Monthly Archives: December 2014

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December 11, 2014

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Congregrational Ministries, Leadership

Conserve the Results

By Franklin Dumond

Any outreach strategy that focuses only on expanding the attendance at one worship service may have the unintended consequence of settling back into the routine of business as usual after that day passes.  Successful outreach strategies include special efforts to conserve the results of this special day.Lancaster_Baptist_Church_Main_Auditorium

Three types of effort are necessary to conserve the results of any outreach strategy, and especially those of a Big Day.

First, efforts must be designed to identify, connect with, and encourage the return of first time guests who are present on any Big Day.

Second, leaders must have a disciple-making strategy in place that will not only introduce first time guests to faith in Christ, but will also facilitate their spiritual growth.

Third, leaders must have a working strategy in place to involve as many new people as possible in service roles in the ministries of the local church.

Because of the conservative nature of most of our General Baptist churches, the third effort just described is often the most difficult.  Nevertheless, assimilation strategies that work can be identified and customized to each local church.

This is also true of disciple-making.  There are many small group and one-on-one disciple-making strategies that can be easily adapted to most local settings, if we will simply make the adaptation.

Working with the structures of a local church, however, to quickly empower new servants can be very, very difficult.  Here are a few suggestions that can assist church leaders from any size congregation to develop a mindset and a practical strategy to include more people in the working life of the church by serving in a ministry setting.

1.  Identify how many volunteer positions are required to operate the ministries of your church.  Think through every ministry task that is needed.  In the established church, many of these roles will be identified in the organizing documents that guide the life of the congregation.  In the growing congregation, there will be just as many informal adaptations to new ministries and new opportunities.  Be sure to identify all the ministry tasks that occupy volunteer time and effort.

2.  Identify who is currently serving in these positions.  Write down their names beside the ministry role they occupy.

3.  Review your list.  Are a few people engaged in several ministries?  If so, you could expand your list of volunteers if folks are limited to how many positions they can hold.  Perhaps they can mentor and train those who will come alongside to share the load.

4.  Expand your opportunities.  Can the opportunity to serve be shared?  Can several people take turns doing ministry?  For example, if four ushers generally collect the tithes and offerings along with the communication cards, ask these questions:

  • Should the same four people serve in this capacity every Sunday?  Could a team of 16 serve by each serving one Sunday a month?
  • If four ushers can collect the offerings and communication cards, why not use eight and expand the number of workers by purchasing a few new offering plates and by dividing the auditorium into smaller sections?

By applying this same logic to greeters, parking lot attendants, welcome center attendants, and those who set up the coffee makers, it is possible to double or even triple the number of people actively engaging in ministry!

5.  Identify how many volunteers would be required to operate as a church twice your size.  This will at least double your volunteer base and will probably expand it even further.  Keep in mind that as you gain new people, they are not coming to just watch the show.  They are coming so they can find meaningful opportunities for relationship and responsibility.

 

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December 9, 2014

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Children's Ministry, Congregrational Ministries

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We Only Have Two Kids!

By Franklin Dumond

“We only have two kids,” the pastor reported. He then asked, “How do we connect with younger families?”

girls-462072_1920This scenario plays out in all too many single cell, well-established churches. The single cell church only has one group of folks. Typically there will be only one worship service and perhaps only one adult class. Generally, attendance will average 30-50 weekly. The single cell church embodies the organizing principle that we are always more comfortable around people who are similar to us.

In the single cell church the group tends to age together and over time can become a senior citizen’s church with few, if any, children present.

The obvious answer to connect with young families would be to invest in children’s ministries that would include both Sunday morning and weekday options for children. Sometimes the missing ingredient is the lack of ministries targeted for children and their families.

Often this obvious answer requires too many people to implement and to many dollars to provide it. When the obvious answer is not appropriate, then some short-term entry events and adapted on-going programming is necessary.

  • Organize a one-day Vacation Bible School and recruit children. If you can get them to the church once then you have an opportunity to work with their families in follow-up activities to enlist them in the local church.
  • Consider week-day ministries. Many churches provide after school programs for latch key children. Others invest in some of the club type ministries like Pioneer Clubs or Awana.
  • You can consider a video curriculum that will include recorded music so the children you have can sing along with the other children on the DVD.
  • Include a children’s message as part of your morning worship. The children’s message should be presented by the pastor in a story telling, object lesson format. When the pastor announces, “Children, meet me down front” both the children and the adults will share in this special message. One way to start this practice is to use Advent, the four Sundays prior to Christmas, to light candles on an Advent Wreath and tell portions of the Christmas story using figurines to build a Christmas display. Children love to help and young boys especially like playing with fire, which is essential if you are to light a candle!
  • Use a children’s bulletin. These are available from several sources and can generally be photocopied on site so the proper number can be prepared. These may provide age appropriate learning activities that could even be the focus of the children’s message.
  • Develop an organized prayer ministry. It is amazing what the Lord does when we ask him to do things! Pray for children to attend. Pray by name for the children you know who should attend.

Continue teaching and training even if you only have a few children. If you only have a few, then be sure to find a way to provide individualized instruction. Make it part of your church’s discipleship plan.

“I was that kid.” This was the report from a pastor reflecting on growing up in smaller churches where he was often the only child in a class. As he reflected on that heritage, he realized that the faithfulness of a few teachers and leaders had positioned him to hear the Lord’s call and to enter vocational ministry. That faithfulness continued week after week when someone studied and prepared a lesson even when there was only one student enrolled in the class. That type of faithfulness will someday warrant a “well done” from the Lord Jesus himself!

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December 8, 2014

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General Baptists, International Missions

Update on Typhoon Hagupit

Dear All,

Here’s an update…It is Monday morning here and the sun is out.  The weather on this side of the country has been fine since Saturday.  Some areas in the Visayas were really affected by Typhoon Hagupit on Saturday, especially in Samar.  Today, the typhoon has moved to Luzon and is expected to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility tomorrow or Wednesday.

There has been no complete report yet as to casualties and damages since some areas are still inaccessible because of flooding, road blocks, communication lines that have been cut off, and also because the typhoon is still traversing slowly across the country.  But initial reports say that the damage has not been like Yolanda/Haiyan of last year.  From a “super typhoon” status as predicted, it was downgraded to “typhoon” as it entered the Philippines.

We praise and thank God because of early announcements and forecasts that have enabled the people to prepare and evacuate earlier, and this time the government had a better plan in preparing and reducing risk.  Previous experiences have taught us all and given us a better understanding of disaster management and risk reduction.  Although there has been property damage, we praise and thank God that it was not like the previous super typhoons the country has experienced.

We thank all of you for your prayers.  The storm has been so inconsistent and unpredictable in its direction, strength, and speed that the typhoon did not really live up to its hype when it made landfall.

Our church in Cagnipa, Samar was used as an evacuation center.  The people there are safe and the church building is intact.  However, the house of one GBBC graduate and teacher was reported to be completely destroyed.  We have been trying to reach the district moderator in the area for more updates from other churches but we have not heard back from him yet.  His phone has been ringing but he has not been picking up.  He lives in Masbate and the typhoon also made its way there.  So we are anxious to hear from him.

We will continue to update you as reports come in.  We continue to pray for safety for al,l especially in the areas that are currently experiencing heavy rains and flooding.

Thank you very much for your support and prayers.

Love, Joyce Porcadilla

President of General Baptist Bible College

Update: Just heard from the district moderator in Eastern Visayas (Samar and Masbate).  They are safe in Masbate.  The church building was not damaged.  There is just one tree that fell right in front of the church but it did not cause any damage.  He has not been able to check with the members yet, as their surroundings are still flooded.  He has not heard from the other church in Nacube yet.  But he said all is well except for the flooding.

We really praise God for His power and mercy…He alone can calm down the typhoon and we praise and thank Him for sparing our brethren from further destruction.