NID Refocus

Refocus Congregational Team Training

 

The Refocus Congregational Team Training Retreat was held Nov 6-7, 2009, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Des Plaines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five congregations participated in the Team Training Retreat …

• Faith, Lake Forest
• Good Shepherd, Des Plaines
• St. John, Northbrook
• St. Paul, Skokie
• St. Peter, Pingree Grove

 

 

 

 

 

 

A total of 46 leaders from the five congregations gathered to be trained to implement the Refocus process in their congregations.

 

 

Congregation leaders working on their personal calling statement.  Who would have guessed it would be 70 degrees in November.  We enjoyed the lake adjacent to Good Shepherd.

 

 

 

Angel Food Program as Outreach

Word of Life Church and Preschool in Naperville recently became the local site for Angel Food Ministries, a program that provides nutritious meals at reasonable prices.

Picture: Karen Ostberg (left) and Linda Yoakam distribute Angel Food orders at Word of Life Lutheran Church and Preschool in Naperville.

"We are following Jesus' example of taking care of the needs of the people in the community," said pastor Gary Peterson.

Fred Dempster, chairman of Word of Life, explained why Angel Food was brought to the congregation. 

"Our church mission statement focuses, as any church should, on outreach to the community," he said. "We're always looking for better, new and appropriate ways to reach out to Naperville and the surrounding community. With the economy and job situation and the increase in food bank usage, this seemed to make a lot of sense."

Word of Life was one of the first congregations in the Refocus process!

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Revitalization

Terry Tieman is the director of revitalization for the LCMS through a partnership between LCMS World Mission and the Mid-South District. Prior to his district service, he was a parish pastor for 12 years in Michigan and Arkansas, where he also planted two new congregations. Terry’s 20/20 Vision for the Mid-South District has resulted in nearly 100 new ministries being established since 2000, including over 25 new congregations.

Listen to Terry Talk about Revitalization

Great Expectations

Dr. Steve Christopher, Interim Associate Director, Children's and Family Ministry, District and Congregation Services, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod; announced the availability of a new electronic newsletter on expanding ministry with older people titled, Great Expectations.

It is complied by the Rev. Dr. Vic Constien, and will published on a monthly basis, available on the LCMS Family web-site, www.lcms.org/family. You can also subscribe to it via the LCMS electronic newsletter subscription service at www.lcms.org.

Churches and church professionals have full permission to reproduce it for use in their ministries. All we ask is that you acknowledge the source.

Check Out the First Issue

Group Life Conference 2009

Experience the entire Group Life Conference 2009 live via satellite exclusively on Church Communication Network (CCN), October 24, 2009, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Palatine.  Join other NID small group leaders for a laser-focused, one-day training event that offers practical next steps for fostering spiritual growth in your small group.

• Learn from experts on spiritual formation in groups
• Interact and network with fellow leaders
• Leave encouraged, equipped, and inspired
• Enjoy a special luncheon with other small group leaders from the Northern Illinois District!

Saturday, October 24, 2009
8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
1190 N. Hicks Road
Palatine, IL 60067

Call for tickets today … 847-359-3451. Special POP Price of $39! (Includes networking luncheon with other NID congregations!)

For more information contact …
Diana Vander Pas (dianavp@reachgrowserve.org), Director of Small Group Ministry, Prince of Peace, Palatine.

Click for a PDF Flyer

Dr. Charles Mueller’s “Just Watching”

"Just Watching" is an occasional newsletter from Wheat Ridge Ministries written by Dr. Charles Mueller, Sr. and intended for pastors and parish leaders of effective congregations of all sizes and other friends.

"I slipped that word‐combo, “grain/drop” (suggested by the nursery rhyme), into the last issue of “Just Watching” to pinpoint issues/comments/events that can boost, or sometimes bomb, a pastoral/parish ministry. Pastor Andy Koschmann from Our Savior Lutheran Church, Carol Stream, Illinois, recently introduced me to an author who knows a thing or two about how grain/drops can insert themselves into the scheme of things. The author, Malcolm Gladwell, has written three very readable books that touch on how some minors become majors. The trio, “The Tipping Point” (2000), “Blink” (2005) and “Outliers” (2008) are worthy of your attention. All three allude to the place and importance of life’s little moments, moments like those that occurred during a 1970’s lunch I had with the late Pastor Robert Bartz."

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Stuff They Didn't Teach Me In Sunday School

Ever wondered if there was just a bit more to some of those lessons you learned in Sunday school? Well, we thought so too. The Bible is unique among the holy books of the world's religions. It is not afraid to show the flaws of its heroes. What about Noah?  Did he exhibit flaws in his character?

Join Bruce Wurdeman, President of Lutheran Hour Ministry, as he takes you beyond the Noah you learned about in Sunday school in the series "Stuff They Didn't Teach Me In Sunday School".

LCMS Worship Survey

A group of 300 LCMS congregations was specifically selected to participate in the survey -- those with both the highest number and highest percentage of adult confirmations reported for 2006.  "This double criterion was essential to isolate and identify not only large congregations, but all congregations that reported a significant percentage of growth," Dr. John O'Hara, senior research analyst with LCMS Research Services explained. "Only churches that met both criteria were defined as the top five percent."

"The survey reveals an ardent desire to remain Lutheran," he said, "particularly through preaching the Word and celebrating the sacraments. Communicating the Gospel remains paramount within the distinct context of the local community. Divergent practices were unveiled in those communities that intentionally seek to engage not only lifelong Lutherans, but also [that] seek contextually to embrace and invite those who are unchurched."

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George Barna on Faith of America’s Hispanics

A few years ago the Hispanic population passed the African-American population as the largest ethnic group in the U.S. A new survey by The Barna Group indicates that Hispanics are assimilating the faith of the Caucasian population faster than anyone would have predicted, essentially mirroring the faith of the nation’s white population.  Barna found many similarities with the general American public, but also points out the differences in the faith of American Hispanics. From the Barna report:

An overview of the faith practices and beliefs of Hispanics and the total adult population shows that there are few significant differences between the two groups.  The Barna study found that these segments have nearly identical profiles on the following:

• Belief that their faith is very important in their life
• Perceived accuracy of the principles taught in the Bible
• A personal sense of responsibility to share their faith with others
• Contending that their life has been greatly transformed by their faith
• Belief that the primary purpose of life is to love God fully
• Levels of attendance at church services, Christian education classes, and small groups
• Likelihood of having read the Bible in the past week
• Incidence of having shared their faith with a non-Christian
• Being unchurched
• Involvement in a house church

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What’s Revitalization?

In connection with the Ablaze! movement, the LCMS has adopted the goal of revitalizing 2,000 congregations by 2017. By “revitalizing,” we mean a congregation that is regularly and consistently “making new disciples who make new disciples.”

A revitalized church possesses many of the following characteristics:

• Growth through adult baptisms and confirmations.
• Increase in worship attendance by 5 percent or more annually.
• Rise in stewardship and financial commitments.
• Increased number of hours invested in community service.
• Holds regular outreach events.
• Small-group growth.
• Participates in starting new congregations.

And why should we be outward-focused? Not to keep alive our congregations, but to be faithful to God’s mission for His people of using us to bring as many people as possible into the kingdom of heaven! That is why God keeps us on earth!

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