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CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE MISSION DEVELOPER

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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 ofaction 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.RelationshipBuilding

  • 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 tounchurched 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.