Blake and the Arkansas Conference Center for Vitality offers these resources as a resource for others seeking tools for congregational fruitfulness and pastoral development. Many of these tools are utilized through ministry processes developed by the Center and deployed in conjunction with district and conference ministry plans. Other resources were created or curated by Blake as part of his ministry of consulting, teaching, and work within the denomination.
For Downloads referred to in Kay Kotan and Blake's book, IMPACT!, please click on the IMPACT! Book Page. For Simplified Structure Downloads from Kay and Blake’s book Mission Possible: A Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness, please click the Simplified Structure Book Page.
Downloads and Links
2 Session Discipleship Ministries Webinar:
“A Simple Structure for Missional Effectiveness”
Church leaders want to equip more people for ministry. They long for a simpler decision-making process focused on discipleship, not endless meetings. But simply having fewer meetings won’t inspire more people to live into their calling. What will? Creating a clear and focused accountability structure that places the church’s disciple-making mission front and center.
This two-session 2021 webinar series with leadership coach Kay Kotan and District Superintendent Blake Bradford looks at how simplified, accountable leadership structure (often called the “one-board” model) can empower, equip, and set laity and clergy free to focus on the mission of making disciples of Jesus who change the world.
Session 1: What is SAS
Session 2: How to Implement SAS
Pastoral Transition Resources
Visit my Pastoral Transition Resource webpage for links, handouts, and information to assist pastors, leadership teams, and Staff/Pastor Parish Relations Committees prepare for the season of simultaneously saying “goodbye” and “hello” to pastors in transition.
Go to the Pastoral Transition Resource Page
Kay Kotan and I have included a chapter on maximizing the potential opportunity for congregational impact during a pastoral transition in our book IMPACT! Reclaiming the Call of Lay Ministry.
S/PPRC Annual Timeline This ARUMC timeline shares expectations for the appointment/assessment cycle and suggested topics of discussion for a full year of monthly S/PPRC meetings.
Checklist for Pastors in Transition The ARUMC Center for Vitality checklist will help the current pastor and the lay leadership begin to gather the basic information that will help the new pastor during the transition.
Outline for a “Baton Passing” Meeting The included questions on this ARUMC Center for Vitality resource are gathered from multiple sources and are designed for a “passing the baton” handoff meeting between the incoming and outgoing pastor.
ARUMC Pastoral Transition Covenant (1 Page PDF) This covenant was approved by the 2014 clergy session of the Arkansas Conference and shares expectations that clergy should have of one another during an appointment transition
Rightsizing your Church for Ministry
Church Size Chart in Color (PDF, 11x17 Color)- Adapted from work by Susan Beaumont, Beth Anne Gaede and Alice Mann
Church Size Chart B/W (11x17 PDF) (PDF, 11x17 Black & White Version)- Adapted from work by Susan Beaumont, Beth Anne Gaede and Alice Mann
SIMPLIFIED STRUCTURE IN THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Vital and fruitful churches must be governed and led in new ways today so that Christ’s mission for us can be fulfilled! For the sake of Christ’s mission and our mission fields, many churches are discovering that there are simpler ways to provide governance and strategic direction, so that the congregation can be unleashed for ministry.
Go to Blake's Simplified Structure Page
A simplified single board structure makes it possible for your church to better focus on leadership equipping, missional alignment, and your next steps in ministry. Meanwhile, removing bureaucratic redundancies allows more members to spend their time in service as disciples who make disciples. By consolidating administrative functions into a single board, disciples can focus on using their spiritual gifts and passions for ministry to contribute to the vitality of the congregation as it seeks to reach the mission field.