Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff Joseph Kormos Parish Development Ministry - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Creating Vibrant Orthodox Parishes 11/7/2011 A Framework for Renewal Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff Joseph Kormos Parish Development Ministry Leader Director, Commission on Missions and Evangelism Diocese of Midwest Diocese of New York & New Jersey 1 16 th All-American Council Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Seattle, WA

Who Should Be Here? 11/7/2011 Anyone desiring to inspire and drive change toward a gospel-centered, growth vision in their parish Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Clergy Parish Council Ministry leaders Concerned parishioners 2

Presenters Joseph Kormos Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff • Consultant, Coach, Facilitator • Pastor • Secular Experience • St. John the Theologian Church; 11/7/2011 Long Island (19 years) • Marketing, innovation, • Director & Certified Coach, planning, strategy • Church experience • Orthodox Natural Church Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Development • “Cradle” , Parish founding; • Director Parish Council; Diocesan Council; Pre-Conciliar • Commission on Missions & Commission Evangelism, Diocese of NY&NJ • Parish Development Ministry • Presenter, • Diocese of Midwest • Church Growth Boot Camp, • Visited >45 parishes in last • Worked with 80+ parishes in five years two jurisdictions since 1998 frjonathan@hotmail.com parishfacilitator@domoca.org 3

Outline 11/7/2011 • The Imperative – Parish Revitalization • Basics of Healthy Parishes • Scriptural & Patristic Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA • Framework for Renewal • Conclusion & Open Discussion 4

The Imperative 11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA “Houston, we have a problem” 5

Diocese of 11/7/2011 Midwest Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA 6

Diocese of Midwest Data 11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA 7

Shrinking Parishes -- Examples 20 Year Census Change 405 >> 189 301 >> 105 11/7/2011 Image deleted Image deleted 8 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Image deleted Image deleted 200 >>19 492 >> 200

Orthodox Church in America 11/7/2011 The territorial OCA in the continental US has been declining between 6 and 9% for nearly 20 years (’88 on) Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Note1: Continental U.S. only! (Not including the ethnic dioceses, Canada or Alaska) 9 Note2: Decline is slowing

Is This Only About Numbers? 11/7/2011 • No! • But Numbers are NOT Unimportant • Acts 2:47 • “and the Lord added to their number daily” Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA • Early Church • Without evangelistic, numerical growth Christianity would have been an insignificant historical footnote. • Often a “trailing indicator” of healthy parish qualities. • When numbers decline the work should have begun 5-15 years earlier. • Nothing buoys parish spirit more than growth. 11

The Imperative 11/7/2011 12 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA

Typical Decline Pattern All 11/7/2011 seems Fine Denial Assign Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Attract Blame “Replace ments” Grab an Answer Jump Ship Turn further inward 13

Root Causes 11/7/2011 14 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA “ Ruttedness ” We’re stuck: … in the past … on ourselves … low expectations

Root (“Rut”) Causes • Unwilling to change/learn • No competence for “intentionality” 11/7/2011 • Setting goals; explicit actions Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA • Isolated & insulated • Don’t know what people are thirsting for. • Don’t know what to do • Lack updated/relevant models of healthy parishes 15

The Rut Cycle “When you don’t know what to do, you do what you know.” 16 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA “Insanity = Doing same things & expecting different results.” 11/7/ 2011

11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff BASICS OF HEALTHY PARISHES 17

Are We Asking the Right 11/7/2011 Questions? NOT : “What can I do to make my church grow?” Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA BUT RATHER : “What am I doing that is preventing my church from growing?” 18

How Does a Church Grow? 11/7/2011 “I planted...” We have to do our part “ Apollos watered...” “But GOD gave the growth.” Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA “We are God’s fellow workers ” – St. Paul, I Corinthians 3:6-9 So God can do His 19

The “ All by Itself ” Principle 11/7/2011 “ The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who casts seed upon the ground… the seed sprouts up and grows – how, he himself Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA does not know. The earth produces crops, all by itself, first the blade, then the head and then the mature grain in the head.” 20 – Mark 4:26-28

The Parish Life Cycle Plateau Stages Ministry 11/7/2011 Characteristics Structure Dynamics Nostalgia Maintenance Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Organization Maturity Questioning Goals Decline Control Growth Ethos Polarization Leadership 21 Conflict Death Dreams Leave Birth

Revitalization is a Process 11/7/2011 The 7-Year Turnaround Cycle: Year 1 Year 7 Declines will continue Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA while turnround efforts are undertaken 22

The Revitalized PLC Growth & multiplication Renewal 11/7/2011 Deepening Ministry commitment Re-Focus w/new Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA & spirituality vision & mission Maturity Goals Ethos & values Growth 23 Dreams Birth

11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA WHAT IS “CHURCH HEALTH”? 24

For far too long, parishes have been focusing so much on producing “fruit” (i.e., members)… 11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA …that they fail to consider the “root” that produces the fruit 25 3

Maybe We’re Asking the Wrong Questions? Is it: 11/7/2011 “How can we get more Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA people to come to church ?” or … “What can we do to make our church grow?” 26

What’s the Right Question? **OR**…Is it: 11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA “What are we doing that’s preventing our church from growing?” 27

The Key Question: 11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA How can we release the potential that God has placed 28 within EVERY church? 7

The Biblical Concept “See/consider 11/7/2011 ( καταμάθετε ) Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA the lilies of the field, how they grow...“ - Matthew 6:28 29

The Biblical Concept, cont. “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who cast seed upon the ground; 11/7/2011 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA the seed sprouts up and grows, how he does not know. The earth all by itself produces crops all by itself : first the blade, then the head, and then the mature grain in the head. – Mark 4:26-28 30 5

The Biblical Concept...in practice “I planted… Apollos watered… 11/7/2011 But God gave the growth .” Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA - St. Paul, I Corinthians 3 NCD is all about releasing the “all by itself” growth by which God Himself grows His church 31 5

Vine and Branches – John 15 11/7/2011 With health comes growth: This is how healthy Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA branches grow and bear fruit... naturally . This is how we can speak of “natural” church 32 development.

God Wants to Grow His Church… 11/7/2011 …and has empowered us for the job: “All authority has been given to me… therefore: Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Go make disciples… baptizing them… teaching them… – Matt 28:18ff 33

The Biblical Foundation of Parish Health: The Paralytic Bodily Health & 11/7/2011 Wholeness: Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA “Do you want to be made well?” (notice the answer!) 34

The Body of Man vs. The Body of Christ: The Same Approach 11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA 35 6

The Patristic Viewpoint “Do you not realize that the body (of Christ) is liable to more diseases and 11/7/2011 attacks than this flesh of ours, and Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA that it is infected more quickly and cured more slowly.” - St. John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood 4.2 36 6

And We’ve Said this Before... “If you plan carefully...your parish can grow in both quantity and quality. 11/7/2011 You need to think about quantity and quality together... Members who Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA assume that their parish can double in size without any significant quality changes are expecting what never was and never can be . - Pre-Conciliar Papers, p. 42 37 7 th All-American Council (1983)

Our Parish Now... 11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA 38 4

11/7/2011 Parish Revitalization 16th AAC Seattle WA Joe Kormos FRAMEWORK FOR RENEWAL 39