Healthy Growing Churches Leadership Launch

By Dr. Gregory Wiens

We all hate pain, so we settle for much less than our best. Vision has the power to remind us of what we can become if we endure pain to get there. This is the power of vision; it keeps us focused on what the pain will produce. There are days I hate to run, but because of what I know running does for me, I keep running. That is what Paul says in Philippians 3.13b-14, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul strains forward, meaning that it is not easy, rather painful. But the goal was worth it for Paul. This is the power of vision. Paul literally kept heaven in his sights, which allowed him to endure the pain and suffering that regularly came his way. He surely knew what pain was and he knew that vision kept moving him forward.

Vision turns discipline into direction. As we continue to endure the pain of discipline with a clear vision of where we are headed in mind, we will see ourselves making progress toward our goal. Paul was convinced that if he continued to pursue knowing Christ, then God would bring everything else needed into reality. He kept this vision before himself as he went through his ministry.

For this reason it is also so critical that we surround ourselves with the kind of people we want to become. As we run up against obstacles, endure pain, discouragement or criticism; it is those people near us who model for us what we can become. They are our vision in 3D living color! Paul, no less than three times tells others to follow him as he follows Christ; he was this living vision in their midst.

I have always found it essential for me to hang out with people who are what I want to become. I am not a poser; rather I readily admit where I am and where I am not. But when I hang around people who are farther along than I, then I am continually reminded of why I need to persevere through great personal discipline. Through watching their lives I am reminded of what I want to become.

That is why a few of us created Healthy Growing Churches (HGC) this past year. HGC is a network of leaders who are committed to expanding the Kingdom of God through building churches that are reaching lost people and conforming them to the image of Jesus Christ. Let’s all face it; it is very tough work to lead this kind of church. That is why 93% of the churches in our movement are plateaued or declining. It is not easy!

As pastors, all of you know that there is no simple formula or equation to produce healthy growing churches which reach lost people and produce disciples. Some would have you think it is: 5 hours of prayer, plus four mailers, plus three outreach events, minus 100 cantankerous people, plus one catalytic leader, plus 50 engaging services of worship and preaching, multiplied by the power of the Spirit, equals a church of 1000. But it doesn’t work that way. Leading a church (or a State) is a walk of faith: learning, adjusting, coaching, obeying and tiring work. It involves doing the tough things that few others will do through long hours of loneliness and discouragement to be who God created you to be.

Healthy Growing Churches grew out of a group of pastors and state leaders who had a passion to see more missional, transformative and impactful churches change the spiritual landscape of our nation and world. We became very uncomfortable with the status quo of church decay, decline and death. So we created a network of church leaders that were committed to doing exactly what I wrote about…being a living vision to each other; leaders that will spur each other on to accomplish more.

We are a network of pastors and leaders of churches and movements who want to hang around each other to learn from each other so that we can TOGETHER create healthy growing churches and see new churches started that are healthy and growing. We share four values:

1. God wants churches to reach lost people

2. God wants churches to produce fully obedient disciples of Christ

3. Healthy churches are the instrument of producing these disciples of lost people

4. Healthy pastors are called to lead these healthy churches

In a few weeks (February 23-25, 2011), here in Orlando, we will be launching this network through the Healthy Growing Churches Leadership Launch. This is intended to provide a platform for each of us to do exactly as I have discussed. We will be exposed to some great missional leadership resource people (Reggie McNeal, Paul Borden, Al Ells and Jim Griffith) who will stretch us. We will be taking time within small cohorts arranged by churches of similar size and season to spend time in dialogue with each other and these missional resource leaders.

Our objective is for this network to allow pastors to learn from others who are a little farther down the road. It also creates synergy as we begin to collaborate on creating healthy churches around the nation and world together with a common passion, plan and commitment.

There are pastors from other movements that are already part of HGC…I think that are what the Church of God is all about. HGC isn’t for everyone. It is only for pastors and leaders who are willing to discipline themselves in order to become more effective at leading their church to become missionally focused on producing more and better disciples.

If you haven’t already registered and you meet this criterion, then I would invite you to seriously consider attending this Leadership Launch. My expectation is that God will move upon us to change the world through creating more and better healthy growing churches.

To register, please visit the HGC Leadership Launch Registration & Information page.