Posted on 03/18/2008 8:19:05 AM PDT by Terriergal
Easter Sunday is less than a week away and most churches have already laid out their strategies on how to reach the unchurched and non-believers during arguably the most important Christian holiday.
Mon, Mar. 17, 2008 Posted: 09:44:22 AM EST
Easter Sunday is less than a week away and most churches have already laid out their strategies on how to reach the unchurched and non-believers during arguably the most important Christian holiday.
But in case a little help is still needed, C. Michael Johnson, president of Breakthrough Media, suggests 18 factors that can “really” impact a church or ministry’s Easter outreach efforts in a recent “Mindstorm Idealetter” from Breakthroughchurch.com.
To start off, churches need to set real and specific goals that they are firmly committed to bringing to reality. Next, they need to measure their progress in short increments towards reaching the goals. So whether the goal is to see the church packed with 500 people or to transform congregants, the planning committee needs to first set a goal.
Friendship is another key factor. Johnson reminds church and ministry leaders that the goal of marketing, in the simplest term, is to develop conversations and create friends. The Kingdom is “all about” friends – “finding friends, being a friend, leading friends to be friends of God.” He suggests churches plan and measure how they are making progress with the friend factor.
After working on the friendship factor, churches need to be prepared to answer the relevancy question – “why should I give you the time of day?” People have spiritual needs and the church should find creative ways to promote how they can help meet these needs for non-churchgoers. The Easter program should not just focus on “us” if the church plans to use the service as an outreach opportunity, but make sure that it stays relevant to even newcomers.
Once the unchurched arrives for the service, Christians need to use the language of dreams to explain what they believe in and invite the visitor to participate in the dream of God for this world.
“The language of dreams (purpose, identity, passion, heart) defines the most relevant, responsive message you can ever use to build lasting relationships with the unchurched,” Johnson wrote, noting that God “wired us” to dream.
Jesus wants to come into their heart and Christians should work with the Holy Spirit which has already been working on them to bring them to God, he added.
“Combine the Friend Goal with the Dream Goal and you have the basis of what we call a ‘Community of Dreams,’ which is a pretty good definition of a church,” Johnson wrote, “a community of friends nurturing and releasing God’s dreams into their transforming place in the world.”
Churches are also encouraged to move away from predictability and include an unexpected factor in their program. The Breakthrough Media president noted that Jesus in his days did the unexpected and even surprised his mom.
Other helpful suggestions to improve church outreach include raising awareness about the church, using word-of-mouth church marketing, delivering a good community experience, and following-through with trying to bring people to Christ.
Easter is a rare occasion when many non-churchgoers open themselves up briefly to the Gospel and hearing about the life of Jesus Christ. Churches, as a result, should take advantage of this precious opportunity to reintroduce or introduce someone for the first time to the Gospel and the core tenets of Christianity – the cross, the resurrection, and salvation through Jesus Christ.
18 Factors to Impact Easter Outreach:
1. Goal Factor
2. Friend Factor
3. Relevancy Factor
4. Dream Factor
5. Media Factor
6. Unexpected Factor
7. Awareness Factor
8. Viral Factor
9. Experience Factor
10. Harvest Factor
11. Time Factor
12. Development Factor
13. Numbers Factor
14. Synergy Factor
15. Trust Factor
16. Withreach Factor
17. Community Factor
18. Body Factor
On the Web: http://breakthroughchurch.com
Jennifer Riley
Christian Post Reporter
These people are so screwed up.
Wow. What an amazingly complicated formula for proclaiming the Gospel.
Six sigma comes to the church. Arghhh.
The Kingdom is “all about” friends –
Funny I can’t find where Jesus or anyone else said this in the scriptures.
You’ve got that right, churches these days have become nothing more than a social club. It is disgusting and I for one refuse to participate in the farce.
It’s people like this that give RCC watchdogs ammunition to ridicule non-RC churches. Gives the church Christ founded a bad name. Shows, again, that the world is not our friend and the “formula for success” cannot be found in it. The Lord is our refuge and His Word alone is our sure guide.
Hmmm. Media, viral and synergy factors, which Gospel are they located in? How about the faith, hope and charity factors; not to mention the salvation and Redeemer factors, those seem to have been left out.
How many cameras do you suppose will be focused on Jeremiah Wright’s Easter service?
I think that this list should include the olfactor. Because if it did they would know that this stinks to high heaven.
Umm...is the answer “C”?
Pastors are called to be shepherds of the sheep.
Sheep are dumb as rocks. They may think they know what they need: fulfillment, morals, inner peace, money in their back account.
The shepherd should know what they need. Salvation.
After hammering home 4 months of lessons centering around Christ, I rhetorically asked my adult Sunday School class what our greatest need is. I then assured them that within the next year someone in our church, a family member , or someone we know will die. In 50 years the vast majority of us will be dead. I then asked them in light of that certainty, what is the most important thing we can learn about each Sunday.
They got the point....
But ... But ... But ... "Easter" is a pagan term!!!!!!
8. Viral Factor
Followed by the Valtrex Factor?
9. Experience Factor
Not to be mistaken for the Jimi Hendrix Experience Factor
10. Harvest Factor
Dude must be in Australia. Up here, it's planting season.
13. Numbers Factor
I prefer the Exodus Factor, myself ... with some leaning toward the Deuteronomy Factor.
14. Synergy Factor
What? All this time I've been hearing the protestants promoting Monergism ... now this?
16. Withreach Factor
Uhhhhhh ... Say what?
18. Body Factor
No thanks ...
High gagme factor.
- Sin Factor
- Jesus Christ, God, on the Cross, paying the Price of Sin, and then an Empty Tomb Factor
- Faith Factor
- Salvation Factor
- Heaven Factor
- Rejection Factor
- Hell Factor
I got a glossy color postcard in the mail the other day - no doubt from one of Warren’s disciples.
On the front it had a comical image of an elderly woman, and the caption read “Shock Your Mama - Go to Chruch this Easter”
On the back:
A nice surprise for you both!
Worship experience in a theater setting
Sunday’s 9am - Free Starbucks Coffee, Pastries & Juice each week (complete w/ Starbucks logo)
Also, Join us for our Spring Fire
Eggstravagansa Easter Egg Hunt
Free Food! & Give Aways! - Win an iPod nano, 20 inch flat screen TV, $250 cash prizes & MORE!
“Here’s a way to make up for some of the things you did as a kid: Visit “First Fire” this Easter. Lightning won’t strike; the building won’t fall down. Instead, you’ll find a warm and friendly atmosphere, great music and an upbeat message to help you refocus your life this Easter. So whether mom used to drag you to church or not, decide for yourself to stop in this Easter. You’ll be glad you did (what a shock!).”
Then the following URL:
http://www.winfumc.blogspot.com/
******************************************************
Is this what “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” has come to?
No pastors, no shepherds. Instead we have game show hosts and carnival barkers telling us to “Step right up, step right up! Improve your life and win a prize!”
No ... It's just what some folks have chosen to do, in lieu of making disciples &c.
Yep...I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To those who are perishing we are the stench of death but to those who believe we are the aroma of life.
Post #17 was sarcasm ... In case you’re wondering.
People are leaving those churches in droves and joining Biblical Truth based churches in equal droves.
That was most intuitively obvious to the most casual of observers.
:)
Those who partake of chalk water (not even to the nourishing level of milk) presume to “teach” unchurched biblical illiterates.
It’s what is called, “the blind leading the blind” - who love to have it so.
On Houston TV this week - commercials for a flesh happy Easter at http://www.fotw.org/ and http://www.second.org/global/default.aspx
The latter (Ed Young’s church) advises viewers that “the Easter Bunny knows how good Easter is at 2nd Baptist”.
Both churches have multiple campuses - each apparently trying to establish himself as “the Pope of Houston”. Reminds of a conflict in the 13th century (if memory serves) when Europe faced a similar contest between would-be Popes.
All God’s children gag. sigh.
You said: Sheep are dumb as rocks. They may think they know what they need: fulfillment, morals, inner peace, money in their back account. The shepherd should know what they need. Salvation.
Fulfillment usually means self-fulfillment probably more accurately called self-gratification. Money in their bank accounts usually means excess for pleasure. So those are obviously off track. (Though hard times/trials often do lead people to get right with God. Let's skip that for now.) But morals? I'm continually stunned at the way morals has become a bad word even among Christians, but let me ask: Isn't recognition that you need morals a step towards recognizing you are a sinner with sinful desires? And inner peace? Isn't inner turmoil a step towards recognizing you need peace with God also known as salvation?
I'm all for discrediting gimmicks and nonsense, but people don't just repent and turn to Christ without first recognizing their need, that they are miserable sinners in need of a Savior. Maybe I am misunderstanding your statement, but the gospel can't really be entirely separated from real life and standards of right and wrong, good and bad, guilty conscience vs. no conscience.... without eliminating the very truth that made the atonement necessary in the first place.
That, I think, is the exact worldliness we are warned to avoid.
OK, you got me.
Instead of morals substitute “principles for living.”
LOL! Now that’s better.
Thank You, when I was facing my little girl's cancer, and had been ex-communicated from the Catholic church because of divorcing a drunk, and was giving up, You sent my friend to me.
She didn't need any fabricated steps to "bring me in "...she just was her sweet self. You had allowed me to be her friend for years, and You let me trust her before she "witnessed" to me.!
What did she say as I was cursing God for now allowing my child to have Cancer ???? She said softly : " Praise God in all things". To which I replied : " Praise God for cancer? " and she said " Yes ". She told me of a Christian radio station, and then dropped it.
She didn't need to "follow up" or study HOW TO WITNESS . She just had to know Christ, and trust His Holy Spirit.
Long story short...I searched that radio station one summer night when I wanted to give up. You want to know what song started to play when I tuned in ? "FOOTSTEPS IN THE SAND".
That was so simple and so powerful to me.! I had been away from God for so long. I didn't think He loved me. That church told me so. I could no longer participate....and then came cancer in my child...after a very hard divorce..and excommunication....and non belief....and then LOVE.
I could write it better, with better emotion, but the point I have is that...you really come to Christ, in many instances, through a Christ like person. Too many of us want to pounce on visitors to our church, or family and friends, but we fail to realize that we will know when the time is right. Not everyone gets to pick the fruit. Some have to plant, some have to water, and some have to harvest. We just have to obey.
I found Christ, my daughter is healed, and my friends, that was 24 years ago. Aug. 19, 1984.
And I thank God for my friend, for without her sweet spirit in suggesting I listen to a radio station one summer night....I would not know Him today. I give all praise to Him for loving me, this sinner saved by His Grace.
Blurry screen bump.
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