The Network Process
(FAQs)
(Frequently Asked Questions)
The questions are grouped by topic and linked to the answer. Please feel free to browse the listings and explore the information. If you don’t find the answers you need here, then Contact Us and ask us your question. Questions submitted (and their answers) will be added to those found here when appropriate, but all questions will be answered by e-mail.
For a detailed explanation of the Network Process and the Network “Servant Profile, we recommend you purchase a copy of “What You Do Best in The Body of Christ” by Bruce Bugbee. This book presents the value and structure of the Network Process in a comprehensive and easy to read style.
Understanding Network’s Gift-Based Ministry Process
1. What are the Network materials about?
2. What do you mean by the “Network Process?
3. Can you explain “gift-based, passion driven ministry?”
4. You use the terms “Program”, and “Value.” What’s the difference?
5. We have studied spiritual gifts before, is that what Network is?
6. What are spiritual gifts?
7. How do you tell which spiritual gifts people have? Is this like one of those personality
profiles that we take and then have to send in for you to interpret?
8. How many people have used these materials?
9. What type or size church does this work in?
10. Why should I do this in my church?
The Benefits of Using Network
11. If we already know about spiritual gifts, what else will Network teach us that we don’t
already know?
12. We can’t get people involved in ministry now, how will Network help?
13. This looks like a lot of work. What’s the benefit?
14. That’s great for the individual, what does Network do for the church?
15. There are lots of materials available about Spiritual Gifts, what makes Network different?
16. What do people who have used Network say about it?
Implementation Questions
17. What do we need to get started?
18. How long does it take to implement Network?
19. We are a Purpose Driven Church…can Network be used with this model?
20. This is pretty complex; can we get help setting this up?
21. Can we teach this material ourselves or do we need to have experts come in to teach
each class?
22. Do I have to be trained to use these materials?
23. What kind of training is available?
24. The Discovery Sessions are in eight forty-five minute sessions, can we do this in
less time?
Ordering Resources and Materials
25. How do I order materials?
26. How long does it take to get my materials?
27. What forms of payment do you accept?
_______________________________________________________________
FAQ Answers
Understanding Network’s Gift-Based Ministry Process
1. What are the Network materials about?
”Network” is a process for implementing the value of spiritual-gift based, passion driven, volunteer ministry in the local church. It goes beyond a simple program approach to ministry.
2. What do you mean by the “Network Process”?
A class will educate you; a process will alter you. The Network Process moves people in three-steps to a new place in their walk with Christ.
- Step One: The Discovery Session, where you will discover your individual Servant Profile of Passion, Spiritual Gifts, and Personal Style.
- Step Two: Consultation, a one-on-one discussion with a trained Network consultant from your church who will affirm your profile and guide you to areas of ministry that are a match for your individual design.
- Step Three: Service, connection to a place of ministry where you will be fruitful and fulfilled in a meaning place of service.
3. Can you explain “gift-based, passion driven ministry?”
Gift-based, passion driven ministry is ministry based on who God made you, not what slot needs a warm body. It means serving in an area God made you passionate about, doing things that God has gifted you to do. See What You Do Best in the Body of God .
4. You use the terms “Program”, and “Value.” What’s the difference?
A program is designed to provide for the specific needs, of a specific group, for a specific time, and what happens in one program may have no impact on other programs. A value is for all people, regardless of need, for all time. The values of a church should be reflected in all of its programs. The Network process is the “programming” component that advances the “value” spiritual-gift based, passion driven ministry in the local church. See Programs and Values PowerPoint presentation.
5. We have studied spiritual gifts before, is that what Network is?
Network is more that a study of spiritual gifts. Network helps each believer discover their God given design and then use that information to identify a place of ministry that is a match for who God has made them. The goal of Network is not knowledge, the goal is service!
6. What are spiritual gifts?
Spiritual gifts are those God given abilities believers have to minister in the Body of Christ. They are the divine endowments from the Holy Spirit, that God uses in the life of His people to distribute His grace.
7. How do you tell which spiritual gifts people have? Is this like one of those personality profiles that we take and then have to send in for you to interpret?
The Network Participant Guide contains several assessments to aid the believer in identifying their servant profiles. The assessments are self-scoring and do not require interpretation by another person. In addition to the assessments, group discussion exercises in the Discovery Sessions help each participant sharpen their focus on their own servant profile.
8. How many people have used these materials?
Over 750,000 (3/4 of a million) people have experience the Network process through over 15,000 churches world-wide..
9. What type or size church does this work in?
Network has been successfully implemented in churches of every size, from new church plants, to mega-churches with weekly attendance over seventeen thousand. Because it is based on simple biblical values, its success is independent of denominational, cultural, racial, or worship style considerations. The materials are available in eleven languages, and are used in churches around the world.
10. Why should I do this in my church?
Because the Bible mandates it! (Gift-based ministry that is, not the specific use of Network!) Ephesians 4:11-13 clearly states that it is God’s people who are to do the work of ministry, and it is the role of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers (in other words, the clergy) to prepare them. It is not the Pastor’s job to do everything! Gift-based, Passion driven ministry isn’t a new program for the church, it’s the way we are supposed to be the church!
The Benefits of Using Network
11. If we already know about spiritual gifts, what else will Network teach us that we don’t already know?
Network helps each believer identify the Passion God placed in their heart, the Personal Style He wired them with to relate to their world, as well as the Spiritual Gifts He provided to fulfill their purpose as a member of the Body of Christ. All these come together to form the believer’s servant profile. Identifying each of these and understanding how they relate to each other is an important feature of Network.
12. We can’t get people involved in ministry now, how will Network help?
Most believers want to serve. Most believers know they should serve. But many believers don’t know how they can best serve. Network helps you get the RIGHT PEOPLE in the RIGHT PLACES for the RIGHT REASONS. It connects believers to a ministry that trains and equips them fulfill their purpose as part of the Body of Christ in a way that builds them up, instead of burning them out!
13. This looks like a lot of work. What’s the benefit?
Sometime we confuse "complicated" with "comprehensive." Gift-based ministry will be comprehensive, but Network provides you a road map (Implementation Guide ) to get to the equipping church He intended you to be.
- When you serve according to your God-given PASSION, you know Where to serve and you will serve with greater enthusiasm and motivation!
- When you serve according to your God-given SPIRITUAL GIFTS, you know What to do and you will serve with greater competence!
- When you serve according to your God-given PERSONAL STYLE, you know How to best serve and you will serve with greater joy and fulfillment! When you serve according to your Servant Profile, ministry gives you energy!
14. That’s great for the individual, what does Network do for the church?
Network provides many benefits to the church, many of which are unintended benefits, such as:
- Improving the Level of Giving - Surveys have shown that people who participate in volunteer ministry give one and a half times what those who do not participate give.
- Reducing Staff burnout - Increasing the involvement of volunteers in the ministry of the church reduces demands on staff and prevents burnout.
- Increasing Lay Involvement? When people understand how they were created by God with Passion, Gifts and Style to fulfill a God given ministry, they develop a true sense of ownership for the church. Their perception of the church changes from the pastor’s church that they attend, to their church that the pastor leads.
- Enhancing ministry effectiveness - When people serve in their area of passion and giftedness they are more effective. The quality of ministry improves and the impact of the church on the surrounding community.
15. There are lots of materials available about Spiritual Gifts, what makes Network different?
Network was designed to work the way people work. Most systems work on paper, but fall apart as soon as you introduce real people to them. Network’s design includes a number of unique features:
- Network uses a comprehensive approach to ministry identification, linking your passion, spiritual gifts, and personal style to indicate an appropriate ministry fit.
- The Discovery Sessions are designed to work with a variety of learning styles and in addition to lecture include dramas on video, and breakouts for interactive discussion exercises.
- Network uses multiple assessments to help identify your spiritual gifts. The assessments provide self-discovery as well as observations from those who know you.
- The Consultation process provides you with clarification and confirmation of your servant profile; direction and guidance identifying ministry opportunities; and care, oversight and follow-up until you are connected with a ministry.
- Network not only works with the participant to identify where there are designed to server, but we work with the ministries of the church to develop ministry position descriptions.
- Network will help your church organize and structure itself for gift-based, passion-driven, volunteer ministry.
- Network provides a common harmonious language and structure to talk about and facilitate ministry.
- Network helps change the culture of your church!
16. What do people who have used Network say about it?
We have received a wide variety of comments and testimonies through the years. Listen to What People are Saying about us.
Implementing The Network Process
17. What do we need to get started?
The Network Kit contains everything you need to get start. Additional Participant Guides are needed for each person attending the Discovery sessions. Also, have all of your staff and church leaders read What You Do Best in the Body of Christ .
18. How long does it take to implement Network?
Like any journey, how long it takes to get there depends on where you start from and how much energy you want to put in to the process. If your church already has the value of gift-based ministry and you just need to put a system in place, then it can take a little as six months. If you need to dismantle the system promoting a competing value you already have in place, then the process can take up to three years. The resources you devote to the process will impact time as well. Implementing Network with one person will take longer than implementing with a team. In general you should plan on spending at lease twelve to eighteen months getting into position to role Network out to the congregation. A detailed plan and strategic steps are clearly layed out for you in the Implementation Guide .
19. We are a Purpose Driven Church…can Network be used with this model?
Many Purpose Driven Churches are using Network as the curriculum for their 301 Class on Ministry. In fact some of the concepts and principles originally developed in Network can be found in materials developed for other systems like those created for the PDC model. But Network continues to be the most mature and fully developed process for connecting believers to an appropriate place of ministry.
20. This is pretty complex; can we get help setting this up?
We have Bruce Bugbee Associates available nation wide to provide on-site training and assistance, email: info@brucebugbee.com or call with your request for details. You can also attend one of our Network University Sessions. Network University classes are held several times each year in Southern California. Other dates and locations are posted on our Calendar as they become available.
21. Can we teach this material ourselves or do we need to have experts come in to teach each class?
The Network materials were created for you to teach and lead your own Discovery Sessions and process. The Leader’s Guide is designed so that "if you can read, you can succeed!" There is a benefit to having a Bruce Bugbee Associate lead the first sessions for your leadership in the implementation phase. But appropriately gifted and passionate people from your church should be leading the Discovery Sessions for the members of your church.
22. Do I have to be trained to use these materials?
That depends on your personality. Most churches find that it helps to spend some time with people who fully understand the process and can help them in launching the ministry. But if you’re the kind of person who buys a computer program and actually reads the manual to find out how to use it, then the Network Kit’s “User’s Guide ” will help you work through Network by yourself. But in general we find implementation goes much smoother if a church’s Network team has attended some training. Think about it this way:
- If you wanted to reach your community for Christ, you could read a book on evangelism…But how valuable would three days with Billy Graham be?
- If you wanted to learn to play basketball, you could buy a ball and start playing…But what would three days with Michael Jordan be worth?
- If you wanted to start a business, you could subscribe to Entrepreneur Magazine…But how much would you benefit from three days be with Peter Drucker?
- Bruce Bugbee and Associates bring a special passion and vitality to their area of expertise. You don’t have to attend training, but spending time training with a an Associate will give you an understanding that is richer and deeper than that which you will gain by yourself.
23. What kind of training is available?
There are several training options available to you::
- Network’s Two-Day Training. This is usually held on site at your church and led by one of our Associates. It covers the Network Discovery Sessions, and provides additional training to your Network Team, Pastoral Staff, or other key leaders.
- Three Day "Implementing the Network Process" Course. This comprehensive training prepares a church to successfully use the Network materials and develop a gift-based, passion driven ministry system in their church.
- Three Day "Leadership C.A.R.E." Course. Getting leaders aligned by grace so that they are not merely program planners or event coordinators, but the people equippers they are called to be (Ephesisans 4:11-16).
24. The Discovery Sessions are eight forty-five sections, can we do this in less time?
You can do something in less time, and you can do something of value, but it won’t be Network. Network is a process where each concept builds on the other information given and understanding gained. If you remove parts to cut back on the time, you can do damage to the system. Remember, the goal is to get people appropriately connected to ministry, not to get them through a class.
Ordering Resources and Materials
25. How do I order materials?
Simply walk through our Shopping Cart and pick out those resources and tools to enhance the development of your equipping church environment. Many products are downloadable for immediate delivery. Watch for our on-line specials too.
26. How long does it take to get my materials?
Plan on at least ten days for delivery just to be safe, but most materials are in stock and shipped UPS ground the day you order. If you need your materials to meet a deadline we can ship UPS Next Day or Second Day Air for an additional charge.
27. What forms of payment do you accept?
We accept Visa, Master Card, American Express, and Discover for payment on the internet, by mail, and by phone. We also accept checks for phone and mail orders. We will invoice for phone orders, however you need to be aware that we will not ship invoiced orders until payment arrives.
