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4/08/2008

Overcoming Barriers to Growth PIV

Pastors and Leaders this Wednesday Night and Thursday at the VINEYARD Michael Fletcher will be speaking to us about Church Growth and the role of leadership in EMPTYING HELL AND FILLING UP HEAVEN!

Peter Wagner says of this book “Have you reached your full destiny as a church leader? Overcoming Barriers to Growth will help you answer that question will show you how to advance to a new level.”

Let us all ask of ourselves that question. HAVE I REACHED MY FULL DESTINY AS A CHURCH LEADER? Please make time to attend this conference and give yourself more tools along the way in the journey God has for you.

I would like to leave you one last quote from Michaels book. He says “There are two reasons for growing a local church. The first is to produce a vehicle through which the kingdom of God may advance on the earth. If growth of a local church becomes a goal in itself leadership has fallen into idolatry. Jesus established the church to further His cause in Jerusalem (local area), Judea/Samaria (the region), and the uttermost parts of the earth. We seek growth for our churches so we can fulfill this mission more effectively-period. No other motive is acceptable. We are not after bigger churches so the pastor can build a name or so members can increase their impression of prestige in the community. In addition, when the leadership of a church makes growth its number one aim, they miss the real secret of that growth and actually undercut the process. If they focus, however, on growing people and releasing them into ministry (the second reason for growing a church), the natural result is a numerical increase in active members.”

The schedule is as follows for the time that Michael is with us at the Vineyard.

Wednesday Night at 7:00PM
Understanding Church Growth

Thursday Morning at 9:00AM
The Role and Power of Vision
Breaking Barriers
Developing an Outreach Culture
And then a Q&A time

Remember that this is for you, your entire leadership team (elder, deacons, lay leaders), and your church! So the cost is as affordable as we could make it.

For churches with attendance of 50 and less it is a 100 dollars
For churches with attendances of100 and less it is 150 dollars
For churches with attendances of 200 and less it is 200 dollars
For churches with attendances of 500 and less it is 400 dollars
For churches with attendances of 500 and more it is 500 dollars
For an individual attending without their churches participation is 50 dollars

For more information please email me at pastor@xtremeministries.com or call me at 931-220-4502

Overcoming Barriers to Growth PIII

You may have heard it said that “Those who can do, and those who can’t teach!” Michael Fletcher is a person who can do it and who can teach it. He also pastors a church in the same type of community we live in. Manna church is located outside Ft. Bragg, NC. He brings a wealth of information, experience and passion for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In his book Overcoming Barriers to Growth he shares his heart and motivation for why he is doing this conference all around the country. He says “My passion is to see people released into ministry-not just leaders, but every church member. I want to see people becoming who God created them to be and functioning maturely in all their gifts and callings. I want to see the church released into the world, acting as a vehicle for the aggressive advance of the kingdom of God on earth. I want to see the church change the world, and average, everyday believers being the ones used by God to do it all! For this to happen, the local church has to be structured in a way that will best facilitate the development and release of Gods people. We don’t have time to sit in board meetings and fight over who is in charge. WE HAVE A WORLD TO CHANGE!”

Pastors and leaders we are in a very pivotal time. I believe that God is on the move in our city. There are things that are happening that are simply GOD MOVING and we must be prepared. For example One Church was planted in September, 2007 and is running almost 300 already! God is on the move.

In this time we as pastors and leaders must be prepared to reap the harvest. That requires that our hearts are aligned with God’s heart, our mind is transformed, and the ministries God has given us are prepared. Come join with us as we prepare for what God is going to do next.

This Wednesday and Thursday Pastor Michael Fletcher will be speaking to us about
Understanding Church Growth
The Role and Power of Vision
Breaking Barriers
Developing an Outreach Culture
And then a Q&A time

I believe that this is going to be a strategic time and that every church leadership team and future leaders should attend.

Remember that this is for you, your entire leadership team (elder, deacons, lay leaders), and your church! So the cost is as affordable as we could make it.

For churches with attendance of 50 and less it is a 100 dollars
For churches with attendances of100 and less it is 150 dollars
For churches with attendances of 200 and less it is 200 dollars
For churches with attendances of 500 and less it is 400 dollars
For churches with attendances of 500 and more it is 500 dollars
For an individual attending without their churches participation is 50 dollars

For more information please email me at pastor@xtremeministries.com or call me at 931-220-4502

Overcoming Barriers to Growth PII

Pastors and Leaders Michael Fletcher will be here in less than 2 weeks. I wanted to share some more information with you about Michael, his heart and his ministry.

In his book Overcoming Barriers To Growth he states
“Above all, seek to destroy all non-growth thinking. Get it out of the church and stand guard at the door so it can never creep back in. Why? Because growing a church is never about simply increasing the numbers. Growing a church is about emptying hell and filling up heaven. It is about making room for harvest and harvesters alike. Who would turn someone away from the table of life? By camping on the underside of a growth barrier, churches passively reject displaced believers and the lost every day…In a sermon I brought up the thought that no one would dare put into words. I hypothetically proposed, with no small hint of sarcasm, that perhaps we had grown enough; perhaps we should plan to taper off. I suggested putting a sign on the door telling newcomers that we didn’t want them. If they were believers, we were only depriving them of fellowship, a fellowship we enjoy. For unbelievers, I proposed it would be more accurate to post a sign that simply said, ‘Go to hell!’ since we were depriving them of a chance to hear the gospel and come to Christ for salvation...by the time the ruse was up, and everyone in the place could see the obvious, we had to do whatever was necessary to make room for all those whom God would bring our way.”

Leaders hear this message. The purpose of growth is TO EMPTY HELL AND FILL UP HEAVEN! There is no greater calling for a Believer in Jesus Christ. Jesus told us in Matthew 9:37 “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” In the harvest field that is Clarksville, TN we know that there are about a 120,000 people that NEED THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! He goes on to tell us in John 4:35 “Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest '? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest . Let us not waste time, resources, people, talents, money, and prayer any longer. The field is ready now!

We all have been sensing the moving of the Spirit deep within our own souls. I know that there are great things happening in the Kingdom and I want to be a part of it. That is why I am determined to bring in Men and Women of God who can help us all attain to the plans and purposes that God has in store for us as the CHURCH OF CLARKSVILLE!

If you register for this not only you, but your entire leadership team and anyone in your congregation can attend!

Overcoming Barriers to Growth with Michael Fletcher

Pastors and Leaders of the City,

I believe that God desires that each of our churches grow! How many of you, like myself ,are tired of the transfer growth? You know what I am talking about. The people who get offended with you and move to the next church? Or the people that migrate like birds to the next church plant like the birds do in the seasons! I want to see every church in Clarksville grow. And grow with BIBLICAL CHURCH GROWTH…LOST PEOPLE GETTING SAVED AND ADDED TO OUR CHURCHES!

In the book of Acts we are told about Church growth. In Acts 2:41 there were 3,000 men added to the Kingdom of God. In Acts 2:47 it says that they were adding to their numbers day by day. Then in Acts 4:4 it says 5,000 men were added to the church. In Acts 5:14 it tells us that multitudes of men and women were constantly being added to their numbers. We see the church in Samaria, Ephesus, and other regions around the world experiencing GROWTH! An interesting note is that during the reign of Herod Jerusalem had about 40,000 people in it. By the end of the Roman rule of Jerusalem it had about 80,000 and then dropped in population after 70 AD. So within weeks over 15% of the City of Jerusalem was saved! This isn’t counting the other reports of people being added daily! Can we agree that God wants us to exponentially grow?

I believe that one the main messages of the Kingdom of God is exponential growth. Throughout the parables we see Jesus teaching us about the Kingdom of God and in those teachings we see growth. In Matthew 13:31 Jesus tells us the parable of the Mustard seed and how it is the smallest seed but becomes the largest garden plant and the birds of the air can nest there. Then in Matthew 25:14 Jesus tells us the parable of the Talent. It is interesting to me that Jesus tells us the man who did nothing with his talent is a wicked and lazy slave, but the two who had doubled their talents where called FAITHFUL! Are we, as pastors, being faithful to increase what God has given us? Are we, as pastors, pursuing the lost and adding them to our church?

When I first started pastoring I heard often that we aren’t after numbers. Well, I AM AFTER NUMBERS because numbers represent PEOPLE who are DYING and GOING TO HELL! Jesus tells us in Luke 15 that he had 99 sheep and left to go out for the 1 that was lost. Then He tells us that a woman had 10 silver pieces and lost 1 but yet she went after the 1 that she had lost. This tells me that GOD IS CONCERNED WITH NUMBERS! Because numbers represent people! The Bible tells us that God desires all men be saved (1 Tim 2:4). Let us learn how to use our talents to Advance the Kingdom of God in Clarksville, TN and see how to grow our churches with lost people getting saved!

I am not sure if many of you realize this but our city is growing. The U.S. Census says that Clarksville is the fastest-growing large city in Tennessee and the 17th in the nation. It was the only city in Tennessee to make the top 25. The estimated population as of 2005 is 123,395 in the city overall and was on course to overtake Chattanooga as the fourth largest city in the state. The non-profit organization FAIR projects a population of 227,300 by the year 2025, which would be a 117 percent increase from the 2000 Census, assuming that the current population increase stands.

Wednesday I got a chance to speak with the Mayor and current estimates based on the CDE electric boxes put our current population at 140,000 people. We are in a growing city, yet the SBC ran a survey that found that only 30% of our community are in any church on any given Sunday (this says nothing of actually being saved). They will tell you that this isn’t quite accurate since people are prone to lying on surveys. So in spite of our success as a city, the church is lagging. Think about this if 30% is churched right now, then that is an estimate of 42,000 people attending church. This simply isn’t realistic. We don’t even have 42,000 seats in town if every church ran 10 services a day. A more realistic estimate is about 15,000-20,000. So where will we be by 2025? We must act now! If our city is exponentially growing then the church should be too.

I think that exponential growth is God’s plan and purpose for us, the Church of Jesus Christ in Clarksville! But growth isn’t enough. We must know how to faithfully handle what God has given us! We must understand how to be good stewards of the growth given us, whether that be 50, 100, 200, 600, 1000, or 140,000 people!

So in April Xtreme Ministries is bringing in Pastor Michael Fletcher. He has brought his church from 200 to 4500 members. He knows how to pastor growth and has many insights for the pastors of our city. No matter what size your church is, this conference will be of great benefit for you and your leaders!

He is going to specifically talking about

Understanding Church Growth
Role and Power of Vision
Breaking Barriers of Growth
Developing an Outreach Culture
And Q&A time

I have included a review of the book he wrote by Ministry Today Magazine.

Please join together with us as we seek to see the harvest field of Clarksville, TN reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!



Executive Summary: Overcoming Barriers to Growth
Overcoming Barriers to Growth: Proven Strategies for Taking Your Church to the Next LevelAuthor: Michael FletcherPublisher: Bethany HouseFile Under: Church Growth
Executive Summary: Author Michael Fletcher is the senior pastor of Manna Church in Fayetteville, N.C., and has led the congregation's growth from 400 to 4,000 active members during his 20 years of pastoring the church. So, it is from personal experience that Fletcher speaks to the issue of church growth as he identifies the major barriers to growth and then outlines methods for breaking through them.
According to Fletcher: "On the road to 'mega' there are three key stages of leadership structures or configurations and two major transition points. If pastors and leaders properly anticipate these transitions and adjust appropriately, stress can be reduced and leadership teams can work together to experience growth instead of working against each other."
Fletcher suggests, and cites supporting research, that the two main barriers pastors face in trying to grow their churches numerically are the 100/200 barrier and the 700/800 barrier, with the former representing the transition from a small church to a medium church and the latter representing the transition from a medium church to a large church.
With his stated goal being to help church leaders change internal structures in order to grow, Fletcher offers readers what he considers to be reproducible methods for achieving church growth success. First and foremost on the list is the need for the senior pastor to find God's vision for the church he leads.
Fletcher describes the importance of what he calls "the threefold law of vision:" the Law of Articulation, the Law of Unification and the Law of Mobilization. Unless the pastor can articulate the vision, unify the people around it and then mobilize them to help carry it out, the vision of growth is doomed for failure.
One point on which Fletcher risks alienating readers is his suggestion that pastors must switch from a Shepherd Model to a Rancher Model in order for their churches to grow, which some may feel contradicts the model of Jesus as Chief Shepherd. With that point aside, wherever pastors are located on the church-growth continuum, Overcoming Barriers to Growth can help them take their church to the next level.
Quote: "To move from small to medium or from medium to large, some very important things will have to change! It is important, then, to understand the dynamics involved in a church at the next level in order to take a congregation to that place."
Ideal reader: Pastors, elders and other church leaders desiring to identify and break through the barriers to numerical growth.
Rate the book from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on these criteria: Practicality (5); Insight (4); Theological Depth (3); Readability (5).
Reviewer: Sean Fowlds