DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion (DBMIM) Ezine, September 21, 2007

-- The Reconstruction of A Youth Worker: Those Mountain Top Experiences by Scott Miller.

-- Book Review: "Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens" by Neil Cole, reviewed by Teena Stewart.

Visit our bookstore page and compare prices at three different Christian online bookstores.

When I was a teenager, I was employed by my home church to be the janitor doing basic cleaning, like bathrooms and mopping floors. My church could not afford much, but it was pocket money for me.

One winter day the furnace would not fire up. I informed the pastor and he called Frank.

Frank came over and poked around the boiler to make sure it was not anything major. Then he showed me how to “clean the points.” He took the cover off a metal box and reached into his wallet for a clean, crisp dollar bill. He explained that sometimes the electrical connections on this furnace would become corroded. A brand new dollar bill was just the right texture to clean those points without wearing the points down. In very little time, the furnace was up and running.

Ministry leadership is like that. It is not only the time and effort it takes. It is knowing the how, when, where, and what to do. That is strategic leadership.

That is especially true in the 21^st century. This is a period of rapid change in our culture as well as within the church. Knowing how, when, where, and what to do to help a church thrive in the midst of changing landscape can mean the difference between effectiveness and decline.

Those Mountain Top Experiences

About eight days after saying this, he climbed the mountain to pray, taking Peter, John, and James along. While he was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and his clothes became blinding white. At once two men were there talking with him. They turned out to be Moses and Elijah—and what a glorious appearance they made! (Luke 9: 28b-30,The Message)

Can you imagine what that time was like for Peter, James and John? Two of their heroes were there with Jesus talking over the game plan. The disciples were on the mountain. They could not be any more excited about Jesus than they were in that moment, but then eventually they had to do something very difficult: they had to leave the mountain. They had to leave that time of excitement and enlightenment. No one could ever understand what they had experienced, no matter how well they told the story. Nobody could comprehend what they had gone through.

Does this sound like one of your weekends or weeks this summer with your students? You go to a camp, conference, festival, mission trip or an event where they are so totally charged with “Christian Energy” that they do not know what to do with it all. Then they get home. They try to tell their parents about the experience and their parents may appreciate that they had a great time, but cannot understand the energy that their son or daughter has brought back with them. The same is true when they tell their friends about what happened and how they have been changed. More than likely the response from their friends is, “So what?”

Ministry in Motion has launched a new blog for readers just like you at http://ministryinmotionnet.blogspot.com/. It is a place to ask questions, exchange ideas, and encourage other ministry leaders in our growing network.

This month (September) Tom Hanover will check the blog posts regularly to respond to questions and share ideas on strategic leadership. Stop by and let us know how ministry is going for you!

Neil Cole, founder and executive director of Church Multiplication Associates, has worked for years as a church starter and pastor. After trying more traditional approaches to launching churches, he found that the most successful method was to work with smaller groups who meet in homes and grow their faith, organically speaking.

Even the most successful churches have only moderate success in reaching lost people. And as a church grows, it tends to lose touch with its congregation, by not providing the intimacy and community of a smaller church.

The efforts of most churches center on programs and gimmicks to draw people in. Cole says that if we go where life happens, where people naturally congregate, such as coffee shops, we'll connect with them and their culture rather than expecting them to adapt to ours. From these approaches we develop a core of people we can build bridges with, relate to, and eventually bring to Christ.

But it doesn't stop there. We must give new believers freedom and encouragement to connect with friends, family and acquaintances to bring them the gospel message. According to Cole, one of the mistakes we often make is assuming that new Christians don't have the knowledge to lead others to Christ or pastor them. Instead, we tell them to avoid taking leadership positions and urge them to focus on soaking up knowledge. The result is that many churches are producing a congregation of consumers who only want to sit and soak.

New believers have more excitement and energy, and a greater rate of success than traditional churches. Our role is to encourage and equip them to bring others into their sphere of influence—primarily their homes—and disciple them.

Home churches are more intimate and less dependent on costly structures while large churches have the responsibility of maintaining expensive buildings. House churches reproduce naturally and exponentially. Cole's book turns church ministry on its head and greatly simplifies it. It will challenge you to rethink how your church does ministry. If you only have time to read one book this year, make sure it's this one.

Attention: Churches, Small Groups & Non-profits. Are You Paying Too Much for Books & Resources?

If you or your organization normally orders multiple copies of books and Christian resources you can save money by applying for a special discount coupon via DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion's online bookstore. The coupon is absolutely free with no strings attached. Email Teena Stewart at smartwords@sbcglobal to apply for this discount coupon.

Site Build It -- There are many different hosting plans for those wanting Christian websites but few work with you to drive traffic to your site. SBI differs from these because it is an all-in-one do-it-yourself website program that doesn’t require html knowledge. Includes domain registration, hosting, keyword research tools, search engine optimization, ezine mailing, and non-interactive blog option. The system guarantees success in getting good ranking with search engines thereby assuring you of more traffic. This website system is used by DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion. Site Build It Quick Tour

Order Books Online and Help Support DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion's Bookstore

When you order books and resources through our online bookstore you help support DreamBuilders Ministry in Motion.

Be sure to visit Ministry in Motion's Bookshop. Every resource is developed from hands-on church experience. Help members discover their spiritual gifts, how to connect them in ministry and more. Visit MIM's Bookshop.

Just $10 per classified listing. For more information on advertising visit our advertising page

Ministry in Motion is looking for columnists & writers in the following areas: women's ministry, men's ministry, single's ministry, youth ministry, worship ministry, small group/bible study ministry, and general ministry. We are also open to general church ministry related freelance articles. If you have an idea for a column or would like to share ministry insight or even short ministry tips, we'd love to hear from you. Present payment is promotion only -- no pay but great exposure for you, your ministry, book, or website. Please read our writer's guidelines here.

One of the needs we have perceived at Ministry in Motion is a service to help connect qualified ministers and church workers to ministry related and church staff positions. If you are presently in job search mode, or if you have a ministry position you are looking to fill, be sure to check out this site by clicking here.

Magazines to help Christians grow spiritual and succeed in ministry. Discipleship Journal, Leadership Magazine, SpiritLed Woman, Christianity Today & Lots More! Click HERE for Magazines

DBMIM Ezine September 21, 2007

Those Mountain Top Experiences