A Case Study ofCanyon First United Metliodist

This study provides a working model for the denominational church to grow in its vitality, its attendance and membership, and, in the process, its effectiveness in carrying out the work and ministry of Jesus. This potential was demonstrated through the sixty-seven percent growth that occurred in this congregation in this decade. The study offers help in understanding the generational balance that is necessary for healthy growth and also offers encouragement to apply stated principles ofhonoring others with different philosophical and theological perspectives arising out of their experiences in their generation. Defined steps of individual and corporate change are presented to specifically enable the honoring process and the incamational ministry that can emerge in the congregation. One key element of this model is how this process equips the church and its pastor to manage the changes necessary for that church to grow in vitality and effectiveness in carrying out the work and ministry ofChrist. This element focuses on how to manage the emotional responses ~ specifically grief ~ that are produced in the lives of individuals as the congregation experiences significant change. The theological fi*amework for this renewed vitality is formally stated in the opening ofChapter 2, and is woven into the principles and experience of the case study throughout the balancing chapters. This framework centers on how the church can reflect the unity and diversity of the Trinity, the incamational ministry of Jesus, and how the church can more effectively carry out the work and ministry of Jesus in our society and world today