Reaching the emerging generation that has left the church is an adaptive challenge. A 74.3 million adaptive challenge!
Most congregations don’t “do” adaptive challenge well. They swat them away and then find a scapegoat leader to blame. (Check out Leadership Essentials where we train adaptive leaders.)
It’s no secret that PLI is trying to help you and your congregation take on one of your greatest challenges.
The calling of a generation! 1000YL
You’ll like this video!
“If you’re a millennial you should be a part of this.”
“If you’re not, you should be supporting it.”
So, buried back in most congregations is the “stuff” that clues them in to facing the most difficult of challenges in front of them.
When it came to investing the Gospel of Jesus in the next generation, it was just normal for the small town church I grew up in. They sacrificed tremendously to disciple my generation by building and maintaining a two-room Lutheran school. The same with the large congregation Gail and I led in Chicagoland for 25 years. They made insane sacrifices for the generation coming next.
In many respects THIS (1000 Young Leaders) is THAT (Christian school). Both have/had their eye on extending the faith into a next generation that needs to know and be discipled to follow Jesus.
THIS is THAT!…. When adaptive leaders can connect “this” with the familiar and valued “that,” it creates a sense of
- Stability in the midst of chaos,
- Trust in the midst of risk,
- Continuity in the midst of discontinuity.
It’s fundamental for congregational leaders caught between The Rock and The Hard Place.
Leaders do better when they take the time to
- Ask questions,
- Listen deeply,
- Intuit patterns and motives.
And discover the unique design…the code of their congregation.
Here are 5 things to crack your congregation’s code:
- Myths and Stories – The past stories that lift from the collective congregational memory. Sometimes exaggerated. Certainly remembered.
- Traditions – They may or may not be essential to the mission today. But they’re honored. Valued. Only a fool carelessly dismisses them.
- Heroes – The larger than life figures in our history. They embody the heart and soul of the congregation.
- Decisions – The “turning point” moments. The hinge points where our history could have turned one way but went another
- Visuals – The artifacts. The architecture. The artwork. They all offer clues.
Crack the code as a leader and you’ll tell people that you love them. You cared enough to listen. You know their story. You’re not here just to do something to them and or get something from them.
I think you’ll find a lot of things that will surprise you embedded in your code, unique only to your congregation.
But, I’m also going to guess that you’ll find buried, maybe in the distant past, a code that was marked with
- A missionary spirit,
- A willingness to sacrifice,
- A “risk it all” for the next generation.
And THIS new thing (1000YL for example) is THAT what we used to be.
So, watch the video. Share it with several others to watch it too.
Watch Kristin and Zach if you missed your allocation of smiles last week.
“If you’re a millennial you should be a part of this!” Tell our Connections Team you want to know more.
“If you’re not a millennial you should support it!” Would you make a gift today to invest in what just might be the greatest generation we’ve known?
Virtually, everything that PLI is doing in the U.S. and around the world to train leaders for the Mission of God is the result of generous, mission-passionate people like you that choose not to settle.
Thank you. Gail and I and the dedicated PLI team are blessed to be in your company.
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