Better Than One

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.

Ministry Toolbox is a software package that the church purchases from the Kentucky Baptist Convention for $200.  The church owns the software and can administer the survey yearly or as often as they want without additional cost to the church. 

Many teams at Kentucky Baptist Convention are starting to use Ministry Toolbox which includes a congregational 46 question survey of 12 key areas of church life, thus addressing the question, “Where are we as a church?”  (worship, evangelism, Sunday school, culture, discipleship, ministry stewardship, vision, fellowship, missions, student ministry, and administration) 

There are project suggestions a church can implement to enhance each of the 12 areas (Up to 20 for each key area).  This helps answer the question, “How can we improve?”

Each project idea comes with a step by step action plan summary to accomplish the project.

The survey results help the church see the difference between their perceptions and actual behaviors.  Most surveys are not behavior based but only deal with perceptions.

Survey Reports help the church compare the difference in leaders’ perceptions and scores versus those the of the entire congregation.

There are three types of questions on the survey: 

1.  General perception questions (How I feel the church as a whole is doing in each of the 12 areas). 

2.  Personal perception questions (How I feel I am doing in each of the 12 areas).

3.  Behavior based questions (What I am actually doing in each of the 12 areas).

Using the behavior grouping report ministry leaders could begin asking “What can I do to increase the presence of this behavior in our church?”  (Example:  A report showed that 6% of the people keep a list of names of people they hope to reach.  A ministry leader could challenge his Sunday School Class to develop a “10 Most Wanted List” and place it in their Bibles to pray for the 10 people they most want to see come to Christ.)

For more information regarding Ministry Toolbox, email Alan Witham, Team Leader for Church Development at Alan.Witham@kybaptist.org

In the last blog, we discussed briefly “Change in the Church”.  Today we want to expand change to unity and to relationships in the church.  IgniteUS, Inc. newsletter shared this information I used in the last blog:  In any church, approximately 47% of the people in a congregation are highly resistance to change.  17% are devoted to peace, don’t make any waves.  They always side with those who oppose change.  The collective resuts is we face a 64% opposition force in almost every church in introducing change.

Unity of the congregation is affected by the attitude of the members relating one to another.  In an attitude of cooperation, family, and forgiveness exists within a local congregation, the change process can be relatively tranquil.  However, if undercurrents of bitterness, resentment, conflict, and malice have be festering unexpressed among the members, the change process will likely expose them and the process will not be characterized by tranquility.  These ungodly attitudes may even exist among members of the leadership.  Therefore, negating the vision, mission or purpose of the congregation.

Scripture provides clear guidelines for addressing conflicts.  Reconciliation is the goal at every step.  The conflict resolution process is to be characterized by initial privacy, love, caution, meekness, and escalation only in the absence of repentance. 

Offenses between believers will happen.  “Love covers a multitude of sins” is a good word that is designed to handle all of our offenses.  The scriptures indicate that the forgiveness that God provides to us as a result of Christ’s death is to be automatically applied to every situation of offense.  For relatively minor offenses, immediate forgiveness is the requirement.  Matthew 18:21-35 helps us understand the importance of forgiveness in the body of Christ. 

More serious offenses are be handled initially in loving private, face to face conversation between the two parties as per Jesus’ instruction in Matthew 18:1-20.

Constant teaching of scriptures such as:  Acts 4:32; Romans15:5-6; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 4:3-6; Philippians 2:1-4 should be applied to the entire congregation.

Many churches are using “40 Days of Love” with the book “The Relationship Principles of Jesus” by Tom Holladay.  Nothing is more important than relationships and God loves people more than anything.  I really believe that the growth of a church depends on relationships.  Relationships  are painful and wonderful.  We all live the drama that plays out between these two truths.  In a small church everything hinges around relationships.  The first question people will ask when a change is proposed is “How will this affect the relationships in this church?”  If it is believed that the change will harm the relationships, it is likely to be rejected.

We need to take a look at the relationship principles of Jesus.  We need to move in the direction of relating to others the way Jesus did.  If you’re looking for an adventure, you’ll find it in having the faith to put your relationships first.  Our goal is relationships that are transformed by the example and power of Jesus Christ. 

Love God with All Your Heart!

Love God with All Your Soul!

Love God with All Your Mind!

Love God with All Your Strength!

Love Your Neighbor as Yourself!

Mark 12:29-31

Do you often ask for change to wash your car, wash your clothes or to even use a parking meter?  Most restrooms provide space to change a baby’s diaper.  I have to take my car in for an oil change every 5000 miles.  But how is change happening in your church.  Do things change on a regular basis?  Do they seldom change?  Does it feel like things never change in your church.  I received two emails this week relating to change in the church.

Dennis Bickers in his monthly Bivocational Ministries newsletter writes that he often talks about change in his workshops.  “I know it upsets a lot of the people there.  They don’t want to change anything about their churches and see no good reason why change is important.  These same people will tell you they want to see their churches grow, but they do not seem to be able to connect growth to change.  The simple fact is that if your church could grow by continuing to do the same things it has been doing, it would be growing.  Is your church seeing steady growth?  If it is then by all means keep doing what your’re doing because it’s working.  However, if the church isn’t experiencing growth then something needs to change.” 

IgniteUS newsletter stated that change process is difficult for each local congregation.  “In any local church approximately 47% of the are highly resistant to change.  17% are devoted to peace, don’t make any waves.  They always side with those who oppose change.  The collective result is we face a 64% opposition force in almost every church in introducing change.”

Dennis Bickers says pain is one of the major reasons people do not like change.  “Someone has said that change management is really pain management.  We laugh at the people who sit in the same pews each week, but that really shows the length to which people do not want to change.  To change anything in the church takes us out of our comfort level, and that is painful.”

Ronnie Sivells shared this information about change in our “10 Proven Principles for Turnaround Growth”.  In his book, “Leading Through Change,” Barney Wells says there are basically four kinds of change:  1. Personal Change,  2. Ministry Change,  3. Infrastructure Change,  4. Facility Change.  The right kind of PREPARATION is necessary for uneventful change to take place.  Wells sites the following steps:

1.  PRAYER!

2.  PREPARATORY PREACHING AND TEACHING!

3.  BUILD LOVING RELATIONSHIPS!

4.  ONE TO ONE COMNMUNICATION WITH DECISION MAKERS!

5.  RELY ON KEY PERSUADERS AND DIPLOMATS!

6.  IDENTIFY SIMILAR INNOVATORS!

7.  USE HISTORY AND TRADITION!

8.  SAMPLE THE CHANGE!

9  EVALUATE!

A changeless church is a dying church.  Change is best implemented when the congregation buys into it.  If they feel a part of the process, and that change is not being forced on them, and that there is good reason to justify change, most will at least give it a try.  People do not want to be part of the landing if they were not part of the take-off! 

Next blog writing, I will address change, unity, and relationships.

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!

Over the last month, I have observed Sunday schools starting a new year.  Some are excited and ready but many are not prepared or enthused about another year of Sunday school.  I wanted to share several ideas for “raising the bar” for Sunday school.  However this morning, I saw an email article by Rodney L. Pry in defense of Sunday school.  Here is how he starts:

“For more than 225 years, Sunday school has been the primary Christian-education program for persons of all ages in Protestant churches.  But, in recent years, general interest in Sunday schools seems to have declined.  In fact, statistics tell us that over the past 20 years, attendance has dropped more than 25 percent.  He shares primary reasons why Sunday school is as important as ever.  I want to piggy-back on these reasons and add what you can do to “raise the bar” or “kick it up a notch” concerning Sunday school.

1.  The priority of School school needs to be raised.  Do we talk about SS in worship?  Do spotlight different age groups or classes? Do we talk about the values of Sunday school?  Often SS becomes the organization that is always there but rarely noticed.  Praise it and and continually highlight it.

2.  Sunday school is normally the largest organization in your church.  This organization can provide you with service groups, ministry teams and volunteer people.  Every department or class needs to be organized so individuals have value and responsibilities.

3.  Sunday school is the Bible teaching arm of your church body.  “The word goes out from my mouth:  It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”  (Is. 55:11) The congregation has to grow in their love for the word.  People need to be enrolled in SS or Bible Study.

4.  Bible Teaching is extremely important but Making Disciples can also happen in Sunday school.  If  we do not teach to make disciples, we are missing one of the best discipleship arenas to reproduce disciples.

5.  Most Sunday schools think of fellowship as one of their main functions.  Fellowship and relationships go hand in hand to help people find their place and feel comfortable.  The circle of fellowship must be open and not closed to keep people in our body.  Fellowships need to happen on a monthly basis.

6.  Sunday school leaders can plan by evaluating the past, prioritizing needs, setting goals, and creating actions for each SS year.  This helps to motivate leaders by measuring their progress and achievements

7.  Does your Sunday school expect new people to come to Sunday school?  As I visit different churches and their Sunday school, I notice no spirit of excitement or expecting new people to walk through the doors because no one has been inviting.        Invest – Invite – Involve

8.  Is Sunday school not relating to adults?  That is a question that has be asked for years.  However with our renewed interest in reaching young adults, we might want to think about renaming Sunday school.  Several options are:  Bible Study, Bible Fellowship, Life Groups, Connect Groups.

Let me return to Rodney Pry’s closing comments:

“The general lack of interest in the church and the Bible is certainly one of the biggest reasons for the decline in Sunday school.  In fact, Barna Research tells us that only about 30% of all Americans attend church on a regular basis today. 

God doesn’t change.  The Bible doesn’t change.  But, the world and people have changed greatly in recent years.  And, because people have changed, the ways that we teach people of different ages in the church and Sunday school must also change.

Why is Sunday school important?  Because the Bible and the central character of the Book – Jesus Christ – are important!  If you believe that Jesus Christ is important, shouldn’t you have the desire to learn more about Him by reading the Bible and then coming together with other Christians to really dig into God’s word in Sunday school?”

“For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  (Heb. 4:12)

“Sing a new song” (Ps. 144:9) reminds me of the redemptive process of my spiritual journey.  It also relates to our church music discussions.  “Comeback Churches” by Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson identified their worship mood of comeback churches as celebrative and orderly.  Celebrative can mean different things.  It doesn’t mean that every worship style will look alike.  There is a sense that when we gather together for worship, there is a sense of celebration, energy, passion, joy and gladness.  There is something worth celebrating that we have to focus on and talk about.  There were churches in the research that discovered their passion for God often by examining their worship. 

Worship matters.  It is about God and not about what we like or don’t like.  We sit around and talk about our style and forget about loving and adoring God.  Worship cannot end the refocusing process but it has often been the beginning.  Many churches in the research began their transformation by focusing on their worship first.

Most comeback churches experienced changes in worship.  How can you lead the church to consider some new ways to express themselves in worship?

1. Make sure there is a biblical foundation for everything you do.
2. Teach what the bible says about worship
3. List churches in your area that offer worship that is connecting people with God in a celebrative way.
4. Visit these churches
5. Consider trying some different worship in your own church
6. Bring it home and discuss the following:                                                                                                                                What are these churches doing?                                                                                                                                               Why are they doing it?                                                                                                                                                             What impact is it having?                                                                                                                                                        What are we doing different from them?  And Why is what we are doing not working?                                               What can we learn?  What can we try?                                                                                                                                 What could we incorporate or implement into our church?

In REV magazine, I found an article by Stephanie Caro about worship planning.  She said her church was not a megachurch or even a large church.  We’re just a plain old struggling mainline denominational church with about 150 in worship on Sundays.  Here are her 10 worship planning commandments:

1. There must be coffee.
2. We don’t use a printed order of worship.
3. Every week is different.
4. Each Sunday has a clear theme and spiritual life lesson.
5. Communicate the message in at least five ways.
6. The entire service is the message.
7. We target our services to be about an hour.
8. When we do have a sermon, which is most Sundays, the length is 12 to 14 minutes.
9. We don’t use official greeters.
10. Cultural graphics are important.

In the last 12 months, Stephanie said that her worship service has experienced a 37% growth in attendance.  In a recent survey of regular churchgoers, over 90% said they leave church without having “felt a touch from God”  We want more for our people.  I know you don’t agree with every commandment but some encourages us to think about what we are doing.

What is the appropriate worship for our context?  People in Peru worship differently from people in Malaysia because they are in a different context.  When Rick Warren planted his church in Orange Co. California, he surveyed what radio station was listened to most and built his worship music around that style.  I know churches who are secure and stayed in their traditional worship style.  I know others who are in the process of moving from traditional to blended in the next months.  I know churches who are satisfied with their blended worship.  I know others who are ready to start offering a contemporary service to reach younger adults.  What form of music and worship would God use in this context to bring Himself the most glory and honor?  How can we have worship here that transforms us and transforms our community and makes Jesus more widely known?

“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, Look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his Glory and Grace” – Helen Lemmel

I’m coming back to the heart of worship – And it’s all about You.  It’s all about You, Jesus – I’m sorry, Lord for the thing I’ve made it – When it’s all about You – It’s all about You, Jesus -Matt Redman

That I’ll wake up to find Your glory defined – And I will finally bow at Your feet – I will lift up Your name in honor and praise – When I cross over Jordan, I know that I’ll be running home to You – Building 429