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The Concern: How healthy is the Mennonite Brethren Church in Canada? A study by Ken Peters, while a student at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, identified that 49% of Mennonite Brethren churches in urban areas in Canada are either plateaued or declining. The percentage is higher when we include small town and rural churches. This compares with about 80% of all churches in North America. Lyle Schaller, a veteran church consultant, has stated that during the 1990s about 100,000 churches will close in North America. All of this requires urgent attention. In recent decades, membership has grown steadily, but relatively slowly. An exciting number of new churches have been planted, but other churches have declined in membership or vigour, some have been weakened by disagreements and church splits, and some have closed. The leadership of the Canadian MB Conference has developed an increasing concern that all of our churches be healthy--and a commitment to help them become so.
Out of this concern, two years ago, Canadian Conference executive staff were moved to investigate an innovative local church refocusing strategy.
The Strategy: The ReFocusing Network System is the brain-child of Church Resource Ministries, a parachurch organization based in Anaheim, Calif.; it is headed up by Terry Walling. The ReFocusing strategy was developed to balance CRM's Church Planting strategy, which is under the leadership of Bob Logan.
The ReFocusing Network System is a three-phase curriculum:
* Refocusing Leaders
* Refocusing Churches
* Refocusing Ministry
The basic premise is that churches must be healthy in order to grow and give birth to daughter churches. There is a strong commitment to evangelism and disciple-making within the curriculum, and a very real focus on supporting church leaders.
Investigation and Participation: In fall, 1995, three members of the Canadian MB Conference executive staff decided to attend an Intensive Training Retreat (covering Phase 1 of the ReFocusing curriculum--Refocusing Leaders) in Anaheim, Calif. The three were Evangelism Director Ewald Unruh, Christian Education Ministries Director David Wiebe and Executive Minister Reuben Pauls.
Later, these three executives hosted a similar Refocusing Leaders Intensive Training Retreat in Winnipeg. Twenty-three pastors from five denominations attended, including 13 Mennonite Brethren.
In fall, 199~6, the three Canadian Conference executives attended an Intensive Training Retreat for the Phase 2 component of the ReFocusing curriculum (Refocusing Churches), together with three leaders from the B.C. MB Conference: Conference Minister Ike Bergen, Moderator Bob Friesen and Assistant Moderator Mark Burch.
Also in fall, 1996, two Refocusing Leaders Networks were begun in Manitoba. These Networks offer the same training as a Phase 1 Intensive Training Retreat but spread over eight months. The first was held in Morden, with Reuben Pauls and pastor Russ Toews facilitating and coaching. The second Network involved two denominations and was led by David Wiebe and Ewald Unruh of the M~B Conference and Dave Henklemann and Gord Frieter from a Baptist conference.
In the spring of 1997, the B.C. MB Conference sent nine representatives to a Refocusing Leaders (Phase 1) Intensive Training Retreat in Anaheim.
In fall, 1997, the Saskatchewan and B.C. MB Conferences are each sponsoring a Phase 1 Refocusing Leaders Network. Saskatchewan Conference Minister Ralph Gliege and Reuben Pauls will lead the Saskatchewan network, while Ike Bergen and Bob Friesen will lead the B.C. network. A third Phase 1 Refocusing Leaders Network, led by Dave Wiebe, is operating in Winnipeg.
Two Refocusing Churches Networks (Phase 2) are also being offered this year, one in B.C. led by ~Mark Burch, and the other in Manitoba. Canadian Conference leaders are presently praying for someone to take the training so this strategy can also be offered in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada within the next two years. It is our belief that churches and leaders will experience renewal in the process.
The Commitment: Based on the training of the past two years, in January, 1997, the Executive Board of the Canadian MB Conference affirmed using the ReFocusing curriculum as a prime strategy for encouraging renewal in Canadian MB churches.
The Ministry Assessment Questionnaire: To assist churches in understanding their current situation, and as part of the Phase 2 curriculum, a Ministry Assessment Questionnaire has been developed. This has been administered in more than 2000 churches worldwide, and provides a computer printout which graphs a church's relative strengths and weaknesses.
The Canadian MB Conference Board of Faith and Life is offering every Canadian MB church the option of taking part in this Assessment within the next several months, in the belief that the advantages of participating far offset the cost ($45). Once the Assessment is completed, each church leadership board will have the privilege of determining what an appropriate response might be for their church.
We believe that by making such tools available, we are empowering local leadership to evaluate the quality of the ministry they are offering. The Assessment is an arms-length tool which does not carry any denominational baggage. Staff from the Canadian and provincial conferences and those who have taken the Refocusing Churches Phase 2 training are willing to help interpret the Assessment results and strengthen areas of weakness if invited to do so by the local church. Our goal in offering this to the churches is to help local churches become healthier so that the Kingdom of God will be expanded across Canada.
Reuben Pauls is Executive Minister of the Canadian MB Conference.
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