Helping - Ascending Leaders

Helping
2015 Annual Progress Report
Senior Editor: Mike Johnson
Managing Editor: Kennan Buckner
Graphic Designer: Sunny Hyun
Photography: Mark Broadway,
Shelli Fynewever, Alex Smith & Keith P. Young
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Photo by Alex Smith
A Letter from our
Executive
Director
Some of the ways God used Ascending Leaders to make an impact in 2015 are:
• Taught over 200 people about effective discipleship
through 9 DiscipleForward workshops
• Coached 15 churches on congregation-­wide discipleship
• Launched a new measuring tool called Measures of
DiscipleForward Readiness that church boards can
use for free to see their gains and gaps in discipleship
• Supported by 130 financial partners, more than any other year
• Gained two new, excellent board members:
Bob Terpstra and Jim Zwiers
Mike Johnson
• Celebrated a decade of God’s faithfulness (2005-­2015)
with fresh logo, sharing testimonials from previous AL
study participants, anniversary gala in Houston and
reception in west Michigan
In this Annual Report, you can dig into these more deeply to see
the difference God is making for churches, disciples and leaders
through the mission and ministry of Ascending Leaders.
To Him be the glory!
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Meet the Board of Directors
The Ascending Leaders Board of Directors contains members from across the United States who bring their
professional expertise and servant leadership to our organization for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.
Asher Lewis
Bob Ryan
Bob Terpstra
Partner of Silver Glade Media
Area Director at Man
in the Mirror
Regional Gift Officer
at Calvin College
Pastor of Worship and
Admin. at Faith CR Church
Jamie Boersma
Jim Zwiers
Luke Wolters
Mike Johnson
Retired CEO of Girl Scouts
of Greater Iowa
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Managing Partner at Ferris,
Busscher, & Zwiers P.C
Marketing POS Manager
at Exxon Mobil
Ryan Faber
Executive Director
of Ascending Leaders
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Photo by Mark Broadway
Photo by Shelli Fynewever
4 Ways Ascending Leaders Uniquely Coaches Churches
Madison Square Church (Grand Rapids, MI) shares what makes
coaching from Ascending Leaders different from other organizations
1. Presence
“Mike has been coaching us for 18 months now, sometimes more intensely
and often less intensely. This is so refreshing, compared to other experiences we
have had with church consultants who come in high steam for six or 12 months
and then declared themselves done, just when we needed them most.”
2. Consistency
“He checks in to see how we are doing. He doesn’t leave us stranded and left
to ourselves. He maintains a healthy ownership of the coaching relationship and
progress of the process, while not trying to micromanage us.”
3. Focus
“Mike continues to remind us of the goals that we have established and
encourages us to continue to take steps toward those goals, as slow as it may
feel at times to us.”
4. Patient Pace
Executive Director of Ministry Ken Schripsema
& Square Campus Pastor Darrell Delaney
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“Mike doesn’t rush us to reach some timetable or push us beyond our capacity
to change. The ability for a large church to change quickly is difficult. He senses
a good pace and is willing to trust the process to work. He understands that we
are in a marathon, not a sprint.”
- Ken Schripsema and Darrell Delaney
2015 Performance
Coaching
Teaching
Churches experienced positive
change and spiritual growth as
a result of our coaching, which is
tailored to the individual needs of
each unique church.
Leaders and disciples received our
teaching and training through
special presentations and facilitated
workshops. These are the number of
churches in each denomination who
were impacted through teaching.
1 Anglican Church
Alpharetta, GA
16 Christ Reformed Churches
Albuquerque, NM
Cedar, IA
Grand Rapids, MI
Newton, IA
Oskaloosa, IA
Pella, IA
Prairie City, IA
Redlands, CA
Sully, IA
Tacoma, WA
West Des Moines, IA
1 Assembly of God
1 Baptist - General 1 Baptist - Southern
1 Christian
35 Christian Reformed
1 Episcopal
4 Methodist
8 Non-Denominational
1 Non-Profit
5 Presbyterian
7 Reformed Church of America
7 Other
Resourcing
Disciples, leaders, and small groups
used our discipleship books to grow
more in love with God. These are a
few churches that purchased resources.
Calvary CR Church
Pella, IA
Covenant Grace Church
Winchester, CA
Cross Church
Rogers, AR
Crossroads Fellowship CR Church West De Moines, IA
First Baptist Church
Shellman, GA
New Life Prison Church
Newton, IA
Oakdale Park CR Church
Grand Rapids, MI
Parkway United Methodist
Sugar Land, TX
Pleasant Valley Community Church
Young, AZ
The Art Project Houston, TX
The River CR Church
Redlands, CA
Over
downloads
of our free discipleship books. 7
Ascending Leaders provides
resources
Check out
our YouTube Channel
for Mike’s 6 talks on congregation-wide
adult disciple-making
The following full-length discipleship books are available
for free download at ascendingleaders.org.
Choosing Patience
Community: Inviting Relationship
Fruitful Living
Fulfilling Faithfulness
Giving Forgiveness
Living Joy
Nurturing Goodness
Practicing Peace
Satisfying Self-Control
Part 1: Discipleship in Scripture
Thriving Love
Part 2: Discipleship and Disciple Defined
Your Pathways: Strong Connection With God
Part 3: The Disciple-Making Continuum in Churches Today
Part 4: Great Disciple-Making and Group Sizes
You can get additional free resources about
discipleship such as a bibliography and leadership
survey from cathy@ascendingleaders.org.
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Part 5: Various People & Disciple Steps
Part 6: DisciplePaths in a Congregation
Meredith Drive RC
Ascending Leaders’
Strengths
Some strengths that we have
received praise for:
“Non-cookie cutter approach”
“Cooperative & adaptable”
“Quality staff & board”
“A faithful partner”
“You live what you teach”
“Relational”
“Broadly experienced with
congregational discipleship”
“Structured & clear”
“Results-focused”
Adult Discipleship Assistant Tammy Gregory, Adult Discipleship Committee Chairman
Ryan Fick, Lead Pastor Suzanne Vogel and Mike Johnson
I so appreciate your holistic, non-cookie cutter but
structured approach to growing disciples.
- Pastor Suzanne Vogel, Meredith Drive Reformed Church
Des Moines, Iowa
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2015 Ministry Partners
Classis Central Plains of the
Christian Reformed Church
For the third year in a row, a group of churches mostly in the
central Iowa area have partnered with Ascending Leaders for
congregational coaching in areas such as church health, clarity
of direction and growing discipleship cultures.
Classis Central Plains
We worked with
congregations through
to
Des Moines
surrounding areas
Faith Formation Ministries
of the Christian Reformed
Church in North America
This partnership provided Catalyzer help to churches in South
Central U.S. and congregation-wide discipleship help to churches
in other parts of the U.S.
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We coached
CR
in
California, Michigan,
New Mexico
Washington
Photo by Keith P. Young
2016 Emerging Partnerships
Reformed
Leadership Initiative
The newly formed Reformed Leadership Initiative
of the Reformed Church of America and the
Christian Reformed Church has partnered with
Ascending Leaders for Mike to co-lead with Dave
Bartlett, the Central Iowa Leadership Learning
Network. This network of over 10 churches will
meet five times between April 2016 and April 2017
to work on leadership in participating churches.
Mike has an organized style and the ability to see
in his mind a process that will flow well.
- Dave Bartlett, leader at Orchard Hill Church
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Mike Johnson and Dave Bartlett
ACCREDITED
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Photography by Mark Broadway
2015
A
Anniversary Year
A few highlights that commemorated
2015 were:
l A Revised AL Logo
l “Moving Forward” Theme
l “Where Are They Now” Stories
l The Anniversary Gala in April
l A Supporter Social in November
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Our Ebenezer of Service: An update on our complementary* coaching
Ascending Leaders is providing Zuni CR
Church located in Zuni, New Mexico,
with 18 months of coaching services.
We are offering these services as an
ebenezer-of-service memorial of our
first decade anniversary. The purpose
and focus of their coaching is to assist
them in reaching clear direction
for the coming years.
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with Zuni CR Church in New Mexico
...So these stones shall be... a memorial forever.
Joshua 4:7
2015 Progress
Positive Patterns
Here are a few of the positive patterns
Zuni CR Church has identified through
their Journey Wall process:
lThey have trusted God as their
Provider and for being in control
of all things.
April | Announcement of our partnership with Zuni CR Church
lRelationships have been vital for
spiritual growth, discipleship, and
church maturity.
October | Ascending Leaders facilitated 30 people through their Journey
lOutreach to the Zuni people has
been part of their ministry.
June | Ascending Leaders meet with their potential team
Wall, which included 9 chapters of their life - spanning over 120 years including
17 pastors, and led their team to identify patterns throughout their journey
2016 Progress
January | Zuni CR Church’s team chose two potential directions for their next
chapter (2016-2020)
February | Ascending Leaders facilitated 18 people through listening to God
to identify the next chapter for Zuni CR Church
* Coaching provided through a partnership with Faith Formation Ministries of the Christian Reformed
Church NA and the Helm Foundation.
lSignificant diversity has always
been part of their life.
Because of financial partners like you,
Ascending Leaders is able to offer
services at a rate that fits churches with
smaller budgets.
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2015 Financials
Our Costs of Ministry
Number of Individual
& Church Supporting Partners
Program Services:
Coaching, Facilitating,
Speaking, Teaching 68%
140
120
Fundraising
Expenses 1%
100
80
Our Funding Sources
Administrative
Expenses 31%
Sales of Disciple-Making
Resources 1%
Individual
Donors 53%
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60
Foundation Grants 7%
Church
Support
15%
Coaching, Speaking, and
Teaching Honorariums 24%
40
20
0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
A Legacy of Giving
R
on Bergman is a retired maintenance welder from Zeeland, Michigan.
He and his wife Bonnie of 54 years have been giving to Ascending
Leaders on a monthly basis for over 15 years.
“I believe Ascending Leaders is part of God’s plan for my life and it can be
for anyone,” says Bergman. “Our Lord works through His people to grow His
church.” In 2000, Bergman was part of a Sunday morning prayer group at
his church. “We had been praying for our missionaries, and I felt a need to
do more,” he says. He had heard of missionary Mike Johnson and the ministry he was doing. “I have been sending a monthly check since then.”
Bergman also took part in Charting Your Course in 2012. Being in his
70s during the time of the class, he felt he was able to look back on his life
and see where God had led him. “There are so many missions that ask for
finances, and in Ascending Leaders you feel part of growing the Church,
which I pray for almost daily,” he says. “I believe what Ascending Leaders
is doing is strengthening the local church, bringing praise to God.”
Ways to Give
Ron and Bonnie Bergman
l Visit ascendingleaders.org and click “Donate Now.”
l Mail your check or credit card information to
3927 Field Crossing Sugar Land, TX 77498.
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Meet Our Team
Our multi-generational team members bring their strengths*
to aid the mission and ministry of Ascending Leaders
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Helping churches, disciples, and leaders flourish
through coaching, teaching, and resourcing
Belief
Achiever
Connectedness
Arranger
Focus
Futuristic
Responsibility
Maximizer
Strategic
Strategic
Dr. Mike Johnson
Cathy Richardson
Executive Director
Director of Mission Expansion
Achiever
Belief
Consistency
Empathy
Developer
Harmony
Discipline
Maximizer
Harmony
Responsibility
Teri Watson
Ellie Tow
Accounts Assistant
Executive Assistant
Planned Initiatives
Achiever
Belief
Discipline
Responsibility
Strategic
Kennan Buckner
Communications/Resourcing Manager
Achiever
Developer
Empathy
Positivity
Strategic
Sunny Hyun
As we prudently move forward into this
expansion phase of our mission, we see
a year of promise in the following ways:
• Adding three highly-­skilled staff members in the
areas of administrative support, mission expansion
and communications/online marketing
• Teaching and coaching with seven additional
churches of various denominations
• Starting a new partnership with the Reformed
Leadership Initiative for the Central Iowa Leadership
Learning Network, a network of 10 churches
• Improving and increasing interaction with
our financial partners
• Hosting an online learning community around
building more effective discipleship in churches
• Beginning a 14-month cohort of churches on
building effective discipling cultures
Graphic Designer
* From Gallup®’s StrengthsFinders
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© 2016 www.ascendingleaders.org
3947 Field Crossing
Sugar Land, TX 77498