Where do we serve? Prayer from Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

Christian Community Development: Neighborhood Transformation as a tool.

There are many facets of Christian Community Development.

Communicating with people in a culturally sensitive manner is basic.

It's all about Relationships!

Getting to know your neighbors!

Do you want to know your neighbor?

Here is a good method to do it.

But first here is a short video explaining the logic and reasoning behind this method.



Neighborhood Transformation from CINDER on Vimeo.

Here is a good easy way to start the process

A little role playing is a good way to learn the process..before going out into a neighborhood.

Two people go out together
One prays while the other starts the conversation.
Usually they go in a neighborhood...door to door. 
They are not going to prosletize or get people to go to their church.

This survey is also a great "tool" that church planters can use...both locally and internationally!
___________________________________________________________________

 NEIGHBORHOOD SURVEY

Used with permission from Stan Rowland. Neighborhood Transformation

http://neighborhoodtransformation.net/

1. What do you like about your neighborhood?

2.  What would you like to see different in your neighborhood?

3. What groups are you involved in, within your neighborhood?

4. What do you like to do with your hands?

5. What would you like to learn if training were available in your neighborhood?

6. What’s one thing you’d want to be part of if it was happening in your neighborhood?

7. What‘s one thing you could teach?

8. Is there anyone in your house that is over 65 or disabled?

9.  Anything we can pray about for you and or your family?

Name _______________________________

Address________________________________

Phone___________________

Stan Rowland of Neighborhood Transformation has a BLOG
He updates it frequently.

Stan and his team put on weekend & or week seminar/workshops all over the country throughout the year. 

 Neighborhood Transformation has lots of free resources you can use...
http://neighborhoodtransformation.net/

 

Are you using your strengths?

 Are you using your "Strengths"?

 "All worth-while men have good thoughts, good ideas and good intentions, but precious few of them ever translate those into action." John Hancock

"We try a bunch of stuff...see what works...and call that our strategy,: Dennis Bakke, co-founder and former CEO of global energy supplier AES Corp.

Wouldn't it be better to know what our Strengths are and use them daily?

Here is a great "Free" Strengths Assessment:

http://freestrengthstest.workuno.com/

We can make the most impact in and on our world by using our strengths.  

Doesn't make much sense by trying to improve on our "weakness's" 

Here is the website to learn more about Strengthsfinder 2.0
  http://strengths.gallup.com/110440/About-StrengthsFinder-20.aspx 

 IDAK Talent Survey is also an excellent instrument for showing you your "Abilities"

  https://tdg.idakgroup.com/tdg/index.cfm

Combining your "Strengths" and "Abilities" is a fantastic way for non profits to help their Staff and Volunteers fit in and make the most contribution and experiencing the most JOY!

What a combination!

S.H.A.P.E Class summary

S.H.A.P.E Class

Using Your SHAPE to Change the World!

Eastbrook Church Mission Statement

“To proclaim and embody the love of Jesus Christ in the city and in the world.

Description of the class

The Lord created each of us individually with different Spiritual Gifts, Passions, Abilities, Strengths and a unique Personality with different Experiences. This class will help people put the pieces of the puzzle together, so we each can be most effective in our families, church, community and the world.  When we serve according to our SHAPE, we leave a legacy that gives glory to the LORD so when we stand before Him one day, we will hear, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

We talked about putting the “Puzzle” together…Our S.H.A.P.E in our:

Self

Family

Work

Neighborhood

Church

City

World

Looked briefly at difference between:

Needs of the world.  1,000'S

Concerns   We have many concerns

Burdens     Burdens are what we continually pray about.

Passion(s)  We can probably have up to 3.What we wake up and think and continually pray about during the day!

With goal of finding a place where we could most effectively minister with our S.H.A.P.E.

To find Service opportunities

Romans 12: 1-9

3 Circles from Good to Great in the Social World.

Need, Passion and Resources.

Concept of Need, Passion and Resources: 

When we are passionate about something…a need in the world…the Lord supplies all the resources…

 
When a person or organization has a strong "passion" about a "need" in the world...the Lord supplies the "Resources".

Also talked about the relationship between: Relationships, Communication and Forgiveness.

 Lack of "Forgiveness" limits our answers to prayer and destroys our "JOY".

Tools to identify our S.H.A.P.E 

Abilities            Idak Talent Discovery form

Spiritual Gifts  Several Spiritual Gift Assessments

Strengths          Free Strengths Assessment.   Strengthsfinder 2.0

Personality       Grid

Eastbrook Website: SHAPE Assessment

Passion(s)         Several lists.

List of people we like to work with.

List of causes we feel apart of or want to be a part of.

Looked at Hobbies

Where do you donate your financial resources?

Exercises you did:

Identified our Top 10 Experiences: Things we enjoyed and did well!

Where there was a consistent/predictable/pattern

Effortlessness

Flawless execution

Did well

Innate skill

When Can I do this again?

Joy

Lose track of time.

Discovered that there is a connection and purpose in everyday occurrences.

When we are working in these area of Joy …we see that our efforts fit into a larger picture…of what God is doing.

Saw that there is a connection among our Spiritual Gifts, Talents, Strengths, Abilities, Passion(s), Personality and Experiences and other “gifts” from the Lord, we feel more connected to others and something bigger than ourselves and experience “community” in a more profound way.

When we can replicate those times of “great experiences”…in our family, neighborhood, work and community…

Search and identify S.H.A.P.E through our past and present experiences!

 Using our SHAPE in our marriage:

 Using our new found S.H.A.P.E in our marriages:

5 Love Languages

         Quality Time

         Gifts

         Acts of Service

         Physical Touch

         Words of Affirmation

God's Call on our Life (handout)

J.C. Heiden, our Neighborhood Transformation Pastor provided us with a list. A great handout. See link below;

100 Ways to engage and connect with your neighbors!

 Stan Rowland of Neighborhood Transformation provided this great survey!
9 Questions you can use to help you connect with your neighbors! 

We discovered that we can use our SHAPE wherever we are…

Families, Careers, Church, Ministry outside our church…other non profits.

Bottom Line:
Eastbrook Church is developing a database where anyone can enter some or all of the discoveries we made and find a match with a volunteer opportunity in our church. There will be short "job" descriptions also listing the time commitment.

Discovered that Passion is the driving force that motivates us!

Whatever our SHAPE is…we can most effectively use it in an area that we are interested in and passionate about!

So…we really need to discover our Passion…what has the Lord put on our heart for ministry?

My Volunteering and My Financial Giving: Any connection?

A blog post about how to evaluate a non profit with goal of donating our financial resources and our volunteering:

http://northshorefinishingwellgroup.blogspot.com/2014/11/my-volunteering-and-my-financial-giving.html

A few books worth checking out: 

What You Do Best in the Body of Christ by Bruce Bugbee

The Call by Os Guinness
The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson
Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado
The Eternity Portfolio by Alan Gotthardt
 The Hole in the Gospel by Richard Stearns
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
Radical by David Plat