David Kennard: Riverside Community Church

Today we had David Kennard from Riverside community church come and speak to us. He as been at the church for 10 years as associate pastor and is a site pastor. He graduated from Missouri State University.

He just got done doing a series called "Things I wish Jesus Never Said". Some titles that are included are love your enemies, gouge your eye out, etc.

He would not consider the church seeker sensitive but sensitive to seekers! Some ways that this occurs is to help individuals feel comfortable and unpressured to give. Other ways is to use contemporary music during praise and when there is a big word or a theological term that it is explained and in context. There is also a high value placed on using scripture in context.

The ideas above seem to contribute to the 15% non-Christian attendance on any given sunday! That is amazing! I wonder how a culture is created where unChristians feel comfortable in a church! Don't the church people look down on the others and judge those who are smoking outside of the building? I wonder what "types" of non-Christians attend the church...business men and women? Suburban families? Harley riders?

More than just attending church non-Christians attend "small-groups" with other Christians! That is amazing! How is this possible? What is the common thread? What do they have in common? One way this works is by providing some kind of service for the community where the Christians are almost incognito! "Chicks with Sticks" is a small group of women who Crochet hat and caps for children with cancer! There are probably only 3 Christians out of a potential 20 that attend the group!

The goal of these groups is not to proselytize the other members but they want to give back to the community.

Another way is through golf, tennis, biking, hiking, canoing, geneology groups etc. They advertise these groups in the news paper and they get started.

He calls this free market small groups. These are groups that start because someone is interested in waht they do regardless of what that might be and they create a group for that!

An equation that is used is Discipleship=Relationship+Intentionality. "Lets talk about faith in the context of real life of what happening right now." Diseases, deaths, births, etc. This is not a strategy or program but is a way of life. There are some churches that implement this type of group where there are more people involved in small groups than their are in the church. Church events become venues by which individuals can feel comfortable visiting the church.

If you don't have a small group ministry in the church how do you start one. There must be a leader who will dedicate time, research, and education to creating small groups. This must be supported by the lead pastor. And draw attention to the priesthood of believers.

This type of small group seems interesting because the leaders of the group prepare and go deep with God because they are expected to always be ready and sensitive to those who are seeking.

Another intersting idea is that a group or type of service that exists does not always stay around if their is not a heart-beat for that type of ministry.

Another neat concept that was talked about in regards to the discipleship process and growing process of individuals is the Growth process diagram. It is 360 degrees and is cyclical. It begins with Christianity 101 this begins in winter it is a time to dream. The person changes and the old man is dying and a new person is emerging. In spring is Christianity 201 and the theme is developing. Christianity 301 is discovering who you are strengths and weaknesses etc. Christianity 401 is dedication of lives and Christianity 501 is devotion.

Something interesting was seen when the church did a survey. The survey showed that individuals who had been in the church for more than 4 or 5 years prayed less than individuals who just accepted Christ. This is puzzling but it stirred the pot for creating new ways and new ideas to connecting with God. It seems that the church was focused so much on serving that they failed to get close and learn to know God. One of the ways the church is helping people engage the Bible is by beginning a 9 month long sermon series that will be broken up into 9 or 10 series. Families will be encouraged to read "the story" it is in novel form. They youth ministry will be doing the same thing. Children's ministry will also be doing the same. These will be read in both believer and non-believer groups. It is a church wide journey.

Another thing that i though was phenomenal was the idea of using incredible stories developed directly from a small group community in both sermon series and for introducing small groups. Riverside community church is not a church with small groups but a church of small groups.

Although there are some amazing things that happen in small groups..it does not always turn out the we want.

One time a guy did not come home and he was found dead...he had committed suicide. Another time a husband with two kids had many many homosexual affairs. Small groups are messy! Another example is where two wives decided to up and leave their husbands. Most of the people still attend the church.

A revolutionary concept: "you will not have 85% of your congregation involved in small groups if they are attending Sunday night service, Wednesday night service, and morning service!" I think that this is a great concept that bears a lot of truth. There is just not enough time in a week for individuals to schedule too many things! If small groups are always introverted focused Bible studies then the small groups will die. Their needs to be outward focus. 40 days of purpose and 40 days of community are two resources that shape the DNA of small groups at Riverside Community Church.

I am excited to hear about small groups and the potential for reaching the unchurched and non Christians. Small groups seem to be an incredible way of developing Christians and reaching unchurched. However, small groups seem difficult to manage and develop.

I also feel that trying to incorporate something new in a traditional church or even a church that is somewhat contemporary would be met with incredible resistance.

I would also like to learn how the youth culture reflects the DNA of the church at Riverside Community Church.