TV, child-sized furniture, learning centers and craft area. Doors
will open to the pavilion and play area. One cannot add too many light fixtures
to these areas. Understanding the
magnitude of these tasks, the team will urge the congregation to immediately
and aggressively raise funds for these projects. If the projects become stalled, the leadership
should consider a short-term loan since ongoing projects hanging over the
congregation's head will be de-motivating.
Mid summer is the target time for completion.
A parsonage-enhancement team will be appointed by January
15, 2013. They will regularly contact
the parsonage family to determine if repairs or upgrades to the parsonage are
needed. (The church is not the only old
building on the property!) On the day
that this report is adopted, if it is adopted, the district vision fund will
cut a check for $1,000.00 to be used by the pastor's spouse for kitchen
upgrades.
3.
Ministries
- Once the new space is available, a
room for babies and young mothers must be made available. Rocking chairs, changing tables, video feed
from the worship center etc. will tell all that babies are important. If no babies attend, the nursery attendant
will spend the worship hour praying that God will send babies to bless this
ministry.
By September 15, 2013, a midweek
children's club will be launched. This
may be a release time or a kids’ club, but it must focus on reaching young
families for Christ. Two bridge events in 2013 will be
sponsored by this ministry with next date events to follow. Each person in the church will prayerfully
consider ministering in this area.
By January 1, 2014 there will be at least one grow group in
each of the seven hamlets. This means
that additional leaders and homes will need to be found. Some of these group leaders are not yet in
the congregation; however, even as you
read this, God is at work preparing their hearts and planting a desire within
them to be a part of the vision of BMWC.
4.
Assimilation
- Additional members of the assimilation team will be appointed by February 15,
2013. This team will visit Hadley-Luzerne
Wesleyan or Fusion Community on a Sunday to interact with and observe an
assimilation team in action. They will
obtain and implement to the best of their ability the Nelson Searcy
assimilation system. This system
includes tracking first- and second-time guests as well as the retention rate
for both. The team will aid the pastor
in beginning a "Starting Point Cafe", an event designed to aid newcomers
in getting involved.
5.
Structure/Leadership
Development - The team heard the cry for more individuals to be committed and
to get involved. To facilitate this, the
pastor will begin a leadership development coaching network by Feb. 1, 2013. The District Superintendent will facilitate
the first two coaching events. This will include members of the North Creek
Launch Team, members of the Staff Ministry Team and other potential leaders
selected by the pastor. This coaching
time will be a priority for those selected.
If this opportunity is treated lightly the slot will be given to someone
more interested. The ministry team or
staff is made up of directors of different ministries appointed by the
pastor. This team meets monthly for
accountability, planning and brainstorming.
These individuals are given responsibility and authority for their
ministries. They are also held
accountable for their area.
The LBA will be comprised of four members plus the
pastor. Policies, Procedures and Budgets
are their focus. In addition, they will
hold the pastor accountable in finances, morality, human resources, theology
and legal issues. If the pastor gets out
of bounds in any of these areas it is their responsibility to throw a flag and
deal with the issue.
A coach for the pastor is recommended by the district and
provided by the church. This will aid
the pastor as he leads in implementing the changes called for in these
prescriptions. It is expected that the
pastor will lead the congregational leaders in raising funds for the items
called for in this report. It is further
expected that if adopted, each family in the congregation will prayerfully
consider a generous gift in addition to their tithes and offerings to help make
this vision a reality.
THOSE WHO
REGULARLY ATTEND THE CONGREGATION WILL VOTE TO EITHER ACCEPT OR REJECT THIS
REPORT AND ITS PRESCRIPTIONS BY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2013. IF ACCEPTED THE DISTRICT WILL DO ALL IN ITS
POWER (WITH ITS LIMITED RESOURCES) TO HELP THE PASTOR AND CONGREGATION IMPLEMENT
THE PRESCRIPTIONS. IF REJECTED THE
PROCESS IS OVER SINCE THE CONGREGATION HAS SPOKEN.
Submitted
by:
Rev. Paul
James
Rev.
Andrew Fetter
Rev. Paul
Barna
Rev.
Rusty Bissell
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