• Our hope-filled future is bound up in sharing the story of Jesus, in discipling others, in bringing those disciples together into communities of believers, and in developing and releasing those believers to create other communities... till Jesus the King comes again!

In the midst of change

Posted on December 12, 2011 by wtdavid

Over the past year, we have been dialoguing together on the impact of global currents on the outworking of World Team’s global vision.  Many of you have either been involved in working groups discussing this topic or have freely shared your thoughts and ideas with me.

Earlier in the year, I made available the Global QuickVIEW document on this blog.  Now I would like to make available two documents that were given to all our leaders: “Leading Well in the Midst of Change” and “Resources Supplement”.  Simply right click on the link below to save these documents for yourself.

Leading Well in the Midst of Change

Resources Supplement

Working through all the input that was given by workers in the WT community, a series of ‘guiding principles’ were drawn up to direct our next planning process.  The “Leading Well in the Midst of Change” document is an attempt to provide a framework for the development of ministry plans over the coming months, knowing that change will be needed for the new contexts that we find.  The “Resources Supplement” summarizes all the input given as to possible broad-based solutions to our global vision in light of global currents.

As you read these documents, I encourage you to ask yourself and your team these questions:

  • What concepts, ideas, or insights do I resonate with as I read through these documents?
  • What trend(s) is most at work in my area of ministry?
  • What changes will I (we) need to make in order to carry out more fruitfully our vision of innovative teams multiplying disciples and communities of believers bringing the Gospel within reach of lost people everywhere we go?

Filed under: Assessment, Global realities, Vision | 3 Comments »

Counting Sheep

Posted on April 8, 2011 by wtdavid

Whenever one talks about assessment, it evokes a response.  Not many of us enjoy being assessed or evaluated.  There is a certain fear of “not measuring up” that can rise up in our hearts when we are asked to take a closer look at our activities and work.  Yet, a good assessment process can provide us with much needed input for further development and growth.

Any assessment, though, “requires a shared definition of mission”.  We as a community have this shared definition in our global vision to see “innovative teams multiplying disciples and communities of believers, bringing the Gospel within reach of lost people everywhere we go.” We recognize that any assessment of our work and ministry in light of our vision must take into consideration elements of ‘quality’ and ‘quantity’.   We do not want to see more disciples just so we can add “more sheep to our numbers.”   We long to see disciples who multiply themselves in others.  We are looking for quality, for depth, and for growth.  Nevertheless, we are looking for and praying for a ‘number’ of disciples.

A good assessment process would seek input in at least three ways.  One, it would ask for feedback from the larger community.  Input from other workers and partners (both expat and national) would give a fuller picture of how the work has progressed.  Second, it would take a ‘long view’ of the work.  It would look at how the work is helping establish reproducible and sustainable growth in people’s lives, and in the life of the community of believers.  Finally, it would listen for stories; stories of what God has been doing in us and through us as workers.  These stories would frame the work in the larger context of the mission and vision to which God has called us.

‘Counting sheep’ is a lot more than numbers.

Filed under: Assessment, Community, Faithfulness & Fruitfulness | 4 Comments »

« Previous Page

  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 206 other subscribers

  • Categories

  • Recent Comments

  • Archives

  • Goodreads