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After two days of mind-bending thinking on the church, the negative perception of society about the church (accordingly to USA Today, only 18% trust organized religion and attendance continues to dwindle year after year), the AND Conference at Granger Community Church has helped bring more focus to the future we need to look to:

• Clearly, I am part of the 40% that finds church as positive. It has had a huge impact on my life, I love “the church” (my marriage, my perspective, knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, and finding my purpose)- However, this doesn’t fly for 60% of the population that sees “the church” as out-of-touch, corrupt, or irrelevant and this number is growing. 
• Churches and their 4-walls will continue to have an amazing impact in our world.  There will be millions of people that will appreciate the traditions, the culture, and the steps they will continue to take in their relationship with Christ.
• Churches need to release the idea that people need to come to their buildings to “go to church” and that there are incredible things happening outside “the box” (the four walls of church) where people are “being the church”.  This will be uneasy, scary, a loss of control, and many will resist.  I believe the greatest movement of God in our lifetime is going to happen outside the 4-walls, outside of any denomination, outside of any one strategy, and outside of our egos.  After all, it’s not about us, it’s about Jesus.
• The concept of giving or tithing (Old Testament Biblical principle of giving 10% of our income) is going to continue to shift more to outside of “the box”.  People will actually give more because they will be giving to their God-given mission and purpose.  Many churches will still have the trust of people to manage the strategy and how to best impact their community (as they should… many churches are incredible managers of the funds that are given with well organized strategies, leaders with integrity, and missions that align with scores of individuals). 
• What is church?  That is fluid.  It will be structures and “what has been” complimenting and supporting the unstructured, multi-cultural, doing great things to change communities and bring Hope across the globe.  It will look like whatever people can imagine it to be.  Rules will be resisted.  Our “church” will be centered around our God-given purpose which could exist within an organized brick and mortar church or outside of it.  (Even this post is swinging all over in the use of the word “church”…    )
• Technology is going to continue to play a huge role in these next months and years.  People and organizations have the opportunity to be “visible” to the global community.  Local, on-the-front lines, based-on-relationships mission will be most effective, however technology will leverage training, create ease of funding, ease of volunteering, and help facilitate collaboration like we’ve never seen before…  Great results will be shared virally as lives and communities are changed.
• This isn’t new.  12 people modeled this a long time ago…  As Alan Hirsch remarked, “Jesus and religion don’t mix, and there’s a lot of religion going on out there…”  It’s time to get back to the basics.

Where’s your church?  Probably right where you are and who you are.  The culture you’re in, the people you know, and the thing that makes your heart beat fast is where God can and will use you now.  So can I really call that church? Yes.  But isn’t church a building?  Yes.  Is it a small group?  Yes.  Helping kids with after school tutoring?  Yes.  Is it OK if I don’t call it church?  Yes. 

Being a critic and finding holes?  Easy.  Saying yes?  Much harder.

• Four areas to focus on…
• #1  What do we think about Jesus?  We need to understand our Founder and the place of our Founder. 
• #2  Rediscover the story of Jesus in the Gospels…  Why is Jesus knocking on the door of the church?  Jesus has become Savior but not Lord… 
• “Jesus and religion don’t mix… and there’s a lot of religion going on out there…” 
• #3 We need to rediscover mission…  Mission is part of who God is, not something that He does… 
• #4 Reorganize- we need to reinvent…. The Church needs to think “you build it we can help” rather than “we’ll build it and you help…”
• If you have 16% of the population an idea is inevitable… it’s the tipping point…
• Some need to break from the herd and model what the Church should look like on mission

Tim Stevens

• There have been trends of the “latest and greatest” of styles, focus, what works, what doesn’t work in churches… When you don’t get the results you want, it doesn’t mean you move the target and bash the old… think  ”reinvent” - the culture we live in is always changing…  Yesterday may have been OK but today is a new day…
• “Missional Schmissional”
• “I haven’t met the pastor or church that is only about the weekend and getting a big crowd… I just haven’t met them… there has always been some element of missional in the attractional churches…”
• “Attractional Schmactional”-  sometimes I just get tired of feeling like we’re only as good as our latest series, last year doesn’t matter, the feeling of performing, and the pressure of coming up with the next thing is tiring… sometimes we can get tired of those who take take take but never volunteer, give, or contribute in some way…
• About four years ago we stopped growing- it was very tough on staff, what were we doing wrong?  We blamed each other, our programming, the people, the weather, you name it…  We tried several different methods to make changes…
• More and more people feel like they have a good relationship with God without going to church…  40% may go to church in its current model, 60% will never come to “the box” (church)
• Just about every church in your community is saying “Come to us”…
• “I have shifted to a profound conviction that in our community- 60% will never step foot in our church..”
• It seemed we have two choices, pour all our resources in the shrinking 40%- those who may be open to going to church, OR scrap everything and shift focus to helping the growing 60% that they matter to God
• 3 things we know at Granger:
• We must begin reaching the 60%
• We must reach more of the 40%
• We must help the 40% reach “their” 60%
• The attractional “come to the box” model may be the most/best missional strategy to reach suburban America- that may be the method that best works for the 40%
• Past:  Get the community into the church   Future:  Get the church into the community
• Past:  Church largely defined by the weekend service   Future:  Church defined “where you are”
• Past: Primarily centralized, top-down structure   Future:  Infuse a decentralized, organic structure for quick growth
• Past:  Tracked Attendance and giving     Future:  Tracking community impact and “loving others”
• Past:  No designated giving    Future:  Lots of ways for people to give to your passion
• People more than ever want to see the impact of their giving, less trust in organizations
• Past:  People come to the church building to do their ministry  Future:  Ministry isn’t confined to a building, it happens wherever you are
• Past:  Buildings serve the church, the community is invited to join  Future:  Buildings serve the community- the congregation also meets there
• What if our building is no longer called Granger Community Church, renamed “Harbor Ridge”- the place you go for hope and healing… the moments of your greatest need  (example only- idea of changing the purpose of the building called church to a community focus… help for finances, marriages, classes, etc.)
• This change is going to be “messy”- tension is the new order of the day…
• “What works and is needed in Granger, Indiana will be different than what happens in your community…”

• Dave Ferguson
• “I’m kicking you OUT of this building!”
• In the last 20 years, the number of people that say they have no religious affiliation has doubled
• “I’m good with giving the money, it just seems there is more I should be doing..”
• God wants a movement of people that have found their niche’- think “how can we mobilize people on mission?”
• Missional People+ Multiplying Churches = Missional Movement
• Some churches our doing well on the “macro” level- mission on a big scale but are having a challenge on the “micro” level- one person making a change-  Think the movie “Blind Side”
• Ordain every Christ follower- empowered to be sent out…  Simply ask the question, “Is there a person or group of people you’re being called to reach?”- give that permission to the people in your church
• We have to lead with a “Yes”  If someone comes to you with an idea of how they want to use their gifts and talents, lead with “yes”
• Identifying your brand and target can be a great money maker but is not a good “movement” maker- say “yes” often…
• We set the bar way too low for our teens/youth- they can make a dramatic difference
• “Find your passion and do it.”

• Matt Carter, Pastor Austin Stone Community Church  TX
• The attractional model is still reaching people in the US, there is still a need for it
• Many people are looking to lay low and be able to lurk in and out of church, small groups aren’t the venue for these people
• The current attractional model alone is incomplete. 
• Planting a thousand megachurches isn’t going to be the strategy to reach our nation in the next 10 years.  Why?  We just did that but the overall church is on the decline.
• 18-30 year olds are not wired to sit on the sideline in ministry, they want to be part of it… That age group is leaving the church in droves- churches are missing the opportunity to get them engaged
• The responsibility of “mission” is not with clergy and paid staff, it’s with all of us… We’re surrounded by thousands of people that want to be part of something great- it doesn’t match what is in Acts either…
• What would spending millions of dollars on a facility do for our community?  It may impact a few thousand but is it changing our community? “Instead of growing a thousand people in your church, what if you released them out of your church to go make a difference in your community?”
• Jesus poured into 12 and kicked them out into the world…into their community…
• What if it’s possible to do both?  Attract a 1000 and send a 1000 out… 
• Missional community:  Training people to come together for the purpose of actually being the church together… impacting their workplaces, the community…
• Three things you need to do:  #1  We changed the definition of success for our small groups:  From a group of people having a Bible study to “has the group moved beyond the gathering and found a place of people with need and are they engaged for the Gospel and glory of God?”
• There’s nothing that can foster community better than getting people on a mission together…
• #2  Teach people to be self feeders rather than consumers in their faith
• #3  Raise the bar in their minds and their hearts about what God is able to do through them-  Are we challenging the people in our churches and releasing them to use their talents and resources outside the four walls of our church?

Q & A:

• What were some of the early barriers?  It’s taking time to help people get used to them being the one’s “doing” the ministry
• What do you do if people ask to have you start programs vs. them doing it?   “Yes” doesn’t mean you have to fund what they’re doing or even promote it… It could simply be to encourage…
• What are some examples of failures in the process?  How do you help people with that pain?  Some of the stories get shared so people can learn from the process and that it’s OK to try and fail- the church has the opportunity to show support
• Even in failure, the cause of Christ is worth it- even in the hardest times of our lives
• What would you do differently?  3 C’s -  Celebrate, Connect, and Contribute   Watch the practices you put in the DNA of your church, realigning what the win looks like, would have spent less time on the Sunday morning experience, and shift thinking to you “ARE” the church your don’t “GO” to church
• How do you fund the movement?   The more you release people and give away ministry the more people give… generosity is like a muscle that gets stronger in people…

• Change is good- it tends to attract new people
• Restaurants “under new management”- can attract attention
• Change gets people talking about what you’re doing
• Focuses people outwardly rather than inwardly
• Change generates new energy and momentum
• Sometimes change just for the sake of change is good- it shakes things up…  Ruts are comfortable but sometimes difficult to get out of…
• Change can be messy, you can lose some people along the way…
• Reputation and relationships can be put at risk with change, most people don’t want to mess with either of those
• The bigger the change, the more important the communication (needs to be sequenced… 75% is how it’s communicated, 25% is the actual direction…. who needs to know first, then who’s next..  sequenced communication)
• Have the meeting before the meeting- the influencers matter, have those meetings first before big message communicated to the whole team
• Your team will help you communicate the message better when you talk to them first- they may have better ideas on how to communicate- they’ll also be a support when the group finds hears the message
• All hands on deck for big change…  Jack Welch says to put your best person on the job otherwise it’s going to fail
• Vision can come from the mountaintop- a leader with a vision and communicates it to the team
• Vision can also bring many people into the conversation and have ownership into a new vision to help navigate change
• Educate key people around the change and what it means- give them the space to process and take steps into the new vision
• It’s normal that only 20% may get your initial vision…  key that your leaders are aligned… sometimes it’s worth waiting to get the core team fully onboard….

• The Trilogy of AND
• Episode One: Church Wars, we had battles of worship styles… Attractional ministry
• Attractional 101:  Church got more effective in inviting the community into church, external focus, cultural relevance, the priesthood of believers- everyone is a minister
• Granger Community Church talked about being a missional outpost… not a church (it’s early days)
• “We were a church for messy broken people… growing 10-20% a year…”
• Missional 101:  External focus, sending people out of the 4 walls
• Some of the biggest criticism of attractional is that it’s not missional- some to the point of calling it illegitimate
• If you asked people, “what is church?”- they wouldn’t say it was a white hot relational, exploding movement
• Episode 2:  Missio dei strikes back
• Model in missions has been there is an organization that fits the role to reach the mission field, churches donate money to those places, occassionally sends people, and they call it missions
• In new model, everybody leads, everybody follows… everyone gives and receives… every part of society
• “Attractional is actually embedded inside of Missional”
• Example 1:  MC3 (Community Center) Example of micro/local missional… started with Son City Kids, then education for adults,
• “Big Church” can support the “micro movement”- financially, strengths, etc…
• Example 2:  India,  957 churches planted, over 120,000 attendees
• 15 months of coaching, teams training the trainers sent from Granger Community Church
• All the “metrics” for church have exploded from how many come on a weekend to how many wells were drilled, how our GPA’s improving in the impoverished areas, how many businesses started?
• Starts with a church leader, in about 18 months they have 10-30 people, doing the 5 purposes, sacraments, plurality of leadership…. this is an Essential Church
• Next step is that they’re reproducing, starts identifying other groups of people with other leaders looking to launch other churches…  works in India…. why not here in the West?  Right here, right now?
• Episode 3:  Return of the Movement
• What if every neighborhood, coffee house, cultural group… launched an essential church
• 300 churches launched locally, essential churches,  1700 globally (dream in the next 5 years)
• The Megachurch is “base camp”- to launch missional!
• Is the church division or diversification?  Sturdy and swift… Strong but nimble…
• Can we launch and press into the edges to launch more movements?
• Can attractional and missional come together?  We believe they can dance together…

Q & A

• How do you deal with the concern of false teaching in India with the new church plants and leaders?   “It happens all the time… just like Paul in the New Testament, he was constantly correcting and redirecting… don’t let the fear off false teaching stop your from trying…. coach, redirect, guide….”
• How does the model in India work at home?  “Working on best practices, we have a lot of church baggage in the West, it’s not apples to apples…”
• Has training started locally for missional work?  Entermission coaching currently… most of the workshops have shifted to coaching models in Wired Churches
• See Rob’s crazy slide here:  http://www.andconference.com/speakers.php

• The megachurch put “evangelism” back into the ministry (Rick Warren/Bill Hybels)
• “Through America, I see a new church emerging in the Western world…”
• Future Travelers- 12 churches that are going on the “missional” journey  (Granger Community Church included)
• The Church is designed as an “advancing body” going against the gates of hell, not a defensive fortress
• Cultural Distance-  how far people are from a meaningful communication of the Gospel (line chart 1-4)
• Examples:  Language, race, religion/world view-  those 3-4 on the scale are really hard to penetrate
• In the West, we can no longer assume our culture is aligned with the church, barriers and cultural distance is expanding…  we are becoming increasingly cross cultural, sub cultures- more missional & culturally complex
• The church used to be operating as the “center” of society, the way it’s been for many generations, was central to communities- even the idea of being American is to be a Christian-  This works well when our cultural factor is one or less… no cultural hurdles
• Church is becoming more isolated in American society- our cultural barriers are expanding and growing (especially in the population centers on the coasts)
• Attractional:  Those outside come into the church but then they are alienated from their old culture… we’re extracting them from that setting/cultural group…  This is the underlying problem…
• Within 3-5 years of someone being a Christian, they lose their contact outside the church… they become culturalized within the church
• We need to shift thinking to cross-over to cultural differences… Our calling is to take the Gospel and take it cross-culturally… we’re to be the missionaries not those who are kicking the tires on church
• God, Jesus, Spirituality, Church- how does our culture view these 4?  Generally 3 thumbs up, down on church
• 95% of American’s believe in God in recent surveys
• “perceived set”- in a product line, you’re likely to only remember 3 products in a brand category… that’s where most businesses are trying to get their products in the mind space
• If you ask the question, who is the greatest person who ever lived?  Jesus is most mentioned… many of the other names that come up (Mother Theresa, Ghandi, others subscribed to the teachings of Jesus or actually were followers of Jesus)
• People are cool with God, Jesus, and Spirituality but are down on church… 
• Jesus yes, church no….  like Apple and AT & T- one you love, the other… not so much…
• Traditional church in steep decline
• Thinks 12-15% of Australians would find the “evangelical” model attractive
• Americans could be near 40% “evangelical” model attractive  (m0-m1 slice of pie)
• 1200 churches have over 2000 people that attend…  (out of 400,000 churches)
• 95% of our churches are trying to reach the same 40%, all our eggs in one basket…  that’s a strategic problem…. what about the 60%?
• What are the responses to those outside the church?  Blase’ (hey, good for you- just not for me…) to  Hate  (money grabbing, church will hurt you…)
• The problems of the church?  You’ll keep getting the same results if you use/have the same thinking… Organizational Insanity
• If doesn’t mean our current methods are not of God, they just isn’t working for the 60%…
• 60%- think blue ocean strategy… most of the church is trying to reach the same 40%…
• The future of the church, launching a missional view to every culture in our society…
• If you can’t imagine it, you can’t do it-  Einstein….  we need to recover our “imagination”
• Find in the place of “AND” to reach the 60%- think movement not institutions….
• Some Q & A:
• Is the house church movement addressing the 60%?  “Hirsch thinks no… typically they’re doing the same type of church in homes…just with a lower quality”
• How much of the attractional church model is just not attractional?  (Giving box of chocolates, Harley’s….  If that’s what the church has to resort to, it’s a bit pathetic…)
• How many models are represented in the 60% to imagine?  (How the Father sent me… Jesus modeled it… he went into the culture…  There should be many many different types of churches… Culture determines (should) the church and style…)
• Learn how to plant the Gospel first and then let the church come out of that within various cultures
• Movements can be organized, it just looks different-  they organize in networks and collaborate differently
• Can a Megachurch also be a movement?  (Yes… some examples of that… doing it within the Western culture the new challenge)
• What questions can a church ask itself to become more missional?  (Learning comes from being willing to ask candid questions of ourselves and our programming)
• Is a can opener really a can opener if it can’t open cans?  Is a church a church if it’s not doing what a church is to do?  What is a church?
• Does a church have to be large to become a movement?  Movements are about the people of God… everyone in your church is a church planter
• Can a pre-existing church shift to reach the 60% while not alienating the 40% (existing church)?  (The leader’s job is to define how people think about an organization…. the key leader needs to define it… If you’re a movement you start to act like a movement…  You don’t have to ditch what you’re currently doing to create a movement)