Sunday, November 16, 2008
What is missing
As we look to our past, present and future we tend to see how church's are missing the boat when it come to bringing in people who are un-churched. We need to start asking ourselves what is missing in the church today. What is it that is stopping people from coming into the church and experiencing God in a real and powerful way? If there was something about church that would be more inviting that would bring the lost to know God what would that be? Please share your thoughts as to what would make the future church more inviting to people who are searching for truth. What would make someone who has stopped coming to church come, or people who have never come attend for the first time. Please be honest and real with yourself. Thank you.
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4 comments:
I think it might be useful to watch this video together
http://threadsmedia.com/index.php?/store/detail/sent-leader-kit/
I think that we need to be careful not to be judgemental. I have heard this from both the churched and the unchurched people and we need to pay special attention to this if we expect new members to walk through out doors.
A lot of times people outside of a church don't know what to expect, sometimes it’s a whole new place with all new people and they all know you're new.
Other times it is a church you had visited or left and you return with mixed feelings of "I should've been here all along" or “If only” or “Will they take me back?”
I feel that personal testimony can serve as a great tool & a great reminder of why we do what we do.
As a male I know the hardest thing I've had to do on my path thus far was to ask him & others for help... I have even avoided church for this reason at times, I feel as if I should be able to handle all of my problems, issues & troubles on my own, but eventually reality catches up with you & you realize you aren't alone for a reason.
Personal testimonies of other men, the situations they've gone through & made it through in life, and how they relied on him to get through it is the main reason I finally threw my hands up in the air to ask for help. I thought "well if these guys can do it, so can I... why couldn't I?" And I saw how god had worked through these other men's lives, and that is when I realized I truly wanted it, and what it all meant.
If people are willing - not only to meet with others (inside or outside of their environment) but to also reach out to them with their story, it could help remind others why they need him & give others who don't know him a first-hand introduction
Getting people more involved, either by a weekly "sports" night or a video-game night, something relaxed that we could try & see who commits. Let’s face it, in this new world of technology & “instant gratification” it’s a task to keep anyone’s attention or commitment to anything, so we have to pursue when & where we can. We could possibly submit a survey of what folks inside & outside would like to see or possibly what they would change… regardless if we implemented all of the feedback, we would have it, and that’s 1 step closer. I know personally that after I feel comfortable somewhere I need a purpose or a place to fill, if I don't have that I may not show up just for myself anymore or might feel less part of the whole thing.
The word church itself is intimidating! I know before I started coming to church regularly that the thought of church was a place full of pushy overbearing people, which did not sound like something that I wanted to be a part of.
If church or the persona of church would have somehow been brought to me as a place where friends become family may have gotten me into the word sooner!!!
I believe that sometimes as Christians we tend to be a little "Clickish" and often times get comfortable in the situations we are in, along with the people we socialize with. If we go out not with the intention of bringing the word to people directly rather forming a personal relationship with an individual, churches may have bigger influences at that point. The mission statement of POP "Be a Friend" is in my opinion the key point and is pivitol in bringing someone else to Christ! It is the responsability of all Christ followers to fill churches weather it is under a roof, or in the park, perhaps even at work. I believe that where ever church may be it cannot be threatening or churches in the future do not stand a chance.
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