Week One

Reading Assignment: Chapter 1-4

Week Two

Reading Assignment: Chapter 5-7

Week Three

Reading Assignment: Chapter 8-9

Week Four

Reading Assignment: Chapter 10-13

Week Five

Reading Assignment: Chapter 14-15

Week Six

Reading Assignment: Chapter 16-17

Week Seven

Reading Assignment: Chapter 18-19

Week Eight

Administrative Training Zoom Call

Week Nine

Administrative Training #2 (Church Registration)

• Understanding Foursquare Church Types
• Charter Covenant Community Comparison Chart_Final.pdf
• Foursquare Covenant churches
• Foursquare Community churches
• New Covenant Church Registration - Process Flowchart.pdf

Week Ten

Administrative Training #3 (Establish a banking relationship and transacting ministry business)

• Understanding fictitious business names (FBN)
• Contact your district office to register a slogan name using Form AR-20
• Establishing a new banking relationship
• Internal Controls
• Collecting and depositing funds - physical
• Collecting and depositing funds - electronic
• Contribution tracking
• Disbursing Funds
• Foursquare policy on electronic card transactions.pdf
• What are reloadable debit cards?
• Church Reloadable Debit Cards Guide.pdf

Discussion Assignment: Read the chapters and assigned and answer the questions provided. Please respond to the question by Thursday and to another’s response by Sunday.

Chapter 1

We often jump to conclusions about how to make the church work better or how to develop a missional strategy—without asking some of the most basic questions. Questions like What does it mean to be the church today? What does it mean to create a missional culture and why does it matter (p.27)?

Chapter 2

JR Woodward writes that understanding and shaping culture involves six elements —language, artifacts, narratives, rituals, institutions and ethics. These elements interrelate to create culture and make up what he calls the “cultural web” (page 35). Give some examples of thin and thick rituals or practices that might shape a church culture’s practice on missio Dei (mission of God). How will they increase people’s honesty and love for God? How will they help shape people for God’s purposes in the world?

Chapter 3

A healing environment creates space for people to pursue living out a life-giving spirituality within community and engage in habits that refresh them physically, recharge them emotionally and renew them spiritually. A healing environment helps the congregation seek wholeness and holiness (p.47 ). How would you describe the difference between wholeness and holiness? How are they both important to spiritual transformations?

Chapter 4

Our approach to leadership is vital if we are to help the church grow to the maturity of Christ. The beauty of the vision that Paul is laying out for us ( in Ephesians 4) that we should learn to develop a diverse team of leaders who together can cultivate communities to be more like Christ (p. 59). How do you learn to develop leaders why should they form a diverse team?

Chapter 5

Woodward speaks of Leadership viewed through the Millennium Matrix, what are your thoughts on the three kinds of leaders and where do you see yourself in the matrix? How will your leadership style affect the church you lead?

Chapter 6

According to pages 82-85 (Leadership in the Gospels), which form of leadership did Jesus consistently try to teach his disciples? A symmetrical mono-centric approach or an asymmetrical poly-centric approach? Please Explain.

Chapter 7

On page 96, Woodward states, “While humans can try to control things and live with a hierarchy, real authority comes from above, and those who live by the Spirit seek to live on the edge of Chaos (between rigidity and anarchy). Please explain your take on what Woodard is saying here.

Chapter 8

Transformation and change takes place when we are brutally honest and vulnerable with one another. (p100) How do you balance the desire to be a leader who appears to be strong and have it all together with vulnerably struggling through emotions?

Chapter 9

Contemporary churches that approach leadership in a polycentric way tend to see Jesus and the Spirit as the center of community, not a single leader. (p104) What might the congregation you serve become if you were to awaken the equippers to live as cultural architects who awaken the entire community to join God in the renewal of all things?

Chapter 10

Woodward describes a reverse approach to leadership in chapter 10. This missional approach to leading includes unleashing the gifts Christ has given the church (pg 114). How might you lead your congregation to be apostolic, prophetic, evangelistic and pastoral beyond the traditional church service/meeting?

Chapter 11

In Chapter 11 (pg. 127-128), Woodward states, “Discipleship takes place when we are “with people,” like Jesus was with the twelve, and it becomes personal and powerful in the formal daily rhythms of life.” This phrase, “daily Rhythms of Life” speaks to more than just “church” ministry, explain how discipleship looks in your life, outside of the church.

Chapter 12

In Chapter 12 (pg. 135), Woodward states, “For through the Spirit the community of faith is a sign pointing to God’s reality, which is just around the corner, and a foretaste of the kingdom, helping people experience the future in the present.” What does Woodward mean by this statement and how does this affect people inside and outside of your ministry

Chapter 13

In Chapter 13 (pg. 143) Woodward states, “Evangelist encourage people to cross to the other side, to engage people on their own turf, and invite others to participate in God’s Kingdom.” How are you, as a church planter, doing this in your life, and how will you create this culture in the life of the church you are planting?

Chapter 14

“Soul healers [pastors] Seek to create an environment that facilitates healing, growth and transformation.” (Pg 152) How can you encourage your community to be more like a family?

Chapter 15

In this chapter, we saw multiple examples of missional hermeneutics and missional theology. How might you approach scripture the same way, but in your own community/city/congregation? If you need help, refer to the example on pg 167 of the Austin, TX church and how they practically approach and apply scripture.

Chapter 16

How would you create a missional culture that helps shape mature disciples who live IN the world without being OF the world, for the sake OF their neighborhood?

Chapter 17

On page 192, Woodward states, “Sharing God’s story does not entail using a prepackaged approach with the hopes of getting people to pray a prayer… It’s about embodying the good news to the point that people want to switch their narrative and live under the rule of Christ and his kingdom.” How does evangelism look in your life and ministry?

Chapter 18

On page 205, Woodward states, “We are less familiar than we should be with the nature and function of the five equippers because we have lost the art of apprenticeship in our local congregations.” What are your thoughts on this statement and how will you raise up and encourage other equippers in your ministry to raise up apprentices?

Chapter 19

How would you see the polycentric leadership style being applied in your church? What do you think would be the hardest part this type of leadership for your congregation?

Please mark these dates and times on your calendars and join us for these times together.

Orientation Zoom Call | TBD

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Zoom Training #1 | TBD

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Zoom Training #2 | TBD

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Zoom Training #3 | TBD

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Videos will be posted after every Zoom Call. 

STAGE 2 RETREAT DATES & DETAILS

Stage Two retreat Description: Review and dialogue of Stage TWO material. Stages of Faith Community Development (Tom Johnston material) Proclamation, Incarnation, Demonstration, Maturation, Transformation, Multiplication. Discussion with current or recent church planters regarding discovering your teams passions and identifying leaders, finding you place in the community – connecting to secular spaces, moving from home gatherings to faith community services, fundraising.

Date: TBD

Time: TBD

Location: TBD

Travel: Please arrange your own travel to our retreat location. You will be responsible for your own flights as well as your travel to/from the airport. Uber/Lyft available or rentals are available in the airport.

Hotels: All hotels will be provided by the district and those details will be emailed to you separately.

Food: All food will be provided by the district during our time together.