Hal Youngblood Rejoins Conference Staff

The Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Church of Christ is pleased to announce the return of Dr. Hal Youngblood to the Conference staff as Consulting Associate Conference Minister for Church Growth.  Hal will be spending the next 10 months (February thru November) in our Conference with the assignment of assisting local churches and pastors around church growth issues. Last year when Hal was here, he was able to meet with many of our churches and their church leadership along with pastors and served primarily as a teacher.  This time, the extended schedule allows more of an opportunity for strategizing and coaching for those churches, leadership, and pastors who want to spend more intentional time in the area of church growth.

We believe that this will help us work toward our goal as a conference to increase worship attendance and provide specific leadership assistance and support to our pastors and church leaders as they identify and enact specific growth strategies for their church.

Some areas in which Hal is prepared to assist immediately are:

♦“Overcoming Barriers of Growth and Bring New Life to an Established Church.” He would walk you through 7 principles that you can use to become a “Turnaround Church”.  The Principles include:

• Reshaping the Life Cycle
• The Symptoms of Decline
• From Dream To Reality
• Attributes of Turnaround Leaders
• Strategies For Growth
• Potholes On The Road To recovery
• Avoiding The Downward Spiral

♦“Church Culture Audit” Identifying your church culture and implementing changes that would enhance your ability for growth.

♦“God Calls Us to Do What…!”  You would spend time with Hal focusing on your mission. You will discover that we must redesign our systems so that declining membership is not what we produce. This does not mean that the focus will be on membership growth, of course. Growth is a byproduct of institutional health. A systemic model of the church, which is composed of three “flows:” inviting, growing, and sending are ones that would be introduced to you.

♦“Developing an Intentional Ministry” For those who are just beginning a new pastorate or have just called a new minister this is an ideal time to design and strategize the ministry directions of your church.  Hal can help you articulate a vision and design strategies that move you toward that vision as well as provide coaching along the way.

♦“Dream Sessions” Dream sessions are a way to get started for many who know that they want to do something but haven’t quite figured out what it is that they want to do.

Hal will also serve as staff contact with our new intiative with Paul Nickerson.

We are hopeful that you will take the opportunity to use this leadership resource in the conference.  If you are interested in speaking to Hal about possibilities in your church please contact the Conference office or you can also reach Hal through his e-mail address carmhal@bellsouth.net.

Home - About Us - Our Churches - Camps & Retreats -Calendar & Events - Conference Committees
Outreach Ministries - Annual Meeting - News & Links - Daily Whisper