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	HighPower eNews ~~ Empowering Pastors for Growth & Health ~~ September 2008
HighPower Resources Coaching Sermons Seminars Software Products HighPower Blog Bible Studies Church Growth Factoids Dramas Books	Feel free to forward this to a friend! NEW this month! Church Growth Factoids on "The Evangelism Mandate” Article: Barna’s “New Statistics on Church Attendance & Avoidance” Blog: “Simple Church - Year Two” Blog: “The Premise of Christian Coaching” Blog: “The Dangers of Leadership” Coaching: free resources on “Visioneering” & “New Ministry Guide” FREE Drama Seminars Sermon: 1 Peter 3:1-7 -- “How to Improve Your Marriage” Topic: Submission Sermon: Matthew Mt. 26:57 - 27:26 -- Topic: Guilt Software Books - 2008 Christianity Today Book Awards Church Growth News from Barna New Statistics on Church Attendance and Avoidance According to a Barna Report from March 3rd, 2008, “one way of examining people’s participation in faith communities is by exploring how they practice their corporate faith engagement”. Barna argues that the traditional way of explaining people as simply “churched” or “unchurched” is too broad a definition; that today’s realities require a more nuanced set of categories. So, Barna identifies five types of faith practices: “Unattached - people who had attended neither a conventional church nor an organic faith community (e.g., house church, simple church, intentional community) during the past year. ... This segment represents one out of every four adults (23%) in America. “Conventionals - adults who had attended a conventional church (i.e., a congregational-style, local church) during the past month but had not attended a house church. Almost three out of every five adults (56%) fit this description. “Intermittents - these adults are essentially "under-churched" - i.e., people who have participated in either a conventional church or an organic faith community within the past year, but not during the past month. Such people constitute about one out of every seven adults (15%). “Homebodies - people who had not attended a conventional church during the past month, but had attended a meeting of a house church (3%). “Blenders - adults who had attended both a conventional church and a house church during the past month. Most of these people attend a conventional church as their primary church, but many are experimenting with new forms of faith community. In total, Blenders represent 3% of the adult population.” What is interesting about Barna’s study is that he recognizes that the level of complexity in adult church attendance deserves a bit more clarity than the tow traditional categories of “churched” and “unchurched”. While these are categories which he as a national researcher of church has identified as emerging trends, they may not impact most pastors in the nation. Note, for example, that the last two categories of “Homebodies” and “Blenders” represent only 3% of church attenders each. This will not affect most churches significantly right now, but it may be an emerging trend which is worth noting. The first three categories are much more helpful: Unattached, Conventionals, and Intermittents. “Unattached” represents about 23% of the American population. They are essentially the unchurched people of your community. Barna has done quite a bit of study of the characteristics of this group, which you can find on his site. The “Intermittents” deserve some special attention for any church that seeks to improve their attendance. For there are only two ways to improve your attendance: get new people to start visiting you, or get “regulars” to come more frequently. Either of these will improve the weekend count. It may be helpful to find out what it is that makes “Intermittents” intermittent. Is it work or family commitments, or is it lack of appeal of what your church is providing for their Christian life? The “Unattached” deserve some special attention, which we will do in the next issue of HighPower eNews. CHURCH GROWTH FACTOIDS: The Evangelism Mandate 50,000 mile line “Question: What line is fifty thousand miles long, reaches around the world two times, and grows a half mile longer each day? Answer: The line of people in the United States who are currently untouched by your church and mine.” (Clegg, Tom & Warren Bird. LOST IN AMERICA. Group: Loveland, CO, 2001, p. 110.) Atheists “Yes, one-third of atheists say they are spiritual people.” (Clegg, Tom & Warren Bird. LOST IN AMERICA. GROUP: Loveland, CO, 2001, p. 32.) Muslims in the US “Between 1989 and 1998, the Muslim population in the United States grew by 25 percent, to an estimated 4 to 6 million. No major American city, including those in the Bible Belt states, is without an Islamic teaching center.” (Clegg, Tom & Warren Bird. LOST IN AMERICA. GROUP: Loveland, CO, 2001, p. 31.) These and other Factoids can be found at ChurchGrowth Factoids HighPower Learnings Blog WHAT I'M LEARNING RIGHT NOW IN THE AREAS OF MINISTRY COACHING, SIMPLE CHURCH, CHURCH GROWTH & CHURCH HEALTH Recent Posts: “Simple Church - Year Two” In this article, I share with you a case study of a church (the church where I serve) and our progress on developing a “Simple Church”, as represented in the book Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger. “The Premise of Christian Coaching” Christian Coaching has a fundamental difference from secular coaching, as it starts with a different premise. “The Two Dangers of Leadership” This blog is a quick study of King Saul’s flaws from 1 Samuel 15. Check out the Blog here. Coaching Resources -- Visioneering Cycle -- At our church we have developed a 21-month Vision Planning Cycle to guide our staff on advance strategic planning. It incorporates the five-stage process of visioneering (Listening, Clarifying, Budgeting, Implementing, Evaluating), and shows the specific steps we take as a church to make it happen at each stage. This will give you an idea of how one church does it so that you may find inspiration for your own church. Available at this link: http://www.highpowerresources.com/Coaching/content/Visioneering.pdf Resources - Clear Path New Ministry Guide “Clear Path” is our term for applying the Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger, to our local church. This is a sample guide which we supply to people who want to start new ministries, so that they see where they fit in the big picture and the potential impact of adding something new to our ministry mix. This is our tool, but it may give you some ideas. Feel free to download it HERE. Other HighPower Coaching Resources can be found HERE. Software A quick survey of the three software offerings we have for churches: 1st -- SermonBase Message Planning Software A great way to organize & store all your sermons and plan out a year or more of sermons at a time. Download your free Demo HERE. Macs or Windows. 2nd -- FamilyFaces Church Directory Software Allows your church to put together a pictorial directory without having to bring one of those companies in for high-pressure photo sales. And you can easily update it. Download your free Demo HERE. Macs or Windows. 3rd - a FREE library program for pastors called “HighPower Library”. This is our gift to all those faithfully serving the Lord in ministry. It is a quick and handy tool to catalogue all your books, videos, CD’s by Topic, Title, or Scripture. Download the free software HERE. Macs or Windows. Click on www.HighPowerResources.com/Software to download your new Demo today. Seminars For a list of both our on-site seminars and our “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) Seminars, click on www.HighPowerResources.com/Seminars to learn more. Sermons 1 Peter 3:1-7 “How to Improve Your Marriage This is a powerful message that lays responsibility for a healthy marriage squarely on the shoulders of both the husbands and the wives. Dealing with each section in an expository manner, the verses, the words, and the challenging commands like “submit” are explained clearly in a way with great practical application for both husbands & wives. Download Free Sermon Notes Buy "How to Improve Your Marriage" . Matthew 26:57 - 27:26 “The Trial & the Denial” This sermon uses the Trial of Jesus to address the topic of this sermon is Guilt. The sermon examines the impact of guilt upon Caiaphas, Peter, Judas, & Pilate. It helps each person to understand the wrong ways people try to handle guilt, and the true solution to guilt. It also explains the difference between the remorse which Judas felt and the true guilt which Peter felt. Download Free Sermon Notes Buy "The Trial & the Denial" These messages and othersare available from HighPower Sermons. Drama “Olympic Coach” by Gary Monn Focus: Worrying This was a quick drama written in honor of the Olympics. It teaches that to be a winner for Christ, you’ve got to let go of your worries. And this month, this drama is a FREE GIFT to you, in appreciation for being a HighPower eNews subscriber. To get your free drama, click HERE. BOOK REVIEWS The 2008 CT Book Awards Apologetics/Evangelism THERE IS A GOD: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind Antony Flew with Roy Abraham Varghese (HarperOne) Biblical Studies THE JESUS LEGEND: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition Paul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd (Baker Academic) Christianity and Culture FAITH IN THE HALLS OF POWER: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite D. Michael Lindsay (Oxford) Christian Living CARING FOR MOTHER: A Daughter's Long Goodbye Virginia Stem Owens (Westminster John Knox) The Church/Pastoral Leadership THE CALL TO JOY AND PAIN: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry Ajith Fernando (Crossway) Fiction QUAKER SUMMER Lisa Samson (Thomas Nelson) History/Biography A SECULAR AGE Charles Taylor (Belknap) Missions/Global Affairs DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS: Pillars of World Christianity Lamin O. Sanneh (Oxford) Spirituality THE JESUS WAY: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way Eugene H. Peterson (Eerdmans) Theology/Ethics RESOUNDING TRUTH: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music Jeremy S. Begbie (Baker Academic) You can find quality books on Church Health & Growth HERE. Useful Web Links Growing a Healthy Church http://www.growingahealthychurch.com Church Multiplication Associates http://cmaresources.org/
Empowering for Growth & Health
About Us \|\| Contact Us \|\| © 2008 HighPower Resources

HighPower eNews

~~ Empowering Pastors for Growth & Health ~~

September 2008

HighPower Resources

Feel free to forward this to a friend!

NEW this month!

Church Growth Factoids on "The Evangelism Mandate”
Article: Barna’s “New Statistics on Church Attendance & Avoidance”
Blog: “Simple Church - Year Two”
Blog: “The Premise of Christian Coaching”
Blog: “The Dangers of Leadership”
Coaching: free resources on “Visioneering” & “New Ministry Guide”
FREE Drama
Seminars
Sermon: 1 Peter 3:1-7 -- “How to Improve Your Marriage” Topic: Submission
Sermon: Matthew Mt. 26:57 - 27:26 -- Topic: Guilt
Software
Books - 2008 Christianity Today Book Awards

Church Growth News from Barna

New Statistics on Church Attendance and Avoidance
According to a Barna Report from March 3rd, 2008, “one way of examining people’s participation in faith communities is by exploring how they practice their corporate faith engagement”. Barna argues that the traditional way of explaining people as simply “churched” or “unchurched” is too broad a definition; that today’s realities require a more nuanced set of categories. So, Barna identifies five types of faith practices:
“Unattached - people who had attended neither a conventional church nor an organic faith community (e.g., house church, simple church, intentional community) during the past year. ... This segment represents one out of every four adults (23%) in America.

“Conventionals - adults who had attended a conventional church (i.e., a congregational-style, local church) during the past month but had not attended a house church. Almost three out of every five adults (56%) fit this description.

“Intermittents - these adults are essentially "under-churched" - i.e., people who have participated in either a conventional church or an organic faith community within the past year, but not during the past month. Such people constitute about one out of every seven adults (15%).

“Homebodies - people who had not attended a conventional church during the past month, but had attended a meeting of a house church (3%).

“Blenders - adults who had attended both a conventional church and a house church during the past month. Most of these people attend a conventional church as their primary church, but many are experimenting with new forms of faith community. In total, Blenders represent 3% of the adult population.”

What is interesting about Barna’s study is that he recognizes that the level of complexity in adult church attendance deserves a bit more clarity than the tow traditional categories of “churched” and “unchurched”.

While these are categories which he as a national researcher of church has identified as emerging trends, they may not impact most pastors in the nation. Note, for example, that the last two categories of “Homebodies” and “Blenders” represent only 3% of church attenders each. This will not affect most churches significantly right now, but it may be an emerging trend which is worth noting.

The first three categories are much more helpful: Unattached, Conventionals, and Intermittents. “Unattached” represents about 23% of the American population. They are essentially the unchurched people of your community. Barna has done quite a bit of study of the characteristics of this group, which you can find on his site.

The “Intermittents” deserve some special attention for any church that seeks to improve their attendance. For there are only two ways to improve your attendance: get new people to start visiting you, or get “regulars” to come more frequently. Either of these will improve the weekend count. It may be helpful to find out what it is that makes “Intermittents” intermittent. Is it work or family commitments, or is it lack of appeal of what your church is providing for their Christian life?

The “Unattached” deserve some special attention, which we will do in the next issue of HighPower eNews.

CHURCH GROWTH FACTOIDS: The Evangelism Mandate

50,000 mile line
“Question: What line is fifty thousand miles long, reaches around the world two times, and grows a half mile longer each day?
Answer: The line of people in the United States who are currently untouched by your church and mine.”
(Clegg, Tom & Warren Bird. LOST IN AMERICA. Group: Loveland, CO, 2001, p. 110.)

Atheists
“Yes, one-third of atheists say they are spiritual people.”
(Clegg, Tom & Warren Bird. LOST IN AMERICA. GROUP: Loveland, CO, 2001, p. 32.)

Muslims in the US
“Between 1989 and 1998, the Muslim population in the United States grew by 25 percent, to an estimated 4 to 6 million. No major American city, including those in the Bible Belt states, is without an Islamic teaching center.”
(Clegg, Tom & Warren Bird. LOST IN AMERICA. GROUP: Loveland, CO, 2001, p. 31.)

These and other Factoids can be found at ChurchGrowth Factoids

HighPower Learnings Blog

WHAT I'M LEARNING RIGHT NOW IN THE AREAS OF MINISTRY COACHING, SIMPLE CHURCH, CHURCH GROWTH & CHURCH HEALTH

Coaching

Resources -- Visioneering Cycle

-- At our church we have developed a 21-month Vision Planning Cycle to guide our staff on advance strategic planning. It incorporates the five-stage process of visioneering (Listening, Clarifying, Budgeting, Implementing, Evaluating), and shows the specific steps we take as a church to make it happen at each stage. This will give you an idea of how one church does it so that you may find inspiration for your own church.

Available at this link: http://www.highpowerresources.com/Coaching/content/Visioneering.pdf

Resources - Clear Path New Ministry Guide

“Clear Path” is our term for applying the Simple Church by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger, to our local church. This is a sample guide which we supply to people who want to start new ministries, so that they see where they fit in the big picture and the potential impact of adding something new to our ministry mix. This is our tool, but it may give you some ideas.

Feel free to download it HERE.

Other HighPower Coaching Resources can be found HERE.

Software

A quick survey of the three software offerings we have for churches:

1st -- SermonBase Message Planning Software
A great way to organize & store all your sermons and plan out a year or more of sermons at a time. Download your free Demo HERE. Macs or Windows.

2nd -- FamilyFaces Church Directory Software
Allows your church to put together a pictorial directory without having to bring one of those companies in for high-pressure photo sales. And you can easily update it. Download your free Demo HERE. Macs or Windows.

3rd - a FREE library program for pastors called “HighPower Library”. This is our gift to all those faithfully serving the Lord in ministry. It is a quick and handy tool to catalogue all your books, videos, CD’s by Topic, Title, or Scripture. Download the free software HERE. Macs or Windows.

Click on www.HighPowerResources.com/Software to download your new Demo today.

Seminars

For a list of both our on-site seminars and our “Do-It-Yourself” (DIY) Seminars, click on www.HighPowerResources.com/Seminars to learn more.

Sermons

1 Peter 3:1-7 “How to Improve Your Marriage

This is a powerful message that lays responsibility for a healthy marriage squarely on the shoulders of both the husbands and the wives. Dealing with each section in an expository manner, the verses, the words, and the challenging commands like “submit” are explained clearly in a way with great practical application for both husbands & wives.

Download Free Sermon Notes

Buy "How to Improve Your Marriage"

Matthew 26:57 - 27:26 “The Trial & the Denial”

This sermon uses the Trial of Jesus to address the topic of this sermon is Guilt. The sermon examines the impact of guilt upon Caiaphas, Peter, Judas, & Pilate. It helps each person to understand the wrong ways people try to handle guilt, and the true solution to guilt. It also explains the difference between the remorse which Judas felt and the true guilt which Peter felt.

Download Free Sermon Notes

Buy "The Trial & the Denial"

These messages and othersare available from HighPower Sermons.

Drama

“Olympic Coach” by Gary Monn
Focus: Worrying

This was a quick drama written in honor of the Olympics. It teaches that to be a winner for Christ, you’ve got to let go of your worries. And this month, this drama is a FREE GIFT to you, in appreciation for being a HighPower eNews subscriber. To get your free drama, click HERE.

BOOK REVIEWS

The 2008 CT Book Awards

Apologetics/Evangelism

THERE IS A GOD: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind
Antony Flew with Roy Abraham Varghese (HarperOne)

Biblical Studies
THE JESUS LEGEND: A Case for the Historical Reliability of the Synoptic Jesus Tradition
Paul Rhodes Eddy and Gregory A. Boyd (Baker Academic)

Christianity and Culture

FAITH IN THE HALLS OF POWER: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite
D. Michael Lindsay (Oxford)

Christian Living

CARING FOR MOTHER: A Daughter's Long Goodbye
Virginia Stem Owens (Westminster John Knox)

The Church/Pastoral Leadership

THE CALL TO JOY AND PAIN: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry
Ajith Fernando (Crossway)

Fiction

QUAKER SUMMER
Lisa Samson (Thomas Nelson)

History/Biography

A SECULAR AGE
Charles Taylor (Belknap)

Missions/Global Affairs

DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS: Pillars of World Christianity
Lamin O. Sanneh (Oxford)

Spirituality

THE JESUS WAY: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way
Eugene H. Peterson (Eerdmans)

Theology/Ethics

RESOUNDING TRUTH: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music
Jeremy S. Begbie (Baker Academic)

You can find quality books on Church Health & Growth HERE.

Useful Web Links

Growing a Healthy Church
http://www.growingahealthychurch.com

Church Multiplication Associates
http://cmaresources.org/

Empowering for Growth & Health