Transformational Church And Its Impact On The Community

These five areas that Warren (1995) presented are essentials that will aid in the church being driven by purpose. For the church to stand, it must have a solid foundation. Warren (1995) states, a foundation is laid “by clarifying in the minds of everyone involved exactly why the church exists and what it is supposed to do” (p. 86). When people have an understanding of their purpose, it will induce cohesiveness in the ministry. It is vital for the leader to define the churches’ purpose, organize around them, and application is imperative. Therefore, once the church has reached a definitive purpose, it is time to carry out the Great Commission. Understanding the demographic area and who the church is going to serve with help with carrying out the purpose of the ministry. Therefore, when the church gets understanding of the people that they are going to target, it will help them to implore a strategic plan. According to Warren (1995), “The more your target is in focus, the more likely it is that you will be able to hit it” (p. 172). It is critical for the church create a process to work through their purpose. When there is a process to their purpose, it will help the purpose to be carried out daily. However, the ministry shouldn’t focus on growing a church with programs but focus on growing people with a process (Warren, 1995). Warren (1995), emphasized that his “deep conviction that anybody can be won to Christ if you discover the key to his or her heart” (p. 216). It is the act of love that will help the purpose driven church to meet the people’s needs. When the ministry has the people attending the church, it is the pastor’s job to teach the principles of the Bible. It is the word of God that is going to change the hearts of the people.

In The Disciple Making Church: From Dry Bones to Spiritual Vitality, author Glenn McDonald addresses what he sees as the critical element missing from the modern Christian Church: discipleship. McDonald, who owns a Master of Divinity Degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, is the senior pastor at Zionsville Presbyterian Church, which was once a traditional large suburban church, in that it focused more on the needs of the church than the needs of the parishioners. In this book, McDonald discusses how he helped transform his church from a traditional church to a church that emphasizes discipleship.

The first idea that stood out for me was about the initial conversion in connection to further discipleship. Dr. Sunquist reminds us that the goal of evangelism is not just the initial conversion but further transformation. The conversion is "the passageway to becoming a disciple" (325). Too often, the church focuses on the initial response to evangelism without a call to commitment, to becoming a real follower of Jesus. It is not enough to just announce the Kingdom of God, thinking that God will do the rest without our involvement. The church ought to proclaim the gospel, which leads to conversion, and to provide for discipleship, which leads to the spiritual transformation. Furthermore, even the initial response does not always happen just

Our churches today are filled with members, assuming the stance of spectators and avoiding any level of commitment. In large churches, they can be easily lost in the crowd and may not cause great effect, however in smaller to medium churches, member’s lack of commitment is apparent and oftentimes hinders the progression of the church and put more burden on the few members who carry the work load. Before long, with no assistance or break, the faithful few naturally become exhausted, burned out and at times, spiritually discouraged. Let us not be mistaken, all service to the Lord is greatly rewarded.

It was not until Saddleback Church, Pastor Rick Warren, published “The Purpose Driven Life”, that the idea of discipleship reached every member of a congregation. No longer was disciple-making limited to the leadership of the church. My church participated in the Purpose Driven Life 40-Day Campaign and had 35 cell groups in the surrounding neighborhood.

I have analyzed four churches and interviewed four leaders/pastors, each belonging to their specific church. From my interviews and church analysis, I have concluded that each church has a slightly different view of what it means to be a missional church, and I have identified two areas that all four churches should focus on.

As you enter through the doors of a church as a first time guest, you have no idea what has been done to put on this hour or longer event. The possibilities of who mowed the yard, to who cleaned the toilets, to how many hours were put into the administrational aspect of the service. More than the average amount of people think that the pastor is the only one besides the musicians that have to prepare. Several overlook how many people it takes to run a successful church. Let us explore the many different aspects of the church. Including the operating procedures of the church, if they are effective, and what could be done to improve its current situation.

Section two emphasizes Matching Leaders and Ministry Opportunities: Options. This section points out the four styles which are characteristic of leaders. The Catalyst Leader helps to create atmosphere where positive goals are reached and people are built –up. The Commander Leader expects others to follow. The Encouraging Leader emphasizes relationships more than mission. The Hermit Leaders are uncomfortable with people and goals. The leadership triangle provides three elements for interaction within the congregation. The three elements are a preferred and comfortable leader style; the comfortable relational style of the followers, and the productively structured ministry. Dale concludes this section by exemplifying the four models of leadership

For a long time the church has been the centre for worshiping and praying to God; we couldn’t imagine Christianity without the church building in our community.

This ministry project is designed to develop a strategic plan for increasing evangelism and mission involvement among the members of New Birth Cathedral of Praise . My observation as an active member of New Birth is that it has the right environment to make disciples. The church is welcoming, loving and genuinely caring for one another. The word of God is preached with power, conviction and clear application. The environment is welcoming for the lost person or the new believer.

Understanding Trinitarian ecclesiology and missiology have brought a transformational effect on my perception of missio Dei and the role of a faith community in spiritual transformation of a society. True mission is possible only through the partnership with the Holy Spirit. We within our missional communities have to get comfortable outside of our comfort zone if we desire to move outward and forward. Furthermore, missional involvement requires positive attitude to innovations and high tolerance to failure. I would consider practicing our way forward to be one of the most significant disciplines in my ministry context because it provides a framework for a renewal of our communities. Two principles that I learned, 'universality of the gospel'

When evaluating the customer’s data and their construction plans the operational risks to the project were very apparent. The United Escondido Reform Church was going to be building a brand-new sanctuary and classroom, while at the same time renovating the older sanctuary into an administration building. Likewise, another operational risk to the project moving forward were ensuring that the sanctuary and other building would receive the appropriate permits to actually proceed with its construction. Other operational risks were the building floorplans and whether our project team alpha could wire the building in a way to ensure a reliable network that would eliminate the chances of any connectivity or signal degradation. Things like, wherever

As the religious life of African Americans begin to change as a result of demographics and society, churches have realized that they need more than just a black religious leader if they wanted to keep this population and the church thriving. One way the church reinvents itself is by developing outreach programs that help and support the urban communities. Another method they used was placing the religious institutions in or near black inner-city communities. Not only did this make it easy to get access to a church, but the churches knew the problems going on in the local communities so they could be more quicker and efficient at helping. One reverend, Rev. Eugene Rivers, even went as far as to change a crack house into a Christian settlement

This has been evident in most places as the church where the clergy has deemed it necessary for the laity to contribute wholesomely for their upkeep and to run church activities without considering the financial security of its members. Most critics have defended this by misinterpreting Christ’s teaching that all who want to follow him have to sacrifice themselves to the church for the salvation process. But this is in contrast to his teachings and the bible as a whole.

Christians are called to follow Christ—submit to His rule, reign, and authority in their lives. The gospel is clear that a follower of Christ submit to Him and proclaim the gospel message of salvation in Christ alone. This is what it means to be a disciple of Christ. Christians help each other grow, mature, and become more like Christ. Unfortunately, it is far too often that churches do not teach their members how to make, train, and develop disciples in the church or within the local community. The local church is to train people to do the task of obeying the Great Commission, which is to make disciples (cf. Matt. 28:18-20). Pastors and leaders are also to train the congregation to do the work of the ministry—to help them find and discover their gifts to use them in the body of Christ. Therefore, this paper will give a detailed description of how disciples are made in the context of the local church and within the Christian community, discuss the role and importance of the local church in God’s plan for making disciples.