Menu

Home
Barnabas Toolbox Overview
User Guide
Master Reference List
Developer Guide
Definitions
Documentation - General and 77007

Community Tools and Templates

Community Survey
Small Groups
Evangelism
Outreach
Mercy Ministries
[Servant Evangelism]
Church Visitor Guide
New Member Guide
Alpha Program

Church Program Guides
Children's Education
Youth Guide
Discipleship
Church Life
Pastoral Care

Leadership Tools and Templates
Leadership
Mission Vision Values

Church Planting Guide

Prayer

Administrative Guides
Stewardship
Personnel and Human Resources
Finance
Office Services
Technology
Facilities
Child Protection
Legal and Insurance

Worship Tools and Templates
Planning For Beginning Worship
Worship Plans
Music Plan

Spring Branch Church Plant PNC Information

Media

Issues:

• What needs should be escalated?  When should we refer a need to outside counseling? 
  There are no textbook answer to these questions.  But consider the need for escalation resources, so that they are ready if and when needed.  Such resources include hospital chaplains, pastors or Stephen Ministers from your Sponsor Church, even representatives of your Presbytery or neighboring churches.  You should definitely have ready a handful of Christian counselors for referral purposes.  And it would probably be helfpful for one of these counselors to periodically review your history of needs and referrals and make recommendations regarding the reasons for referrals and for the escalation process overall.

• How do we preserve Confidentiality? 
  Certainly, we need to be aware of HIPAA guidelines, which can be obtained from a number of websites.  In addition, a set of standards should be adopted and given to leaders of Small Groups as well as to others on the Pastoral Care team who may be visiting the hospital or otherwise meeting with those who have needs.  Your Sponsor Church should have such standards so that might be a good place to start.  See also Pastoral Care: Templates And Samples.

• How broadly do we define our community? 
  You should consider defining your community quite broadly.  A new church will not be able to definitively identify those who will stick with the community vs those who may simply be trying it out.  There will be many who will be there to just get a taste.  But it would be a mistake to ignore those who are not ready to commit.  In fact these are the people to whom we should make a great effort to reach out in the love of Christ, to understand their needs and extend Christ's love, whether they ultimately reject or commit to the new church.  Such a group would include occasional visitors, family members, friends, really anyone who is pointed out as being in need.

• When should a new church consider starting a Stephen Ministry?

"The ultimate risk anyone ever takes is to love, for as C.S. Lewis says, 'Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one..'  But God does give it, again and again until he is literally bleeding from it all."  John Eldredge, Wild at Heart

Go back to Pastoral Care: Environmental Factors

Go on to Pastoral Care: Resources