This week finds me in Washington DC, first sweltering in 95 degree heat, and now freezing in driving rain and wind. You may be asking what a weather-challenged Californian is doing on the other side of the country enduring weather whiplash?
I’m working with a creative, caffeine-hyped group of Presbyterian leaders fascinated with the idea of leading change and transformation in churches, namely: Philip Lotspeich, Brian Clark, Craig Williams, and Shannon Kiser. Together we are writing a resource to be used by churches similar to “Starting New Churches 2.01″ (which can be found on the PCUSA tribe’s Presbygrow website).
In the beginning of the week, we assumed we were designing one 12-month module on leading change, but came to an amazing God-moment, where we coalesced around the idea of three 12-month modules around the themes of–
- Module 1: Prepare
- Module 2: Engage
- Module 3: Send
We realized we could only get Module 1 written this week. As we started on that, we then coalesced around Module 1 being a capacity building resource for church boards to use in their regular meetings.
Why a first, capacity building module? What is “capacity building”?
The WCO defines capacity building as “activities which strengthen the knowledge, abilities, skills and behavior of individuals and improve institutional structures and processes such that the organization can efficiently meet its mission and goals in a sustainable way.”
So through Module 1, we hope to help church leaders-
- Grapple with the changes in society and a Biblical response centered on God’s purpose for the church.
- Strengthen their abilities and skills to meet the challenges this change has brought.
- Improve their processes on the leadership board such that they can meet the mission in a sustainable way.
Another good definition: “Capacity building is the elements that give fluidity, flexibility and functionality of a program/organization to adapt to changing needs of the population that is served.” We’re writing away— hoping this resource promotes a congregation’s fluidity, flexibility, and functionality to adapt to the changing needs of their context (i.e. community).
Soon we’ll be looking for congregations to field test Module 1: Prepare. Any takers?
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