Church Leader insights- May 2006
By Nelson Searcy and John Troy
Courtesy of Church Leader Insights
http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/
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From the Editor: Welcome to the new Church Leader Insights (formerly Evangelism OnLine). New features include an expanded semi-monthly newsletter, free monthly audio training (podcast) and an improved resources area. Visit www.churchleaderinsights.com to view our expanded website designed to better serve Church Leaders! Thank you for your support and prayers for our publication.
Church Leader Insights: Church Health, Church Growth and Church Planting
** EVANGELISM / CHURCH GROWTH **
HOW TO GET CHURCH MEMBERS TO INVITE THEIR FRIENDS
If members walk out of your service saying, “I wish my unchurched friend had been here,” they will start to think about inviting their friend. If a member walks out of your service three weeks in a row and says every time, “I wish my unchurched friend would have heard that,” nothing will stop that member from dragging that friend through your doors. The challenging thing is that often, when members walk out of churches, the only thing they can say is, “I wish my other church friends would have heard that.”
- Available at: Pastors.com
EVANGELISM IS NOT A DIRTY WORD
Servant evangelism: Acts of kindness are a great way to share Christ—hosting free car washes, going to Laundromats to give away quarters, helping people take their groceries to the car or pump their gas, sharing Christ at every opportunity.
- Available at: Onmission.com
*** For more on Servant Evangelism, see this month’s new MP3 download by Nelson Searcy: Reaching Your Community Through Servant Evangelism ***
ATTRIBUTES OF A HEALTHY CHURCH
A healthy church is growing in numbers, not because adding more bodies is a goal, but because a healthy church is filled with people who love God so much that they want to share that love with others, so they are consequently involved in evangelism, outreach, missions and social ministry.
- Available at: Crosswalk.com
We should ask people to do what the New Testament asks them to do— "believe." We can then explain that believe means we come to God as sinners, recognize that Christ died for us and arose, and trust in Christ alone to save us. The best word to convey what the Bible means by believe is the word trust. Trusting Christ is not merely accepting intellectually that a person named Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose again. It is acknowledging that He alone is my only way to heaven. Trusting Christ is the means through which we appropriate His gift of eternal life.
- Available at: Christianitytoday.com
Look for agnostics, ignore atheists. Basically it's more productive to go for those who are more likely to buy in. That makes sense for business, and is a worthy reminder for the church, but we're also called to go after those least likely to buy in, whether it's productive or not.
- Available at: Churchmarketingstinks.com
** NEW AUDIO TRAINING **
PODCAST: Maximizing Summer
Summer can be a time for significant growth in your church. Listen to this podcast from Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas as they discuss ways you can harness these warm months for growth! Listen now.
- Available at: ChurchLeaderInsights.com
** LEADERSHIP **
BUILDING THE BRIDGE FROM VISION TO RESULTS All too often, organizations short-cut the strategic planning process by asking the same old questions in the same old way, which inevitably results in the same stale answers. The brilliance of a successful strategy is not so much in the answers but in the questions that are asked.
- Available at: Refresher.com
*** For more on developing an effective Church Strategy, see this Month’s featured resource: The Strategy Seminar by Nelson Searcy ***
ARE YOUR VOLUNTEERS UP FOR THE SUMMER? Our first call is to take care of our volunteers and determine if they're best served by working the summer or taking the time off. If they take the time off, encourage them to do what they can't do during the school year. Some need to slow down. Shepherds give direction in this process, and if we believe that "people are more important than programs," this is one way to prove it.
- Available at: GroupPublishing.com
Special Conference and Resources Announcement TWO EVENTS with Nelson Searcy!
LIVE! Assimilation Seminar (Boston area) Friday, June 2, 2006 9:00am -12:00pm, Boston, MA area. Nelson Searcy is excited to spend the morning of June 2nd in the Boston area, discussing the exciting challenges of Assimilation!
LIVE! The *NEW* Evangelism and Assimilation Seminar (NYC)
Thursday, July 27, 2006 9:00am -4:30pm Learn how to reach your world, and then keep them! Nelson is proud to present a day of teaching, featuring the *NEW* Evangelism Seminar and the popular Assimilation Seminar in New York City. (Attend both seminars for one, low price!)
About Nelson Searcy and Church Leader Insights Nelson Searcy is the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church in New York City. Since 2002, The Journey Church has grown from one family to over 1000 in weekend attendance and 1100 in small groups! This groundbreaking church sees the majority of its growth coming from new believers. Nelson is an experienced church planter, coach and church growth strategist. Before moving to New York, he served as the Director of the Purpose Driven Community at Saddleback Church. Church Leader Insights (http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/) is the Church Leader training site of Nelson Searcy and The Journey.
Church Leader Insights is a bi-weekly publication sent via email that focuses on effective leadership, church growth, church planting evangelism and much more.
