Agenda March 12, 2013 Meeting

1)      Review the Goal Before Us: “Over the next three years [all members and friends]of the United Methodist Church of Sturgeon Bay will be part of a small group which help grow the participants in the areas of spiritual formation, mission, and community building.”

2)      Underlying goals (implied in the above):

a)      To build connection within the church

b)      To aid growth in the three focus areas: spiritual formation, mission, and community building

c)      To build connection beyond the church walls into the community

d)      To help the congregation members/friends grow ‘one step’

e)      To develop a self-awareness of who we are and who we are called to be as ‘church’

f)       To develop an intentionality about what we do and why we do it, particularly as it relates to connections between and among people and as it relates to our 3 focus areas: community building, mission, and spiritual formation.

g)      Aren’t we really looking for a little revival???

3)      Who are we & what do we call ourselves? (e.g. “Connection Campaign 2013” or “Connection Campaign”). Does it matter? Thoughts, suggestions??  Should we make announcements to gather more people?

4)      Review of Carol Krueger’s process in gathering folks together when Joe & Ricki came

a)      Did a review of the directory

b)      Picked out 15 names of people to host

c)      Tried to match the rest of the congregation from directory in terms of location to one of the 15 hosts & arranged ‘meetings’ from there.

d)      Shut ins were addressed with smaller visits.

e)      Some were missed—we can focus on smaller groups meeting those harder to reach individuals.

5)      Summer Gatherings 2013:  What do we think our process should look like?

a)      Carol suggested we look for 20 hosts

b)      Pick the 20

c)      Directory - Joe

d)      How do we divide the tasks ahead?

e)      Who, what, when and how

6)      Meeting with existing groups… do we want to meet with existing groups or talk to leaders of existing groups about their part in all of this… how to be more purposeful and intentional in the next year.

7)      Small Group Fair? Do we do this at some point early fall or end of summer?

8)      Summer Curriculum – do we want to do a summer curriculum for these gatherings or a separate study outside of these gatherings?

a)      Group or other type of curriculum—Shelia had suggested this last time

b)    NOOMA idea (video curriculum) “We are Church”—see attached
 

c)      Rethink Church from larger UMC structure—is there curriculum for this????  (see attached)

d)      Simple scripture study with three questions:  study of a gospel or other book from Bible, suggestions from Joe??, see below under (e)—three questions below

i)        What does the scripture say about the nature of God?

ii)      What does the scripture say about the nature of community?

iii)    What message or calling does this lift up for our small group/congregation?

iv)    Other??????

e)      Scripture ideas

i)        What would Joe suggest?

ii)      Genesis and/or Luke-Acts

f)       Multimedia: In person plus online element

i)        In-person(meeting face to face) portion is critical and the main focus

but could we also include…

ii)      Facebook page     “Connections – United Methodist Church of Sturgeon Bay”

iii)    Blog:                       www.connectumc.blogspot.com

iv)    Email chain

 

WE ARE CHURCH, BASIC—FROM NOOMA
NOOMA is a video curriculum aimed at helping Christians discuss and contemplate what it means to follow Jesus in our world today. Rob Bell is a featured teacher. We did a book study of one of his books a while back.  For more information & a flavor or taste, search for “NOOMA” in YouTube…

There is one of these ‘teaching series’ that looked interesting, “We Are Church-Basic.”

https://flannel.org/  - check out their range of curriculum

“We are Church-Basic”
https://flannel.org/products/basic-we-are-church
After watching some video of this on YouTube, I do not think this particular program would be a fit for our church, but I like the concept. What do you think?? Could we find something in this vein?

Description: Join Francis Chan as he encourages Christians to examine the early church and consider returning to the concept of church described in the Bible.

Each kit includes:

• - Disc 1: FELLOWSHIP film and two exclusive study sessions
• - Disc 2: TEACHING film and two exclusive study sessions
• - Disc 3: PRAYER film and two exclusive study sessions
• - Disc 4: COMMUNION film and three exclusive study sessions
• - Disc 5: Tips for leaders, sermon and teaching outlines, video clips, promotional videos and print pieces for church use, and more.
• - Six WE ARE CHURCH Follower's Guides, written specifically for use with this small group kit
  
  
  

 

Rethink Church – from the UMC

“Rethink Church” is a campaign or initiative of the United Methodist Church. You can find more information at:  www.rethinkchurch.org

Rethink Church Information and Campaign Research

 Theological Foundation

 RETHINK CHURCH is not a call to find a new theology, nor to move away from our commitment to scripture, nor to distance ourselves from our Wesleyan tradition. It is a call to refocus ecclesiology, to ask the question, "What has God called The United Methodist Church the 21st century?" To see church in a way that is more aligned to scripture, and to be faithful to the tradition of John Wesley who believed the world was his parish.

Campaign Research

SAMPLE: 2009 United Methodist Communications Rethink Church Seeker Research - Summary of Findings   Online interviews with 839 "seekers" ages 18 to 34 were conducted to gain insight into their attitudes and spiritual needs and their perceptions and expectations of churches. The research was conducted on behalf of United Methodist Communications by The Barna Group in conjunction with BOHAN Advertising|Marketing.

Resources to use available at online store:
EXAMPLE:  “A Fresh Start” Multimedia Bundle  $25     

Looking for resources with a back to school focus? A Fresh Start, a Rethink Church sermon starter series encourages congregations to look at the back to school season as a chance for all persons to begin anew. The series is free to download. A Fresh Start multimedia bundle includes 5 videos (for worship or small groups), worship graphics, and graphics to help you reach beyond your walls. A Fresh Start focuses on this season as a way to create that hospitable environment for the faith community. This four-week series addresses the following topics:
 Week 1: Backpack Blessings: taking God with you to face fear, uncertainty and dreams
 Week 2: Fitting In, or Becoming Fit: self-acceptance, peer pressure and self-worth in God
Week 3: When the Lead Breaks: dealing with disappointment
Week 4: Each Day a New Beginning: learning how to begin again
Outbound challenges are included to help the congregation take faith to the streets and show the love of Christ. A Fresh Start multimedia bundle ($25) includes:
•5 Worship Videos
• Worship Slide and Bulletin Cover Graphics
•Direct Mail, Door Hangers,
+Newspaper and Invitation Card artwork to invite others For a complete list of contents click here. 

This is a sample blog/webpage that could be used for our 'Connection Campaign'. More to come.