1. Put prayer at
the center.
·
Prayer can’t be peripheral.
·
Pray for spiritual breakthrough.
·
Teach people to pray – many pastors confess that
they do not know how to conduct an effective prayer meeting.
2. Have regular
evangelistic contact with your community.
·
Train people to share their faith.
·
Schedule a regular time of outreach. Even if it is only once a quarter to start
with, that’s better than no intentional outreach.
·
Plan low risk/high grace events. http://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Kindness-Unique-Approach-Sharing/dp/0764215884
3. Stop flying by
the seat of your pants.
·
We can overcome disorganization with regular
face to face planning with ministry leaders.
·
Simply calendaring events will sometimes prompt
us to evaluate whether we are really giving our energy to meaningful things.
4. Embrace
technology and media as your friends.
·
Churches need a web presence. It is rare to find a human being who is not
connected to the internet. It is a medium. While being cautious about its pitfalls, we
should be using it for God’s glory.
·
We live in a visual society. Using projection in public worship is helpful
in communicating with people.
·
YOU NEED VOICEMAIL! You must have a way for people to reach your
church and hear a simple schedule, leave a message or get your pastor’s cell
phone!
·
While Facebook and other social media hubs have
down sides, the upside far outweighs them in my opinion. Make sure a mature, godly person administers
these, preferably a church staff member.
I hear people say, “I don’t like Facebook.” Well, lots of people do! Lots of resources can be linked and shared,
events communicated and invitations sent via these media.
5. Try to see your
church through the eyes of an outsider .
·
Constantly maintain and improve your facilities. Pay special attention to your bath rooms and
nursery!
·
Avoid creating awkward situations for guests.
·
Make sure your greeters are friendly and
well-trained.
·
Use directional signs.
6. Work toward generational
and ethnic diversity.
·
We must have the heart attitude that the Gospel
is for everyone. Any church that closes
its heart to people based on their ethnicity is asking to be irrelevant.
·
We must ask what our churches are going to look
like once the baby boomers are off the scene.
How are we prioritizing ministry to young adults, families, children and
students?
7. Put a priority
on training leaders.
·
2 Timothy 2:2.
·
Training leaders has to be a constant priority.
8. Make unity a
priority.
·
People can get drama anywhere; they don’t need
the church for that!
·
Guarding the unity of the fellowship is
vital! People must be taught the
priority of reconciliation and the skills of peacemaking.
9. Teach people
about Spiritual gifts.
·
This is an important first step for new
believers.
With hopeful prayer!
Bobby
Comments