Many Ohio Grace Brethren church leaders have
sought God, looking for where He would want us to be ten years from now
(2010 to 2020). A description of our current analysis is written and we
call it our 2020 Future Story. CLICK HERE if you would like to read or download the story.
The
2020 Future Story has us thinking about what God might want to do in
Ohio and we have broken it down into these five initiatives:
- #1 Micropolitan
- "Small town" initiative. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a
micropolitan city as a community with 10,000 to 50,000 people that has a
largely self-sustaining local economy. CLICK HERE to download a pdf map combining Micropolitan and Metropolitan Areas in Ohio, and a list of all the areas.
- #2 Metropolitan
- Developed by the United States Office of Management and Budget,
Metropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urbanized area with a
population of 50,000 or more, plus adjacent territory with a high degree
of social and economic integration with the core as measured by
commuting ties. CLICK HERE for a map of the Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
- #3 Church Base Centers
- This is an initiative to arrange for a few specific local churches
who will be committed to Prayer or Training. Focused prayer is greatly
needed, and it will not happen without leadership, communication and
dedicated prayer warriors. Local church training is needed to prepare
the army of leaders that is needed to go into His harvest fields to
initiate and sustain church planting.
- #4 Lay Mobilization
- This is an initiative to find those workers God is raising up for the
harvest from within our own established churches. We have been praying
according to Luke 10:2 and this initiative sets us out on a path to
employ those workers, either as leaders or participants in church
planting.
- #5 Redevelopment/Replanting - We live in a day where many churches are struggling to keep their ministries relevant to the times and effective in making disciples for Christ. This initiative is about working with those churches that find themselves in a historical decline, which, unless intervention occurs, will result in the closing of the church. While churches have a normal life cycle (birth, growth, maturity, decline, and death), we believe their lives can be extended through re-birth or redevelopment, if they are willing to go through the experience of deep change.