Outreach North America understands that ongoing renewal is necessary for any living organism in this fallen world. The Bible presents the Church as a living organism by using vivid images such as the Body of Christ. Since the Church is a living organism placed in this fallen world, we should expect renewal to be necessary and ongoing. Therefore Outreach North America seeks to recommend a toolkit of resources for church health. Churches can use the tools that meet their unique needs according to where they are in the renewal process. View this as being like a doctor’s bag with tools for both analysis and treatment, as well as for health maintenance. Besides the From Embers to a Flame book and conference, other tools in our toolkit include those listed below.

Ken Priddy (ONA Director of Church Renewal) United Front Ministries

United Front provides a comprehensive process of systemic church redevelopment that combines spiritual renewal with strategic initiative. For more information, check the United Front website at www.unitedfrontministries.com. United Front has two training options to consider as a follow-up to the Embers to a Flame conference. Contact Ken directly at: kenpriddy@arpsynod.org

• The Turnout Solution– One-day seminar providing an overview of church redevelopment, provides some information you can use right away as well as providing an introduction to the 2ND WIND process.
• 2ND WIND– A 16-month process in which the church’s “vision team” meets in clusters with teams from other churches for training, coached throughout by a coach from United Front ministries, and following a comprehensive implementation guide called “Coachworks.”

ARP Revitalization Program

The ARP revitalization program was developed in the early 1990’s out of a concern for the large number of churches that were becoming complacent and looking inward instead of being outreach oriented. The goal of revitalization is to see improvement in five areas: spiritual renewal, disciple-making, worship, outreach, and leadership. The church chooses a task force of 8–12 people that will work with the pastor to lead the church through revitalization. Churches meet together for training in clusters of 6 or more churches. Ideally these churches will be in close proximity to each other, within easy driving distance. The cost is $2,200/church plus travel, room, and board for workshops and cluster meetings. The activities of the revitalization program are spaced over a 6–9 month period and include the activities listed below.

• A congregational survey. Helps discover the primary opinion leaders of the church, which may be different than the formal leadership structure, and helps discover how people in the church view the church.
• General meeting of all church leaders. A Saturday meeting held in the early stages of the program to explain to all church leaders how the program works, to answer questions, and to mobilize prayer support for the revitalization efforts.
• Three workshop meetings from Thursday evening to Saturday noon. The pastor plus 4 people from the church’s revitalization task force attend these training sessions. The first workshop concerns personal spiritual renewal. The other two workshops deal with leadership, outreach, worship, and other renewal practices.
• Five one-day cluster meetings for the pastors of the participating churches. These meetings are spaced throughout the program, and are designed to give the pastors special training in becoming more effective pastors and preachers.
• Revitalization task force meetings. Meetings of the church’s task force that is leading the church through the revitalization program.

From Embers to a Flame Workbook

This is an inexpensive, spiral-bound workbook that can help a church’s leadership team (the session and other leaders) work together to clarify important issues and then to develop a plan to address them. The workbook helps the church implement the church health strategies identified in this conference by guiding the church through three phases of application: 1) assess and diagnose; 2) commit and strategize; and 3) plan and act.

Twin Lakes Fellowship

A ministry of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MS, Twin Lakes Fellowship provides an annual two-day conference at the Twin Lakes Conference Center in Florence, MS. The twofold purpose of the conference is to: promote the work of church planting through local congregations; and encourage personal growth in grace, so as to maximize effectiveness in promoting the work of the gospel.

Church Health Surveys

Outreach North America currently recommends two different surveys that are available to help your leadership understand how people in your congregation view your church.

• Diagnostic tools available through Ken Priddy.
• Congregational Questionnaire. Developed as part of the ARP revitalization program.

Evangelism Training

• Christianity Explored Conferences. Training conference to help churches and individuals learn ways to evangelize, and particularly how to use the 10-week Christianity Explored course as an evangelistic tool. ONA is sponsoring two training conferences this May: May 8-9 in the evening at First ARP in Gastonia, NC, and May 5 during the day on Saturday at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC.
• Evangelism Explosion Clinics. See www.eeinternational.org for more information.
• Erskine Theological Seminary. PM107-Evangelism. This course is available to ARP church officers and members to audit. It is a study of the nature and practice of evangelism in the Christian Church. Attention is given to the biblical basis of evangelism, the theology and historical development of evangelism, spiritual development principles in evangelism, and methods of developing evangelism as a part of the total mission of the congregation.