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SEED TO OAKS<br />
How to Recognize your Assets<br />
When it comes to reflecting on your own congregation, you can take<br />
two divergent paths. The first begins by focusing on your church’s<br />
needs, deficiencies and problems. This is the path most travelled.<br />
Perhaps you see your church as too old, too small, or you that don’t<br />
have enough money (the list can go on and on). However, there is a<br />
second path that focuses on your congregation’s capacities and assets.<br />
This is the direction we recommend. We believe every church has<br />
something powerful to offer their community when they take the time<br />
to reflect on their assets, rather tha their deficits.<br />
YOUR SEED TO OAKS STRATEGIST<br />
WILL HELP:<br />
o<br />
o<br />
o<br />
o<br />
Identify your congregation’s<br />
gifts<br />
Provide possible connections<br />
between your church’s gifts and<br />
community needs<br />
Mercy Ministry or outreach best<br />
practices<br />
To discern potential pathways of<br />
service<br />
The key to serving your community and meeting their needs is to locate<br />
all available church assets and begin to connect them with one another<br />
in way that multiplies their power and effectiveness. We encourage<br />
you to construct a church “map” that highlights opportunity, new<br />
sources of energy, and new possibilities.<br />
o What kind of service projects might your church support using<br />
these gifts?<br />
Begin with Basic Assets<br />
What do you have to be thankful for? To begin your church has basic<br />
assets. Luther Snow, in his book The Power of Asset Mapping helps<br />
defines multiple ways a church can discover their gifts. These include<br />
the physical objects you hold dear, your members’ talents and skills,<br />
your families and friends, and the ministry groups in which you<br />
belong.<br />
Physical Assets - Physical assets are things you can touch and see,<br />
such as your church’s land, buildings, and equipment, as well as<br />
natural beauty and the environment. What are your church’s physical<br />
assets?<br />
Individual Assets – Individual assets are the talents, skills, and<br />
experiences of individuals within your church. What are your church<br />
members’ talents and expertise?<br />
u<br />
36<br />
Ministry Group Assets – Ministry Group assets are the talents, skills,<br />
and experiences of your small groups, Sunday school classes and<br />
ministry teams. What are are their talents and expetise?<br />
Institutions – These are the agencies, corporations, and other<br />
organizations that are linked to your membership base. They often<br />
have budgets and staff. They might be a non-profit (such as a
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