Church Wake-Up Call: A Ministries Management Approach That is Purpose-Oriented and Inter-Generational in Outreach

by Benke; William

• ISBN13: 9780789011381
• ISBN10: 0789011387
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2001-02-20
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Is your church viable in the changing marketplace of today--and tomorrow? Today's church market is comprised of four cultural paradigms--Youth, Baby Busters (Generation X), Baby Boomers, and Pre-Boomers. Each has unique characteristics in terms of attitudes, spiritual orientation, values, emotional needs, moral perspective, and lifestyle. This implies significant changes for the church--new approaches to ministry and different methods of communication and interface. Church Wake-Up Call's unique "Ministries Matrix" approach provides effective management techniques to help you define and evaluate duties, priorities, and remedial actions for the future of your ministry in today's multigenerational context. Church Wake-Up Call will inform and enlighten you on these subjects: understanding and using the Ministries Matrix to define purposes and priorities for your church eirecting your ministry toward a particular age group without compromising the church's message increasing your church's visibility structuring your church's management organization creating an effective outreach program . . . and more! Although the book is oriented toward churches and their leadership and has been written largely from an evangelical Christian perspective, the descriptive information regarding each of the generational categories that comprise today's populace is applicable to all Christian organizations, whether they be evangelical or mainline Protestant, Catholic or parachurch. Similarly, the management system, which integrates defined purposes, priorities, and programming options into a well-coordinated plan of action, can be applied by all such organizations.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction and Overview	1	(8)
The Market	9	(24)
The Baby Boomers	11	(8)
Generation X (Baby Busters)	19	(3)
The Youth	22	(2)
The Pre-Boomers	24	(4)
Ministry Implications	28	(5)
Priorities	33	(26)
Child Evangelism	33	(7)
Youth Evangelism	40	(2)
Adult Evangelism	42	(4)
Church Size	46	(2)
Community Service or Assistance	48	(11)
A Word About Management	59	(6)
Purposes	65	(14)
The Ministries Matrix	75	(4)
Using the Ministries Matrix	79	(18)
Getting Organized	79	(2)
The Leadership Council	81	(1)
Setting Priorities	82	(4)
Recording Current Programming on the Ministries Matrix	86	(5)
Evaluating the Current Ministries Plan	91	(6)
Developing a Ministries Strategy	97	(14)
Multigenerational Centralized Strategy	97	(1)
Targeted Centralized Strategy	98	(1)
Small Groups Strategy	99	(1)
Satellite Churches	100	(2)
House Church Strategy	102	(1)
Traditional and Contemporary Services Strategy	103	(1)
Grace Church Strategy	104	(3)
Other Follow-Up Activities	107	(4)
Visibility	111	(4)
Evangelism Visibility	112	(1)
Growth Visibility	112	(1)
Discipleship Visibility	112	(1)
Generational Visibility	113	(2)
Organization	115	(8)
Organization by Function	115	(3)
Organization by Age	118	(1)
Ministries Oversight and Interface	119	(4)
The Challenge of Change	123	(4)
Notes	127	(4)
Recommended Reading	131	(4)
Index	135