Is your goal to build great churches or make great disciples? Is your congregation full of professing-only Christians? Becoming a Christian disciple is supposed to be life-altering, a process of maturation and transformation. The church is to intentionally support that development - both individually and corporately. Sometimes, though, pitfalls and barriers in life and even within the church itself can damage the committed but unequipped follower. Proposing a ""deep-sea change"" from the typical church plan, Glover and Lavy offer experienced coaching in how to systematize disciple-making in a congregation. ""As people of the Great Commission, we have only one job: to fill our churches with people who can say... 'I really know Jesus,'"" writes Glover and Lavy. ""When this happens, the world will not be able to contain the church. We will be everywhere, serving everyone and lifting the name of Jesus as our motivation. Jesus, who is Truth, would not have sent us to go and make disciples of all nations if we weren't actually able to accomplish the mission."" Framing their very workable ideas in a seashore analogy, the authors explain how to identify the stages of spiritual development - from skeptical seekers to authentically functional disciples. Each aspect is supported with examples of both ministry successes and failures. Every church understands its mandate to ""Go and make disciples,"" but not every church has a plan to make it happen. Deepening Your Effectiveness is the template you've been looking for to attract new believers and move them toward Christian maturity. With Glover and Lavy as your guides, you'll transform your congregation's mandate to ""Go and make mature and committed disciples!"" A Facilitator's CD is also available for church leaders.
Claudia Lavy grew up in the small rural community of Arcanum, Ohio. After attending Ohio State University, she lived in Columbia, MD, New York City and Rutherford, NJ before returning to her home state. She worked in the real estate and construction industries before following a call to full time ministry. Since then she has served as Coordinator of Ministry Programming & Development at Tipp City United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio; Director of Operations at EUM Church in Greenville, Ohio - a congregation that grew from 375 to 650 in the six years she was part of the executive lead team; and Assistant Director of Cell Group Discipleship at Ginghamsburg Church - a congregation of 4500 weekly worshippers in Tipp City, Ohio. In 1999, Claudia and her ministry partner, Dan Glover, co-founded Deepening Your Effectiveness, Inc., a non-profit organization that offers executive coaching and training in intentional discipleship systems and congregational transformation for pastors and church leaders. She is co-author of "Deepening Your Effectiveness: Restructuring the Local Church for Life Transformation" and has written a variety of articles, curricula and resources for use in the local church. Claudia and her husband, Keith, live in the historic district of Troy, OH. They have five grown children - Bill, Katie, Alison, Jane and Paul - and 6 grandchildren.
