Resources

During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, there was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Ira Yates.  Mr. Yates wasn't able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch.  With little money for clothes or food, his family, like many others during the depression years, had to live on government subsidy.  Day after day, Yates would watch his sheep as they grazed over those rolling West Texas hills. He would rack his brain trying to figure out some way to pay all his bills. 

One day a crew of men from an oil company came into the area & convinced Yates there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat test well. Yates agreed & signed a lease contract.   At 1,115 ft, the drillers struck a huge oil reserve. The 1st well came in at 80,000 barrels a day.   Day after day more wells were drilled, many more than twice as productive as the first.  In the 1960’s, after oil had been pumped for more than 30 yrs, a government test of just one of the wells showed that it still had a potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.  Today the Yate's field still has recoverable oil reserves of more than a billion barrels of oil.    And to think, the one time sheep rancher Yates, living on government subsidy,  was sitting on a mammoth underground lake of incredibly valuable oil.  He was a potential multimillionaire living in poverty. 

Many churches are like Ira Yates.   Oh the mortgages on the church property has long been paid off, but these churches are still struggling.   These churches feel that they are asset poor.   These churches are not all alike, but there are a lot of patterns that are similar.   Perhaps you recognise some of the patterns in your own church.  Numbers are dwindling.  Membership is aging.  Various church ministries are having difficulty finding volunteers.   It is hard to find people willing and able to serve as elders or deacons.  It has been years, if not decades, since you saw a lost person come to Christ.   The denominational statistics bear testimony to these stark realities.   No outreach activities are planned.  Few people sign up to be part of a small group or attend a prayer meeting.  You don't discuss church growth or where to plant a new church.   It takes all you got as a church just to maintain current programs and Sunday services.  And yet, all the while, there is a huge pool of untapped resources around you -- resources that will give a new direction, revitalise outreach, stimulate church health, and generate church growth.  

Perhaps your church's problem is similar to that of Ira Yates.   You simply do not know the huge pool of untapped resources all around you!    Resources simply refer to a stock or supply of money, materials, staff, and other assets that can be drawn on by a person or organization in order to function effectively.   But what if those resources are there and you as a individual or as a church never draw on it?  As a church leader you will remain impoverished and your church will not function effectively.  

The reality for all our churches is that we are not asset poor.  How so?   Well, the CRCA is committed to helping churches draw on resources so that churches will be healthy, vibrant, and growing.  The GROW and TRAIN Workgroups, the Church Planting Taskforce and Local Church Outreach are all well positioned to provide resources, support, networking, and training in growing healthy churches that plant churches, reach the lost through outreach, engage in overseas missions, make disciples, and multiply leaders.   The SHIFT Coaching initiative is designed to help churches and church leaders develop healthy church practices.  Ministry Formation is there to resource churches for growth, health, and effective ministry development.  As CRCA Ministry Development Coach (MDC) I am available to provide ministry coaching, speak on a number of different topics and can lead seminars with churches, church leaders, and pastor groups.  I am there to resource churches for growth, health, and effective ministry development.   One of the key ways that I assist churches is by helping through a health check using the resources of Natural Church Development and then guide them to develop strategies for increased church health.  

And that is not all!  There are more resources.   The TRAIN Workgroup has developed a Discipleship Training Tool called the Discipleship Matrix.  This tool will help you in self-assessment and in guiding people wherever they are in their spiritual journey:  exploring Christianity, coming to faith, growing in obedience, and/or becoming a ministry leader.   If you desire to reach the lost through evangelism, the CRCA has partnered with Organic Outeach.   And this is not the only network the CRCA partners with.   Check out the engaging Discipleship Program called the Way, a ministry of the RTC, which is all about developing deeply-committed and passionate Christ-followers and church leaders.  And I can go on to tell you about other Australian networks such as the Geneva Push, Reach Australia, and Vinegrowers - all committed to seeing the gospel expand throughout Australia.

As you can see there is a huge pool of resources just waiting to be tapped.   Don't just watch people come and go in your church, and rack your brain trying to figure out ways to turn your church around or move it forward into increased church health.   Tap into the resources!   The prophet Isaiah spoke of the coming day when "with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation."  Isaiah 12:3   In Christ we see the ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy (cf. John 7:37-39).   I look forward to the day when every church with joy will draw deeply from the huge pool of resources available in the CRCA and in Australia.   In that day heaven will rejoice with us (cf. Luke 15:7, 10, 32) as we see more and more of those who are lost found, the found discipled, and the disciples multiplying.  Tap into the resources!