Tag: Church

Church Membership

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Are you a member of a local church? Where? How active are you? Did you know that the church is really not a building? It is really made up of Christians all around the world. Jesus built the church (Matthew 16:18) and willingly died for the benefit of the church (Ephesians 5:25).

God has a Purpose: We can be part of God’s work through the church. “So in Christ we are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5).

  • Fact – As part of the church, we can enjoy God with other Christians, in worship, Hebrews 10:25, Ephesians 5:19-20.
  • Fact – As part of the church, we should tell others about what Christ did for us, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20.
  • Fact – As part of the church, we should grow deeper in a relationship with Jesus and allow him to change our lives, 2 Peter 3:18.
  • Fact – As part of the church, we should help each other as Christians, 1 Corinthians 12:12-26.
  • Fact – As part of the church, we should fellowship, or hang out, with each other, Hebrews 10:24-25.

Our Need:

  • Fact – We need to identify ourselves with the church, Acts 2:41-42.
  • Fact – We need strength for daily living, which can come through fellowship with other Christians, Hebrews 3:13.
  • Fact – We need to help the church by using our personal talents and spiritual gifts, Romans 12:4-8.

God’s Provision:

  • Fact – God established the church as the body of Christ, Ephesians 4:4, Colossians 1:18.
  • Fact – God wants our church membership to be in the total church, Revelation 22:17.
  • Fact – God wants every Christian to participate in church membership, Hebrews 10:25.
  • Fact – Jesus showed us how important was by his regular attendance at synagogue, Luke 4:16.

Our Response:

  • Act – You can become a member of a local church by telling of your faith in Christ and being baptized, Acts 2:41, 47.
  • Act – You can share in the Fellowship of the local church by becoming a member.
  • Act – Your participation in the local church is crucial for your life to be what God wants it to be.

My Commitment:

If you are already to make the commitment to join a local church, you can do so by stopping by King’s Grant Baptist Church. Pray about your decision and commitment with a sample prayer like this:

“God, thank you for the church and for allowing me to become a part of it. Help me to be faithful and to support my new family at church.” Amen

Facebook and Churches

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King’s Grant has a Facebook page, but I often wonder how we can best utilize social media. Here are a few tips that will help us maximize Facebook to engage a wider audience than we ever dreamed possible:

  1. Be Consistent. The biggest mistake we make is creating a page and rarely posting to it. Set a schedule and stick to it, posting at least once a day. It would be nice to have several administrators who are updating the page.
  2. Inspire our Audience. Inspiring our congregation doesn’t have to just happen in your church building. It can happen online as well!
  3. Ask Questions. Remember that social media is social and asking questions is the best way to start a conversation.
  4. Tell Stories. There’s nothing more powerful than sharing a story of how God has moved in the life of someone in our congregation or sharing a highlight from a recent event in our church.
  5. Share Information. While this is last on the list, it’s still important to let our congregation know what’s going on. CONFESSION, this is often the only content that gets posted, so sorry about that. The danger is the page becomes irrelevant and ignored.

It’s important to remember that social media is social, and listening is a big part of social interaction. Beyond our posting strategy, the most valuable tip is to make sure we listen to our people. These posts create a conversation and the comments that follow are often far more valuable than the original post can ever be. I’ve seen it in personal Facebook pages, it can happen for the church as well.

[print_link] [email_link] [ Adapted from Church Volunteer Daily ]

Why Have a Connection Class?

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Choosing to Join King’s Grant Baptist Church is an important decision. People today will wonder in and out of our services without ever understanding how important church membership is unless pastors and leaders help them understand that, but also properly shepherd them through the process of joining. I include church leaders because the pastor cannot do it alone.

According to LifeWay research, 64% of churches either have nothing to assimilate new members, or no systemic plan to move people towards membership. This is why I offer the Connection Class several times throughout the year.

Connection Classes Help Guard the Purity of the Church: In our culture the statement “I am a Christian” can mean different things to different people, so it is important to make sure that everyone desiring membership in our church understands and believes the gospel. During a class we might find some people have never heard the gospel clearly articulated even if they grew up in church. So, it is so helpful to talk about the “secrets of being a healthy and happy church member.” The key to health and happiness in church membership is understanding salvation. It is so good to hear someone’s testimony along with presenting a basic gospel presentation before they join our church. Our Connection class provides church the opportunity to explain the gospel clearly.

Connection Classes Help People Understand the Church: These classes help people in the church to be “on the same page.” I believe that a prospective member should know what the church believes on essential and non-essential doctrines, the meaning of church ordinances, how a church works, and how it makes decisions, with who we associate and partner, lifestyle beliefs. We also spend time communicating the church vision, core values, and explain its ministry philosophy can be an important aspect of helping someone make the decision to join the church. Teaching these things can also help new people learn what they can expect from the church leaders, processes, and its ministries, and what the congregation can expect out of them.

Connection Classes Help People Plug In to Serve the Church: We need to provide an effective environment to plug people into serving in our church. All members have certain gifts and abilities that can be used in serving God and others through the church. When someone first joins, it can be difficult to figure out where to get involved. We cannot assume that a new member will automatically want to get involved in ministry and will know how to do so. In our Connection Class, people learn that the congregation expects them to get involved, and learn of entry level opportunities for service.

Connection Classes Help Guard the Unity of the Church: When a church emphasizes membership expectations, we are able to raise the bar of membership. While a scary thing, we also should talk about what would happen if church members did not live up to membership expectations. Clarity in the Connection Class goes a long way in setting the church member on the right path. This information can serve to preempt potential church discipline issues later on.

Connection Classes Help People Assimilate Into the Church: We see the class as an opportunity to encourage regular attendees to get to know other potential members of the church, as well as leaders in the church. While the primary purposes of the Connection Class is for church orientation and teaching doctrine, mission, values, and vision, this relational orientation to church leaders is a very positive thing.

The writers of the New Testament assumed that the local churches to whom they were writing had a clear understanding of who was a member of the church and who was not (1 Corinthians 5:2; Colossians 4:5; Galatians 6:10). The Connection Class is one of the most effective ways to examine, assimilate, and clearly guide new members into our church family.

[print_link] [email_link] Adapted from Matt Capps, and Ministry Grid

Why Does a Church Decline?

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Why is it that churches tend to slip into decline? A vibrant and growing ministry becomes “plateaued” or begins to lose the numbers or excitement it once had. How about these steps to find a solution:

1. Return to Your First Passion (Revelation 2:4-5) – But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

Churches don’t realize how far they have fallen, then “church” simply becomes routine, going through the motions, and going into maintenance mode. If we will only remember the first days of our relationship with Christ, the excitement, the purpose, the mission, the commands, the new insights; perhaps we will be restored to our earlier fellowship, and make an impact on our community and others around us. The key in this passage is a single word… REPENT. While that is so humiliating, (to admit that we have fallen away, or drifted), that is the solution the angel provides through the apostle John.

2. Remember Your Foundational Purpose (Matthew 28:19-20) – Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This passage talks a lot about mission and purpose; we are to be about our Father’s business of evangelism and discipleship. How often do we begin to cool in our desire for God’s kingdom to increase?

I recently read Brian Moss* who writes, “Churches plateau and decline due to missional drift.” I cannot think of any church that ever drifted and kept the main thing the main thing. In order to get the church moving in the right direction we’ve got to figure out which direction we need to go! Moss again writes, “Too often plateaued churches focus on growing the church numerically before they correct the drift philosophically. If you focus on growth before depth you’ll be tempted to adopt gimmicks, quick fixes and copycat tactics. Don’t change anything until your core leaders are thoroughly committed to the biblical purposes of the church.”

The Great Commandment is essential as well; to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). These are the reasons for worship and ministry. We worship due to our love for God and we are involved in ministry because of our love for others. Let’s rekindle our focus on the primary purpose of the church, to know Christ and to make him known.

3. Refocus on Your Favorite People: by “favorite” I mean your target audience.

Moss writes about his church experience: “Our church was hidden in the woods at the end of a dead-end road completely surrounded by an upper-income housing development. Our congregation was comprised of medium income families. We tried for months to reach the families in the homes surrounding our church. It was a complete failure. Finally, we decided to try reaching people like us. We learned the hard way that you reach who you are, not who you want.”

That sounds a lot like our situation, high income and powerful people in the neighborhood north of the church property. We are a congregation that has a good number of these types families, but we also have plenty of average income families, young and old, and a fair amount of transitioning young Navy families. Perhaps we have a schizophrenic personality, not knowing who we are, but we CAN reach people like us; each group reaching out to their own circles of influence.

That, my friend is relational, and I feel is the beginning of effective evangelism and discipleship.

[print_link] [email_link] *Brian Moss is pastor at Oak Ridge Baptist, Salisbury MD

Volunteering in the Church

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I’ve been thinking about volunteers and serving in the church lately… it’s that time of year in the Baptist tradition to enlist and secure capable and willing volunteers to ministries all over the church… teaching classes, serving on committees, nominating new deacons.

The goal is to have people serving in positions lining up with their giftedness. Once we understand how we are wired, we are better able to connection people into places and positions that allow them to accomplish the task with a certain ease and effectiveness. You know what it is like, sometime you have been assigned a task way outside of your strengths, but you were willing, so the job was yours!

Today I hope that you will see that some people in the church have a job while others involve themselves in ministry. What’s the difference?

If you do it just because no one else will… it’s a job!
If you do it to serve God… it’s a ministry!

If you quit because someone criticized you… it’s a job!
If you kept on serving in spite of challenges… it’s a ministry!

If you’ll do it only so long as it doesn’t interfere with other things… it’s a job!
If you’re committed to staying with it, even when it means letting other things go… it’s a ministry!

If you quit because no one ever praised or thanked you… it’s a job!
If you stay even though no one notices your efforts… it’s a ministry!

If you do it because someone else said it needs to be done… it’s a job!
If you do it because you sensed God saying it needs to be done… it’s a ministry!

If you do it because there is a need… it’s a job!
If you do it because it is your passion… it’s a ministry!

It’s hard to get excited about a job.
It’s almost impossible NOT to get excited about a ministry!

I pray that our church is NOT filled with people doing jobs, but ministries! If we desire to be a growing church, we need to be filled with people involved in ministry!

Impact of the Church

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Years ago I read a book that changed my life and ministry, The Church Unleashed: Getting God’s People Out Where the Needs Are, by Frank Tillapaugh (1982). It was primarily writing about how our people need to be focused on those outside of the walls of our facilities. When all the church knows is the status quo, what he writes about is a real paradigm shift.

Recently I was reminded of these ten paradigm shifts by Os Hillman of Marketplace Leaders. Here is a summary of chapter 12 of his Faith at Work:

A paradigm is a model consisting of shared assumptions regarding what works or what is true. A paradigm shift is that “aha!” moment when one sees things in such a new light that you can never go back to the old ways again. A new paradigm is the new wineskin that will be needed to hold the new assumptions about what is true. To maximize our impact on our communities, we need changes in at least ten of our paradigms of how we currently view church.

1. From building walls to building bridges. “You are the salt of the earth, You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-14). We must see ourselves in relation to our communities, not just who we are inside the church. We are to infiltrate rather than isolate.

2. From measuring attendance to measuring impact. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast… mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” (Matthew 13:33). People are not impressed with our size or programs or how committed we are to the truth and how we fight for it. They want to see followers of Jesus living out what they say they believe. How can Jesus live in our communities, impacting the lives of others and drawing lost people to himself? Ministry must be holistic, reaching the person, not just their souls. (Galatians 2:10, Romans 1:15-17, Acts 10:36-38)

3. From encouraging the saints to attend the service to equipping the saints for works of service. “It is (God) who gave some to be… pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service.” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City writes that the process of mobilizing members into ministers “starts by articulating clearly and regularly a theology of “every-member ministry.” Rick Warren emphasizes the same thing in his purpose driven model. People must find needs and meet them with the goal of the expanding the kingdom of God.

4. From “serve us” to service; from inward to outward focus. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give” (Mark 10:45). Erwin McManus of Mosaic Church in East Los Angeles says that the single biggest factor in his church retaining people is not personal follow-up or joining a small group, it is being involved from the very beginning in service to others in the community. When members have told him that they want the church to meet their needs, his reply is: “You are the church and together we are called to meet the needs of the world.”

5. From duplication of human services and ministries to partnering with existing services and ministries. “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). The Bible is filled with examples of how God used secular people in partnership with His people to fulfill His purposes. Think of Joseph and Pharoah, Nehemiah and Artaxerxes, and Esther and King Ahasuerus.

Instead of each congregation having its own food pantry, why not partner with the local community food bank? When needy people request food, congregations could refer these folks to their “partner ministry.” We form partnerships not around theology but around our common concern and love for the city.

6. From fellowship to functional unity. There is a strong case to suggest that there is really only one Church in a city or community (made up of all believers) that meets in many congregations around the city. In Philippians 2:2 Paul implored, “Make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”

Only unity of purpose around the vision of a transformed community is strong enough to unite pastors and churches of different denominations. Uniting the Church around a common goal is preferable to trying to unite the church around a cooperative project. Community transformation begins at the intersection of the needs and dream of a community, the calling and capacities of the Church (and the community) and the mandates and desires of God for a community.

7. From condemning the city to blessing the city and praying for it. Jeremiah 29 begins by saying: “This is the text of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem… to those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” What follows are instructions on how to live as aliens in a foreign land. He says: “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7).

For too long we as the Church have positioned ourselves as adversaries to our communities. The monolithic Church has stood from afar and lobbed in messages of condemnation toward the city and those who are trying to serve it. Maybe it’s time we begin blessing the city by blessing those who have given themselves to the city!

8. From being a minister in a congregation to being a minister in a parish. “As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it” (Luke 19:41). A congregation is made up of people who attend a local church from a community. The minister typically feels that this congregation is his flock whom he must baptize, marry and bury. They consume his time and energy. Being in a parish is different.

A parish differs from a congregation in that it is a geographical scope of concern and responsibility. A congregation is a subset of a parish. Being in a parish gives one the God-given right to minister to anyone in the community, whether they are part of one’s congregation or not. Urban theologian, Ray Bakke, illuminated this point by writing that every minister has two functions: 1) to be pastor to the members and, 2) chaplain to the community.

9. From anecdote and speculation to valid information. Two pieces of information changed the course of Nehemiah’s life that resulted in the transformation of a community. In Nehemiah 1, he learned that the walls and gates of Jerusalem were broken down and her people were in distress. These two pieces of information were catalytic to his prayers and plans to restore a broken wall and a broken people. His burden to transform the city came from accurate information.

We, too, need correct information about the real needs of our community as well as the resources we have to meet these needs. Do we know the demographic information of our community? Do we know the number of churches? Do we know the spiritual history of our community? We also need to identify the spiritual assets of our community – the number of faith communities and believers. Together, these two research pieces give us a picture of our “mission field” and our “mission force.” Armed with accurate information, we can determine best how to go forward.

10. From teacher to learner. “Everyone should be quick to learn, slow to speak” (James 1:19). It is interesting to note that for the historic African-American churches, the concept of holistic ministry is not a new one. They have never suffered from trying to split effective evangelism from social justice or meeting the needs of those around them. It’s how they’ve always done church.

The effective churches see the community as one that is full of assets more than full of problems. Where do we go from here? From Isaiah 65:17-25, Ray Bakke outlined seven characteristics of a healthy community from the heart of God:

  1. Public celebration and happiness (Isaiah 65:18-19);
  2. Public health for children and the aged (Isaiah 65:20);
  3. Housing for all (Isaiah 65:21);
  4. Food for all (Isaiah 65:22);
  5. Meaningful work (Isaiah 65:22-23);
  6. Family support systems (Isaiah 65:23);
  7. Absence of violence (Isaiah 65:25)

This list outlines our potential marching orders. The Spirit of God is at work. There is a good chance that the next great movement of God will involve putting the Church back into community where it can be the leaven, salt, and light God designed it to be. Will we join God in this transforming work? For the sake of the gospel, the Church, and our communities, in faith – let’s move forward!

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Gathering at Church

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What does it mean to be a Christian? How does your behavior change? What does God want from me now? How does a believer grow in the faith?

There are lots of questions we may have as we begin a relationship with Jesus, but one fact remains the ultimate barrier to someone growing spiritually in Christ; they attempt to be a lone-ranger Christian. It is so sad to see people claiming to be Christians all the while they have nothing to do with Christ’s church. Jesus loved the church enough to die for her, and we cannot make it to worship only once a week, for one hour?

For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them. (Matthew 18:20)

The meaning of “going to church” or gathering as Christ followers is very important. Many who profess Christ miss this point. The FOUNDATION this new life in Christ is to grow in our relationship with God and to get closer to him.

Gathering together is a PATHWAY to experiencing and connecting with God. When we connect with God regularly, it strengthens our other relationships with friends and family. Going to church won’t make us better people, instead, it connects us with God. When we connect with God, HE transforms us into better people.

When you connect with God, your heart turns towards HIM and desires to make you more godly.

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Dropouts and Essential Church

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I was reading through the Rainer/Geiger book called Essential Church. He writes about a study of 18 to 30 year-old adults in America where these young adults attended a Protestant church regularly for at least a year while they were in high school. Here is the incredible but sad finding of this study:

Dropouts

Why Did They Leave?

While he explores this topic in the first section of this book, he briefly let’s us hear from the dropouts. Look at the 10 most common reasons the dechurched said they left the church between the ages of 18 and 22.

Top 10 Reasons Church Dropouts Stopped Attending Church

  1. Simply wanted a break from church.
  2. Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical.
  3. Moved to college and stopped attending church.
  4. Work responsibilities prevented me from attending.
  5. Moved too far away from the church to continue attending.
  6. Became too busy though still wanted to attend.
  7. Didn’t feel connected to the people in my church.
  8. Disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social issues.
  9. Chose to spend more time with friends outside the church.
  10. Was only going to church to please others.

This list helps us see a common theme among most of the dropouts: to put it simply, they just did not see that church was essential to their lives. For example, the first reason, cited by 27 percent of the church dropouts, clearly depicts the nonessential attitude of the dropouts toward church: “I simply wanted a break from church.”

But even reason number eight, a disagreement with the church on political or social issues, indicates a noncommittal posture. In this case the dropouts easily could have found another church that was a better fit with their social or political views. Instead, they decided to drop out from church totally.

Essentially This:

Churchgoing students drop out of the church because it is not essential to their lives.

Rainer, T., Geiger, E., & Rainer, S. S., III. (2010). Essential church. Nashville: B&H.

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Why We Avoid Small Groups

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Before you read this short list, know that it is not my goal to create internal tension or to be judgmental. Do know this… a believer who is unwilling to spend time with other believers in a small group will not…

  1. Experience a meaningful relationship with Christ: Christianity is lived out in community.
  2. Become a mature follower of Christ: without other believers holding you accountable, you will drift.
  3. Have the knowledge or passion necessary to lead their children toward Christ and His church: since the example is set, the children will follow a poor example.
  4. Be unable to speak wisdom to other believers: wisdom is gained through knowledge and experience, so if there is no experience of community, one cannot speak to the needs to others apart from the small group.
  5. Be a witnesses for Christ on an ongoing basis: one’s walk speaks louder than one’s talk, believing at a distance tells others that you are not “all in” to this Christianity stuff.

And so… I share the following five reasons that believers don’t join a small group:

  1. They don’t want to have an intimate relationship with Christ: most will prefer just enough of Jesus to get by rather than be totally committed.
  2. They don’t want to become a mature disciple: they prefer to just believe the right stuff and pay their dues by showing up to church, but don’t want to be a fanatic disciple of Jesus… that might be uncomfortable.
  3. They don’t care if their children become Christians: or attend church when they’re adults, or if their grandchildren are separated from them and Christ for eternity: if you are not excited about your relationship with Jesus, I guarantee that your kids have less of a chance to experience him in any real way. What we hand down to the next generation is caught more than taught.
  4. They don’t care about the other group members: it’s more than just going to a group in order to get something out of it, it’s about being there to help others be all they can be in the Lord. The group is designed to encourage, lift up and bear the burdens of ONE ANOTHER.
  5. They don’t care if Christianity in the west dies with their generation: Christianity is always just one generation from extinction, so what are we passing on to the next group of believers? The American church is stunted if we pass on a comfortable, me-centered, uncommitted and casual faith in a set of theological propositions.