Home Pastors Pastor Blogs Is it Possible to Attract & Send?

Is it Possible to Attract & Send?

The conference continued with a tremendous session led by Matt Carter who pastors The Austin Stone Community Church. Some things he said…

  • I think the attractional model of church is still very effective–and will reach some people that smaller forms of church will never reach.
  • The attractional model alone won’t curb the decline of Christianity in America.
  • The primary model of church has been “come to us.” And that’s where it has ended.
  • Lay people (especially those who are 18-30 years old) are starting to get restless. They want to get in the fight.
  • I realized even if we build a bigger building and grow another 4,000 people–nothing really changes for the city of Austin.
  • What if people got the vision not to “come and see” — but to “go and do.”
  • Jesus wouldn’t make a very good American megachurch pastor. Why? It wasn’t his church-growth philosophy. His church growth philosophy was 12 men.
  • The difference between a small group and missional community: A small group is primary about community–a missional community is primarily about mission.
  • We had to change the definition for our small groups–now they must have moved beyond gathering, have found a group of people, and are engaging that group of people to introduce them to God.
  • There is nothing on the planet that can foster deep, biblical community than getting a shared mission for God.
  • If we aimed for community alone, we hardly ever got community or mission. But if we aimed for mission–we almost always got mission AND community.
  • We teach our leaders how not to be consumers–but to be self-feeders.
Previous article5 Steps to Getting Unstuck
Next articleShut Up & Get It Done!
Tim Stevens served as the executive pastor of Granger Community Church in Granger, IN, for twenty years before joining Vanderbloemen Search Group as the Director of the Executive Search Consultant Team where he helps churches and ministries around the world find their key staff. Tim has a passion for the local church and equipping leaders with practical advice and tools about church staffing and church leadership. He has co-authored three books with Tony Morgan, including Simply Strategic Stuff, Simply Strategic Volunteers, and Simply Strategic Growth, and authored three books of his own, including Fairness Is Overrated: And 51 Other Leadership Principles To Revolutionize Your Workplace. Connect with Tim at LeadingSmart.com.