evangelism online- july 2005
By Nelson Searcy and John Troy
Courtesy of The Epic Team
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Evangelism Online: Church Health, Church Growth and Church Planting
**EVANGELISM / CHURCH GROWTH**
THE MOST OVERLOOKED CHURCH GROWTH FACTOR
“OVERLOOKED FACT: The only way to see significant increases in growth is to create dramatic increases in awareness. No matter how remarkable your ministry, it is unlikely to achieve remarkable growth without major attention to developing and then maintaining awareness.”
- Available at: BreakThroughChurch.com
THE EXPONENTIAL CHURCH
“Twenty years ago American megachurches (more than 2,000 attendance) numbered just over two dozen. Today, they exceed more than 830, with more than 30 now exceeding 10,000 worshippers—launching a whole new category we call the “gigachurch.” Today, fully 3 million church attendees go to a megachurch vs. 897,000 only 10 years ago. The landscape of the Christian church is changing faster than at any other point in American history.”
- - Available at: NPPN.org
- (Note: A list of Outreach Magazine’s Top 10 Fastest-Growing and Largest Churches appears at the end of this article)
SHARING ETERNAL TRUTH WITH AN EVER-EMERGING CULTURE
"The only way to stay relevant is to anchor your ministry to unchanging truths and eternal purposes but be willing to continually adapt how you communicate those truths and purposes.”
- Available at: Pastors.com
RANKING THE BIG CHURCH WEBSITES
“The May/June 2004 issue of Outreach Magazine contains their annual listing of the one hundred fastest growing and largest Churches in the United States. By their inclusion on the list you can assume that these are all effective and thriving Churches. In an attempt to glean some best practices when it comes to Church web pages they are a somewhat logical place to start. What follows is a biased, sometimes critical and sarcastic, evaluation of the one hundred fastest growing Churches' websites.”
- Available at: NorthMinisterLascruces.org
** CULTURE **
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS (Christian Review)
“This movie is about what happens when all we have is each other. Or, as Morgan Freeman narrates in conclusion, “Neither do men live nor die in vain.”
- Available at: HollywoodJesus.com
** LEADERSHIP **
IMAGE ALIGNMENT
“Each one of us has an internal mirror that reflects how we see ourselves. And what we see in this mirror determines how we act as leaders.”
- Available at: InJoy.com
- For more on Leadership from John Maxwell, check out “Thinking for a Change” at Amazon.com
THE PENTECOSTAL GOLD STANDARD
“<Jack> Hayford brings Pentecostals together with other evangelicals. He has done this less through grand strategy than by patient outreach, one person at a time. In his public speaking he makes frequent, appreciative references to non-Pentecostal influences, from C. S. Lewis to Richard Foster.”
- Available at: Chtistianity Today
**BOOKS**
THINKING FOR A CHANGE (Buy Now)
by John C Maxwell (now in paperback)
New York Times bestselling author and expert on leadership John C. Maxwell explores the concept that success is really just a frame of mind. Good thinking. It's the one thing all successful people have in common. People who achieve their dreams understand the critical relationship between their level of thinking and their level of progress--and they know that when thinking is limited, so is potential. Now, John C. Maxwell explores this idea and identifies the specific skills people need to make their potential for success explode into results. From focused and creative thinking to thinking of the big picture or the bottom line, he provides examples of effective thinking for every situation. This book doesn't tell readers what to think, it teaches them how to think. After all, success is as simple as changing your mind.
WHY MEN HATE CHURCH (Buy Now)
By David Murrow
“The title says it all . . . most of our churches have trouble evangelizing men. David Murrow offers some tough insight that just plain makes sense. This book is overdue. Buy it, read it, implement it – Now!” – Nelson Searcy, Publisher, Evangelism OnLine
**FEATURED CONFERENCES**
LAUNCHING A PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH
- July 26 – 27, 2005 * Ocala, Florida
Church Planting Conference with Ron Sylvia and Nelson Searcy
**FEATURED WEB SITE**
The Website for David Murrows’ Why Men Hate Church
Church Leader Insights is a bi-weekly publication sent via email that focuses on effective leadership, church growth, church planting evangelism and much more.