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THY562 PracticumII Final PaperC 1

efolio Capstone

Practicum II Final Paper

Peter Keyes

February 28, 2009

THY562 – Writing / Production of Evangelism / Leadership Development Materials

Instructor: Dr. Eugene Bunkowske

Master of Arts in Christian Outreach

Oswald Hoffmann Institute for Christian Outreach

Concordia University

St. Paul, Minnesota


Abstract

“I went to the LORD for help. He answered me and rescued me from all my fears” Psalm 34:4

(God’s Word, 1995).

I planned to do this Practicum course even before I had enrolled in the MACO program.

Last spring I laid the groundwork for it to take place in St. John’s at Motley, Minnesota. I had

high expectations of the congregation and of the outcomes of the Practicum experience. Once

again God used a slightly different plan to shape my educational experience and to prepare me

for ministry in the future. Though this Practicum experience God has helped me to get a better

understanding for ministry in the rural community. He helped me to gain confidence in my

ability to develop and lead others into outreach through the study of His Word. He has also

helped me to trust in His provision and depend on Him for all of my needs.


Table of Contents

Abstract 2

Introduction 4

I. Practicum II Proposal 4

II. Stated Goal 6

III. Stated Objectives 7

IV. Outcomes of Practicum Experiences 12

V. Positive Influences of the Practicum Experience 16

VI. Negative Influences on the Practicum Experience 17

VII. Lessons Learned About Myself as a Result of the Practicum Experience 17

VIII. Impact of Practicum on My Future Ministry 18

IX. Connection Between Practicum and the Other MACO Courses 19

Conclusion 19

References 20

Appendix 24


Introduction

The Masters of Arts in Christian Outreach (MACO) practicum experience is designed to

be an opportunity to actively engage fellow Christians in outreach activities through

encouragement, education, and personal experiences. This was to be more than just another

classroom assignment but also an opportunity to experience growth in my confidence to

effectively lead others in outreach within their community. In this experience I was not only the

student but also the teacher, and as the teacher, became the student of many. I had successes and

also failures. I gained knowledge about my abilities, my strengths, and my weaknesses. I also

learned about the blessings and advantages of ministering within the rural cultural environment.

However, I also failed to actively engage my students in direct ministry within their community.

While we made progress and laid the groundwork for future outreach ministry developments

within the community by the congregation, I failed to lead the members of my class to engage in

specific outreach ministry experiences within their community during the Practicum. My prayer

and desire for future ministry at my Practicum site is to build on the foundation that has been laid

and lead the congregation in the development and implementation of a specific outreach ministry

in their community.

I. Practicum II Proposal

I chose THY562 – Writing / Production of Evangelism / Leadership Development

Materials for my second Practicum because it seemed to be a close fit with my future plans to

develop a leadership-equipping ministry for rural congregations. In prior coursework in the

MACO program I had developed Bible study materials that I thought I would be able to use in

this Practicum. It was my intent to find a congregation that was looking for someone to help


them develop their outreach ministry and to use materials, resources, and insights gained from

my other MACO courses to lead them to become missionally focused.

Before I could begin with the Practicum I needed to secure a site and assess the potential

for developing a working relationship with the leadership of the congregation. I made contact

with Pastor Koehler of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Motley, Minnesota. He invited me to meet

with the elders of the congregation in September of 2009 to gain a better understanding of their

need for outreach leadership and to develop a plan of action that could be submitted to the

congregation for approval at their voters meeting in October. Based on our conversation and the

outcome of that meeting, I submitted a proposal to the elders to lead the congregation through a

Biblical study of our beliefs and core values in relationship to our mission within God’s mission.

The intended purpose for using this Bible study was to help individual members of the

congregation to see the opportunities that they have been given to serve as missionaries within

their own community. The elders of St. John’s Lutheran agreed to the proposal and presented it

to the congregation for their approval. The congregation voted to participate in this project and

gave their consent to allow the classes to be held on Sunday morning in place of their regularly

scheduled adult Bible class lead by Pastor Koehler.

I also submitted my Practicum proposal to Dr. Bunkowske for his approval with the

following stated goal and objectives on October 1, 2009. This occurred while I was waiting for

final approval from the congregation. During this period of waiting I continued to prepare myself

for the Practicum by reading and reviewing ministry materials that would be useful within the

context of rural ministry and worked to develop, modify, and adapt the Bible study materials for

specific use at St. John’s in Motley.


II. Stated Goal

To modify current missional leadership development materials to be relevant to the

context of rural ministry and test (by utilization) these materials in a rural community

environment, by assisting the leadership of St. John’s Lutheran, Motley to identify their

role in God’s mission and effectively lead their congregation to intentionally share

Christ’s love and message of salvation with the people of their community.

My original plan was to use a Bible study that I had developed for THY551 – Social

Issues in Mission as the foundation for the leading the congregation to experience mission in

their community. However after my discussions with the elders of St. John’s it was determined

that the congregation would benefit from a study on core values and missional purpose.

Therefore I chose to modify a Bible study that I had written a couple of years earlier titled

Discovering Your Mission in God’s Mission as the foundation for leading the congregation.

These materials specifically addressed the role individual Christians have in God’s mission and

are useful in helping a congregation to develop mission and vision statements to guide their

future ministries. The elders at St. John’s had stated that they currently did not have a mission

statement and were looking for direction in developing one. With that in mind I proceeded to

modify the original Bible study and format it into a study that could be used at St. John’s. The

result was a Bible study that I have titled Defining our Beliefs / Identifying our Values /

Discovering our Mission in God’s Mission / Catching the Vision for our role in God’s Mission.

The study was originally designed for use in a weekly format where we were given 1½

hours for our discussion time. I was told that I would be given fifty minutes on Sunday morning

for the Bible study at St. John’s. This meant that I would need to condense the materials to fit the

time frame allowed and that the class members would have to spend time preparing themselves


for the study on their own during the week. I also needed to add a practical component to the

study to help the members engage in intentional outreach in the community. This was

accomplished by adding a few simple homework assignments to the course.

However, my primary concern was that the members of this class might feel that I was

imposing myself upon them and that they would not invest the time nor the effort into the study

unless they were made aware of the need to be missionally prepared. With this in mind, I added

an introductory missional readiness questionnaire (Appendix C) to the beginning of the course,

that would serve as a guide for the conversation, with the hope that it would raise the awareness

of the personal role each one has in God’s mission and create an urgency to become prepared for

ministry by engaging in the Bible study.

III. Stated Objectives

1. Grow in my relationship with God through the practice of daily prayer and Bible study.

My primary purpose for engaging in this Practicum experience was to develop as a

follower of Jesus Christ who is prepared and equipped to lead others to follow Jesus as His

disciples. I cannot ask of others what I am not practicing in my own life. My ministry is

dependent upon my relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship is strengthened by the power

of the Holy Spirit as I actively participate in the disciplines of daily prayer and Bible study.

These daily disciplines become the means by which I receive spiritual food to nourish my faith.

2. Grow in my understanding of God’s mission in the world and my role in that mission.

My purpose for participating in the MACO program and also for picking this Practicum

was to develop my skills as a missional leader with the Church. However this also means that I

must be constantly growing in my understanding of missional leadership. This understanding is


foundational for my involvement in God’s mission and for encouraging others to engage in that

mission with me.

3. Grow in my ability to develop leadership skills.

The focus of this Practicum was to use leadership development materials to equip others

for outreach. Through this Practicum I was able to gain confidence as a leader in a new

environment. In the past I have served congregations as part of their ministry team, but at St.

John’s I was serving as an outside/non-staff temporary teacher. I had to gain the trust and support

of the congregation and lead them into an area of ministry that was radically different and

outside of their normal comfort zone. I had to adjust my strategy and expectations of the

congregation as I developed my relationship with them. I soon realized the limitations of my

position and also the realistic potential of the congregation to be involved in outreach within the

community. With this new understanding I continued to lead the group forward and have a sense

of accomplishment with the result of our Bible class.

4. Clarify my values, mission, vision, and strategies for equipping missional leaders in

Christ’s church.

As I began to develop the material for the class to study, I took the time to also clarify

and write out my personal core values (Appendix A). With the help of the coursework in

THY582 Evangelism in the Life of the Church and THY581 Outreach Ministry in Context II:

Strategies, I have also developed a personal mission/vision for rural ministry and have begun the

process of specifically identifying the strategies that I will need to take to get this ministry off the

ground.

5. Explore and test Biblically based missional leadership materials that would be relevant

to the congregation and community where I am working.


Throughout the MACO program I had been reading and researching books on missional

leadership, and throughout this Practicum, I continued to seek the advise of others who had

experience working with rural congregations. Often my reflections on the readings were used as

the introduction to our classrooms discussions. It was my intent to make the discussions as

relevant as possible to the present situations of the class participants and to connect our Bible

studies to everyday practical experiences. As the class leader I also had a responsibility to

present the concepts and theories of missional outreach in simplified terminology to help

individual members of the class see the opportunities that they have been given to reach their

neighbors for Christ.

6. Develop a culturally relevant missional assessment tool that would create awareness and

urgency within rural congregations.

Through my research on transforming non-missional congregations into missional

congregations, I became aware of the need to help a congregation’s leadership to identify the

barriers to outreach that might be present within their community. One of these barriers presents

itself as a lack of urgency on the part of the congregation to be involved in outreach ministries.

Specifically small town/rural congregations do not see the need to invest in ministries that would

reach out to their communities. To address this attitude and to create a sense of urgency within

the congregation, I developed a questionnaire for the leadership to fill out and discuss in their

ministry-planning meeting (Appendix B). This questionnaire was shared with Pastor Koehler at

St. John’s and he decided to use it as a discussion starter with the leadership of the congregation.

7. Lead leaders to clarify their values, mission, vision, and strategies for reaching their

communities for Christ.


I chose to develop a second questionnaire for use as the introduction to our Bible study

that would help the class understand the importance of developing a clear statement of beliefs,

values, mission, and vision for ministry (Appendix C). The students were given the questionnaire

and only allowed enough time to briefly answer a few of the questions during our first class. The

following week we began the Bible study, which for many of the students would be a brief

review of key elements from the Lutheran Catechism. In this study we began with a focus on our

core beliefs – the reason we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and whom we believe

God to be – the Triune God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The second part of our study was on

Biblical images of the Church. And the third part of our study was on the role of the Church in

the mission of God1.

Throughout this study participants were encouraged to consider how they would share

their faith with others through their words and through their actions. We discussed the

importance of having a clear understanding of our faith and being able to clearly share our faith

with others. We also talked about our place in God’s mission and how God has placed us in our

community as His missional agents to be missionaries to the people by words and deeds. We

discussed potential ministry developments that would meet the needs of people within the

community and ministries that would meet the needs of inactive members of the congregation.

The Bible study concluded with a promise from the leadership of St. John’s to continue

developing a missional strategy for the congregation.

8. Lead leaders to identify the strengths of their congregation.

As I wrote out these objectives I was thinking of a long-range ministry development plan

and failed to consider the amount of time that would be needed to engage a typical small

1 The study Defining our Beliefs / Identifying our Values / Discovering our Mission in God’s Mission / Catching the

Vision for our role in God’s Mission will be sent as a separate attachment to this paper.


town/rural congregation to embrace a shift in their ministry attitudes. As the Practicum began to

unfold I realized that I would have to spend more time helping the leaders see the need for

involving others in the ministry, before they would consider conducting a survey of the

congregations strengths. Informally we talked about the strengths of the congregation in our

Bible study class and identified a couple key strengths. These were identified as close family

connections and warm family atmosphere of the congregation. However these strengths could

also become barriers to new families that are not related to the “family” members of the

congregation.

9. Lead leaders to identify the needs of their community.

I created a homework assignment to help the members of the class to begin identifying

the needs of the people in the community (Appendix D) and gave it to them after the second

lesson. I intended to follow-up this assignment with a discussion of community needs. No one

took the time to fill out the assessment so I decided to wait until we had covered more of the

material before bringing it up again. I also intended to take some members of our class with me

to conduct a door-to-door survey of the needs of the people using the same survey tool that was

developed for the first Practicum. This was to be done shortly after we had covered the Bible

study section titled: Why we believe in Jesus Christ. However, the Bible study developed much

slower than I had planned and I was unable to make the connections with class members to start

conducting the surveys. In the end I failed to complete this objective.

*NOTE: The following seven objectives were part of my optimistic plan to continue in

ministry with the members of St. John’s in Motley. I had hoped to help them start at least one

outreach ministry during my Practicum experience. Although we made progress toward the


development of a missional awareness within the congregation, the future development of an

outreach ministry is still a distant reality that may take a couple of years to implement.

10. Guide the leaders to experiment with missional ministry through the use of applied

Biblical studies by maintaining a balance between Biblical knowledge and ministry

application.

11. Guide the leaders to identify at least ONE ministry that their congregation could develop

to meet a current need in the community.

12. Guide the leaders as they develop a plan of action that will involve the congregation in

this ministry to the community.

13. Walk with the leaders as they begin to put this plan of action into motion.

14. Use this ministry to intentionally share Christ’s love and message of salvation with the

people of the community.

15. Continue to provide constructive feedback as the congregation embraces and engages in

this ministry.

16. Schedule a time for all of the participants to engage in evaluation and celebration of

their involvement of this ministry.

17. Continue to support and encourage the leaders of St. John’s as they reachout to their

community for Christ after the Practicum comes to an end.

IV. Outcomes of Practicum Experiences

The following outcomes are based on the instructional goals and objectives for THY562 –

Writing/Production of Evangelism Leadership Development Materials course guidelines as they

relate to my experiences in the Practicum.

Being Objectives


I made a conscious effort to spend time every day reading a portion of the Bible and

reflecting on the missional aspect of God’s activity in the lives of His people. I also reflected on

the application of this understanding in my role as a chosen missionary for Jesus Christ. While I

gained understanding and a deeper appreciation for God’s presence in my life, I also became

somewhat frustrated with my inability to actively engage in direct outreach ministry in the

Motley community during this Practicum. This concern became the focus for many of my

prayers. I continued to pray for doors to open and for direction during this Practicum, but was

held back by my inability to find a balance between the academic study and the practical

application of ministry.

At times I experienced guilt and depression for failing to complete what I had set out to

do. At other times I recognized the value of God’s presence and forgiveness in my life. I took

advantage of the time that God had provided me with to clarify my ministry values and to seek

direction for my future ministry involvement. This was not the direction I had set out on when

setting up the strategies for this Practicum but it became the unintentional benefit of experiencing

the feeling of failure in my ministry. I was attempting to create a sense of urgency in the lives of

the people at St. John’s in Motley, but I lacked that sense of urgency and had to discover it for

myself.

Knowing Objectives

Throughout this Practicum and in conjunction with THY582 Evangelism in the Life of the

Church I researched and developed a five-year plan for implementing an outreach program into a

congregation. I used my experiences at St. John’s in Motley and the context of their congregation

as the location for this ministry proposal. The proposal was hypothetical and based on a best-case

scenario of what might happen if the ministry initiatives were put into place. The foundation for


my proposal was the formation of a small group ministry. My concept was based on the idea that

leaders are developed through small group interactions and Biblical spiritual formation.

I proposed that as the leaders of the church became trained they would then be placed in

positions were they would be able to instruct and influence others within the church to become

the next generation of leaders. This would occur through the multiplication of the small groups.

The primary focus of the small groups would be for spiritual formation through Bible study and

active ministry involvement. Each small group would choose their own ministry activity with an

understanding that all of the congregation’s ministries would serve an outreach function.

The primary entry-level small group course would begin with a Biblical study of spiritual

formation and core values. This would lead into a reflective study of the congregation’s mission

in God’s mission and the formation of the congregation’s vision for future ministry. This would

be based on the Bible study course that I developed and was using at St. John’s.

Attitude Objectives

Throughout this Practicum I personally struggled with my attitude. I experienced guilt for

not completing as much as I had set out to accomplish. Often I was torn between pushing

forward to create opportunities for outreach and waiting for God to open the doors for these

opportunities to happen. Emotionally I wrestled with the tension between my desire to be

involved and my desire to wait on God. Often I wondered if I cared enough about others to make

the necessary sacrifices to bring Christ to them. I took time to reflect on my purpose and place in

God’s greater plan for redeeming the world. I concluded that I had indeed been called to serve

God in outreach ministry as an equipper of His people. My gifts may not be in the area of

evangelism, although that should not be used as an excuse for neglecting to proclaim Christ


when I have been given the opportunity, but my gifts are in the area of teaching and encouraging

others.

I did not take my teaching abilities for granted and worked to prepare myself before each

class. I also approached my time together with the people at St. John’s as a student of their

culture and habits. I tried to learn from them and relate that to what I had read from people who

have experience working in the rural church environment. During my Practicum I also wrote my

second Missiological Research Paper for eFolio titled, Understanding Missional Barriers or

Obstacles in Rural Ministry. In this paper I identified some of the barriers that rural ministers

might face and provided a few practical solutions for developing outreach ministry in rural

communities.

Doing Objectives

My primary objective for working with the members of St. John’s during this Practicum

was to lead the congregation toward a missional perspective of ministry formation. They were

planning to develop new ministries to meet the needs of new members that have joined their

congregation as the result of building a new sanctuary. The elders had indicated a desire to have

help developing a mission statement for their congregation that would guide the development of

their future ministries. I saw this as an opportunity to serve God in His mission, and to have an

influence on the missional direction of St. John’s ministry, long after the Practicum had come to

an end. Therefore, the Bible study materials were selected to move the congregation down the

road in this direction.

I soon realized that one of the obstacles I would face in implementing my Bible study

was the Sunday morning schedule and the habits of the congregation. The class was scheduled

for fifty minutes but many times people would show up twenty minutes late leaving us with only


thirty minutes of study and discussion time. I tried to make adjustments to the coursework and

worked with what I had been given. Needless to say I did not make the progress I had expected

to make, but we did at least plant some seeds for missional change within the congregation.

During the Practicum I also completed two book reports related to ministering in the rural

community. The first was: Breaking the missional code: Your church can become a missionary

in your community (Stetzer & Putman, 2006). This book was a conversation for understanding

the missional purpose of the church and a guide for developing the right models of ministry for

the context in which we find ourselves ministering. It was both theoretical and practical. It is a

book that I will continue to use as a reference as I prepare evangelism leadership materials for

different ministry contexts.

The second book that I reviewed was: Turnaround strategies for the small church

(Crandall, 1995). This was a very practical book related to outreach strategies for rural and small

congregations. Crandall recognizes the uniqueness of ministering in small congregations and

offers positive suggestions for renewing a congregation’s vitality, which have been proven to be

effective in the field. This book will also be used as a reference as I continue to develop a

specific ministry for rural outreach leadership development.

V. Positive Influences of the Practicum Experience

Over the past two years I have been writing and developing outreach leadership materials

without having the opportunity to test them in a congregation setting. This Practicum gave me an

opportunity to put some of these materials to the test to see if they would be effective. It also

gave me the opportunity to make corrections or modifications in the practical usage of the

materials. The Bible study had been designed for use in a different context and setting than I

experienced in the Practicum setting at St. John’s. This presented a challenge which I needed to


face in order to still have a positive outcome at the end of the course. I learned how to become

more flexible both in my teaching approach and in my expectations for the outcomes.

I recognized that many of the participants in the class seemed to be overwhelmed by the

number of Bible verses assigned for each lesson. I also recognized that several of the participants

did not a high level of commitment to the process. I decided to simplify the lesson plans and only

discuss a few key verses each week, which allowed more time for discussion and feedback from

the class participants. I believe the class made good progress in understanding their role as God’s

missional people in Motley and that seeds were planted for the process to continue.

VI. Negative Influences on the Practicum Experience

Ministry in a rural environment is built on trust and relationship. The pace of decision-

making and ministry application is much slower than in other communities. Even though I began

my preparations to carry out my Practicum at St. John’s in April of 2009, I still did not have the

relational connection I needed to move the ministry along at a faster pace. This gave meaning

and purpose to the development of my second Missiological Research Paper, as I sought to

understand why ministry changes occur so slowly in the rural environment. I discovered that

many of the ministry obstacles and barriers to outreach are found within the congregation. These

barriers need to be exposed, addressed, or removed before positive changes in outreach attitudes

can take place. Understanding these negative influences became a positive learning experience

for me, as this new understanding will impact the way I address ministry in rural congregations

in the future.

VII. Lessons Learned About Myself as a Result of the Practicum Experience

This Practicum experience gave me an opportunity to explore my passion for ministry in

the rural community. It also gave me an opportunity to explore and experiment with principles of


congregational transformation leading to missional ministry. I felt a very positive connection to

the people of St. John’s in Motley. They accepted me as their teacher with open arms and they

embraced the study that I was about to lead them through with positive enthusiasm. I learned to

be humble in their presence and not lord myself over them. I approach my time with them as a

student of their congregation and also provided them with insights from the viewpoint of a

visitor. I grew in my confidence to lead others in the study of God’s Word and began to

recognize my value as a commissioned minister in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

VIII. Impact of Practicum on My Future Ministry

During the last three months of my Practicum, I was also taking THY581 Outreach

Ministry in Context II: Strategies. The primary focus of this course was centered on model of

ministry developed by Dr. Philip Bickel titled: NET Fishing: Weaving a network of evangelistic

teams (2008). Using my Practicum experience as an example, I designed a model of ministry to

provide part-time ministry to rural congregations for the purpose of outreach leadership

development. I have been thinking about this model for a couple of years but it has always been

loosely formed as an abstract concept. After studying Bickel’s NET Fishing model and applying

the lessons that I have learned through the Practicum experience, I have been able to visualize

the concept for my rural ministry model and also identify some of the challenges that I will face

in implementing it.

I am beginning to understand the amount of groundwork that will need to be done, before

any congregation may actually request outside assistance with the development of an outreach

program, much less an outreach missional transformation of their congregation. In some ways

this is discouraging, but at least I now know what to expect and where to begin.


IX. Connection Between Practicum and the Other MACO Courses

When I reflect back over the Practicum experience and the way the timeline developed I

sometimes have wondered what the outcome would have been had I used the Bible study that

had been designed for THY551 Social Issues in Mission. It would have been shorter, and maybe a

better fit for the time-frame we had on Sunday mornings, and it also had a direct outreach

component imbedded in the weekly activities. However, I cannot beat myself up over what I

should have or could have done and must thank God for what He allowed me to accomplish for

His glory at St. John’s with the material that I used.

The Practicum experience gave me an opportunity to put into practice some of the

theoretical observations that I had been making throughout the MACO coursework. It also

shaped my understanding of real ministry in a real rural environment. It was also the piece of the

MACO puzzle that helped me to focus my research and the reflections for the other required

papers in the eFolio courses.

Conclusion

My conclusion to this Practicum experience could be similar to what I wrote after my

first Practicum. I laid out plans for the Practicum but God saw fit to develop those plans in His

time and on His timeline instead of on mine. I found myself waiting on Him more often than I

found myself serving Him. However, I also recognized that this time of waiting was a time for

spiritual growth. I was being formed into a ministry leader and was acquiring the disciplines that

I would need to serve Him in the future. I believe that I am being called to go down a difficult

ministry road. This may be an undeveloped and unblazed trail. I do know that I will have the

support of others who have ventured into unknown places and those in ministry that I meet along

the way. Ultimately, God will guide my steps. I will not be going alone; God will be with me.


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mailto:[email protected]


Appendix A

MY CORE VALUES

October 14, 2009

Peter Keyes

1. I value my relationship with Jesus Christ, knowing that I have become a child of God

because of His redeeming love. I have been given the privilege to have access to His

written Word and spend time in conversation with Him everyday.

2. I value my relationships with my wife, children, brothers, sisters, and parents. I have

been given the privilege to have loving parents who taught me about Jesus as a child and

prayed for me throughout my life. Following the example that they set, Marci and I

taught our children about Jesus and continue to pray for them everyday.

3. I value my Christian mentors and the advice of Christian leaders. I have been given

the privilege throughout my life to receive instruction and guidance from men and

women who have lived their lives as living examples of Jesus Christ.

4. I value the gifts God has given to me as His partner in ministry. I look forward to

opportunities to begin relationships with new believers, to teach them about Jesus Christ,

and to encourage and build them up in their relationships with Him.

5. I value the opportunities that God gives to me to serve others and show His love

through my actions. I look forward to opportunities where I am able to serve the needs

of non-believers, build relationships with them and share the message of salvation with

them.

6. I value times when I am able to engage others in conversations about their beliefs.

Its is through listening to their stories that I am able to learn about their views of the

world around them and become better equipped to share my faith in Christ with them.

7. I value my friendships, my country life, and my home in the woods. My passion for

ministry is for those who have their roots in the country. It is with these people that I find

common ground for relationships. We have shared values in our lifestyles of country

living. My home is a place of retreat and renewal for me at the end of the day. It allows

me to have opportunities to be alone with God and reflect on His work in my life.

8. I value the opportunity to exercise my freedom to worship God in the United States

of America. This is a privilege that I often take for granted.

9. I value my health, the world we live in, food and clothing, and all the other goods

that God has blessed me with that provide for my daily needs. These are also often

taken for granted.


Appendix B

Missional Awareness and Urgency Tool

1. Do you have unreached people in your community?

2. What actions are you currently taking to identify the unreached within your community?

a.

b.

c.

d.

3. If you had the necessary resources, what actions would you take to identify the unreached

in your community?

a.

b.

c.

d.

4. In your opinion, what are the necessary resources you would need to carry out this

activity?

a.

b.

c.

d.

5. List some obstacles you are facing in your community to reach the unreached.

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

6. Rate the following possible obstacles and attitudes you might face in your community.

(Use 1 for a low barrier – 5 for a high barrier.)

a. Community doesn’t understand the purpose of the congregation.

b. Congregation is not seen as relevant to the community.

c. The congregation is not meeting community needs.

d. The congregation is seen as the place where only the elite, German, white, or

Lutheran (etc.) attend.

e. Perception that new members may never hold leadership positions in your

congregation because of family history.

f. The congregation is only interested in my money.

g. The congregation will be there when I need it because it has always been here.

h. I believe in Christ, but don’t need to be in worship every week.

i. I work on weekends, no time to attend worship.


j. Church is for kids.

k. I am doing just fine without the church.

7. List some obstacles that you are facing within your congregation to reach the unreached

in your community.

a.

b.

c.

d.

8. Rate the following possible obstacles and attitudes within your congregation as they

relate to outreach ministry.

(Use 1 for a low barrier – 5 for a high barrier.)

a. Lack of willing volunteers.

b. Lack of trained volunteers.

c. Lack of training available for willing volunteers.

d. Lack of time to train volunteers.

e. Lack of personnel to train volunteers.

f. Congregation would not approve of investing in outside help to train volunteers.

g. Role of outreach seen as pastor’s (or ministry professional’s) job.

h. Congregation unaware of need to reach the unreached.

i. Volunteers lack confidence to reach the unreached.

j. Internal ministry concerns more important than reaching the unreached in the

community.

k. Members of congregation afraid of offending relatives or friends in the

community by engaging in outreach activities.

l. Financial struggles within the congregation.

m. Outreach ministry is seen as a program of church growth.

n. Outreach ministry is not the primary ministry of the congregation.

o. Congregation members would rather hire someone to do outreach for them.

9. If given the opportunity to be trained, would members of your congregation participate in

the process of outreach to the community?

10. Would your congregation consider hiring someone to lead the congregation to identify

the unreached within your community?

11. Would your congregation consider hiring someone to help identify relevant ministries to

meet the needs of the people of the community?

12. Would your congregation consider hiring someone to equip member volunteers to build

relationships with non-Christians in the community?

13. Would your congregation consider hiring someone to train the members of your

congregation to confidently and intentionally share their faith in Christ within the context

of these relationships?


Appendix C

Missional Readiness - Values, Beliefs, Purpose, Mission, etc.

VALUES I. Create list of all the things you value – Brainstorm – write down whatever comes to mind.

II. Rank the list in order of importance.

III. Of these items which could you not live without?

o Are these foundational to your faith? Explain.

BELIEFS IV. List all of the things that you believe to be true about God.

V. Rank the list in order of importance.

VI. Of this list, which of these items would you be willing to defend with your life?

o Are these your bedrock beliefs? Explain.

PURPOSE VII. List all of the things you want to accomplish in your life before you die.

VIII. Rank this list in order of priority.

IX. Which of these items are directly influenced by your values and beliefs?

X. Which of these items are related to your “vocation”?

XI. Which of these items are related to your perceived “calling” in life?

MISSION XII. From your personal study of the Bible, what is your perception of God’s mission for you?

(What do you believe God wants you to accomplish for Him before you die?)

XIII. Compare the answer you gave for #IX and #XII above. Are they the same or different?

o Explain the reason for your answer.

GIFTED FOR MINISTRY XIV. List all of the talents and gifts that you have that make you unique.

XV. Mark those on the list that are talents with a “T.”

XVI. Mark those that you believe are spiritual gifts with a “S.”

XVII. Ask a friend to look at your list and add any talents or Spiritual gifts that they believe you have.

XVIII. Share the results and reasons with each other in groups of three.

XIX. Reflect on these questions:

o “What do you have that God has not given to you?”

o “Are you using the gifts God has given to you for His glory and ministry?”

VISION FOR MINISTRY XX. What ministries do you see yourself doing for God five years from now?

XXI. What ministries do you see yourself doing for God ten years from now?

XXII. What would you need to do to prepare yourself for these ministries?

XXIII. List some roadblocks or barriers that might keep you from being involved in these future ministries. XXIV. List some possible actions that might open doors for you to be involved in these ministries.

XXV. Based on your values and beliefs, perceived mission and purpose, and the gifts and talents that God has

given to you:

o Write one personal future ministry goal that you will work toward in the next five years.

o Write a brief statement of what your ministry will look like in ten years.

Share these within your small group of three.

SPECIFIC PLANNING XXVI. Start to develop objectives that will help you reach this goal.

XXVII. For each objective list five strategies to carry it out.

XXVIII. Place strategies into a plan of action on a specific timeline.


Appendix D

Assignment for class:

Drive on all of the streets in Motley this week.

Make a list of at least ten observations.

1. ________________________________

2. ________________________________

3. ________________________________

4. ________________________________

5. ________________________________

6. ________________________________

7. ________________________________

8. ________________________________

9. ________________________________

10. ________________________________

(Look for types of homes, conditions of roads, evidence of children, evidence of seniors, etc.

Take the time to see the community as if you were looking at it for the first time. Look for details

that would give you a picture of who our neighbors are and some possible needs they might

have.)

Pick two or three of your observations from the list above a commit them to the Lord in

prayer this week.

1. ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. ________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Bring this list back with you next Sunday.

It will be used as part of our conversation.

We will collect the sheets and collate the observations for future use.

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