Core Exercise – Drawing a COA and Leveraging it as a tool for EMWC
Are we primarily pursuing success for our church or taking responsibility for lostness in our geography?
QUESTIONS:
1. What questions does your team have about drawing a COA?
2. What resources or information would be needed to sit down and conceptualize a COA?
3. Review the ‘benefits’ of a COA from the Harvest session.
a. How can a COA help you to SEE the harvest better?
b. How can a COA help you as a church to EXAMPLE missionary behaviors to the disciple?
c. How can a COA help push you toward RELATING to churches near you? d. How can a COA help change your scorecards and what you MEASURE?
NEXT STEPS:
1. Review the Christ Together video about COAs.
2. Review the four benefits of using a COA as a tool. Gather info sources (maps; demographics; bookmarked websites to help locate all schools, first responders, churches, etc;). Look for natural boundaries and traffic patterns and current areas of influence, etc.
3. Brainstorm what a COA may look like based on the resources above and the criteria talked about in our last session. Draft some ‘circles’ on a map.
4. With a COA drafted flesh out these questions as completely as you can:
a. Who is in the COA? (people groups, relational networks, population data, etc.)
b. What is in the COA? (sectors; organizations, neighborhoods; schools; business parks; civic; etc.) c. How many is in the COA? (break down population data; what are primary sectors, groups?)
5. With a COA drafted and lots of numbers and things marked on paper, brainstorm these questions:
a. What 3 things would change the most in this COA, if the gospel were unhindered?
b. What are 3 ideas people from the harvest in this COA would have about a church they might want to be part of?
c. What are the 3 primary sectors of people in this COA (most people)? What are the 3 least reached sectors of people in this COA?
d. What are 3 ‘surprises’ you see in your circle? i.e. “I had no idea we had 13 multi-family housing complexes in our circle that represent 31% of the population. What would it look like for the Church in our COA to deploy a missionary into each complex?”
6. Calendar, staffing, budget? How will engaging lostness in this COA effect these things? How will collaborating with others to go after EMWC in this COA effect these things? Personally? As a team?
7. Think back through the funnel (people we don’t know, etc.) and brainstorm how would engage this COA corporately the next 12 months (what sectors; how; etc.), keeping calendar, budget, staff in mind – How will you connect with more ‘people you don’t know’? What will you plan to move them toward people you do know? How can they ‘help’ or ‘relate’, so they become part of your community/team?