Reaching People Under 40

While Keeping People Over 60

(10 Ideas for Small and Rural Congregations)

Three primary principles in the book are: 1) Creating come & go structures; 2) creating non-threatening comfortable entry points; 3) Creating parallel structures.  Here are some ideas to jump start dialogue for how to do this in smaller and more rural churches.

1.    Fishing/Hunting/Sports Venues - Father/Mother & Child outdoor camps/experiences; or for men/women who enjoy the sport

2.    Restoring Cars/Furniture clubs

3.    Single Parent Gatherings/Bootcamps - designed to provide support and education for single parents - parenting tips, clothing swaps, transitioning into next season of life for parent/child/schools etc.

4.    Community Movie Night - show the film outside on the side of house

5.    Support Groups - for persons/families struggling with chemical abuse, finding faith in troubled times, addictions, dysfunctional families etc.

6.    Gardening - for fun or to supply food for the community

7.    Financial Tips - for daily living, school, retirement planning etc.

8.    Community Picnics/Quilting or Craft Classes - celebrating graduations, family reunions, homecomings or to acknowledge losses, community disasters etc.

9.    Operation In As Much - www.Operationinasmuch.com Putting workteams together to clean up or repair needs in the community

10.       Faith Clubs - a gathering of persons from different faiths to share/learn and understand each other rather than to convert each other

For more information go to www.transformingsolutions.org or order Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60 by E. Hammett, J. Pierce

Possible Solutions for

"Building Poor" Churches

Ideas and Coaching Guide for Churches Facing Tight Budgets, Aging Treasured Facilities and Staff Salaries

1.     Teach, preach and dialogue about the biblical framework for the church.  More a movement and people than a building.

a.     What are the likely consequences for our future if we see church more as building than a movement?

2.     Pray, pursue, explore potential partnerships with community agencies, non-profit organizations.  Utilize facilities as multi-purpose and ministry center rather than just worship center

a.     Who are our potential partners?

b.     What is needed in the community that shared facility might provide?

c.      What might a win/win look like?

3.     Consider reallocating human and financial resources to realign with new church function

a.     What is a reasonable plan and percentage of time, money and personnel for our size church in this economy?

4.     Rent out part of building to groups needing additional space (i.e. artists, musicians, artisans, drama/movie makers etc.)

a.     Who are the local artisans needing a place to practice, present, teach?

5.     Create multiple streams of income and share mortgage, heating/cooling expense with partners. (i.e. partner with Starbucks, Subway, etc.)

a.     What are the possible streams of income for your church?

b.     Who can you learn from?

6.     Consider rethinking staffing arrangement and the possibilities of collaborating with other salary producing possibilities or other churches.

a.     Who can you learn from?

b.     Who might you partner with?

c.      What might be the win/win for rethinking staffing/salary plans?

7.     Resist, or at least delay building, without considering decentralizing ministry, programming around the region rather than building more facilities that will drain your budget as they age and require more maintenance.

a.     What would the benefit be of a decentralized ministry?

8.     Make informed, prayerful decisions about the ultimate mission of the church - maintaining buildings or going on mission in the world.

For coaching services to explore and act on one or more of these ideas contact Eddie Hammett at Eddie@transformingsolutions.org

İEddie Hammett, www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org and www.transformingsolutions.org