Purpose Driven Church- Assign. #3

Chapter 5: Defining your purposes
In this chapter we learn how critical it is to clearly define your church’s purpose. As a leader, you should direct your church through the process of defining your purpose. When people discover on their own, they have more personal conviction compared to when they are told. Study what the bible says. Rick gives a list of biblical passages that can help with discovering and defining purpose. He did a personal bible study before starting the church then lead the church through the same study. He suggests: looking at Christ’s ministry on earth; Looking at the different images and names of the church and looking at the commands of Christ. We should understand what Christ wants for the church and that should be our purpose. Next put your findings down in writing. You can do this by organizing information under main headings. This is vital because you are building a foundation for your ministry. After looking at your findings, summarize them in one sentence. Organize them into categories, summarize them in a paragraph, and then work your way down to a sentence. By condensing it to a sentence you are making it information that people will be able to remember! How can you be sure your purpose is effective? For one, it needs to be biblical. It also needs to be specific. “A narrow mission is a clear mission (100).” When people are given specific information, there is less gray area of unknown. This also helps to focus your energy. When purpose statements are short enough, they can be transferable and passed on through the church. People remember phrases. You also need to be able to measure it. If your statement doesn’t have any form of evaluation, how will you know if it’s working or not? Rick gives two key scriptures he believes are the purposes of the church: Matthew 22:37-40 and Matthew 28:19-20. He also states five purposes of the purpose driven church. The first purpose is to love the Lord with all your heart. The church does this through worship. Love your neighbor as yourself is the second purpose. The church does this through ministry. The third purpose is to go and make disciples. In the church we do this through evangelism. This is not just a responsibility but a privilege. We are also called to baptize them. When a person gets baptized, not only are they coming up a new person but they are also identifying that they are part of the body of Christ. Fellowship falls under this purpose. The last purpose is teaching them to obey and is done through discipleship. We are called to reach and teach people as Christians. Be sure that your purpose statement is measurable, encouraging, and in sequence. This is a process and we shouldn’t expect people or the church to transform over night.

Chapter 6: Communicating your purposes
Once you have clearly defined your purpose it is not important to communicate it to your congregation. There are several ways to communicate vision and purpose. Through scripture you can teach the biblical truth about your church. Show the people how your purpose is biblically based. Using symbols is another idea. Symbols have always displayed power. When one sees the American flag they think of freedom and justice. People need visuals. Choose a symbol to represent the purpose of your church. Slogans are also very helpful. As stated in the previous chapter, people remember short phrases better than long paragraphs. Picking a slogan or even several can be beneficial for your church. Story telling is also a great idea. Many times people relate to stories and grasp a better meaning of the concept. Jesus used stories all the time. Always use clear action steps describing how your church is going to reach its goals and purposes. “Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific (114).” The next step is to personalize the purpose. When something has value to each individual, it becomes so much more than just a church purpose. Each member should recognize what their personal responsibilities are as a believer. God wants us to be members of his family. He wants us to be a model of his character and be a minister of his grace. God wants us to be a messenger of his love and a magnifier of his name. Along with responsibilities also come privileges. God blesses his people in a variety of ways. It’s important to state your purpose over and over to your congregation and there are many different ways of doing this. You can write songs about your purpose, send out fliers, etc. It’s important that each person in your church is aware of the purpose and remembers it.