Better Than One

All of us know that the church at best is struggling. Look at your own church! Is it healthy, vibrant and growing or is it anemic and stagnant? Why is the malady of stagnation in the local church more often the problem than not?
I just want to make some general observations.
First, it is probably true that many that have come into the church have never truly been converted. You cannot build a healthy church with members that are not saved. Secondly, among the converted, there seems to be little discipleship going on. Most of our members are shamefully ignorant of the scriptures and our young adults and teenagers seem to be the very worst. Whose fault is this? Could the blame be laid at the feet of those of us who are to be the equippers of the saints?
Perhaps it is time we take a fresh look at what we are doing in our individual churches to help members know how to live a life that pleases Christ. We find that instruction in the Bible and our people need to be led to read it, study it and meditate upon it. Pastors, we need to model our conviction of the importance of the Bible in the pulpit and in our conversations with those we lead. Many of our members will think no more of the Word of God than we do.

It’s not too late to start thinking about starting some new Sunday School classes, units, small groups, or branches.  One of the best guarantees for Sunday School growth is new units.  “If we always do what we ‘ve always done, we’ll always be what we’ve always been.” 

Virgil Grant at Eastside BC in Richmond mentioned in an e-mail that he wanted to start 20 more small groups this summer.  That got my attention!  He has campus small groups (SS) and community small groups.  His church understands  the difference.  Virgil’s church has moved from being Attractive to being Missional and now they are moving to become Incarnational.  Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw have written a new outward focused book called:  “Quest:  Becoming the Best Church for the Community”.  Quest explains the Attractive – Missional – Incarnational process.

As I met with Bill Page at Crittenden BC, he stated four new classes that have pushed his Sunday School attendance from 100 to 120, a 20% change.  Starting new classes has not been easy but Bill has stayed committed to it.

Darrell Wilson, our KBC Sunday School director, has a blog:  Sunday School Revolutionary!   He has many entries that relate to starting new classes or units.  When our team went to Real Life Ministries in ID, we found them continually starting new small groups and they call it “branching” from John 15.

Starting – birthing – branching:  No matter what you call it, it is time to Just Do It!

Isaiah 54:2:  “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”

Yesterday, I visited a church that was still excited over their “Find It Here” experience and “High Attendance Day” in Sunday School. I was able to speak to the office ministry assistant and she was so pleased to see many church members involved with this outreach project.

They had group leaders that enlisted others to join the “Find It Here” projects. They enjoyed the PrayWalking opportunity so they could connect with God and their community. When it came to delivering the gospel bags, everyone was ready to go.

One lady came by the church on the day she was to put the bags on the door. It was cold and rainy, she had not been well, and her partner did not show up. The ministry assistant suggested she could do this on another better day, but she said this was her appointment day and she was going out no matter what. Others came by concerned about her and wanted to go and find her. The ministry assistant told them she was fine and delighted to be able to do God’s work.

Sunday School “High Attendance Day” had class goals and every one was reaching out to find others to come. 109 attended SS and that was over their goal number. Over 200 came to worship that Sunday.

“Find It Here” helped move our churches out of the 4 walls and into the neighborhood and community. This should be the start and not the end. Several books are good resources: The Externally Focused Church by Rusaw and Swanson; Irresistible Evangelism by Sjogren, Ping, Pollock; Seeing Beyond Church Walls by Sjogren; The Church of Irresistible Influence by Lewis. David Crocker has been to a KBC annual meeting to explain his “Operation Inasmuch” that he started in Fountain City, TN. Crocker said, “believers must think of themselves as bridges joining the world to God. Such a task cannot be accomplished within the church walls.”

Keep loving your community. See where you can join others in ministry. You do not always have to start the ministry. If we are going to reach people, we must go to where they are and not expect them to walk into our buildings. The Great Commission says “As you go, make disciples”.
Where are you going?
OUTWARD?

The Progress Report of the SBC Great Commission Resurgence Task Force was published in the SBC LIFE Journal and several other places. Church finances and congregational giving have been discussed nearly everywhere since the Great Commission Resurgence and our country’s economic down spiraling with lost jobs and closed doors. Many congregations and associations are not meeting their budget goals and expenses.

At “It’s A New Day” training event, someone said that only 6% of our congregation tithe. Brian Kluth says 5-22% of our church members tithe. I tend to lean toward the 6% rather than the 22%.

When I was serving at Immanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, Ted Sisk once said that if everyone tithed at Immanuel, we could have a $7 million budget. I got thinking about that comment and wondered why we do not pray and work harder at having more tithers. I know people do not want leaders to talk about money. Jesus spoke about “kingdom” the most but in second place was “money”. We talk about money everywhere else but in church. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” ( Mt. 6:19)

Why not take the 6% tithers and move that to 10% tithers next year. The next year move the 10% tithers to 15% tithers. The following year move the 15% tithers to 20% tithers. Now think about after 3 years you will have 20% out of 100% giving tithers. Well, that is not really that great! See how far we are from having our congregation surrendered with their giving.

This is not about just giving but loving our Lord. He owns the cattle on the thousand hills and is not in any kind of financial problem or going broke. Are we giving with open hands so God can continue to bless us or do we have clinched fists so He cannot get anything else into our lives?

KBC offers stewardship materials to assist your church giving. “Be an Encourager: Tithe” is material with book guide and posters to help you move your tithe % forward.
Contact Alan.Witham@kybaptist.org or Jenny.Byrd@kybaptist.org

Have you ever been lost? Of course, all of us have been lost spiritually, but that is not what I am talking about in this blog. Have you ever been lost directionally? Most all of us have, resulting in frustration and sometimes fear. If you are like the majority of us, particularly men, the last thing we want to do is stop and ask directions. We have the idea we will eventually find the right way.

The feelings are similar for pastors and churches trying to navigate in the right direction with church growth and health. All pastors have experienced the frustration of doing everything we know to do and yet still be lost on the highway of having a growing, thriving church.

The Ministry Toolbox, being introduced and made available by your Kentucky Baptist Convention, is an excellent place to find our direction. This tool can help pastors and churches determine where their church really is by allowing members to grade themselves personally in their Christian journey. None of us are likely to get on the right road to spiritual health until we discover which road we are presently traveling.

Could it be the Ministry Toolbox is the “service station” we need to pull into in order to find out where we are and where to turn in order to head in the right direction? Is a reality check long overdue for many of us as  we attempt to travel the often elusive road to church health?   Contact any of us on the Church Development Team and let us tell you more about Ministry Toolbox.

We are ready to start distributing the door knob hangers and “plan of salvation” brochure. We have already done “prayerwalking” in the area of our delivering door hangers. Many have had witnessing and assimilation training in their association or church. One of my area churches are rennovating their foyers by painting, getting new furniture and pictures. This will help to greet those on Easter and beyond. The foundation of all we do and are doing is PRAYER.

One of my pastors attended Here’s Hope Discipleshp Workshop with Claude King. He was impressed with Claude’s emphasis on Prayer as the “House of Prayer”.
Isa 56:7 and Jer 7:11 both highlight the house of prayer.
Mt 21:13 even warns “My house will be called a house of prayer but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’” The pastor is eager to go back and make his church a House of Prayer.

Find It Here should have motivated us to make our congreagation a House of Prayer. We can do nothing without Him and we are embarking on a state-wide gospel sharing emphasis. Don Reed, DOM in Elkhorn Association wrote in his bulletin:

The North American Mission Board introduced God’s Plan for Sharing (GPS). There are four Mile Posts for the GPS:

PRAYING: Every Church Praying For Lost People.
EQUIPPING: Every Believer a Trained Witness.
SOWING: Every Lost Person Receiving a Witness.
HARVESTING: Every Church Harvesting and Celebrating Every Salvation Response.

FIND IT HERE fulfills every element of the commands of Jesus, and God’s Plan for Sharing.

Prayer allows us to bring the lost to God so He my know our love and passion for those we will contact. We do not know their name or even their life situation but God does. He cares more than we do but chooses to work through willing disciples. We can prayer individually, in Sunday School, prayer meeting, worship services, small group meeting, mission meeting, music rehearsals and beyond.

Praying for Find It Here should only be the start of making our church “A House of Prayer”. Give the Lord a Chance to work in your body of believers.

Our Convention is made up primarily of smaller churches.  However, it seems that all churches no matter the size are confronted with some of the same challenges.  Perhaps the greatest challenge for any of us is how to reach the unchurched and keep them as regular attenders and worshipers.  Is there some great secret to getting it done that actually works?  Why is it that some pastors and churches are successful and others struggle just to maintain what they have?

Perhaps a fresh reminder of basic actions a church can and should take will help us get better results.   First, the church must GO AFTER THEM.  Every church must be “people conscious” and “people focused” if we are to find and reach new people.  This focus must be led by the pastor who constantly keeps this emphasis before the congregation.  Members are encouraged to seek out and invite their own families, friends, neighbors, people at work and those our children attend school with and their families.  It is proven that people will attend if invited over and over again.

Second, the church must RECEIVE THEM WARMLY.  I have mentioned several times in previous blogs the age old adage, “you don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.”  In the smaller church, the success of making a good first impression is tied to the role of the pastor and other key leaders.  The proper welcome, acknowledgement, and treatment of newcomers cannot be overemphasized.  Whether or not our first time guests ever return hinges on the way we receive them.  Treat guests as family!  Get to know them, become a friend to them, find ways to minister to them, and genuinely love them.

Third, OFFER A QUALITY WORSHIP EXPERIENCE!  The worship service should not have any segment that would tend to put newcomers on the spot or embarrass them.  Make sure everyone who is to be involved in leading worship is ready and all equipment is checked out in advance.   Every aspect of the worship service should be given the very best we have.  All we have done throughout the week culminates during the time of worship.  Too much is at stake to half-heartedly plan the worship service.

Fourth, DO FOLLOW-UP AND DO IT RIGHT!   Gary McIntosh, in his book “Beyond The First Visit” suggests five principles of follow-up.  1.  A friendly contact…..offer your friendship.  Take care not to offend new people.  2.  A personal contact…..nothing takes the place of a personal touch in our lonely world.  3.  A prompt contact….contact guests within twenty-four hours.  The longer we wait, the less effective the results.  4.  A nonthreatening contact…..Put the guest at ease and realize guests have a natural uneasiness about new places and people.  5.  A continual contact……Follow-up is a process, not an event.  A onetime contact is not enough to be effective in our present environment.

These are steps all of us can take to be well on our way to getting new people and keeping them.  Try it in your church!

My last couple of blog posts have addressed the subject of ways a church can ensure their first time guests return.  Your church CANNOT grow without visitors.  At the same time, your church cannot grow unless your visitors COME BACK!  Perhaps, we should use the word “guests” instead of visitors.  A “visitor” is someone who shows up uninvited, who is not expected and no one has made prepartion for them to be there.  On the other hand, a “guest” is someone who has been invited to attend, you are expecting them, and preparation has been made in anticipation of their arrival.  At your church, do you treat newcomers as visitors or guests?   What can we do to ensure our guests come back?

1.  Provide adequate parking for guests that is well defined.  These should be your best spots with good directional signage.

2.  Have greeters in the parking lot to welcome and assist newcomers.

3.  Greeters should escort guests to the building, to Sunday School Classes, nursery and childcare, restroom areas and the Worship Center.

4.  Get to know guests by name and introduce them to greeters at the Welcome Center and to the Class Greeters & teacher.

5.  Inform guests of activities for the day and invite them to upcoming events.

In his book, “FUSION,” Nelson Seacy suggests four components of “pre-service” responsibility to newcomers:

        1.  GREETED:  Welcomed with a smile

        2.  DIRECTED:  Simply & politely directed to where they need to go.

        3.  TREATED:   Shown respect and happily surprised with comfort.

        4.  SEATED:   Led to comfortable, appropriate seats.

If you will put these suggestions into action in your church Sunday, you will see many of your guests return and perhaps even turn them into members. 

Tim Elmore at www.GrowingLeaders.com inan article called “Fast Forward” talks about the pace of change that students endure today.  Change is nothing new to students but the speed has gotten faster.  Consider the shifts that have occurred since the dawn of the 21st century in less that two years’ time.  In the span of 24 months, the average teen’s life was transformed…

* Music delivery went from CDs to digital MP3s downloads, thanks to iTunes and     Napster.

*Primary communication went from phone calls to test messaging.

*Social networking went from email to  Club Penguin, MySpace, & Facebook.

But this is only a sign of what is to come.  Change is about to happen at an even faster rate than ever before.  Students will love it, but they will have to work to maintain their sense of morals and values.  Is that where the church comes in?  Are have we lost connection with this student generation?  Where have all the young adults gone?

On Tuesday, March 17 at Severns Valley Baptist Church in Elizabethtown, Sam Rainer will answer, “Why do so many young adults leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back?”  After researching one thousand “so-called church dropouts,” authors Thom Rainer, President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources and Sam Rainer President and CEO of Rainer Research have addressed this issue in their new book, Essential Church?  Reclaiming a Generation of Dropouts. 

Join the one-day seminar to explore the four solutions proposed in Essential Church?

Simplify  Getting the Structure Right  -  Dan Garland, Dir. of Ch. Consulting,  LifeWay

Deepen    Getting the Content Right     -  Scott McConnell, Assoc. Dir. Lifeway Research

Expect     Getting the Attitude Right    -  Dan Summerlin, Pastor, Lone Oak BC, Paducah

Multiply  Getting the Action Right       -  Mike Rice, Pastor, Fairview BC, Ashland

These topics and leaders will be featured at breakout sessions after Keynote Speaker, Sam Rainer provides an overview of the book.  Sam also serves Sarasota Baptist Church as Associate Pastor and writes a column for Outreach magazine.

SCHEDULE

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM  Teaching Session with Sam Rainer

12:00 – 12:45 PM  Lunch

12:45 – 3:00 PM  Breakout Sessions

REGISTRATION

$25 per person (includes lunch and materials)

Register online at www.kybaptist.org/essential

For More Information

(502) 489-3335 or (866) 489-3335 (toll free in KY)

or e-mail:   churchdevelopment@kybaptist.org

Directions are available at  www.sevensvalley.org/directions.htm

Vince Beresford says that there are four practical skills to help young people survive this transition and be equipped for life after high school:

1)  Equip them on how to seek out and make quality friends

2)  Equip them with a biblical worldview

3)  Equip them to articulate their “God story”

4)  Equip them to articulate what they believe and why they believe it

Come and learn how to keep and reach young adults in E-Town on March 17 for Essential Church Seminar!

One of the most important lessons to be learned in connecting with guests is that we had better do it right the first time.  If we fail to make a good first impression with guests, we will more than likely never have the privilege of doing it again.

The North American Mission Board suggests we have 10-12 minutes to make a good first impression.  Some church growth specialists tell us that 7 minutes is all we get to make a positive and favorable first impression.  Imagine….7 minutes!  If that be true, then the first time guest has made up his or her mind whether or not the church can meet their needs and whether or not they will return, before they ever hear the singing and before they ever hear the sermon.

So what do guests see in that brief amount of time that carries such weight?  First, they see our facility!  How does your church appear to guests as they drive onto your property?  Is it obvious you take good care of your building such as keeping the building painted, clean and neat around the building, weeds pulled, shrubbery trimmed, and the grass freshly mowed?  Is your church sign attractive, with good paint, and all the information on the sign accurate?

Secondly, they see our people.  They see us!  The first person our guests see ought to be someone in the parking lot with a warm smile and a desire to welcome the newcomer and help him find his way.  Any church of any size can have greeters in the parking lot.  The greeter in the parking lot could very well be the biggest factor in whether guests never return or they stick and become active members. 

Look for future blogs as we continue to examine ways our churches can turn guests into members.