5-page paper synthesizing the 3-5 ideas from the readings that made the greatest impact on you, and how those ideas apply to yo

The Project’s Contribution to Ministry

This project should prove helpful on several levels. First, it will provide hope to pastors of either plateaued or declining churches. They will be able to see that the implementation of business strategies can increase both attendance and finances.

Second, leaders will learn how to assimilate both regular and new attendees into the local church. They will learn that by systematically placing people into ministry opportunities, people will enjoy a sense of fulfillment as they work together for common causes.

Third, pastors will learn methods to implement stewardship principles. In turn, this will help the church meet its financial needs and experience growth in spiritual maturity among attendees, which generates collective enthusiasm.

Fourth, because the church will have a plan for assimilation, new believers will quickly be integrated into the life and ministry of the church. New believers will be encouraged to join discipleship programs for spiritual growth.

Fifth, once churches begin to grow through the application of business strategies, a ripple effect will begin to occur. The churches will begin to look for other ways ministries could create growth. With the increased attendance, financial giving will increase, thereby enabling the church to develop its ministry to children and youth. They might begin giving more toward local and global missions, which will result in further spiritual, financial, and numerical growth. This positive snowball effect will bring both growth and enthusiasm to the local church.

Last, the Assemblies of God, in general, will benefit from this project as declining or plateaued churches begin to experience growth. Implementing the basic business principles presented in this project will reduce the decline in attendance among AG churches. As pastors experience growth first hand, they will share their experiences with other pastors, thereby creating a cycle of continual church growth among previously plateaued or declining churches. Ultimately, implementation of this project could help avoid the unnecessary closure of AG churches and break the cycle of declining or plateauing churches among the Fellowship. God desires to expand His Kingdom through the church; therefore, He has made abundant provisions for each church to grow at His determined rate.

Chapter 5: PROJECT SUMMARY

Chapter 5 brings together essential information from the previous chapters. This summary includes an evaluation of the project, viewing both keys to the project’s effectiveness and suggestions for project’s improvement. The next part includes implications of the project, followed by recommendations to leaders in the Southern California District Council of the Assemblies of God. Finally, the summary will conclude with recommendations for future study.

Evaluation of the Project

Keys to Project Effectiveness

While there were numerous keys to this project’s effectiveness, there are nine that I would like to highlight in this section: (1) availability and access to many churches, (2) a planned outline to follow, (3) training of staff, (4) an associate available to assist in the program, (5) forms and letters, (6) a 24/7 answering service, (7) technology, (8) nametags, and (9) offering coffee and refreshments.

The first key to the project’s effectiveness centered on the fact that I had many churches available to contact. Finding willing participants for a project can be rather challenging, but I knew or was familiar with many of the Assemblies of God pastors in Southern California. Two hundred churches reside within a two-hour drive from my home, which enabled me to fulfill my commitment of visiting each church involved in the project at least once a month. The openness of my fellow ministers made the initial contact relatively easy. Furthermore, the fact that I am a minister and pastor increased my ability to communicate with the participant pastors in familiar terms. My sensitivity to their circumstances permitted me to make reasonable requests. The pastors intuitively knew that all conversations would be held in confidence.

Second, the project enjoyed success due to the development of concepts previously implemented throughout years of ministry. The four-page outline, “Church Growth Business Concepts,” addressed the major points of the project. It introduced the project by providing statistics regarding the number of churches under 200, 100, and 50, respectively, and painting a clear picture regarding how many churches are plateaued or declining in attendance. The document also extended a sense of assurance that adherence to the program would produce at least a 3-5 percent annual increase in attendance. After capturing the prospective participant’s attention, the document laid out an easy to follow plan for use in the church.

The easy-to-understand document showed the pastor how he or she could implement the program without becoming overwhelmed. Furthermore, the overview document discussed a proven way to handle the ordinary business of the church in an efficient manner by addressing issues such as the importance of properly managing the telephone, finances, attendance, and communications. These components play a critical role in the success of the program, even though they might seem mundane or rudimentary. The creation of a sense of community in the body of Christ also received emphasis.

Although the project design anticipated the full implementation of the entire process, it soon became evident that implementing the entire program simultaneously was almost impossible. However, the project was effective even if the church could only incorporate certain aspects of the plan. While all of the parts working together would bring the most effective results, the incorporation of one aspect still brought positive results. In other words, the project did not become ineffective due to not implementing the entire process.

Third, success relied on the training of church staff and volunteers who could follow through with the processes. Initially I expected to give the senior pastor information, and he or she could implement it from that point. However, I discovered that being involved in training the greeters, ushers, and office personnel was indispensable to effectiveness. Providing continuous training through the life of the project was essential to overall success.

Fourth, the inclusion of an associate enhanced the success of the project. Chris Carrigan, who previously served as the executive pastor of a church that grew from 125 to 1,400 in attendance, provided invaluable training to the churches on a weekly basis. Also, having two different people present at the project churches on Sundays added to the monitoring of the project. Chris assisted with the tedious work of tracking attendance and preparing the analysis charts.

Fifth, the success of the project relied heavily on the forms and sample letters because they permitted each church to begin the program immediately. The carefully designed Registration Card asked just enough information to cover all the bases while the Welcome Card, used on a weekly basis, provided regular attendees and guests a means for communicating with the staff. By providing these forms and sample letters, the church did not have to create things from scratch and simplified the weekly follow-up process.

Sixth, the use of an answering service enhanced the effectiveness of the project. Implementing the use of a basic coverage professional answering service, which costs approximately $50 per month, allowed the church to forward after-hour calls to the professional answering service. They provided callers with the public service times and furnished them with the address to the church; furthermore, they could contact a staff member in case of an emergency. Most importantly, the answering service provided a “live” person to answer the calls that came during the crucial times of Saturday afternoon and early Sunday morning.

Seventh, the use of current computer and internet technology throughout the project created a means for effectively and efficiently tracking the attendance data. The ease of accessibility through Dropbox allowed staff members the ability to access the electronic spreadsheet via the Internet. The database provided a means of tracking attendance so the church could send follow-up letters to guests, as well as email blasts to regular attendees.

Eighth, the simple act of wearing nametags played an amazing part in the overall success of the project. Each week, the church staff generated nametags for all regular attendees. First-time guests received a temporary nametag, and the following Sunday they would have their nametag available—along with regular attendees. Nametags were the first visible part of the project, as well as the first step in implementing the project. Interestingly, church attendance started to grow with the simple addition of wearing nametags.

Almost all churches incorporate a “friendship time” when people greet one another during the worship service. Based on my observation, as soon as people began to wear nametags and could actually recognize everyone by name, the excitement level during friendship time increased significantly. People could greet first-time guests by name, and visitors could greet everyone by name. Regular attendees who only recognized one another by face actually learned one another’s name in the process.

It became apparent that when churches take even small steps toward growth, they begin to grow. The excitement level became contagious and members began to invite their friends to church. Churchgoers understood that if they invited their friends, their friends would be well-greeted and included in the community of the church.

Finally, insisting that each project church provide coffee and refreshments before the morning worship service contributed to the overall success of the program. The shared time of “breaking bread” provided community for regular attendees; further it supplied a great way to greet and introduce first, second, and third-time guests.