Mission Possible, by Kay Kotan and Blake Bradford, has been taken to a new level. In Mission Possible 3+, Kay and Blake have re-written and updated their best-selling resource for local churches to better assist congregations seeking to use the simplified, accountable leadership structure, often called the one-board model.
The authors remind the reader that meetings are not ministry. The idea of the simplified, accountable leadership structure is to focus on ministry while making meetings fewer in number but larger in meaning. In this third edition of the bestselling book aimed at congregational leaders, particularly United Methodists, the authors provide practical, field-tested steps to simplify your church structure, practice accountable leadership, and unleash more people into ministry.
Too often churches try to simplify their structures by just having less meetings and having fewer people at the meeting table. But real simplification and accountable leadership means that meetings – and leaders – are transformed. Kay and Blake walk you through the three distinct phases: discern the right path, equip participants for accountable leadership, and implement both the technical and adaptive changes to simplify your structure and align your resources for missional effectiveness.
This expanded and updated version also includes two new sections: a section chock full of 26 indispensable resources and an exclusive nearly 40-page brand-new, judicatory section. This expansive resource is packed with invaluable tools for leadership board members, pastors, nominating committee members, and judicatory leaders. Because of both Kotan’s and Bradford’s deep and on-going commitment and investment in the evolution of simplified accountable structure, this resource is expanded in size to 300 pages. The authors share the latest best practices from working with hundreds of congregations of all sizes and thousands of leaders from across the nation. This essential resource is now in a larger user-friendly workbook format (8.5 x 11) and offers new expansive worksheets, charts, samples, and checklists to assist leaders in effectively implementing the model with thoroughness and efficiency. No church leader will want to lead a post-modern, post-pandemic church without this tool in their hands!
Kay Kotan is the founder of You Unlimited (coaching, consulting and training company) and Impressions Unlimited (mystery worshiper company). She is also the creator of The Greatest Expedition – a collaboration of more than twenty thought leaders providing resources and insights for a congregational journey to develop new MAPS (ministry action plans) to reach new people in your community. Kay has also launched Multipliers’ Movement – a gathering of kingdom multipliers for sharing, equipping, and encouraging. She is a CoachU and Advanced CoachU Graduate, an accredited coach (PCC: Professional Certified Coach) with the ICF, International Coaching Federation, a Certified Path 1 Coach, and once served on the faculty at Coaching4Clergy. As a passionate lay person, she has a banking background and has been a business owner for more than 25 years. Kotan has served as a church developer for conferences and worked with churches, pastors, conferences, and judicatory leaders across the country for more than a decade. She is most proud to be the wife of Bob for 29 years and the mother of their adult son, Cameron.
I felt that the book should have shown more of the information in action. Quite a bit of time spent on the why, but not demonstrating the benefits with actual stories.
As I am a member of a United Methodist church council that is structuring our church in the fashion this book describes, the book was very pertinent. I would recommend all United Methodist council members read this book to see if their church could benefit from this simplified structure.
Read several different books on simplified structure for churches. This is the one I will present to my leadership as we work towards accountable leadership and focus on our mission.