I saw the signs of future sin way before we entered the lost years of the congregation my family helped launch when I was in high school. It was certainly not intentional sin. It was all unintentional. We caught it before it became an ongoing sinful practice.
As I sat across the desk from the pastor, I heard him describe a congregation with many great qualities. But they had no idea about where they were headed, much less what God’s empowering vision might be for their next seven years.
If I ask you about your teenage years, you might tell me you were the perfect adolescent. If so, I know you also lie about other things.
You can help new congregations succeed beyond their first generation by supporting them during two critical early stages.
Interventions may occur during pastor transitions, strategic planning efforts or the construction of a new building. Otherwise, the underlying, less visible issues of the life cycle of congregations are ineffectively addressed.
An association ideally functions like a family of congregations collaborating on God’s mission within their context. This reduces the necessity to invite people to a building.
It is 2033. Enrique Hernandez, associational mission strategist for the Southwest Baptist Association, attended a conference for associational leaders. Returning home, he felt excited, motivated
Perry Brindley, associational mission strategist of Buncombe Baptist Association, Asheville, North Carolina, has been named AMS of the Year by the Southern Baptist Conference of Associational Leaders.
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