Blake Bradford and Amy Ezell led a Small Church Workshop at the Lusk Training Center at the Methodist Foundation for Arkansas on October 28, 2023.
DOWNLOADS:
SLIDE SHOW (PDF)
Rules of the Road Board Covenant and Guiding Principles Examples
LEADING THE SMALL CHURCH FROM THE PORCH SWING
Leading from the porch swing, not the board room!
The smaller the church, the more the pastor’s leadership exists outside the committee meeting room or even behind the pulpit. Instead the leader rests on the metaphorical porch swing. In my home state, Arkansas, especially in the evening, we enjoy banter from the front porch swing. You sit side-by-side on a porch swing. You can’t sit in the adversarial position across from someone, hoping to win them over or tire them out. Side-by-side it is, looking in the same direction, leaning over and talking with each other, loving each other as fellow servants of God.
Read the full article on “Ministry Matters”:
https://www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/11074/leading-the-small-church-from-the-porch-swing
Small Church, Big Impact
Tuesday, October 5
2:00 – 3:00 PM Eastern
Most congregations in the nation have a membership under 100, but most books and workshops are created by mega-churches. In this webinar, Dr. Blake Bradford shares how smaller congregations can use their unique giftedness to fulfill God’s mission. He says smaller churches can enhance their vitality by clarifying their purpose, engaging their local community, leveraging small church relational intimacy to reach people and nurture disciples, rightsizing their leadership and governance structures to empower laity, and strategically utilizing pastoral leadership.
Download a PDF of the Workshop Slides
Practical Resources for Churches (PRC) is an ecumenical resource center ~ https://www.prcli.org/
Small Church Big Impact
In this Leading Ideas Article for the Lewis Center for Church Leadership, Blake Bradford shares how smaller congregations can use their unique giftedness to fulfill their mission. He says smaller churches can enhance their vitality by clarifying their purpose, engaging their community, leveraging relational intimacy to reach people and build disciples, and rightsizing their leadership and governance structures.
2020 LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE AT THE CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION
Small Church/Big Impact Breakout Session
Most congregations in the nation have a weekly worship attendance under 150. This workshop will assist you in adapting the BIG experience of the Church of the Resurrection and the Leadership Institute to your smaller context. In this Breakout Session, author and mission strategist Dr. Blake Bradford will join leaders of smaller churches in rethinking and right-sizing their ministry to make a God-sized impact in their communities. He will share models and practical steps for smaller congregations to simplify their decision-making, rethink community engagement, be intentional about discipleship formation, empower laity, and strategically utilize pastoral leadership.
Breakout Session and materials are available through ShareChurch
ADAPTING COR LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES FOR THE SMALL CHURCH
2017 LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE AT THE CHURCH OF THE RESURRECTION
SEPTEMBER 28, 2017
Blake facilitated a gathering to assist leaders of smaller churches (Average Worship Attendance under 100) in adapting what they experienced at COR for their local church context.
The Center for Vitality also holds follow-up Team Action Planning sessions for attendees to the Leadership Institute. Download the Fall Team Planning Workbook at this link.