Denominations and mission boards are investing much time, money and personnel into church planting. Networks of churches, like Stadia, ARC, Acts 29 and New Thing Network and NAMB have come together for the primary purpose of planting new churches.

Why is there so much interest in church planting?

1. People Need the Gospel

New Churches make disciples more proficiently than established churches (Matthew 28:16-20). Stuart Murray established the first accredited university church planting and evangelism degree in the United Kingdom. Murray believes that new churches draw converts and unchurched people into their congregations. He believes church planting is crucial to reaching people.

Church plants reach different people groups. The Great Commission mandated that disciples were reached among all nations, not just the Galileans who were gathered. Church plants can reach a whole different demographic of people by strategically positioning ministries poised to serve the community in fresh and effective ways. 

2. Communities Need Churches of Reconciliation

More education, more sports options, more parks, more community centers or more gun laws do not answer the brokenness in the community. The real need in a community is a reconciled relationship with God through Jesus.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, (Ephesians 2:13-15, ESV, emphasis added)

David T Olson said in his book, The American Church in Crisis, that every state in the US has experienced a decline in church attendance percentage. Planting new churches is Olson’s main solution to this church attendance decline in America. He claimed that denominations needed to plant at least two percent of the total number in the denomination to keep pace with population growth (Olson, 2008). Olson warned that if the evangelical church wanted to survive, established churches “must courageously strive towards health and growth” and they must “actively plant new churches” while denominations support the local congregations in these essential church-planting endeavors (Olson, 2008). 

3. God Needs Laborers for His Harvest

Jesus saw the crowds of people who were like sheep without a shepherd. His response was for the disciples to pray for more harvesters (Matthew 9:35-38).

Our God is a sending God whose harvesters gather His people together to send them into other places to gather and scatter. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to save and redeem it from the curse placed upon all mankind. Jesus sent the church as laborers to make disciples of people of all nations. Where this is practiced and adhered as the battle cry of Jesus, more churches will be necessary to handle the births of new believers.

4. Christ, the Head of the Church, Needs a Body

It seems heretical to say that Christ needs anything. But Christ chose to use His spiritual body as the means to represent Himself to the world. The local church is a representative of Christ’s body in that community. To call a church’s mission “incarnational” (as some do) is somewhat belittling to the incarnation of God as Jesus.

A better term may be representational (as Andreas Kostenberger said). This simply means that the church embodies the Spirit, words and activities of Jesus Christ, especially amongst those in the community. The incarnation of God was fully accomplished by sending Jesus in a human body to live among humans in order to seek and to be able to save them from their sins. The new church plant seeks to become Christ’s representative in a specific local community or region. A church does not exist just for its own interests; it exists for the greater good of the community in which it resides—and that to bring glory to God. To properly represent Christ, a church embeds itself into the community with the clear message of hope through the One who can save them from their sins (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

5. The Local Church Needs a Reproducing Mission

Aubrey Malphurs believes that the secret to a vibrant Christianity is a pregnant church, culminating in reproduction. He emphasized the importance of a sending church preparing itself for reproduction (Nuts and Bolts of Church Planting, Malphurs, 2011). As a church is developing leaders, clarifying vision, sending people and resources, articulating doctrines and strategizing for mission, it will have a spiritual vibrancy accompanying these pre-birth activities.

In a scientific research project done in a PhD dissertation researching 624 SBC churches that had planted a church, attendance rose 21.5% for the five years after a church plant. Additionally, monetary growth was favorable in 7 of the 8 variables tested, including designated gifts (77% increase) and tithes (48%). (Source: Jeffrey C. Farmer, 2007).

A church on mission prioritizes its sending capacity over its seating capacity. This reproductive generosity brings health to the mother church as well as to the baby churches.

Conclusion

Five follow-up questions are in order once a person or church understand the five reasons why church planting is beneficial:

1. Who? Who are the next planters, the senders, and the support team?
2. Where? Where is a strategic location for the plant?
3. When? When will the church plant begin gathering and launching?
4. What? What resources of people, money, technology, and training will the sending church provide?
5. How? How will the church planter relate to and be encouraged by the sending church?

The post Five Reasons for Church Planting appeared first on ChurchPlanting.com.

by Aaron Addison

2013 Reuters/Gene Bevins

As most of you have heard, a massive tornado ripped through the very heart of Moore, Okla., on Monday afternoon. The path of the tornado was within five miles of Love & Justice Church. The aftermath was devastating, destroying neighborhood after neighborhood. Many lives were lost, including children at an elementary school. Our city has suffered much through this ordeal. For some of us, in a moment, everything was ripped from our hands.

Shortly after the tornado, we learned that Pastor Andrew and his wife, Hilary, lost their house. In the same moment, we learned that Hilary’s parents lost their house as well. At this time, we have had multiple families with minor damage to their homes. Praise the Lord, no one from our church was injured! But many of our friends, family, and co-workers lost everything.

Our hearts break for the city, and we want to be a light while we as a community begin to rebuild and heal. But in light of all, we know that God is good and faithful. We are grateful that many lives were spared, and we mourn for the lives that were taken.

We know that those affected will need places to stay, resources, food, clothing, and prayer. As a church, we are trying to do what we can to meet these needs. We have had people generously bring all manner of donations to help those in need. We have had numerous volunteers here organizing and preparing to serve families. And now, we are waiting to be told when we can go into the city and begin to clean, hand out necessities, and pray with people. But until then, we are taking donations at Love & Justice Church. We have also opened up a Tornado Relief Fund that you can give to online.

Later today, we will be meeting with various Acts 29 churches throughout the Oklahoma City metro area to create a plan for how the Church in our city can impact, help, serve, and love people who have been impacted by this tornado. May Jesus shine forth his light through the churches, bind up the brokenhearted, and give hope and healing through his name.

This article first appeared here on the Love and Justice Church blog.

The nation is focused on Moore, Oklahoma, and communities surrounding it.

While I was speaking at a conference in Moore a few years ago, people told me of the tornado that hit in 1999. Moore is not rural Oklahoma, but it is a developed area, and the damage from that 1999 tornado was still fresh in their memory. Now, as the news unfolds, we see that this new tornado has brought devastating damage– perhaps much more than in 1999.

Right now, Christians and churches are praying, but they are also asking, what can we do to help? Well, having worked at the North American Mission Board (the third largest volunteer disaster relief agency, right behind the Red Cross and Salvation Army), and having assisted in disaster relief work personally, there are a few realities to keep in mind.

Here are five key things (edited from an earlier blog post) to remember when thinking about disaster relief.

1. The time to prepare to help in a disaster is BEFORE a disaster strikes. Rushing off to a disaster zone without training or support may make you feel better, but it won’t make the situation better. The Lutheran Disaster Response ministry says this:

It is nearly impossible to predict when or where a disaster is going to take place. It is possible, however, for communities to prepare for what may happen. Disaster preparedness readies us for the unexpected, and it allows for a more organized, timely, and efficient response when disaster strikes.

If you want to help, get your church involved by training in disaster relief now. For example, Samaritan’s Purse has a volunteer network with a list of projects where they are currently involved. Many state conventions affiliated with the SBC provide disaster relief training in a variety of service areas. The Georgia Baptist Convention, for instance, provides training for feeding, childcare, chaplaincy, communications, and cleanup and recovery. Some conventions even have chainsaw school!

2. In most cases monetary donations are more helpful than volunteers. Yes, we live in a world where some want to DO more than they want to HELP, but at the end of the day that is more selfish than helpful. Ministering to disaster victims should be about meeting their needs, not fulfilling our need to feel helpful. The Salvation Army is blogging regularly about their disaster relief efforts. In a recent post, they explain how you can give:

$10: Will feed a disaster survivor for one day.
$30: Provides one food box, containing staple foods for a family of four, or one household cleanup kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets and other cleaning supplies
$100: Provides snacks and drinks for 125 survivors and emergency personnel at the scene of a disaster
$250: Provides one hot meal to 100 people or keep a hydration station operational for 24 hours
$500: Keeps a Salvation Army canteen (mobile feeding unit) fully operational for one day

It’s perhaps not as personally fulfilling as delivering a warm meal in a storm shelter, but it is an effective way to help.

3. The best way to support is through established, reputable relief agencies. Relief agencies, or denominations with disaster relief agencies, are already at work before storms like Hurricane Irene even make landfall.

For another example, the Assemblies of God has an agency called Convoy of Hope. They explain its activity this past weekend in preparation for Hurricane Irene:

Convoy of Hope has deployed members of its disaster response team to North Carolina as Hurricane Irene bears down on the East Coast as a Category 2 storm. Disaster response team members will work with the local Emergency Operations Center and rendezvous at the state’s pre-staging location…

“Convoy of Hope strives to maintain the ability to respond quickly and effectively to disasters,” says Jeff Nene, senior director – public relations for Convoy of Hope. “Because of our logistical expertise, partners and strong relationships with government agencies and local organizations we can quickly get help to those who need it.”

In other words, they are already on site making The Weather Channel look late.

4. By giving to agencies already in place, you minimize inefficiency and get resources to the areas of need. For example, Southern Baptists have assigned disaster relief coordination to the North American Mission Board. The NAMB disaster relief site explains, “When you give to Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, 100% of what you give goes directly to disaster relief efforts so your donation goes further. We do not pay salaries or overhead out of those funds.”

Giving directly can be helpful if you have friends and relationships in an impacted area, but it is almost always better stewardship to give through a disaster relief organization. During times of extreme devastation like the Japanese and Christmas Eve tsunamis, the Haitian earthquake or Katrina, relief opportunities pop up all over the place. It sometimes reminds me of “Whack-A-Mole.” The problem is that some of them are bogus, set up on the fly by hucksters using a coffee shop wifi and their black-ops PayPal account. Others are rife with overhead expenses creating what amounts to an organization of jobs where much stays home and little relief is accomplished.

5. Avoid the temptation to load up a tractor-trailer with supplies unless you are connected with someone on the ground meeting a specific request. In the days and weeks following Katrina, so much bottled water was needed we could have exhausted aquifers all over the country. But often a supply trailer becomes a receptacle for “guilt giving” with the resultant broken furniture, dirty clothes and perishable food. It does no good to barrage disaster areas with more stuff that winds up being added to the debris piles. Disaster zones do not need junk brought into them. Again, contact with people on the ground is very helpful to inform what items need to be brought into the area.

I can assure you (as I’ve seen it myself), unsolicited donations end up in piles and needed materials are nowhere to be found. When it comes to disaster relief, don’t follow your heart, follow the direction of those already engaged.

So, help by praying and giving, then get better prepared for next time when you might also get personally involved as needed.

More disasters are coming. They always do. Be prepared, not just for the disaster, but to serve the hurting in these critical times.

This article first appeared on Ed Stetzer’s blog, EdStetzer.com.

Curt Grayson in his book – Leadership Networking: Connect, Collaborate, Create – offers some rules for effective leadership networking that I have adapted for application in the new church environment.

1. Be sincere. You will be most effective in building your leadership network if you maintain a genuine objective of building relationships, providing support, and accomplishing ministry for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Networking is not a ploy for getting what you need for your ministry. If you develop a reputation as someone who takes but isn’t a reliable, generous giver or who uses information inappropriately or who breaks confidences, then your networks will shut down and He will not glorified.
2. Share resources. Having resources such as information, services, and access will build your leadership network through “give and take.” Reciprocity is so important (remember the Golden Rule?). Kingdom-minded planters know their assets and share them appropriately and generously.
3. Communicate skillfully. Much of the effectiveness of a leadership network depends on whether you can communicate in a way that builds awareness of both the needs and the assets of your new church. If you cannot make others aware of what you can offer as well as what you need in order to accomplish goals of your own, your networking strategies will be largely ineffectual.
4. Be wise. Effective new church leaders exercise wisdom in their leadership networking. They are sensitive to sharing and receiving resources so that ministries are not hampered by some form of co-dependency or falling to the temptation to grab quick fixes or the “easy button.” Empower your colleagues rather than stunt their leadership growth.

After more than 30 years of new church involvement, I am convinced that planters are truly the best at networking in unselfish ways. Don’t isolate yourself out of pride, fear, or insecurity. You have more to share that you can comprehend and your church planting colleagues have more to share with you than you imagine.

This post appeared first on ChurchPlanting.com as: Leadership Networking – A 4 Step Guide To Effectiveness by John Wasem

We are in the midst of one of the best transition of our lives.

My wife and I are privileged (in our mid-60s) to plant a new church. Actually it is more of a transition than a plant. We are moving an extension service from our mother church into a free-standing congregation.

The Transition

We handed-off leadership of Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay a year ago but stayed on to pastor two services. One of them was an extension service meeting in a movie theater 25 miles away. A week ago, we stepped out of the mother church altogether and are planting Hope Chapel Honolulu from what was the extension service.

As soon as we announced the decision toward the new church we started growing. The past few weeks have been especially gratifying and our “opening day” as a new church was a blast.

Managing Expectations

Along the way, I’m seeing things a little differently than in my two previous church plants. The first go-around was in a building already belonging to our denomination. From the get-go my wife and I were responsible for everything. Delegation was difficult because people expected us to do most everything. We broke out of that cocoon or would never have grown, much less multiply churches. But it took some effort (and conflict) in order to do so.

The second church we launched was 2500 miles from home but we brought a team of 30+ people with us. Delegation was much easier, though some team members found it difficult to “let go and let local people do the job.” We worked our way through that and found that the very existence of a team caused everyone in the church to anticipate the need for their own participation. It was much easier to recruit because we had a team intact.

Fast forward to our current experience and it seems like we are learning from our history. Admittedly we already have a team in place, however, the transition brings us a lot of back-office tasks which our mother church previously did for us. The temptation is to rent an office, hire someone to do the work while depriving a lot of people from an opportunity to serve their church…

The temptation is more than that, for many it is an expectation. And it is an expectation we want to manage. I just passed along a marriage counseling ‘opportunity’ to a veteran who joined us, a week ago, from the mother church. We’re managing a large “virtual office” with nearly 20 people staying in communication electronically—it’s working wonderfully. We want to keep the pioneer spirit and willingness to volunteer that we currently enjoy. We need to manage expectations in terms of getting the job done.

Managing The Clubhouse

The virtual office is easy to operate because we don’t have a physical office. We only meet on Sundays in a movie theater and during the week in a myriad of home groups. Our home group participation is very high with one group per 11 people in our congregation—another element we don’t want to disturb.

We will soon rent space for midweek operations. When we do many will expect us to operate a weekday office from that space. We want to control that expectation. We need space for things like worship team practice, leader’s meetings, etc. But, we don’t really need to staff an office. It would cost money and it would cost many people their volunteer slot. Or goal is for people to see the rented space as a kind of church clubhouse rather than an office. We’ll call it a “ministry center,” or some such name. We won’t describe it as our office. If we do this well we’ll preserve the joy that goes with a church where “everybody plays.” We may not get everyone into the act, but we’re shooting for it.

There are other expectations to manage. We don’t intend to have the hottest worship band in town. We won’t compete with the larger churches in terms of technical coolness. We fully intend to maintain an organic feel in hopes of growing a large church that still feels like a family. Oh, and lest I forget, we want to keep multiplying churches. This Sunday we commission the pastor of a new Hope Chapel in another state. He came to us for coaching and we have the privilege of “launching him” during our second weekend as a new church.

In Conclusion

There are expectations and there are expectations. Some of them you need to hold in check while fanning the others into a roaring flame. Forty-one-years of doing this has taught me that managing expectations to fit your values is perhaps your most important task as a church planter.

Ralph Moore is the founding pastor of both Hope Chapel in Hermosa Beach, Calif., and Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Beginning with just 12 people in 1971, the fruit of this ministry now spans over 700 churches around the world. Many of the churches run several generations deep as each succeeding pastor raises disciples, releasing them to the harvest. Ralph travels extensively, teaching pastors and church leaders the biblical models for healing the nations, spreading the Gospel and church planting. 

This post first appeared first on ChurchPlanting.com.

Several years ago, I and group of other missiologists, pastors and theologians produced the Missional Manifesto to encourage believers to live missional lives and to clarify what we mean when we use the term “missional.” Essentially we were a group of Christians putting forward a definition to help people to say what they mean and for it to mean what they think it means when they use the term – and to encourage others to do the same. We don’t think that we are the owners of the term, and others certainly have equal claim, but we did want to say what we meant when we spoke the term.

Beyond definitions, the meat of the Missional Manifesto is found in the affirmations, designed to encourage us toward biblical fidelity and missional engagement. For example:

We affirm that the missio Dei is the mission of the triune God to glorify Himself. God does so in this world by redeeming sinful humans and, in the future, restoring corrupted creation. The Father sent the Son to accomplish this redemption and sends the Spirit to apply this redemption to the hearts of men and women. Included in God’s mission is the missio ecclesia whereby He empowers the church for witness and service that leads to witness. Believers are called to share the gospel with people so they can come to know Christ. Moving from God, through the church, to the world, God’s redemptive work results in people of every tribe, tongue and nation responding in lifelong worship of the God. Ultimately the missio Dei will encompass all of creation when God creates a new heaven and new earth.

When we begin to talk about “the mission of the triune God to glorify Himself,” it must start with the idea of the missio Dei. This important concept is a Latin phrase for the “sending of God” or, the “mission of God.”

During the past half-century, there has been significant shift from understanding mission as simply the geographical expansion of the Christian faith from the West to the non-Christian world towards a more expansive understanding of mission as God’s mission– particularly within a Trinitarian theological framework. This tenant has become known as the missio Dei, which has become the milestone concept of the twentieth century’s theology of mission. In other words, today just about everyone believes in the missio Dei idea as one rooted in Scripture but more recently emphasized in theology.

In short, “mission” refers back to its fixed basis – to the movement of the Father in sending His Son and Spirit. God, who is ontologically “missionary” and, as God is the acting subject in His self-revelation, He maintains the initiative in this activity.

This divine missionary activity includes yet another noteworthy shift in thought: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit sending the church into the world. Mission is therefore God’s work in the world; the church is viewed as an instrument for that mission. There is a church because there is a mission, not vice versa.

The mission of God calls us toward action. Christians, individually and corporately are called to live pressing toward missional activity in the world.

A “Kingdom mentality” draws on the prevailing missionary text of John 20:21 – Christ, in His own “sentness” commands the sending of the Christian community. Missio Dei, therefore, expresses this missionary existence of the Christian community. We are to live sent.

The New Testament undoubtedly places the mission of the church within the larger context of God’s purpose to restore the whole creation (Rom. 8:18-25; Col. 1:20). But it also gives the church a focal occupation in the life of the Kingdom: God’s biblically mandated vessel for His redemptive agenda in the world.

The goal of the missional journey on which we find ourselves is the end-game described in the Scriptures– a redeemed people dwelling with God in a redeemed creation; a creation which will have experienced people of every tribe, tongue and nation responding in lifelong worship to King Jesus.

This Ed Stetzer article appeared at:  Monday Is for Missiology: What Missional Is and Why It Matters

Laity on the other hand have close working relationships with the unchurched but have not been trained to use that relationship for evangelism when the time is right. Nor do they have the biblical knowledge. Laity can make the leap from the world of organized faith to searching faith better than clergy. This is the reason I have come to believe that one of the most important issues not being addressed in the church is how to equip and mobilize the laity to infiltrate the unchurched world with the Gospel. This is another and much larger issue that always begins with forming a relationship based on friendship not evangelism.

The following is a collection of ways to connect with the unchurched public that came through our forum. The key to reaching out to the unchurched is to connect your story with people for whom you have affinity with because of your story. You must listen to their story before you share your story on the way to The story.

1. Servant Evangelism, I am beginning to believe that if I were starting a new church again, I would every Saturday develop the habit of doing servant evangelism in the area and begin to take lay people with me and in time develop it into the primary ministry of the church. Let me encourage all of you to at least look into this. It is cheap, doable for anyone, and on top of that it can be fun. A visit some Saturday to the Servant Ministry at Cincinnati Vineyard to see how they make it into an event would be worth the money. go to www.kindness.com  for examples.
2. Consider setting up several Alpha courses, even do one in a hotel perhaps to make it on a neutral ground.
3. How about sending personal notes of congratulations to the parents of every child for whom there is a birth announcement and a note to the child welcoming them to our world.
4. The next time you see a school play, or a concert, or a game – write a personal note to each student offering warmth and praise for their activity.
5. Visit the local police department and get to know the officers. Later offer to be available should they need someone in a crisis situation such as delivering a “death notice”, etc.
6. Ask your congregation to bake cookies and divide up to write a personal note to every public employee in your area just letting them know that their service to the community is appreciated. Do the same for educational staff, day care programs, library, garbage service, nursing home staff, etc. taking one group on every other month.
7. Have folks bake a pie and bring it to the late shift workers at… Put a little note with it saying that it is a free gift, just like the gift of God’s love… we appreciate all you do while the world is at rest…
8. Go into the neighborhood of one of your church members and organize a block party where folks in the neighborhood can get together just to have fun.
9. Have a neighborhood Bible School (aka Backyard Bible School) this summer in five different garages or city parks that your folks put on for three afternoons or whatever.
10. Select a neighborhood of 400 to 500 homes and start farming them. Getting a team of folks to make monthly contact with each home. You might start out with just distributing door knob hangers and move on to small gifts or a community survey. (i.e. batteries for smoke detectors, refrigerator magnets, fly swatters, etc.)
11. Organize some special Sundays in which a particular group within the community is honored/invited to participate in worship.
12. Offer a “life enrichment” seminar at a neutral location. A Percepts Study would indicate what the felt needs of a given community are and would be a starting point. i.e. a six week series on financial freedom. A felt need by most folks, a non-church/non-threatening location, and long enough for group dynamics to set in.
13. Are you a singer, musician, comic, etc.? Take it on the road and entertain local groups.
14. Get a team of your folks out on the morning of one of those snowy days and shovel a few blocks worth of snow off of folks sidewalks. Likewise, get up real early on one of those snowy days and brush off the cars of the folks working the late shift…
15. Block parties work for some.
16. At work, actively seek to engage in mentoring relationships with leaders that are not Christian.
17. Meet people through coaching a soccer team for your child.
18. Volunteer as chaplain at the county prison and go to local bars to listen and hang out.
19. Sporting events are a great place.
20. Join the volunteer fire department last year to build new relationships. I’m also trying to get on the textbook adoption committee at the high school (I’ve got a background in education), and I’m thinking about applying for the junior high track coach position that’s open. After the relationships start, my wife and I are trying to “Give our Friday nights to Jesus” a la Josh Hunt to continue developing the relationships.
21. I was the law enforcement chaplain at my last church. Rode regularly with the police officers. Great ministry to the officers, great to help them see what they do as a ministry, and you meet all kinds of people from the local politicos to the folks who think they own the police dept. to the folks in the roughest neighborhoods. Could have been a really awesome ministry of the local church if they had chosen to support this endeavor. Alas. A couple of the cops did come to church because of the ministry. One family actually stayed.
22. I regularly meet people in bars. I used to go with the cops, now I go with my students. Folks in bars will tell you just about anything when they find out you’re a preacher.
23. Because of my involvement with the Police Department I was appointed to the City Council’s Community Gang Task Force which again gives me exposure throughout the community. I am also a member of a local Rotary Club. This keeps me in contact with business people and civic leaders.
24. I ride an air head BMW motorcycle daily, now  and then with a small group, a few charity runs per year and sometimes sat am breakfast at couple rider hang-outs. meet men and women from all walks (rides) of life. great opportunities to tell bits of my story as openings in conversation invite those parts of my faith story which intersect with their bit of life story at the moment. results vary. some come to worship, some are immediately turned off when they discover I’m a pastor, a small group is developing off church campus. one of the finest compliments I’ve received was from one rider who has become a growing disciple who said to me: “padre, you are the least religious Jesus person I ever met, what time is your service…?” another time I was on a tour 3 states away, met some riders at an eatery and one scruffy looking rider whom I’d never met said to me “you’re that preacher from Virginia my buddy told me about, are you for real, man?”
25. Our church is a member of our two local Chambers of Commerce. I attend a majority of the events and always get to meet at least a few new people.
26. Our fax service is sent every other week to over 1300 businesses in the area. It contains helpful information on advertising, mission, vision, values, leadership, etc. as well as a brief blurb on the church at the bottom of the one page fax. It is amazing the number of people I meet who get and read the fax. It serves as a great conversation starter.
27. Neighborhood gatherings (Christmas party, summer BBQ, etc.) have been effective at bringing guests into our home and having an opportunity to connect with them. The largest drew over 120 people in four hours.
28. Our music/worship staff person hangs out in music stores and talks to the people there. He volunteers to help them with music/studio/background/etc. and in exchange develops a relationship and invites them to church and leaves a flyer about the church in the store.
29. We targeted about 100 people in our community who would be important to meet – School Board members, school system administrators, NAACP president, business leaders, county commissioners, business consultants, directors of foundations, etc. We sent them a letter asking for 15 minutes of their time to ask them three questions – In their opinion, what are the three most pressing issues in our community, thinking outside of the box what could a church do to address these needs, and after reading a brief blurb the church.
30. I serve on the School Advisory Council of the school we will begin meeting at this week. This allows me to meet parents and administrators and is a way of giving back to the school. Of course they will also get a check from us each week for rent.
31. Our web site has received several thousand hits. We have received many phone calls from folks who found us on the web or typed in our address from a promo piece we mailed. They read about us and then call to get more information. Over and over we have heard how much they appreciate a church site that is about much more than just church. Ours includes pages for marriage/parenting information, financial information, stock quotes, games, search engines, a homework helper, great links, health, a bookstore, and much more.
32. I have been building relationships with my 7th grade son’s friends and parents through coaching his basketball team for several years. We have had one boy come to Christ and several families join our church and enter into  following Christ as a result of these relationships. I also lead a weekly small group in my home with my son’s friends which is affiliated with Young Life “Campaigners” which we call “Iron men” – after the Iron sharpens iron verse in Proverbs. The guys come here before school for donuts, a fun activity and a lesson. I am especially fired up since of them prayed this morning to receive Christ!!! PTL.
33. We do free socials events to invite people to non-threatening social activities. We have rented out a roller skating rink and we have rented out a wave pool. We don’t charge people and we love anyone to come. A few of these folks have joined us as well. BTW for the money, we believe giving people a free ticket to something of value is much more effective than impersonal print advertising (when you spend time with them at the event – “face time”). Jesus said – use money to win friends into eternal dwellings.
34. The Fourth of July fireworks can be seen from our church parking lot. This year we invited those in the surrounding neighborhood (by mail) to use our parking lot and lawn area to view the fireworks. We provided the popcorn and lemonade. We even brought popcorn around to those neighbors who were in their own yards watching. I’m not quite sure if popcorn went with the wine they were drinking, but they accepted it anyway. We may add a band this coming year and free snow cones.
35. Local health club — helps pass the time on the treadmill
36. Skateboard parks
37. Hair stylists
38. Animal Clubs (Lions etc.)
39. Historical society museum
40. Gardening clubs
41. Door knocking
42. Funerals and weddings
43. Jogging / walking around town and the track
44. Political events
45. PTA
46. Bowling leagues
47. YMCA
48. United Way
49. Jaycees
50. Helping out at the soup kitchens, hanging with the homeless.
51. Racquetball has worked for me. Relationships build in the downtimes between games. The intensity automatically provides openings for sharing about life.
52. Eat at restaurants often enough to get to know your servers. For those who serve well, compliment them and ask what their motivation is. In doing this with a woman at Chili’s, I was easily able to tell her that I’m a pastor developing a new congregation in our town, and I care about service because it’s an extension of our Christian lives. She was almost speechless when I asked her to meet with a group of our lay leaders (once we get them!) and share the joy, and burden, of serving others.
53. Do a neighborhood focus group. We’ve found them to be extremely effective.
54. Work with the elementary school-
55. If you anticipate that you’ll see the people again (neighbors, community leaders, school teachers, mail carriers, waiters and waitresses, grocery store checkers), pick out one or two each day, and pray for them for a week or so. Then begin a conversation. I’ve been amazed at how God opens doors that seemingly would have remained closed.
56. One of our most effective evangelism teams are our mall walkers. Here there is a very eclectic mix of folks who walk the mall together every morning. We have two couples who are there each day and then offer to buy a pretzel of coffee etc for strangers. It has been a very effective tool.
57. The families of suicide support group through our local hospital. A church member took me there for the once a year “let a minister come” meeting. Many of the people didn’t think the pastor had shown up until about halfway through the meeting when they asked who I was. Then, they really started to talk about God and suicide. Some have visited church, which, given the judgment churches around here have given them, I count as a good beginning.
58. We have some foster parents in our church who held an adoption party at the church. Most of the people who came were related to foster parenting, but not necessarily to church. We gained a new couple and several others have remained in contact with the church. I find that sharing our building with more secular groups that I sometimes attend, opens up possibilities.
59. Every morning the trains going downtown are packed to standing room capacity. A good thing for your commuters to do is try to sit in a “four seater” (four seats face each other). Usually there are regulars in these seats and you can get involved with them. Sitting in the single seat does nothing.
60. A great one that my husband and I learned at a Vineyard conference. Go out to eat somewhere, and when the waiter or waitress brings your food say, “We are getting ready to pray over our food, is there anything that we could pray for you about?” My husband and I did this on the way home from the conference, and the waiter asked us to pray for his parents, they were getting a divorce. (You don’t make the person stay there while you pray) Then over the course of the evening, he shared more about his story, and we had a wonderful opportunity to minister to him. It was great.
61. We have three 12 step meetings in our church and I let it be known in as many ways as possible that we will host more. Then we keep communicating the message around the bldg about our spiritual journey and our openness. Plus, since I am in recovery, I go to meetings here too. People in 12 step meetings are already a long way down the road of discipleship, but they are suspicious of institutional religion.
62. Give your Friday Nights to Jesus. see http://www.joshhunt.com/friday.html

This listing by Bill Easum appeared first at: 62 Ways to Connect with the Unchurched

I just returned from dinner with three people I met over Twitter. Great folks– two pastors (one of whom is a church planter) and one computer genius.

I tweeted this earlier tonight:

I’m in Alexandria, VA near the G. Wash. Masonic Memorial. If you’re not mad abt something & want to meet for dinner, DM me.

May 15, 2013

Three folks responded over Twitter and then we set up a place to meet.

This is something I try to do as I can, sometimes to meet but more often to give advice and offer prayer.

For example, I did it a few months ago to offer advice:

I’ve got 1 hour to talk to any pastors or planters needing advice. Will call as many as I can in that time frame who DM me.

January 10, 2013

Why?

Well, I do this as an intentional discipline. I can spend a lot of my life just meeting with people who are on my agenda– and that is a good thing. I had a fascinating day today, starting with members of Congress and then meeting national religious leaders. But, we know why we are there and the agenda is planned– sometimes very planned.

Sometimes, we need something more– more spontaneous, more Spirit-led, and more random.

Now, there are lots of things to consider that I do not address here (like safety, etc.), but I consider them as well.

However, since my ministry role is focused on training and equipping pastors and churches, I use random social media connections to make new friends and learn.

Here are five reasons why:

1. Pastors and leaders need encouragement. Most of the people that follow me on Twitter are pastors, and sometimes I only talk to certain kinds of pastors– I’ve tweeted out “youth pastors,” “small church pastors,” and “church planters.” As I can, I try to encourage and serve them in the time we have (and sometimes after).

2. God can use random connections for greater purpose. Sometimes I tweet if people just want prayer, and I call them. I’ve prayed with a Pentecostal pastor whose wife was dying next to him in a hospital bed. I’ve prayed with a Presbyterian pastor who was fired that night. I firmly believe that those pastors saw that as God providing them the encouragement they needed at just that time.

3. I meet people outside my own tradition. Usually, it is a mix of people– Pentecostals, Baptists, Anglicans, whatever– you never know. I have a lot of Twitter followers, most are in ministry, and I want to learn what God is doing in different traditions.

4. I learn from others. I’m very inquisitive. I ask a lot of questions about people, movements, strategies, and plans. By doing so, you learn. People are like books– you have to read them if they will let you. And, if you only listen to people who agree with you, learning never comes (see point #3).

5. I believe the Holy Spirit works when we step out and say, “use me.” That’s what I am trying to do. I’m trusting the Lord that he has someone I need to encourage, pray for, learn from, or whatever. I’m rarely disappointed.

The meetings and calls are not always great, but most are. And sometimes they are divine appointments. I want to make myself available to the Spirit and to God’s people.

Honestly, I can’t do that to everyone. I’ve come to recognize that reality (and that’s not been easy, but I like my wife and children far too much). I say “no” a lot. However, when I am going to eat anyway (as per tonight) or I am driving for a couple of hours (as is often the case while out speaking), I think this is a great use of time.

But, trusting the Holy Spirit to make the right connections, I like to throw it out there and see how I can help a few new friends along the way.

I’d encourage you to find ways to do something similar, focused on the calling of God in your life. If you are on social media, try it on Twitter or Facebook (perhaps making a phone call after you check their profile). If you are not on social media in that way, consider some connections through clubs, meetups, and the like.

Who knows who you might encourage?

This posting appeared first at: 5 Reasons I Meet With Strangers (in My Case, via Twitter) & Would Commend It to You.

Much of the discussion stems from David Platt’s best-seller Radical. Other books and authors are mentioned (Shane Claiborne, Francis Chan, and Kyle Idleman, among them), but when it comes to being a “Radical Christian,” David Platt is the guy most people immediately identify with that phrase.

Now, let me say that I know David, Francis, and Kyle (my inteview with Kyle is here), so I have some personal bias. Regardless, let me weigh into the conversation because I am passionate about both missional and radical ideas and how they are lived out.

In his article, Anderson notes what spurred the movement. Radical “incited and tapped into a widespread dissatisfaction with many Americans’ comfortable, middle-class way of life and the Christianity that so easily fits within it.” I believe this to be a fair and accurate statement. In and of itself, I would think that Platt would also agree. And this dissatisfaction is not even a bad thing. However, the question is how do we deal with the issues? And that is where the criticism enters.

Anderson concludes his article saying:

For us in the pews, testing ourselves must include deliberating about our vocations and whether we are called to missions, or to a life of dedicated service to the poor, or to creating reminders with art and culture of the gospel’s transcendent, everlasting hope. Discovering a radical faith may mean revisiting the ways in which faith can take shape in the mundane, sans intensifiers. It almost certainly means embracing the providence of God in our witness to the world. The Good Samaritan wasn’t a good neighbor because he moved to a poor part of town or put a pile of trash in his living room. He came across the helpless victim “as he traveled.” We begin to fulfill the command not when we do something radical, extreme, over the top, not when we’re really spiritual or really committed or really faithful, but when in the daily ebb and flow of life, in our corporate jobs, in our middle-class neighborhoods, on our trips to Yellowstone and Disney World–and yes, even short-term mission trips–we stop to help those whom we meet in everyday life, reaching out in quiet, practical, and loving ways.

Another notable detractor of this “Radical Christianity” is Dr. Anthony Bradley.

In a recent article in World magazine, Dr. Bradley writes:

…Some religious leaders have added a new category to Christianity called “radical Christianity” in an effort to trade-off suburban Christianity for mission.This movement is based on a book by David Platt and is fashioned around “an idea that we were created for far more than a nice, comfortable Christian spin on the American dream. An idea that we were created to follow One who demands radical risk and promises radical reward.” Again, this was a well-intentioned attempt to address lukewarm Christians in the suburbs, but because it is primarily reactionary and does not provide a positive construction for the good life from God’s perspective, it misses “radical” ideas in Jesus’ own teachings like “love.”

The combination of anti-suburbanism with new categories like “missional” and “radical” has positioned a generation of youth and young adults to experience an intense amount of shame for simply being ordinary Christians who desire to love God and love their neighbors (Matthew 22:36-40). In fact, missional, radical Christianity could easily be called the “new legalism.”

A few decades ago, an entire generation of baby boomers walked away from traditional churches to escape the legalistic moralism of “being good,” but what their millennial children received in exchange, in an individualistic American Christian culture, was shamed-driven pressure to be awesome and extraordinary young adults expected to tangibly make a difference in the world immediately. But this cycle of reaction and counter-reaction, inaugurated by the baby boomers, does not seem to be producing faithful young adults. Instead, many are simply burning out.

I understand Bradley’s concern, and we go back and share common concerns on many issues. He’s been both a participant in, but also a critic of, some of the missional conversation– particularly calling out those who do not engage real issues in the inner cities, etc.

This specific article was rooted in a conversation he had with a student and a separate phenomenon he observes: “For too many millennials their greatest fear in this life is being an ordinary person with a non-glamorous job, living in the suburbs, and having nothing spectacular to boast about.”

I too have seen this. As a professor and speaker, I encounter almost weekly a pastor or student “wanting to do great things for God” and thinking that the only way that will be accomplished is through selling everything and moving into a disadvantaged neighborhood for the sake of the gospel.

And while I wholeheartedly agree with Bradley that some are reducing a missional lifestyle to nothing more than legalism, there is nothing inherently wrong with living out a missional, radical faith. In fact, it’s what we’re called to. Shaming others who aren’t following suit is the issue. Not the lifestyle itself.

Ray Ortlund posted his thoughts on the charges of the legalism of missional Christianity this week on his blog. He wrote:

Whenever we put a qualifier in front of the noun “Christian,” we might be inserting legalism.But we might not be. It depends on whether we perceive that qualifier as meritorious. Does it elevate us above other blood-bought Christians who don’t wave the banner of that same qualifier?

It is possible to be a “missional” Christian or a “radical” Christian or whatever, and that language is being used merely as a way of communicating something biblical that you want to call people to, something truly in Christ. But it is also possible — it all depends on internal factors, difficult to discern even in ourselves, much less in others — to use such qualifiers in a way that is truly legalistic.

I even had a chance to ask Francis Chan about this recently as part of an episode of The Exchange, broadcast live from (and in partnership with) The Exponential Conference. He was mentioned in the original CT article, and we talked about the counterbalance of radical Christianity and what Eugene Peterson called “long obedience.” Francis provides some helpful perspective on the issue and the sustainability of a radical, missional lifestyle.

It also reminded me of a conversation I had on another episode of The Exchange with Larry Osborne about his book, Accidental Pharisee.

Now, let me lay my cards on the table.

I think we need more missional and more radical role models and resources for the church. I think we need it because the bigger problem is complacency, not an overemphasis on radical missional living. At this time and in our culture, a consumer church is a greater danger than a radical Christianity.

However, that does not mean that all of us need to be David Platt. God has a calling for David and he is, I believe, provoking the church to “love and good deeds” (Hebrews 11:24). If David said, “Do what I am doing,” I’d object. But, if David is saying, “Get uncomfortable and sacrifice something for the gospel,” that’s the kind of radical I want my people to hear and consider.

Many have expressed concern about David’s approach to poverty and sanctification, and I think he’s working to make that clearer, but in a society driven by consumerism, the church could use someone pulling the other way.

I firmly believe we need a sustainable Christian lifestyle, and I get that some see that is at odds with being radical and missional. I don’t think it is. I call my church to “long obedience in the same direction” (as I mention in the video with Francis Chan), and think that’s pretty radical and missional where we live.

No, it does not look how David, Francis, Kyle, or Shane do it, but they are not my role models anyway– I just want to live a missional life, radically sold out to Jesus, and not just make it by as another religious churchgoer.

I don’t think that’s a wrong idea, but I get how it can be wrongly understood.

We should see radical, missional Christianity as a cause to live, not as a call to legalism.

In other words, let’s be missional and radical. Let’s be careful about making it legalistic. But let’s not be afraid to tell a consumer-driven church that has commodified the gospel that the Christian life is rooted in much more than personal comfort.

Full disclosure, I am a contributing editor for CT and LifeWay works with David Platt on multiple projects. I know and have worked with the others mentioned. And, I think Anthony Bradley and Ray Ortland are good guys, too. The only one I don’t know is Shane Clairborne.

View the original here: Radical Christianity: A Call to Legalism or a Cause to Live?

In other words, I don’t think it’s a matter of a lack of “want to.” It’s often more about “how to.” How do I encourage my friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to become a part of my faith and my church family? Here are the five most simple ways I can think of, at least within the context of my own church family…

1. Make a list of a few people you know personally who don’t have a church family or a relationship with Jesus. Pray for them and ask God to give you an opportunity to include them in your church family.
   
2. Bring them to a weekend service. At Grace Hills, we attempt to strike a balance between challenging believers to grow and to go on mission, but also making the truth of Christianity plainly understandable in an atmosphere of real acceptance and love. We are ultra-clear about the gospel, unapologetic about the truth of our message, and unquenchably in love with people – especially people who are lost and hurting inside.
3. Bring them to your small group. Sometimes someone at Grace Hills will ask me, “Is it okay to invite my friend to my group? They don’t attend Grace Hills.” When I hear that question, I realize we haven’t been clear enough that this is the very mission of groups to begin with - to connect the disconnected. YES, bring them to your group! And let your group love them too.
4. Be a greeter, even if you’re not a greeter. We have a greeting team, but the fact is we tell every new member who attends our Newcomers’ Lunch that once they decide they’re “all in,” they covenant with the rest of the church family to greet those who attend. We’re a family, yes, but we’re not one of those families that keeps to themselves. We’re a family with an open door policy and we love it when extra guests show up to the table!
5. Serve people, inside and outside the weekend service. Serving inside the weekend service structure (as a greeter, kids’ leader, diaper changer, stuff-putter-upper, etc.) creates an atmosphere where life change can often happen. And serving outside the weekend service, especially along with the rest of your small group, reflects the real assignment Jesus gave to His church, which is a sent group of people who just happen to gather weekly.

So… bring someone. Think of them, pray for them, invite them, and share Jesus with them by loving words and actions. Now, start your list.

This Brandon Cox article appeared first at: 5 Ways to Encourage People Into God’s Family