Methodology
Auxano – Auxano’s methodology, the Vision Pathway, results in a Vision Frame for your ministry. It’s laid out as a tool to discern and design God’s better future as presented in Church Unique. Steps in the Vision Pathway include:
- Rethink | What does it really mean to lead with effective vision today? Because it is easier to duplicate than to incarnate, many leaders often succumb to neglecting their church’s unique calling.
- Uncover | What can your church do better than 10,000 others? Is it possible that God has a special calling for your church? To put it another way, how does your church glorify God and make disciples? The answer is your church’s Kingdom Concept.
- Talk Up | Do you have compelling answers to the five irreducible questions of clarity? The Vision Frame contains five components that define your church’s DNA and creates the platform for all vision casting.
- Live Out | How is your team “dripping vision” into conversations and ministry decisions every day? The Integration Model is a simple tool to equip your leadership for vision-centered dialogue and ego-free decision making.
Ministry Best Practices
Stanley, Andy, Reggie Joiner and Lane Jones, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2004).
- Practice #1 – Clarify the Win
- Practice #2 – Think Steps, Not Programs
- Practice #3 – Narrow the Focus
- Practice #4 – Teach Less For More
- Practice #5 – Listen to Outsiders
- Practice #6 – Replace Yourself
- Practice #7 – Work On It
Church Growth (Books)
Barna, George, User Friendly Churches: What Christians Need to Know about the Churches People Love to Go To (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1997).
Hybels, Bill, and Lynne Hybels, Rediscovering Church: The Story and Vision of Willow Creek (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995).
Logan, Robert E., Beyond Church Growth: Action Plans for Developing a Dynamic Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1989).
Osborne, Larry W., Sticky Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008).
Rainer, Thom S., and Eric Geiger, Simple Church: Returning to God’s Process for Making Disciples (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2006).
Southerland, Dan, Transitioning: Leading Your Church through Change (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2002).
Stetzer, Ed, and Mike Dodson, Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2007).
Stetzer, Ed, and Thom S. Rainer, Transformational Church: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010).
Surratt, Geoff, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird, The Multi-Site Church Revolution: Being One Church in Many Locations (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006).
Warren, Rick, The Purpose Driven Church: Every Church Is Big in God’s Eyes (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995).
Strategy Planning (Books)
Anderson, Erika, Being Strategic: Plan for Success, Out-Think Your Competitors, Stay Ahead of Change (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2009).
Mancini, Will, Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008).
Malphurs, Aubrey, Advanced Strategic Planning: A New Model for Church and Ministry Leaders (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005).
Merchant, Nilofer, The New How: Creating Business Solutions through Collaborative Strategy (Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media, 2010).