Dr. Porter challenged us to think about the results the Lord desires to see on the Canada Pacific District. He asserted that doubling our attendance and church planting are the only two results we should strive for. I appreciate his challenge to take responsibility for results, but I do wonder if we need to take the time to discern what effectiveness looks like in our context. ‘Contextual analysis’ is a missionary skill that we all need to develop.
For example, if doubling our attendance and planting churches are the only means of measuring effectiveness, our church would not be seen as effective. And yet, we are discovering rich, missional engagement in our neighborhood and lives are being transformed. We have developed a matrix for missional effectiveness in our context in order to ensure that we are not burying our talent and can be accountable for results.
Are we, as a district, satisfied with these two measurements that Dr. Porter gave us? If not, how do we receive Dr. Porter’s challenge and apply it within our context? What does effectiveness look like on the Canada Pacific District and what should we be measuring? These are great questions for us to wrestle with as the people of God called Nazarene’s in British Columbia and the Yukon.
Thanks to Dr. Porter for issuing the challenge. Now, I’d like to suggest we wrestle with the answer in our context in light of the gifts and talents the Lord has given us.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Grant Zweigle
Vancouver First Church of the Nazarene
Dr. Porter challenged us to think about the results the Lord desires to see on the Canada Pacific District. He asserted that doubling our attendance and church planting are the only two results we should strive for. I appreciate his challenge to take responsibility for results, but I do wonder if we need to take the time to discern what effectiveness looks like in our context. ‘Contextual analysis’ is a missionary skill that we all need to develop.
For example, if doubling our attendance and planting churches are the only means of measuring effectiveness, our church would not be seen as effective. And yet, we are discovering rich, missional engagement in our neighborhood and lives are being transformed. We have developed a matrix for missional effectiveness in our context in order to ensure that we are not burying our talent and can be accountable for results.
Are we, as a district, satisfied with these two measurements that Dr. Porter gave us? If not, how do we receive Dr. Porter’s challenge and apply it within our context? What does effectiveness look like on the Canada Pacific District and what should we be measuring? These are great questions for us to wrestle with as the people of God called Nazarene’s in British Columbia and the Yukon.
Thanks to Dr. Porter for issuing the challenge. Now, I’d like to suggest we wrestle with the answer in our context in light of the gifts and talents the Lord has given us.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Grant Zweigle
Vancouver First Church of the Nazarene