As a culture, we've become wary of making the ask. We're afraid of offending someone or pushing too hard, but often the response is, "I would have done it sooner, but no one asked me." Below are some ideas to help you make the ask to call people into life with God.
​
Ways You Personally Can Practice Reaping

1. Share your personal faith story and ask for a response.
2. Write a reaping letter to a friend.
3. Share the “One-Verse” Gospel presentation from Romans 6:23.

Ways to Reap as a Small Group
Pick an activity that everyone in the group enjoys. This could include:

• A common interest event (e.g., sports events, shopping, meals, bowling, arts and crafts, board game nights
•  A thought-provoking movie

Within our Kairos Church Planting network we say, "Vision brings hope and a Plan brings confidence." This is a memorable way to recognize that we need to know where we headed and how we're going to get there.
​
We also say, "If it's in your head it's a dream; if it's on paper it's a plan." The power of putting something down on paper (yeah, that's figurative, as I'm writing this on my iPad) is amazing. More things will actually get done when we see it written then when they just rattle around in our minds.

If making a plan and writing it down are so powerful why is it that so many of us don't do it? My answer is we often overthink planning. We think planning means spending days agonizing over the issues, researching all possible answers, and preparing that way too long, no one will ever read it, doorstop of a plan. If that's what it takes--count me out! I can't do that kind of planning. Let's leave that to the Pentagon.
Instead I use this very simple 5 question planning process:

1. What needs to happen to move the ball down the field? There are always many things that beg to be done. This question helps us clarify what will actually help us do what needs to be done.
2. Why do I think this goal will move the ball? Answering the why question raises our confidence that we're putting our energies into something that will actually help us make progress.
3. What is the measurable outcome I'm trying to achieve? If your outcome isn't measurable how in the world will you know when you've accomplished it and how well it was done? By having a measurable outcome you'll know it when it happens. (Oh, and this makes celebrating the victory so much more satisfying).
4. What actions will get me there? By creating an action list you take the big, overwhelming thing and break it down into pieces you can handle. It's the answer to the old African question. "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!"
5. What's the logical sequence for those actions? Now you sequence those actions into the logical order that you can put into your work calendar. Now you know not only what you need to do but when you have to have it done by. For about half of us (yeah, us iNtuitives and Perceivers in the Myers-Briggs or Influencers in the DiSC) it gives us that deadline we often need to get us going.

Most of the time, even for long term, complex processes, you should be able to put all this on one sheet of paper. Do that and you've got a pretty simple but darn good plan.

Remember even an idiot with a plan is more likely to succeed than a genius without one.
​
Good luck. Why don't you sit down and make a plan right now. if it fits on one page (one side only) send it to me. I'll love seeing what you're working on.

Once formed, a DNA group focuses on the following:

DISCIPLESHIP

1. Reminding each other of new Identity in Jesus Christ (a child of God; an ambassador of the King; a servant of the creator of the universe; a learner who is being made whole).
2. Admonishing and teaching one another to obey Jesus’ commands. (Matthew 28:18-20; Colossians 3:15-17)
3. Training each other to serve. (Ephesians 4:11-3)
4. Living a disciplined live.

NURTURING

1. Listening to each other’s stories and to the Holy Spirit; carefully and empathetically directing each other to truth. (John 16:7-15)
2. Checking one another’s passions: How are you doing? Who are you loving well? Not so well? Where are you living in fear? What can we celebrate with you? What are you struggling through? (Romans 12:10,15)
3. Praying with and for each other. (Romans 12:12; Ephesians 6:18; James 5:16)

ACCOUNTABILITY

1. Encouraging each other to live out beliefs through making goals and helping each other fulfill them. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
2. Reviewing the past week.
3. Speaking the truth in love in regard to areas of sin (Ephesians 4:14-16), correcting and rebuking with God’s Word when necessary. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

PATHWAYS INTO A DNA GROUP

• If your church already has groups like this, tell your Area Missional Community leader you’d like to join a group.
• If your church doesn’t offer DNA groups, find two friends who want to form one with you. Tell your Missional Community leader or an elder you are starting one and ask for accountability.

Being a spiritual mentor does not equal being a religious leader. Mentors are not necessarily managing the direction of the church itself. The reality is they are leaders, but maybe look different from what you expect. It’s important to know the traits of spiritual mentors, these individuals are valuable in the development of the disciples within your congregation.

Here's a more accurate picture of what a spiritual mentor looks like:

There’s a lot of interest and activity surrounding discipleship today, and that is good! As I hear and read a lot of this discipleship talk, it often seems to be in the context of maturing those who are already believers—often lifelong believers. We need to continually remind ourselves that the discipleship journey includes life from unbelief to mature discipleship.

Stan Granberg, PhD, Kairos Executive Director

​There’s a lot of interest and activity surrounding discipleship today, and that is good! As I hear and read a lot of this discipleship talk, it often seems to be in the context of maturing those who are already believers—often lifelong believers. We need to continually remind ourselves that the discipleship journey includes life from unbelief to mature discipleship.

 
When we follow Jesus’ ministry we see a fairly seamless process as he meets people where they are and moves them from unbelief to active believer. Look at the Samaritan woman in John 4:1-42. When Jesus encounters her at the well she’s not a Messiah believer. Jesus begins by establishing relationship. Then the two engage in a series of back forth questions and statements. Ultimately, Jesus gets to the heart of her life,
 
Jesus: “Go call your husband”            Woman: “I don’t have a husband”
 
“You’re right, you have 5”                   “I see you’re a prophet”
 
“Believe me woman”                           “I know that the Messiah is coming”
 
“I am he”                                             “Come, see. Could this be the Messiah?”
 
By the end of this story the woman is confessing her commitment of belief to her towns people, who by this time are ready to go and see for themselves. I believe this is a classic story demonstrating how Jesus met this woman on her terms, then deliberately led her to conclude that he was the Messiah of promise and worthy of discipleship.
 
Here’s the question you need to answer: Do the activities your church provides give people a clear, well-defined pathway to faith in Jesus then growth towards active discipleship? ​​Here’s a simple, effective five-step system that you can use to create a discipleship funnel to help your church create disciples while it grows in numbers and health.
 
Step 1: Encounter. If we believe that God is searching for and gathering people to himself, how do we meet these people? You must learn to turn encounters into meeting events. Your church needs specific meeting activities where you get to encounter people. Good meeting points often include one off events such as neighborhood parties, Vacation Bible Schools, and holiday activities. What truly characterizes a meeting point is you have to collect contact information, at minimum first and last names and their phone number or email. If you don’t get these, you can’t follow up. Not only do you leave people stranded, but all that energy you expend doesn’t do you any good. Your goal for encounter is to get to know people, listen for their spiritual story, and provide them opportunity for a next step. What are your most effective encounter activities that help you meet new people?
 
Step 2: Engage. Engagement is where people have opportunity to hear the gospel, ask questions, consider the gospel’s implications for their lives, and see how they fit with you, God's people. Good engagement activities are short-term, well-defined studies such as the Alpha course, Story of Redemption, or Let’s Start Talking. What I think makes these some of the best engagement activities is because they occur in small groups where there are multiple seekers. These small groups allow discussion and question asking; people get to think and process together so they gain a multi-dimensional look at the gospel. The believers in these engagement groups act as guides and gospel illuminators; they’re not teachers. The goal of engagement activity is to provide seekers the opportunity to make a valid decision about the lordship of Jesus in their lives. What activity do you repeatedly use so people can engage the gospel?
 
Step 3: Commitment. People need to have the opportunity to make a specific commitment to Jesus. Even more than that, they need people who care for them to ask them if they are ready to give themselves to Jesus. Good commitment activities include events like baptism days, special preaching series, and weekend retreats or summer camps.  It's always important to give people the opportunity to respond to God's big ask in their lives. The goal of commitment is for people to make their confession of faith in Jesus and give themselves over to him in baptism. When and how do you ask people to make their commitment to Jesus?
 
Step 4: Essentials. When people are new Christians they need specific information, ideas, and guided experiences that help them integrate their new belief into practical life. In Kenya we had a year of specific teaching that oriented new believers to the Bible and we guided them through the basic practices of Christian life. Specifically prepared Bible classes and small groups for new believers provide good opportunities for new Christians to grow in an environment designed for their needs. The goal of the essentials period is to give new Christians the essential insights into Christian faith and life so their newly acquired faith can grow. What activities do you provide at your church where new Christians can be oriented to both scripture and their new life in Jesus?
 
Step 5: Experience. Again, in Kenya, we found it took several years of experience and growth for faith to become firmly rooted in people's lives. There was often a trial during this time where their faith would be tested. Sometimes they would make it, sometimes not, sometimes they would succumb then later return. Our role was to help them consider the possibilities and consequences of their decisions. Good preaching series, ongoing small groups, solid Bible classes and accountability groups are all good activities that allow experienced Christian living to form. How do you support your people through the trials of life that test their faith?
 
If you think of these five steps as a funnel, you want to always be putting new people into the wide end of the funnel where they can move down through these five sequential steps. The structure of such a process gives everything you do intentional purpose that creates movement. Without such structure, most churches find their activity becomes a hodgepodge of ever repeating events that simply maintains what they have. We find ourselves very active but without much movement or results.
 
I hope these ideas are helpful to you as you obey God’s great commission and make disciples of Jesus Christ.

How does your church make decisions? Who makes the decisions? How timely are decisions made? 

​

Your core values give your church its sense of individual identity, provide direction, and are foundation upon which decisions are made. Run the decision through your core values. Ask these two question to help you discern whether you can say yes to a decision.
 
1. Is this decision consistent with and connected to our core values?

• If yes, write a statement that describes how it is consistent and connected to your core values, then move ahead.
• If no, stop. Write a clear statement of why the decision does not meet your core values test and clearly communicate the reason to the person who brought the decision in question.

2. Do our core values warrant spending dollars on this decision?

• If yes, are those dollars available in the regular budget or would it require extra-budget funding?
• If no, what is it about the decision that makes it not reach the level of importance for funding? Write your statement and present it to the person bringing the decision

Your vision is what you wish to see come to being in the next few years. Ask the question, Does this decision contribute to accomplishing our vision? At this step you are answering the final question of, "Will we say yes to this decision?"

• If yes, write your statement that describes how a positive decision substantially contributes to accomplishing your vision. Clearly describe what you will gain by a positive decision.
• If no, write your statement describing why it does not and clearly describe what you will lose by making a negative decision.

This decision-making process runs your decisions through your core values, mission, and vision. By writing your reasoning at each step it will help you be more clear and more certain about your decision and will help you have clear communication to give to your church.
​​

Step 1: Consider Your Core Values
​
Your core values are the foundation that gives your church its sense of individual identity, provides direction, and are foundation upon which decisions are made. Run the decision through your core values. Your goal is to determine the consistency of the decision with your core values. The values decision answers the question can we say yes to this decision? Ask these two questions:

1. Is this decision consistent with and connected to our core values?

• If yes, write a statement that describes how it is consistent and connected to your core values, then move ahead.
• If no, stop. Write a clear statement of why the decision does not meet your core values test and clearly communicate the reason to the person who brought the decision in question.

2. Do our core values warrant spending dollars on this decision?

• If yes, are those dollars available in the regular budget or would it require extra-budget funding?
• If no, what is it about the decision that makes it not reach the level of importance for funding? Write your statement and present it to the person bringing the decision

Step 2: Consider Your Mission

Now you are looking at how this decision connects with your church's mission, that statement that describes why your church exists. Your mission statement answers the question should we say yes to this decision?

• If yes, write a clear statement of how this decision moves you ahead in your mission.
• If no, stop. Write your statement describing why it does not connect with your mission and communicate the reason.

Step 3: Does the Decision Dovetail With Your Vision?
​
Your vision is what you wish to see come to being in the next few years. Ask the question: does this decision contribute to accomplishing our vision? At this step you are answering the final question of will we say yes to this decision?

• If yes, write your statement that describes how a positive decision substantially contributes to accomplishing your vision. Clearly describe what you will gain by a positive decision.
• If no, write your statement describing why it does not and clearly describe what you will lose by making a negative decision.

This decision-making process runs your decisions through your core values, mission, and vision and by writing your reasoning at each step it will help you be more clear and more certain about your decision as well as having clear communication to give to your church.

How many ministry job descriptions does your church have written?
Whoa! That’s a boring topic. My experience is that few churches have job descriptions written for more than their hired staff. But spending the time to write job descriptions for all your ministry leaders may be one of the best investments your church can make for your sanity, health and the well-being of your church.
Because churches are volunteer organizations we suggest using the name role descriptions over job descriptions. This name change helps people understand the volunteer idea a little more clearly.

​The role description is your basic blueprint for success for every important, ongoing job that you want to get done. Here’s five ways that Ministry Role Descriptions will help your church:

1. So you know what the job is you’re asking people to commit to. You’re asking people to voluntarily give up vacation time, to take time away from family, and to do extra hours all for the “general good” of everybody else. The role description helps you make a clear, understandable ask.
2. So you can get the right people in the right seats doing the right things. This is a Jim Collins, Good to Great, phrase, but it’s also a phrase about giftedness. A good role description will help people sort through their gift sets to see if they fit or if this job will help them add to their giftedness.
3. To set expectations for performance. This is a hard one for volunteer organizations. In the church world it seems any kind of job performance is OK because, after all, “we’re Christians and our real goal is to love one another, right? A role description should raise the bar for people by describing how well things need to be done and what kinds of outcomes we expect them to achieve.
4. To describe both whom people work with and for whom. It really helps people to know who is my leader, who are my co-workers, and who works for me. A role description should clearly describe where the position sits in relationship to other people and ministries.
5. To set the context of the job into the mission, vision, and values of the church. Every ministry role is about the mission of the church and should display the values of the church. A good role description will describe how that job adds to or displays the mission, vision, and values of the church.

Click here to download a Writing Role Descriptions activity from the Kairos website. Throw a “writing party” for your ministry leaders to involve them in writing their own role descriptions. Add some food and fun to get the work done!

This post is by Stan Granberg, the Kairos Executive Director.
"At what point did pastoral ministry become so draining, so challenging, that a gifted veteran would question his ability to go the distance or cause a bright and talented newcomer to consider dropping out of professional ministry?" Lilly Foundation, Sustaining Pastoral Excellence, p. 3

Today’s pastors often feel…
scared they aren't relevant…
scared they can’t keep up the pace…
like they’re leading alone.
As a result, the best people often shy away from professional ministry or they burnout and leave ministry as a vocation, sometimes even leaving God in the process.
If you’re a minister, a church leader, a friend of a minister, or a church member, you owe it to your minister, yourself, and your church to help your minister engage in healthy soul care.
Recently I was blessed to be at a meeting of church planter executives where Alan Ahlgrim presented five levels of pastoral soul care. Every pastor should have plans for the first four levels and options for level five.

​1. Friend to FriendClose friends provide regular, personal interaction where they can speak into the pastor’s soul with love and support.
2. MentoringEveryone runs into situations that challenge them beyond their current level of ability or maturity. Mentors provide pastors the investment of experience and expertise to help them meet the challenges of pastoral work.
3. Sharpening ExperiencesThese are retreats, seminars, and training events where pastors can learn from experts and each other to sharpen the myriad of skills pastors may be called to perform.
4. Covenant GroupsThese are small groups of fellow leaders who commit from one to three years together to hold each other close, allowing them to reveal their fears, their doubts, and their missteps without fear of repercussions.
Covenant groups are not about fixing. They are about listening carefully, asking clear questions, and keeping each other out of the ditch.
5. Psychological InterventionSometimes despite the best precautions, but most often because levels one through four were not exercised, pastors reach crisis where professional help and intervention is needed.
God has provided exceptional people who can help pastors in deep distress regain balance and wholeness to their life and ministry.

Share these five levels with your church leaders and pastor. You may save a life gifted for God’s glory.