In this issue:

Staying Attuned to Your Community

Palms in the Park on Palm Sunday

The Right Question

Leadership is about building teams, encouraging innovation, thinking strategically, removing obstacles, creating vision, and taking risks.

Gary R. Collins

One of the most significant counterintuitive realities about churches is that the longer a church has been in existence, the less knowledgeable it is about its community and the less connected it becomes with that community. There are exceptions, of course. But it is rare that a long-existing church is more aware of the trends, demographics, and movements of its surrounding community than a new congregation in that same place. You would think that a well-established congregation would know its community inside and out, given years of service there. But the movement is just the opposite.

Here is how that is likely to happen. In the early years of a congregation, there is careful attention given to the community, its people, and their needs. Otherwise, the new congregation does not survive. Then the congregation reaches a point of critical mass in which weeks or even months can go by without new members joining the church; and the congregation continues to stay alive. At the same time, there tends to be a shift in focus from reaching new disciples to caring for current members. This change is particularly seen in the expectations for how pastors and other staff spend their time.

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Palms in the Park on Palm Sunday
By Laura Heikes

During the Easter Season, the First United Methodist Church in New Braunfels, Texas, launched an outreach event in the heart of our city. Our goal was to take our worship service to the people instead of asking them to come to us. With that in mind, we rented space in Landa Park, a natural area at the heart of our city with natural springs, a wading pool, paddle boats, a mini-train, playgrounds, and picnic areas. Many residents come there to relax and renew. The church rented a space in the park called "the Dance Slab" along with two picnic pavilions for fellowship and refreshments after the worship service.

Instead of our normal Easter mailer, we targeted neighborhoods where there were lots of new folks with information about Palms in the Park.

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The Right Question

Leaders do not need answers.
Leaders must have the right questions.

Sometimes it is useful to ask a question just prior to moving forward on a project or decision—to make sure nothing has been missed. Some variation on this question might work:

Have we failed to consider any information or perspectives we need to consider?

Editors:  Lovett H. Weems, Jr. and Ann A. Michel
Production and distribution: Carol Follett