moving communities toward mission

1. moving communities toward mission “What Will Be?” • 15 Minutes: Making the “could be” reality with SMARTER goals. • 20 Minutes: Developing your community’s SMARTER goals • 15 Minutes: Encouraging one-another by sharing your SMARTER goals with the large group.

2. “What Will Be?” – “SMARTER” Goals moving communities toward mission • Specific. • Measurable. • Attainable. • Relevant. • Time-oriented. • Evaluate. • Reevaluate.

3. “SMARTER” Goals - Specific moving communities toward mission • Bad Examples: • I’m going to share my faith with co-workers. • Our community is going to work more diligently on the “out.” • Good Examples: • I’m going to share my faith with co-workers Bob, Joe and Sally. • Our community is going to reach out to disabled adults at the Oak Tree Development Center for Disabled Adults.

4. “SMARTER” Goals - Measurable moving communities toward mission • Bad Examples: • I’m going to improve in the area of loving others. • Our community is going to work on the “out” more. • Good Examples: • I’m going to love my wife more in February by sweeping the floors at least once/week. • Our community is going to reach out to disabled adults at the Oak Tree Development Center for Disabled Adults by taking them care packages and reading to them at least once/quarter.

5. “SMARTER” Goals - Attainable moving communities toward mission • Bad Examples: • I’m going to share the gospel with my entire family. • Our community is going to feed at least 2,500 homeless. • Good Examples: • I’m going to share my faith with dad and mom this month. • Our community is going to provide food to at least 25 homeless people each quarter.

6. “SMARTER” Goals - Relevant moving communities toward mission • Bad Examples: • I’m going to improve my golf score while entertaining unsaved golfing friends. • My family is going to maintain a clean house so we’re not embarrassed when invite our neighbors to dinner. • Good Examples: • I’m going to invite my unsaved friends to play golf at least once/month for purposes of sharing Christ regardless of who wins and whether I improve; in fact, maybe I‘ll let them win (as I do with Bill Turnwald once every 20 times we play…at his own course).

7. “SMARTER” Goals – Time-oriented moving communities toward mission • Bad Examples: • My family will invite every neighbor on our block to our house for dinner. • Our community is going to sponsor a short-term missions trip to Haiti. • Good Examples: • My family will invite one neighbor family to dinner at least every other week throughout 2010. • Our community will sponsor a s/t missions trip to Haiti NLT 5/1/10.

8. “SMARTER” Goals – Evaluate and Reevaluate moving communities toward mission • Evaluate: • Share your community’s goals with your coach before leaving today. • Commit to reviewing with your coach the effectiveness of your goals—and whether you’re delivering specifically and timely—NLT 4/30/10. • Reevaluate: • Do the same NLT 9/30/10 in preparation for our next Leadership Weekend. • More regular reevaluation is encouraged, but work equally hard to limit bureaucracy and over-managing when you should simply be doing the work of Christ. It is possible to focus too much on managing and too little on doing.

9. “SMARTER” Goals – A Few All-Around Examples moving communities toward mission • Personal: • I will improve in meditating on the Word of God (Joshua 1:8) by journaling at least once/week as I do my daily devotions. • I will pray for the salvation of my boss daily and invite him to lunch during the work day NLT 3/1/10 for purposes of sharing the gospel. • Family: • I will lead my family spiritually by organizing a family “out” event at least quarterly. The first quarter we will do __________ NLT 3/31/10. • I will improve our family “up” time by asking each of my children before dinner at least once/week how they’re doing spiritually; specifically, I will ask about their #1 struggle and #1 success story. We’ll then pray together as a family before the meal for the person to our left.

10. “SMARTER” Goals – A Few All-Around Examples moving communities toward mission • Community: • Our community will improve the “in” by meeting together as a group (adults and children) at least twice/month all year (except June-August), at which meetings we will work on at least one of the “one-another’s” by specifically asking everyone in the room how they’ve grown in the “one-another,” and if not, what they will do by when to grow in the area. • Our community will improve the “out” by organizing at least one event/quarter directly related to our missional focus to be attended by all adults and children in our group, all of whom will make at least one attempt publicly to share the gospel during at least one of the quarterly events. • Our community will improve the “up” by memorizing no less than one verse/month re: the subject of __________, followed-by group accountability to ensure we’re acting on the verse during our “in” and “out” applications.

11. “SMARTER” Goals – Developing an Action Plan moving communities toward mission If your community’s mission is to reach your neighbors for Christ, consider an action plan that includes the following: Secure the names and contact information for your 10 nearest neighbors. Pray for the 10 as individual families at least twice/week. Intentionally reach-out to all 10 at least four times/year, inviting at least half into your home for some reason. After praying diligently commit to asking all 10 to do the Seeking God Study with you by EOY. Maybe ask them all to do the SGS within a month of each other with the express purpose of starting a new house church around the 10 unsaved neighbors, thus multiplying your HC. If you act on nothing but this page following the past 24 hours then this event will have been a smashing success.

12. What Will Be? … A little encouragement: moving communities toward mission We serve a big God who merely spoke us into existence. He loves us as His own adopted children, calling us sons, daughters and friends. He could accomplish His will without us, but that’s not His plan; instead, He gives us the privilege of serving as His hands and feet. Though your house will never be clean enough, your Biblical knowledge base never vast enough, and you’ll never be sufficiently “prayed-up” in comparison to others…no worries because “the Holy Spirit will come on you and you will be [Christ’s] witnesses” in NH, FW, AC, IN, the US, and the end of the earth. Pray for boldness to share the gospel (Paul did), and others to pray for you. Pray that God will raise up laborers for His harvest…and then become one. God isn’t looking for bold super-Christians to convert the world; He’s looking for humble followers who trust Him enough to merely speak the truth/gospel in all circumstances. “What will be” for you, your family, and your community in 2010?

13. Developing Your “SMARTER” Goals moving communities toward mission Your turn. Please take the next 20 minutes and draft SMARTER goals for you personally, your family, and your community. If members of your community are here today feel free to get together and create goals for your community. I invite any/all to share your goals with today’s audience in 20 minutes. Please consider doing the same so we’re all encouraged by your ambition and comforted knowing we’re all struggling together in this regard.

14. Sharing Goals with Today’s Audience moving communities toward mission • Could I have a few volunteers to share your SMARTER goals with the group? • Everyone’s will have strengths and weaknesses, so don’t be bashful. • Good ideas are quickly adopted and mimicked when shared…and not so good ideas are improved. • Thanks for sharing.