How do I get my church doing this stuff?
The number one question I’m asked when I speak somewhere on community transformation or global engagement is “How do I get my church doing this?” Pastors ask this question, but believe it or not, the laymen in the church ask me this question even more. I was going to post an answer to that today, BUT instead, I asked the NorthWood staff to give comments to this all day long…so NorthWood staff, who’s first? Tell them your name and ministry and just give a couple of comments and try not to repeat unless there is something you’re just so passionate about you can’t help it—and I know for most of you that’s true!
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Oct 16, 2007 at 07:33 AM
I serve as the Connection Pastor at NorthWood. This past weekend was a perfect example of community transformation. NorthWood members took part in a Home Makeover project impacting the lives of 4 families in Haltom City. It was amazing to see the church step up to the plate and give of themselves to make life better for these four families. I think the main reason people responded like they did is because that is what has been built into our DNA. To answer the questions of How do I get my church doing this... I would say make it a priority and provide opportunities for people to engage. People will step up when they see the challenge...
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Oct 16, 2007 at 08:07 AM
I serve as one of the worship pastors. Matt mentioned our DNA. Building DNA is not something that just happens. It is the product of intentionality. We learned this lesson from Abba Love an amazing Church in Jakarta Indonesia. We made our new comers (members) process from a 2 week information dump to a six week journey that discusses how we do ministry (t-life) and what we expect if you join the church. This is all done in the context of a small group. Since we are intentional about how we assimilate people into NorthWood, when they join us, they get it. I experienced this when I was working on a house this weekend and looked around me and noticed that a large number of the first group who went through this new process were all working and serving.
Oct 16, 2007 at 08:30 AM
I am NorthWood's Executive Pastor. My advice to Pastors is to cast vision, clearly paint a picture of what you would like to see as an outcome, see where God is already working around you or opening doors, then get out of the way. This weekend was incredible. And, Bob, myself, and most of our staff had little to do with the leadership of the whole event. Our people drove it. Frankly if our staff would have tried to lead this it would have been a disaster (I alone am like Tim the Toolman Taylor). All four team leaders and their key leaders were skilled in some area of construction and project management. Several of these leaders had relationships with skill trades outside NorthWood...carpet layers, painters, electricians, etc. They called in favors with their vendors. Now we had our people serving along side teams of professional fence builders, electricians, etc. For many of these vendors it was probably the first time in a long time being surrounded by the church. There's no telling what the long term impact of those connections are going to be!
This was also a bigger than life experience. It was a mountain to climb and it inspired all NorthWood. By tackling this in 24 hours, everyone had to pull together. No one team alone could accomplish it. It was simply amazing. I participated at all four homes over the 24 hours. Never once did I see people standing around. Everyone was busy. Everyone was positive even when surprises surfaced. Even several of our Student Ministry small groups took ownership in a piece of a project whether decorating a child's room or landscaping an entire backyard. (Today's teens and 20 year old "get it" quicker than most adults). I've been part of championship athletic teams, high achieving corporate teams and many great ministry teams. NorthWood's Home Make Over far exceeded anything I've experienced. 600+ people focused on a mission and going for it.
My biggest take away from this and advice to other churches is this...Pastors give the challenge then get out of the way. Let your people run with it. Become the servant on their team then watch what happens. Remember, our job is to equip the saints for ministry. We don't have to do everything. And in many cases they are more equipped to impact the community than we are. Embrace this philosophy and you will quickly discover who your passionate, competent leaders are.
Oct 16, 2007 at 08:31 AM
As Pastor of Worship and Communicative Arts, we really work to tell the T-stories (transformation stories) through our blog (http://www.mynorthwood.org) and media to show ordinary folks how an extraordinary God is using other ordinary folks sitting among them in worship in amazing ways. That opens people's eyes up to, "What can I do like that?" In recent years we have seen a shift from staff initiated projects to lay initiated projects. Sure, we'll use things like Haltom City Home Makeover to plant ideas, but I promise there will be 4 or 5 lay originated ideas that dovetail off of this project. We tell those folks, "Go for it" and celebrate through telling their stories.
BTW, to see NorthWood members' reactions to the Haltom City Home Makeover, check it at http://mynorthwood.northwoodchurch.org/?p=293
Oct 16, 2007 at 08:45 AM
I am Admistrative Assistant to our Pastor of Discipleship and a member of NorthWood for 19 years. To try to answer that question I would have to say "transformation." You can not work here or sit in a pew here and not be indoctrinated with that word. Sooner or later it becomes a part of who you are. We have been transformed by a mighty God. To be transformed means I no longer just sit and expect be fed. I am compelled to go and serve. Whether that be in Vietnam or Haltom City or to my next door neighbor. It's about giving back what has been given to me. It's about being connected, living in community and serving God by reaching out beyond our walls and ourselves. We are just trying to follow the example of Jesus when He took up His basin and towel.
Oct 16, 2007 at 08:56 AM
As one of the Student Pastors at NorthWood church it is a joy to watch as our students learn early about serving and loving others. Like the others have said it is in our DNA here and you cannot just sit it feels wrong. It is our humble way of showing others that Christ is our hearts desire and want Him to matter to those around us. When you seek God and learn what matters to Him you cannot ignore the fact that He ministers to others and wants us to do the same.
Oct 16, 2007 at 09:08 AM
As the Leader of Glocal Impact, I am convinced that it all starts and ends with Leadership. It was obvious that the entire leadership staff, from the Senior Pastor who showed up to sweep to every staff member was involved in this project and they were loving it. They were getting their hands dirty and working alongside the members. “Luke 6:42 says that a disciple will never rise above his teacher, but after he is fully trained will be just like his teacher ” If a church wants to create this culture of service then it starts with the Senior Pastor and his staff to lead by example. Way to go Northwood staff! You guys lead by example.
Oct 16, 2007 at 09:21 AM
I serve as the Administrative Pastor. Over the years, NorthWood has developed a culture of Transformation, Service, and Mission. Those are high values for our members and it shows in how we live our lives. You hear it from the pulpit, you see it in videos, you experience it through our small group ministry, we foster it in our children’s ministry. If you attend NorthWood for any length of time, you will be challenged to make a difference in your world. People want to change their world—they just need an avenue. Even our friends who are not regular church attenders want to make a difference in their world, and so we have people who become connected to NorthWood through ministry projects.
Oct 16, 2007 at 10:53 AM
As Director of Community Development in Haltom City, I’ve learned the importance of having a presence in the communities we serve. Relationships cannot be built any other way except for meeting people where they are. It is impossible to accomplish our call to serving others from the pulpit alone, by giving money alone, or by praying from afar. God once asked Bob the question, ‘What if the church was the missionary?’, and since then, NorthWood has had a physical presence in the communities we serve locally and around the world. The church must be willing to reach the depths of a community through personal interaction, prayer, communion, and touch.
How do you get your church to do this? By creating a “heartbeat ” and working from the inside out. In Haltom City, our heartbeat is an elementary school (The Academy at West Birdville). From within this school, we have planted seeds which have blossomed into what our local ministry is today. From inside the school, we have created ESL classes, tutoring programs, Café for Kids, Fall Festival, and many more programs. In addition to the Home Makeover Project, a new JPS medical and dental clinic will open in 2008, serving ten schools in the area. All of this because we created that heartbeat, made the commitment to have a presence in the community, thus allowing everything else to be possible.
Oct 16, 2007 at 11:33 AM
I am a new member at Northwood, and it has been exciting to see my family and home team grow closer with each other and begin to move out in ministry on a daily basis. We see our Sunday Worship as simply a time to regroup, celebrate and fuel up. It’s not a show. My kids love listening to the different stories of how God is working all over the world through Northwood. I am thankful that a church understands the importance of intimacy with God, oneness with each other and service to the world.
Oct 16, 2007 at 02:34 PM
I am a former member of Northwood from years ago, I have never seen a church "be the church" as much as Northwood has been. I have wathced over the years from a distance the way you as a church body have reached from the glocal to the global impacting lives for the Kingdom! I will never forget the time that my wife and I were moving into a rental home in FT. Worth TX, and the house caught fire. We lost nearly evrything that we owned, some of the Northwood Teams ministry stepped up and helped replace our whole kitchen. Northwood you are a church that is blessed beyond measure, continue to fight the good fight, and help those in need You are blessed to have great leaders who challenge you to "be the church" trust me there are alot of churches out there that are so internally focused that they would not know if Christ Himself were to visit them in the flesh one Sunday morning! Northwood rock on! you are making a Kingdom difference in an astronomical way
Oct 17, 2007 at 08:26 AM
In my role as the Pastoral Care Pastor I am fortunate to be ministry leader for Celebrate Recovery. It was a blessing to see so many from Celebrate Recovery giving of themselves during the Home Makeover Project. As members of the Blue Team we were able to use the talents that God has given, and even beyond talents, to reach out and serve a family who had a need. Part of recovery, whether it is emotional, behavioral, or chemical is about following the example set by our Lord and giving of ourselves in the ministry of servanthood to others. What an awesome experience it was to see those invovled in Celebrate Recovery doing just that: being servants. A good friend, the late Rick Ferguson wrote that too many people want a ministry but do not want to minister. Seeing so many desire to minister was a testimony to our Lord of his greatness. It has also led the leadership team at Celebrate Recovery to begin to consider ongoing ministries that we can provide to the family whom we served this past weekend. Some are praying about mentoring the boys in the home. God is moving in a mighty way. I also was blessed as a father by having my six year old son there working along side his mother and me learning from everyone who was there what it means to serve God by helping others. Thank you to all of you on the Blue Team for helping teach my son a valuable lesson in giving.
Oct 18, 2007 at 12:02 AM
My name is Aaron Snow. I grew up at Northwood, and had the opportunity to serve on staff for the past two years, and go through Northwood's GlocaNet church multiplication internship. When i think about what i'm doing now, and why, it brings back to a few very simple thoughts. I learned at Northwood at a young age that Church isn't about the Sunday event. In fact, if i hear Bob say that one more time i'm gonna go crazy...haha, just kidding. I love it. It's beautiful. So, when more time, energy, and resources are poured into missional living, and not a once/week event it creates the DNA you read about above. The next thing is that Northwood has taught me how to be centered around mission. For Northwood it's Keller, Haltom City, Mexico, and Vietnam. They have focus, passion, drive, purpose, and see much fruit. Like Kay said above, it's very difficult to be at Northwood and simply sit in the pew. There are too many opportunities all around to serve and be selfless. Pastors, and Church staff members: we MUST stop doing all the work, and put the "power" back into the hands of the BODY of CHRIST...His hands and feet. Everyone at Northwood has ownership, and has sweat to see the things happen that have happened. Thank you Northwood for a great start to life.
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