Vision 2010

As promised on Sunday night in church - here is a more detailed respsonse and commentary on the Vision 2010 plans and survey feedback:

Key Feedback

• The majority of people - whatever their personal feelings - can see the logic and the necessity behind the change.
• A large number of people are excited and enthused about the possibilities for 2010.
• A significant number of people - are concerned about the notion of a "split" in the congregation, for two reasons;

1. a loss of current relationships
2. segregation of age groups is seen as unattractive/harmful/unwise/exclusive.

Addressing the Feedback

• All change is loss. Depending on the magnitude of the change itself and the nature of the individual - this loss will be felt with varying degrees of intensity. If we do make changes to our congregation - we need to recognise this - and grieve as is appropriate.
• All change has the potential to be energising, exciting, enthusing, empowering. This will again depend on the nature of the change and the individual involved.
• Our experience and that of others - tells us that 6pm is unlikely to grow (numerically) beyond its current size. Thus (it seems to me) a "do nothing" approach - is a decision not to grow in any significant or dramatic way. More than that it seems to me a largely selfish decision - "I am happy with what I have - and am not prepared to change. Even if this means others might miss out on hearing of Jesus".

My Concern
I long for people who are currently cut-off from God - to hear of Christ - and turn to him as Lord and Saviour. I long for Christians to grow in maturity and are strengthened in their faith. I do not see these as mutually exclusive - but rather as compatible goals.
My concern is for "all" people (whatever demographic they fall into) to hear of Christ and grow in Him.

My Approach
Personally - I am not a "sit back and do nothing" kind of a guy - I would rather take a risk, try something new, see what happens, fail if I have to, succeed if I can.
Now - given my current ministry amongst St Alban's - it seems to make sense to use this as a starting point for my efforts. At our evening congregation we have a significant proportion of keen committed young workers - amongst whom an enterprising ministry could commence (read: missional church-plant). Young workers strike me as a particularly interesting demographic to try and reach with the gospel - they are busy (with work and play), highly connected in social (rather than geographic) networks, hedonistic and while they have made many big life decisions - they are still open to thinking about life - its meaning and significance (and hence God).
It also seems to me that this group has an awareness of the need for older role models in their life. We see this a professional level (e.g. mentoring) but also a need for this at a personal level (e.g. how do I be a good husband when my only model is of divorced parents?)

Workers and Students
Thus far - in discussing Vision 2010 - we have spoken of the 5pm service as a "workers" service. Our view has been that this helps to:

1. define our target market (who we are trying to reach) as this will impact everything we do.
2. opens the door to some older workers (from our morning congregations) - to join us.
3. makes the decision about "which congregation to go to" easier (rather than having to visit both for a number of months before a decision can be made).

In speaking about workers - let's be clear on the difference between "target" and "market". A target is who you aim at in terms of what you are offering, the market is who actually takes up what you are offering. If you look at all 3 services they are targeted at a particular demographic - and yet at each and every service there is a broad spectrum of ages, backgrounds and life-stages. A classic example from marketing is Pepsi - targeted at the "new generation" (the young and hip) - but people of all ages drink it. In church terms - Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill targets young, working class men - but as they do this they reach men and women of all ages (their actual market). The line I have heard recently is "aim young - and you get everyone".

Given all of this - I will be expending much of my effort in 2010 in starting up our new 5pm congregation.

Who Should Join Me?
I am looking for people to join me in this task.
What I am looking for is a bunch of people who are prepared to forsake existing relationships, comfort, personal preferences - such that we might attempt to reach the lost.
There is much risk.
There are no guarantees - about the success of our endeavours or otherwise. We make the plans but God puts our feet on the path.
While there is great cost in this, my hope and prayer is that there will be great gain as well.
If you are considering joining 5pm - then come as someone who is prepared to serve!
If you are planning to stay at 6:30pm - then stay as someone who is prepared to serve!

In Him
Tony

Photo by: Rogiro