Ignite Your Church's Potential with Pathways
Pathways is an initiative to guide congregations through an intentional growth, assessment, and learning process. We aim to cultivate healthy, fruitful churches that make a transformative impact.
The Pathways Process
Pathways provides —
- Customized ministry planning
- Tools for your pastor and leadership team
- Customized ministry planning
This process helps your church discern the next steps, reverse the decline, maximize strengths, and align all ministries to your vision.
Pathways Programs
Six Pathways programs are designed to help you and your congregation with personal and ministerial growth.
1
Vitality
Discern God’s calling and develop the five core ministries
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Vitality measures how well a church inspires engagement across five key ministries:
- Inspiring worship
- Small group fellowship
- Hands-on mission
- Welcoming new disciples
- Generous giving
Implementing these vital ministries meets people’s needs for inspiration, community, purpose, belonging, and generosity. This strengthens disciples’ faith and the church’s impact.
Assemble a team to assess current engagement and create a customized vitality plan, which may involve worship and hospitality, small groups, community outreach, discipleship, stewardship, and more.
Pathways will provide self-guided planning tools and/or one-on-one coaching to achieve your goals over time. As a result, you will have more energized and empowered disciples actively building up the church community for compassionate service in the world.
2
Community Engagement
Invest in community development, social justice
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Deepening Community Engagement
Churches exist to build up the body of Christ for service in the world – doing justice, loving mercy, and testifying to God’s salvation. Robust community engagement answers Jesus’ call in Matthew 25 to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned.
The Community Engagement Pathway guides churches to become Hope Centers – life-changing community ministries meeting local needs through partnerships.
- Licensed childcare and summer camps
- Food, clothing, and rent assistance
- Job training and financial programs
- Affordable housing development
Assemble a team of pastoral, ministry, and community leaders to —
- Assess community needs
- Create an engagement plan
- Develop a Hope Center or existing ministry
Embodying Christ’s love in struggling communities transforms churches along with lives. We will equip you with self-guided tools and customized coaching.
3
A Journey of Hope
Build cross-cultural relationships, combat racism
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Racism is a sin that devalues human beings created by God. While undoing racism’s deep roots in society is challenging, all Christians are called to work towards racial justice.
The A Journey of Hope Pathway equips congregations to eliminate racism through three key aspects:
- Aspire & Affiliate – Build deeper relationships across races and cultures.
- Comprehend – Learn the historical truths and present realities of systemic racism.
- Transform – Change lives, churches, and social systems to end oppression.
Assemble a church team to assess your current state and create a customized plan, which may include —
- Fostering interracial friendship
- Studying the history and impact of racism
- Taking action locally against injustice
Dismantling racism requires sustained effort but leads to renewal. This pathway provides ongoing coaching and resources to deepen relationships, understanding, and impact over time.
Let’s act boldly and lovingly to align society with God’s vision of justice. The first step is assembling your team.
4
Sustainability
Ensure financial stability for continued mission
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A church’s ability to sustain its mission and ministry over time is essential. A church can carry out vital ministry with committed people and adequate finances. Without them, sustainability and the church’s future are at risk.
Sustainability measures a church’s capacity to financially support its ministries and operations. An assessment looks at factors like:
- Reaching new people
- Growing giving
- Having enough givers to cover expenses
Vitality refers to how well a church engages people in core ministries. A church can be vital yet still unsustainable if it lacks the people and funds to be viable long-term.
Key indicators include people and finance, and churches receive sustainability ratings on a 1-5 scale:
- 5 – Very likely sustainable
- 4 – Likely sustainable
- 3 – Challenges must be addressed
- 2 – Unlikely to continue without change
- 1 – Time to plan a dignified closure
To strengthen sustainability, lower-scoring churches should urgently address facilities, revenue, spending, debt, and member engagement.
To receive your church’s sustainability score and report, contact your Regional Administrator. Pathways resources can then help your church team develop an improvement plan.
5
Next Generation
Become inclusive and relevant for youth
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Cultivating youth and young adults as enthusiastic disciples of Jesus Christ connects them to church, grows their faith, and develops them as leaders to transform the world.
As Proverbs 22:6 reminds us, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.” Investing in the spiritual growth of the next generation vitalizes and sustains congregations.
Our Next Gen Pathway creates age-appropriate spaces for children, youth, and young adults to:
- Deepen relationships with God and others
- Discern God’s purpose for their lives
- Live out their faith in the church and the broader community
Investing in young people connects them to the church, energizing congregations for the future.
6
Conflict Resolution
Resolve issues hurting church vitality
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When conflicts arise in a church – whether about direction, mission, leadership, or programming – a healthy resolution process can lead to growth. The Eastern PA Conference guides congregations positively through conflict.
The Bible shows conflict between individuals, groups, cultures, and even humanity and God. While destructive dissension happens, conflict can also catalyze renewal, health, change, and growth.
As Christians, we are called to communicate honestly, reconcile willingly, and forgive freely – thus honoring God. With intentionality and grace, congregations can resolve issues.
If your church faces significant conflict, the Conflict Resolution Pathway provides customized facilitation for a healthy way forward.
Ready to Get Started?
Pathways is voluntary, customized to your church, free (funded by Connectional Giving), and transformative.
