EvangelismCoach

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Church Hospitality Survey Assessment or Audit

The gospel should be offensive, not your church members or a lackadaisical hospitality ministry.

Your hospitality ministry in the church is one of the most important factors in the experience of first time visitors that will influence their personal decision to come back to your church.

After all, your church won’t grow if your visitors don’t return and make friends.

But you may have unintentional barriers that might hinder that person’s decision to return.

Fix things with a Church Hospitality Audit

Church Hospitality Leaders find it helpful to have a questionnaire to help them spot and fix items that can quickly remove those unecessary rough edges.

[Read more…] about Church Hospitality Survey Assessment or Audit

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6 Conditions of a Growing Church

Our family is visiting a growing church.

Since our first time visit in June of 2016, we keep coming back.  This gives me the opportunity to watch and look for transferrable reasons for its growth.

There is no single cause to the growth of this fellowship that started in a living room in 1984.  

But like fertile garden soil, nurtured by rain, this church has conditions that produce a harvest of new believers.

[Read more…] about 6 Conditions of a Growing Church

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Stuff I’m Reading for Inspiration, January 17 2014

Every now and then, I spend some time reading other thinkers and Christian bloggers that make me think, react, or comment.  These are some of my favorites this week.

Arminianism Didn’t Save Me! Me Neither

I had no clue about Arminianism when I was born again.  I had no clue about John Calvin or Martin Luther when the Lord was pleased to save me.  All I knew was that Jesus died for my sins, that He rose again, and that He was my Savior and Lord.  That was all I knew.

. . . .

Oh friends, don’t worship a theological system.  Worship the Son of God!  Make Jesus your passion.  Don’t exalt a man above the Lord Jesus.  Exalt the Lord Jesus and make His name great!  Jesus came to ransom us from our sins (Mark 10:45) and His blood can wash away all our sins.

Read more from  @SeekingDisciple here: http://bit.ly/1drcKqO

Is Salvation a Matter of Urgency?

Miguel Labrador always has me thinking.  He a cross cultural missionary serving in South America who asks deep questions out of the work he does.  Here is a glimpse from an old post.

Urgency is imprudent when it:

  • Delivers a compromised Gospel message.
  • Creates an environment for insincere or ignorant “decisions.”
  • Uses emotional pleas to invoke a response.
  • Relies heavily on methodology and light on being all things to all people.
  • Places guilt on those who are not lead to reach out to specific people in specific times.

If Christ is the author and finisher of our faith,

then is there really any urgency in proclaiming the Gospel?.

Read more at http://bit.ly/1cXUiS4 By @Missionaries

Commitment is a very big word. Especially when it comes to sharing the Gospel.

I spoke about someone who once described it this way:

“Evangelism is the work of rescuing people from certain death. It is putting aside all fear and hesitance, knowing that we cannot stand by and watch people die without doing something to stop it.”(. Anon)

I am challenged by that statement and it made me examine my own commitment levels. Am I blinkered when it comes to sharing the good news? How do I view people that I come into contact with on a daily basis? Do I view them as souls either going to heaven or destined for a lost eternity? What if I don’t think about it and just get on with my day?

Read more from @gospelonetoone at http://bit.ly/1a9j5G0

6 Keys to Breaking the 200, 400 and 800 Attendance Barriers

This is a recurring post I keep returning to.  Carey is a great thinking and leader based on what I’ve read so far.

’m going to assume leaders are praying and that the church is biblical and authentic in its mission. I’ll also assume that leaders want to church to grow.

But even with all those conditions in place, too many churches just can’t push through.

And even once you get past 200, some churches can’t make it past 400 or 800.  Again, not for lack of desire or opportunity.

So why can’t they grow?

They simply haven’t structured for growth.

Read more from @cnieuwhof at http://bit.ly/1cFg7ZQ

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5 Growth Lessons from Church Planting

5LessonsForChurchPlantersOne question that has come to me is

What can a new church plant do to increase it’s membership?

For the last 15 years, I’ve been involved in planting two churches.

Both churches were designed for immigrants.

One of our core values was to “gather the nations to worship Christ.”

We felt that our church planting call was to reach out to different nationalities and grow a multi-cultural congregation of new believers. [Read more…] about 5 Growth Lessons from Church Planting

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Are Church Welcome Packets a good idea?

SummerWallpaper-The fall ministry season is approaching in the US.

Perhaps it’s time to review the materials in your church welcome folder.

If you do not have a visitor packet ready, you are missing out a great opportunity to help newcomers find their way into your church family.

You can check out this list of 15 things to put in your folder, as well as some more ideas for visitor welcome packets.

Are visitor packets worldly?

Perhaps you’ve encountered an objection like this:

I think a folder like this or little marketing gifts is a bribe we are offering for people to come back.  I feel like we don’t need to bribe people. Why do we feel the need to resort to the world’s tactics to bribe and entice people to embrace God?

1.  Visitor Welcome Packets are not Bribes

They are a communication piece.

Your visitor folder shares information about your church, and perhaps includes a small token of appreciation for making the effort to come and visit.

If I visit a church, I’d like to know more information about it. I will not learn everything in my first visit.

This packet allows the church to communicate aspects of its program, how you can grow closer to Christ, how you can serve Jesus with us in the community, etc. . .

2.  Welcome Folders a Useful Tool for your Visitor.

Just because similar ideas are used in business seminars does not mean we must dismiss it as a worldly tactic.

Speakers speak at business seminars too, so I’m not dismissing my preacher as a worldly tactic.

Rather, these folders become a useful tool for communicating important information about your church to people who are considering  their involvement in the life of your church.

Think about your first time visitor for a moment:

  1. No friends in your church yet (except maybe people who invited them to church).
  2. No connection to any ministry or programming you may have.
  3. Not aware of the good your church does in the neighborhood.
  4. They may consider joining a new network of people they don’t know.
  5. They may consider where they will give of their volunteer time.
  6. They may consider where and how they can receive ministry and give ministry.
  7. They might want to know more about the Jesus who was heard about in the sermon.
  8. They might be looking for a new community.
  9. They may not know what simple next steps they can take to join your community.

Your welcome packet has the potential to answer those questions and in a way that a single Sunday morning service cannot.

These are packets that can be taken home and reviewed in the quietness of a morning, or in a family discussion over lunch.

The Purpose of the Visitor Packet

The primary purpose of the church welcome folder is to communicate information about your church to the first time visitor.

This visitor may have never attended church before.

Your visitor may have been shopping for churches for the last 5 weeks prior to coming to yours.

It is simply a tool to help them in their decision making process, with the caveat that the Spirit of God can work in a person’s life no matter what you put in your visitor folder.

Your Turn

What about church visitor folders?  Are they a useful tool?

Did you receive one that was helpful to you?  What made it helpful?

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Are Unbelievers Present at Church – Part 4

Invited to ChurchShould we invite non-believers to our church services?

So far through the three parts of rereading the book of Acts (part 1 covers Acts 1-5, part 2 covers Acts 6-9, part 3 covers Acts 10-11), I don’t see a clear answer to the question.

As I have looked at the gatherings of the disciples so far, what is clear so far there is no pattern of inclusion or exclusion, or if it is even possible to make a conclusion.

Particularly starting in this next section, it starts to get confusing to say “that’s a church meeting” and “that is not a church meeting.”

They are gatherings where the word of God is proclaimed, gifts of the Spirit are manifested, and elders are set apart with fasting and prayer.  The only hints of locations are a few references to the synagogue.

In today’s section, I’ll continue in Acts as I watch the church develop in various cities as the gospel goes forth.

Acts 12:1-5, 12

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them . . . . So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him. . . . . he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark,where many people had gathered and were praying.

Luke uses the word church to identify the disciples, not to speak of a specific gathering for worship.  The use in verse 5 may refer to a specific meeting in the house of Mary that is described in verse 12.

It is likely that this gathering for a prayer meeting was made up only of known disciples, but that is a a likely inference rather than a clear statement.

It doesn’t address the question about inviting the unsaved to our church meetings to hear the proclamation of the word of God.

Acts 13:1-3

Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.  While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”  So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.

Luke’s use of the word church refers to disciples in Antioch.  Was it the one church meeting (specific event), or a general description of the church as disciples with various meetings in various parts of the city?  Verse 2 moves us to a specific meeting for the setting apart of Barnabas and Paul.

This passage shows only believers (prophets and teachers) by name.

But this verse doesn’t address the question – are unbelievers present or excluded?  It’s not Luke’s point.

Acts 13:42-44, 48-49

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath.   When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.  On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. . . .  When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. . . The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.

Paul had been teaching in the synagogue in Psidian Antioch.  He preached a simple message and people believed.  He was invited to return and it is said almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.

I think it is very likely that unbelievers and believers were in this mix.  They had come to hear the word of God.  Some believed after hearing.

What is clear is that this is a gathering of people.  If one holds that unbelievers are not to be invited to church, then this meeting must not be church.

Acts 14:1-7

No specific gathering is mentioned, other than Paul teaching in the synagogue.  A great number of Jews and Greeks believed.  Verse 3 adds:

So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.

There is no mention of a place where this occurs other than the synagogue.

I would imagine that the believers and non-believers continued to mix at gatherings to hear the word of God taught during that considerable time there.  Luke doesn’t record any kind of division or separation into “believer only group” and mixed group.

Acts 14:21-28

They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.   Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.  After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.  From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.  On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

Luke gives generalized statements about people coming to faith in various cities, the appointment of elders, prayer and fasting.

There are no details here to suggest a “believers only” worship gathering, except maybe in the final sentence.

“they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”

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