For the week of May 02, 2005

DNA Accountability – Part 5
By: Tom Bandy
Churches need to move beyond discernment of DNA, to using DNA as a primary vehicle for accountability. There are five basic ways to do this. Here is the fifth:

Churches need to target the DNA to the specific micro-cultures in their primary mission field. Describe, model, and deliver the DNA in the indigenous languages, technologies, social structures, and mental models of the real public beyond the church. It’s a matter of “translation”. Ministry leaders need to ask this question: Where or with whom are we irrelevant? And what or who is irrelevant to us?

It may seem contrary to common sense, but the best way to evaluate the attraction of our ministries is to analyze our “irrelevancies”. Many churches think they are universally attractive, but in fact are irrelevant to many of the lifestyle segments and sectors of their community.