Characteristics of an Effective Mission Developer



_____________________________________________________________________________________

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE MISSION DEVELOPER

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I. Personal Motivation

• Having a desire to do well and a commitment to excellence.

• Persistence and stick-to-it-tiveness.

• A self-starter with initiative and aggressiveness to complete the various tasks necessary for development.

• An understanding and willingness to work hard with long hours at times inconvenient to other obligations.

• The ability to build from scratch out of nothing.

II. Building Body Cohesiveness

• Seek unity of action and allows for differences.

• Ability to test ideas and directions with others before commitment to action.

• Commitment to building a core group of leaders who will give directions for this ministry.

• Discernment in understanding dissension and disagreement and utilizing conflict.

• The ability to use candor and compassion.

• A commitment to shared vision for mission and ministry.

• Care in building connectedness between members for this ministry.

• Ability in overcoming dissension.

III. Commitment to Church Growth

• Belief that God wants the church to grow.

• Appreciates continuous learning from those committed to church growth by seeking their knowledge.

• Establish the goal of becoming self-reliant within a specific a specific period of time based on theological principles of good stewardship.

• Avoidance of ministry maintenance behavior.

• Seeing the development of this congregation within the larger context of God’s kingdom.

• Sees growth possibilities in faith, infrastructure and numbers.

IV. Visioning Capacity

• The ability to project into the future a positive vision beyond the present reality.

• The ability to analyze the situation, set goals that have enough difference to motivate people to action.

• Develop plans and priorities to implement actions for growth.

• The Ability to market their visions and support for implementation by others.

• The ability to cope with those who limit of shoot down ideas by adjusting and redeveloping their vision.

V. Responsiveness to the Community

• Understanding of the culture of the community served.

• Identify leaders who are effective in the community.

• Identifying and assessing community needs. Sees the congregation’s ministry making a difference in the community.

• Responding to community needs on a priority basis utilizing the resources of the community in meeting those needs.

• Identifying the contribution of the gathered membership of the congregation to meeting community needs.

• Knowing clearly the contribution of the church to meeting community needs.

• Developing a pastoral and congregational role for leadership in the community.

• Adapting theology of ministry to the character of the community.

• Committed to seeking and serving justice.

VI. Creating Ownership of Ministry

• Committed to building on ideas and contributions of others so that the final product will be stronger and better than their own imagination.

• Gaining commitment of people to the vision, recruiting their energy for he implementation of the vision.

• Developing congregational identity that includes the identities of the members.

• Neither moving so fast as to leave members behind, nor committed to unrealistic goals that cannot claim their ownership.

VII. Gift Utilization

• Discovering and empowering people to utilize their gifts in ministry.

• Discerning the spiritual gift of others.

• Matching the gifts of people with the opportunity for ministry in the congregation and community.

• Delegating effectively to other task that the developer likes to do in order that the totality of ministry is implemented.

• Avoiding personal overload and equipping others to implement mission.

• Carefully assigning and equipping persons so that they may be effective in the task of ministry.

• Seeing the giftedness of others as God’s call to expand the mission of the congregation.

VIII. Relationship Building

• Responding with urgency to expressed needs and concerns of people.

• Displaying Godly love and compassion to people. Showing hospitality.

• Listening actively to where people are and building relationship in response to their concerns and commitments.

• Getting to know people on a personal basis.

• Making others feel secure and comfortable in the presence of the mission developer.

• Not responding judgementally or prejudicially to newcomers or persons not like the average members.

• Appreciating and accepting the diversity of persons for their own value.

• Spending quality time with parishioners and unchurched people without being defensive about the demands on their time.

• Knows and uses boundaries in relationships that maintain the integrity as value of others.

IX. Flexibility

• Coping effectively with ambiguity.

• Able to deal with interruption, constant and abrupt change and multiple demands.

• Adapting one’s self and one’s methods to the unique particular needs of this mission.

• Ability to shift priorities while maintaining consistency of commitment to the overall purpose of mission development.

• Knowing the difference between compromise and caving in so that the mission developer has not lost sight of the gold sod the development.

X. Spousal Cooperation (If married)

• Having explicitly understanding between special partners regarding respective roles and involvement in the ministry.

• Having special rules regarding the use of the home as and office.

• Evaluating the consequences of ministry demands upon the family, and providing for quality time with family members, collectively and individually.

• Functioning as a team through both individual and collective action in support of the ministry.

• Having a strategy for dealing with conflict.

• Having a strategy for dealing with strangers and interruptions.

• Modeling wholesome family life before the church and community.

• Agreeing upon the vision for mission development.

• Deliberately planning and protecting private space and time for the family and its individual members.

XI. Reaching the Unchurched

• Using words and behaving in a way that communicates to unchurched people the truth of the Gospel.

• The ability to witness with unchurched persons without the demeaning or judging them as people, separating their condition from their person.

• Comfort in functioning in the arena where unchurched persons live.

• Building relationship with unchurched persons on a personal level.

• Breaking through the barriers erect by unchurched people of their image of the church and Christianity and inviting people to participate in the Christian community.

• Handling crisis faced by unchurched people as a witness of Christ’s ministry.

• Communicating clearly to unchurched and the churched alike so that both will understand each other and the importance of the faith.

• Respecting and knowing persons who are unchurched.

XII. Resilience

• Cope with experience of set backs without defeat.

• Ability to manage both the exciting ups and the depressing downs of ministry.

• Expecting the unexpected and making the most of it.

• Looking for opportunities where others see defeat, looking for possibility when others see problems.

• Rebounding from loss, disappointments and failures.

• Seeking out a spiritual counselor to aid in reflection of crisis situations.

XIII. Exercises Faith

• A clear understanding of the faith of the Christian church.

• The ability to exercise their faith in clear proclamation and deeds.

• Demonstrating personal faith in prayer and stewardship and the management of their resources (money and time).

• Exercising a strong personal faith in Jesus Christ and equipping others in joining in that faith and the ministry of God.

• Helping others to grow in their faith as life long learning.

• Helping people focus on the essential principles and experiences of the Christian faith.

XIV. Multicultural Ministry

• Judging the cultural context, seeking justice and accepting people.

• Affirming culture as gift of God to which Jesus comes ministry.

• A commitment to the gifts of all persons and the diversity of persons as it contributes to the wholeness of ministry.

• An understanding that all ministry must be cross-cultural in order to experience being whole.

• Commitment to bringing people of diversity together in order to better express the faith of the church.

• Facilitating persons to express their understanding of faith and life.

• Willingness to face and overcome their racism.

XV. Commitment to the ELCA

• Commitment to the ELCA as a corporate expression of ministry.

• Able to be critical of the church but committed to is future through development and change.

• Committed to involvement of self and members of the congregation in ministry beyond the local congregation.

• The ability to change the direction of the church if change is necessary.

• Knowing that God calls the church into being as servant of God’s mission.

• Development of the congregation’s commitment to the ministry of the church.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download