Today I read an article from Outreach Magazine of a few churches who were struggling and have turned things around.

Churches mentioned:

The Summit Church

Heart of the Valley Christian Fellowship

New Hope Community Church

Dellrose United Methodist Church

Village Baptist Church

These churches seemed to have some common characteristics that include:

1. They went out into the community
2. They found the need. They found what pain people were experiencing and then filled the need and healed the pain
3. The shared the vision
4. They let people leave.

How is your church doing? How are you reaching your community? Is it working?

Find the Pain, Find the Need, Heal the Pain, Fill The Need is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Well, I don’t belong to a traditional church structure/format anymore as I’ve moved into the house/home church format, but I can tell you what works for many is not focusing on getting people into a church building but being the church by reaching/serving people where they are (which I hope is an answer to your question regarding outreach), so here’s some ideas:1. 5-10 people volunteer bi-monthly at the emergency/food shelter, bringing food (homemade & canned), serving the people in need, listening to them, praying w/ them, simply caring about them…2. A handful of musicians (or your worship team) grabbing their acoustic guitars & bi-monthly visiting the children’s ward at the hospital, putting on a mini-concert & giving mini-lessons to the kids, perhaps videotaping the visits & when the kids are released give them a copy of the videos, then follow up w/ calls & cards to see how they’re doing…3. Learn some old songs (& a hymn or two) from the 1930′s-60′s & visit the retirement homes once a month, putting on a dance or just sit around listening to a CD of those classic songs & get to know the people, then share w/ them Jesus, pray w/ them, etc…4. Form a team of people who look out for the elderly & the widows, not only for the ones in their church body, but in their own neighborhood: help them move, help them w/ home or car maintenance, do yard work for them, make sure their heat or AC works, make sure their sidewalks are shoveled for the home care workers to walk safely to their doors…People are drawn to other people.groups who truly care about everyone from the kids to elderly, there’s a sense of security there & that works.5. If you have tech savvy people in your church, you could advertise in the newspaper & offer a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) weekend: a free computer course/class twice a month on how to create a spreadsheet or power point presentation… offer to take a look at any computer brought in, whether it’s scanning for viruses, degragging their hard drive for them or installing Skype for someone on their laptop & walking them through how to use it, helping them download free software… showing someone how to install an app like how to read a QR code w/ their device, showing them how to use their webcam to make a video, etc…

6. If your building has a nice, roomy kitchen then you could open up a cooking class by advertising it to the community, teaching the single guys (or gals) how to make a simple quiche, casserole, soups & stews… hand out easy crock pot recipes, etc…

7. If you have police officers or self-defense instructors that are a part of your church body, open up a free basic self-defense class to the community, if there are firemen or doctors in your church body, offer a basic first aid class, etc…

The church building can still serve a purpose & it can help your outreach, but these are just some practical ideas on how to not necessarily get people into your church building but help the people in your church body connect w/ the community they’re called to reach, serve & impact for the Lord.

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Stephen Conigliaro

This is such an interesting question, many people like big churches, some people like small ones.  Some people like traditional, some people like modern.  Some people emphasize worship, some people look for deep messages.  Some places are more friendly to new believers, some places are more friendly to seasoned lovers of Christ.  It really boils down to where is God leading you, and who is on your heart?  Is it children, teens, adults, elderly, the broken, the poor, the on-fire Christians, prisoners, or any of the other groups?An example is, our pastor has shared a vision of building a church for people who have been burned and battered by other churches.  The church I attend has taken on the heart of the pastor and shows tremendous love to all that come in.  We know that God is sending people who have experienced the worst that religion has to offer.  I have seen people who are homeless walk through the doors as well as  well as men dressed in fine clothes, and all are treated equally and without prejudice.  I have seen bitterness towards believers wiped away in worship, and anger at previous transgressors shed at the altar.  It is a beautiful site seeing God at work, so let Him lead all of our hearts to a church that we are called to build or fill.

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Dustin W. Stout

Well, as a former youth pastor, now on my second church plant the one thing I believe is essential in reaching people in the name of #Jesus  is to stop inviting them to church.Not the answer you wanted to hear, I’m sure– but before jumping to conclusions, I suggest you read my full thoughts on it here: http://dustn.ws/LPTuH9I don’t think we need to be spending our time thinking up ways to fill more seats. It’s not what Jesus did. It’s not what the disciples were after. Most importantly, getting people into church wont save them. A life-changing encounter with #Jesus  is the only thing that will save people.We spend so much time trying to bring people to us, and we don’t spend enough time doing what Jesus told us to do– go to them and serve.So you have to first ask this one question– Are we trying to fill more seats in our sanctuary, or are we trying to fill more seats in Heaven?Two very different agendas.

+David Jackson you’re an innovator. Expect opposition! Keep finding ways to meet people where they’re at and serve them. Miles McPherson had some great thoughts on this concept at the #R12  conference. I wrote a summary over at +ChurchMag : http://dustn.ws/T51CpH

Philip Pratt

I’ve been blogging about this for the last 3 years & it’s one of the reasons I left my former church & church structure: it’s simply very difficult to change the mindset of leadership that’s been taught Come [to a building] & not Go [to the people]; I was called rebellious, deceived, divisive & was eventually ostracized.

Like I said, you have to connect w/ people where they are; once you connect, then they may fellowship w/ you in your building or house or wherever but I do agree w/ Dustin: stop inviting them to church, stop trying to get people into your building for a service. 99% of of the ministry of Jesus was outside the temple, in the community.

You have a building so consider putting to use in serving the community

The Church That Lived in Fear

I told the story of two churches one that grow and one that doesn’t on Episode 24. Well the saga continues. I had the idea (after an older person fell in our snow covered parkinglot) to have the younger people valet park their cars, and escort them into church. This was a nice cross-generational opportunity. The reason not to? They were afraid something might come up missing in someone’s cars (or be accused if they forget where they left something).

Mentioned in This Episode

Tutorials on Using Google hangouts

Casting Crowns

Satan Will Always Find a Reason NOT to Do it is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

We have talked about strategies for churches on this podcast, but Rev. Jim Hollis of Proactive Ministries has been putting them into action for almost 20 years. He started off by giving up much of his own minist

ry to follow his heart and what he thought God was calling him to do. Now he has a staff that travels the world helping churches put into places strategies and practices that lead to long lasting church growth.

If I had to summarize this episode it would be that the status quo has got to go. Jim Hollis is out helping churches and he sees where “Doing the same thing that we’ve always done” just isn’t working anymore. Jim points out that many churches are spending time fixing up the inside of their church that visitors and guest just aren’t going to see.

Focusing on community instead of commitment will make people want to come to church because they enjoy it – instead of coming to church because they have to. Where we matter and count where is where want to spend our time.

You may qualify to have Jim’s team come in and work with your church (and you would only pay for travel expenses). They can come in and help evaluate your church, and implement training for your church. The idea is to do more than come in and get people excited for a weekend. The goal is to implement long term growth for the churches. If you have a small church, Jim often works with small churches who work together to create learning groups for 24 months of training and learning. This then helps build relationships in local area.

If you would like to contact Jim, visit his website at www.proactive-ministries.org and for more insights into church growth (and other Christian themes) check out his Ministry Encouragement Podcast.

Proactive Ministries with Rev. Jim Hollis is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today I interview Tim Sinclair who is the author of one of my favorite books, “Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture.”

I love it when an author comes out at just states the obvious truth. If your church is like mine, your church is using the same tactics (that haven’t lead to any new members) hoping that it will “recapture the spark” of the “Good old days.” Well Tim points out that while the message of Jesus Christ has not changed, the community we are trying to reach sure has. How we reach them is going to involved new tactics.

He breaks down “Branding” and “Advertising” and helps you see that Branding doesn’t have to bring up images of a used car salesmen trying to sell you a car you don’t need. Then he points out that one rule to lead to effective salesmen is for them to know their product and believe in it. There is nothing wrong with our product (Jesus), but there are some issues with the people who are trying to lead people to him.

For me this is a great book for any Christian looking for a pep talk on sharing their faith. It’s not a step by step approach, but gives you enough insights (based on Tim’s radio career, and experience in marketing) so that you can put together a new step by step approach that is more effective than the strategies you have now.

Mentioned on the Show

You can find out more about Tim at his website tim-sinclair.com

Tim’s T-shirt ministry is at http://www.threesixtees.com/

Hear Tim on WBGL

Get the audio version of this book at audibletrial.com/dave

Feeding My Faith Podcast (Dave’s other podcast featuring teachings from the Bible)

Author Tim Sinclair of the book Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Mathew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Mark: 16:15

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.

I have had the privileged of attending two churches. One I grew up in, and the other I’ve attended for about a year. I had a homework assignment to attend multiple church services. One was a mega-church. The church I grew up in has about 47 people.

The Church That Didn’t Grow

In the past 5 years, we’ve lost multiple people. The AVERAGE age of the church is 70.

I’ve attended this church for 20 years. Aside from people’s hair color changing, nothing else has. We purchased a high-tech keyboard when the old organ died. We use two sounds out of the NUMEROUS that are available. We’ve never used the drums or the auto-accompaniment. The aged organist was supposed to take lessons but never did. We use it as a piano, and an organ to play traditional hymns.

The Pastor went to a conference about 10 years ago, and suddenly there was sense of urgency to make sure we were not open to being sued. All the Sunday school teachers who had been in place for years now had to fill out background check information. It wasn’t a big deal, and didn’t start any issues.

The youth group still went on field trips, but they had to stick to an EXACT itinerary. If you wanted to stop for ice cream on the way back to the church from the hay ride, you couldn’t. There was no room for the holy spirit to lead. I understand the concept of keeping kids safe, but the problem I started to see was the church was beginning to live in fear.

We had some new people start attending, but we had a few divorces and families that left. When the roof needed fixed, two families in the church offered to fix it. When the job was awarded to the first family, the second family (along with half our youth group’s children) left the church.

We created a great event that brought in a lot of people. We had a cruise in, and a community of car enthusiast would meet every week at the church. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and the sales of those brought in a decent amount of revenue. This was great as the congregation was getting older, and a large portion of the congregation went south for the Winters (taking a large amount of the offering with it). There was no way to contribute online. After all, people might steal your credit card if you use it on the Internet. Fear was taking a strong hold.

The other thing is we noticed our aging congregation and their age became an issue. We couldn’t have events at night as they didn’t like to drive at night. We couldn’t have events geared toward younger people, as it would alienate them. In the winter we couldn’t have any activities due to the Ohio winters.

I had been asked to brainstorm ideas to attract younger people into the church. The interesting thing was every thing I suggested was turned down. Most of the time it was due to fear, but many times it was the age of the congregation. My favorite is we have a Wal Mart less than 10 blocks away. We’re talking a two minute car drive. I thought, “We need to find people who are at least awake on Sunday.” The idea was to have one person go with a GIANT “FREE HUGS” sign. Another person would film the whole process. If someone took up our offer of a free hug and asked, “What is this all about?” We would hand them a map, state who were were and where we came from, and politely invite them to church.” No large pressure pitch.

When I pitched the idea, I was told we would be sued. When I said, “Great, PLEASE throw me in jail.” They thought I was off my rocker. I said, “Call every local TV station and make sure we are on the news.” They didn’t get it. I eventually got frustrated and said, “You people will only follow Jesus to the end of the driveway.” It was a little harsh, but it was true.

When I suggested we have small groups in people’s houses to build the intimacy and friendships outside the church, I was told small groups are havens of gossip. F E A R. If we had properly trained leaders to control these meetings it would not be an issue.

They wanted me to bring in new people doing the exact same thing we ad been doing for 20 years (that had NOT lead to any new members). The only way the church is surviving, is due to people leaving the church large sums of money when they die (which they are on a regular basis). We are running out of people. We are not bringing in any new members, and if things keep going the way they are going the church will eventually die along with the last of its members.

The church’s website was never promoted. The thought being the congregation was too old and didn’t even own a computer. They didn’t realize that these grandparents could introduce their grandchildren to the church via the web. It was an address at the top of the bulletin, but nothing more. When I did a sermon that spoke about Facebook and iPods, I was pulled aside and told I needed to stay focused on my audience (Even though I explained what all these things were). Again, I was to bring in young people doing the exact thing that hadn’t worked the last 20 years.

When I started suggesting we cut salaries, they quit asking for my suggestions. When I stated we needed to ask the aged organist to retire as she could no playing anything that didn’t sound like a death durge, the leaders new it was the right call, but couldn’t execute the hard decision. Now visitors are subjected to tolerate our music until the pastor finally delivers a message.

The Church That Was Growing

The church I visited was LOUD. It had lights. They were singing praise music. Was the audience all young people? No. The teenagers have their own service. This was the “old people” and I was greeted by an elderly usher. His warmth was infectious.

Then I saw something that I had not seen in any of the other churches I had observed. When the pastor started his lesson (not a sermon) people took out their bibles and a NOTEPAD.  It looked like my college lectures. People were THIRSTY for the word. They knew that they would go back later and investigate this some more.

When they announced it was time to take the offering, people CHEERED. This church had grown over the years, and the building was previously a plant for the Hoover Vacuum cleaner company. It’s mammoth.

At the end of church I always had learned something I could apply to my life. The lesson was brought to me in an informal presentation. Sure they put the scripture on giant screens, but there was humor. The pastor spoke like I spoke. There was nothing crazy like swearing, but it was casual. It made me feel at ease. It was more of a conversation than a sermon. The congregation would shout “Amen!” and clap. “Go on!” I heard the woman behind me shout out one week.

Congregation was mixed races of all shapes and sizes. We didn’t care about your race, or your clothing. As the pastor once said, “You know Jesus never owned a suit.”

Activities

The Church That Wasn’t Growing

The church that wasn’t growing had people in their parking lot every week. They were afraid to come on too strong for FEAR of driving people away. Consequently, they might’ve put out a pamphlet or two. They always invited people, but any kind of talk of Jesus was invisible. It was a great fund raiser, but spiritually over the 5 years of the cruise in, the church gained two people.

Meanwhile the youth group had eliminated any kind of fun, and all of the young people had quit attending. Many of their parents had quit attending and the writing was on the wall. Consequently, activities focused on one thing. Not reaching the lost, or servicing the community. It focused on raising money. We sent jars home for people to collect change.

There was one idea to open a thrift store. Part of it was to GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY clothes for children. Give out hats and coats. It was at this time that the bed bug scares came into play. Taking in used clothing might’ve meant taking in bed bugs. The once great community outreach program that showed Christ’s love was reduced to an under-grown indoor garage sale. It lasted about a year before we realized that the only people that were buying things were our own people.

The only thing sustaining this church is that the congregation keeps losing members to natural causes, and these people leave thousands to the church.

The Church That Was Growing

The larger church believed that Christ would provide. They knew that when they gave EXTRA to help pay down the HUGE debt of the new building that Christ would provide for us. Then on top of that, we learned that the local sheriff’s staff had outdated bullet proof vests. These people direct traffic at the end of service. Vests are expensive ($500 each). We found out that many people didn’t even have a vest. We wanted to show the community we cared. We wanted to show God’s love. We didn’t ask for them to attend a service to come pick them up. We raised money. We bought the vests. We said, “We care about you – here’s the proof,” and dropped off the vests.

We recently had a fund raiser where people could buy stuffed toys for the local children’s cancer ward.

We start planning for Easter months before it arrives. The whole church wore a red wrist band that said “ONE” on it. We all were to invite ONE person to church. We had a part of the service where we all wrote down the name and put it in a box and we prayed over it. That Easter we set a record. We didn’t worry about the price of the marketing material, and the wrist bands. We know God doesn’t lie and he said if you take care of me I will take care of you. We are not afraid.

The church focuses HEAVILY on its youth. It understand that this is the church of tomorrow. The old and young work together in different activities like the choir, book store and cafeteria. We do occasionally hold fund raiser for different programs, but those are less than the community outreach programs.

The church’s website has all the activities, small groups information, and a way to donate online.

Mentioned on This Show

• Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture
• List Price: $11.99
• Price: $4.69
• Read Reviews

Get this book as an unabridged audio book at www.audibletrial.com/dave

A Tale of Two Churches – One Grew One Didn’t is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today we have an article by Russ Butcher (I think I said Rich in the Podcast – My Apologies) about connecting with your local community. The key to this, is before you reach out you need to make sure you can answer the call. I always loved people who would create surveys to give to their congregation but have no plan on how to act on the answers. Your credibility is your most valued asset when you are first starting out so protect it, and be sure you can deliver if someone calls.

1. Start with the Local Home Association

2. Connect with Local Schools

3.  Police Department (my church just started a drive to buy the local Sherrif’s body armor as in some cases deputies had none).

4. Funeral Homes

5. Counselors

6. Coaching a Sports team

7. Social Services

8. Prayer Walk.

• WEIRD: Because Normal Isn't Working
• List Price: $15.99
• Price:
• Read Reviews

8 Ways to Connect with Your Community is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Here are the top ten reasons LifeWay Research found why people switch churches:

If you have people that are no longer attending your church, here are some potential reasons why:
1. The church was not helping me to develop spiritually. (28%)
2. I did not feel engaged or involved in meaningful church work (20%)
3. Church members were judgmental of others (18%)
4. pastor was not a good preacher (16%)
5. Too many changes (16%)
6. Members seemed hypocritical (15%)
7. Church didn’t seem to be a place where God was at work (14%)
8. Church was run by a clique that discouraged involvement (14%)
9. Pastor was judgmental of others (14%)
10. Pastor seemed hypocritical (13%)

Take a Page From Successful Businesses – Learn From Your “Mistakes”

First of all, realize that you can’t please everybody. But one thing we can do when people leave the church is to find out why. If you can find out why, without applying pressure for the person to stay, you can leave the door open for them to return while gaining insights that might stop a mass exodus. So here are some tips.

1. Do them over the phone or via a form. You are looking for brutal honesty, and people will be more bold if its not eyeball to eyeball. The downside of a form is there is no tone of voice. If you do it over the phone, keep it brief and don’t judge. Make a concerted effort to LISTEN.

2. Don’t Be defensive or judgemental. You’ll only reinforce their reasons for leaving.

3. Pray for them and ask God to bless them on their journey.

Keep in mind that in most cases, people just leave. They vote with their feet in restaurants, retail stores, etc. They are asked if everything we OK, and they reply that things were “fine” and then never come back. If you can get someone to open up, do NOT interrupt them. Listen, and take notes. Take lots and lots of notes. This would be the thing to consider as well before conducting exit interviews. Have people in place with the authority to address any changes that need to be made. There is nothing worse then having someone complain, and then do nothing with that information.

Top 10 Reasons People Leave Your Church is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today we have a guest, and not just any guest! Jimmy Pena is the founder of Prayfit and has worked with people like Mario Lopez, LL Cool J, and Tyler Perry to create National Best Selling Books and DVDs. Today we talk about his new DVD called Prayfit: 33-Day Total Body Challenge its a great DVD that has you focusing on delivering your personal best for 33 Days for 33 minutes. Each workout contains challenges that last for 33 seconds. It will make you sweat.

PrayFit 33-Day Total Body Challenge utilizes the Christian faith to inspire those with weight loss goals and is a complete workout and motivational system designed to burn calories, build lean muscle and bolster your faith, helping to reshape your entire body in 33 minutes a day for 33 days.  Ideal for any fitness level, the workout includes a highly efficient 33-minute workout that combines cardio, strength and core moves for total body results in a limited amount of time, requiring no extra equipment.  The program works because it demands progression and challenges you to give your best effort. The key is to do more today than you did yesterday.  As Jimmy says, “Yesterday’s best is today’s quest.”  To encourage you to stay the course, Jimmy includes faith-based motivation throughout the workout and created weekly “PrayFit Minute” devotionals to inspire you to improve your life by honoring the one who made you.

We also talk about his book Prayfit: Your Guide to A Healthy Body and A Stronger Faith in 28 Days which churches are now using in combination with the DVD to create study groups, and bring the talk of taking care of the gift that is your body back into the church.

We answer questions such as “If I’m doing both, should I do cardio or strength training first?”

For daily inspiration, forums, nutrition, newsletters, swag, as well as videos check out www.prayfit.com

Download the DVD  in iTunes

In Jesus Name We Train – Jimmy Pena from PrayFit is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

According the book, “Get Healthy for Heaven’s Sake, “According to a recent study, Christians are more obese than non-Christians, and Baptists are in the lead. Morrone, Lisa (2011-04-01). Get Healthy, for Heaven’s Sake (p. 63). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.  Instead of singing they will know we are Christians by our Love, it will be they will know we are Christians by our love of FOOD. With everyone jumping on the “New Year’s Resolution” why not steer your church into a fitness awareness program. There are plenty of tools to help.

[easyazon-image-link asin="B005NHQ1WQ" alt="Prayfit: 33-Day Total Body Challenge" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51d6G-tKv7L._SL160_.jpg" align="left" width="114" height="160"]I just watched the DVD called Prayfit: 33-Day Total Body Challenge. This goes along with a few books inculding: Prayfit: Your Guide to A Healthy Body and A Stronger Faith in 28 Days and Prayfit FamilyThis is the mastermind of Jimmy Pena. At PrayFit, they believe that the Lord has mandated a dedication to our health. In a nation gone mad with super-sized meal deals, even the most devout believers tend to over-indulge, as evidenced by the church’s ever-widening collective waistline. It’s not just detrimental to your wardrobe – each passing day of inactivity or nutritional indiscretion is a missed opportunity at living a longer, healthier, more fruitful life.

[easyazon-image-link asin="0736929495" alt="The 90-Day Fitness Challenge: A Proven Program for Better Health and Lasting Weight Loss" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HYP6MENBL._SL160_.jpg" align="left" width="104" height="160"]Another great plan comes form Amy and Phil Parham (You might remember them from the biggest loser). Their book is The 90-Day Fitness Challenge there is alss a The 90-Day Fitness Challenge DVD. Phil and Amy Parham lost over 256 pounds on NBC’s Biggest Loser television show’s sixth season in 2008. It was a dark time in the life of this couple whose autistic son Rhett’s special needs kept them on high alert 24/7 and Phil’s mortgage broker business had failed a few years earlier. The couple discusses how they coped with these life stresses…by eating. Their story of disappointment and defeat could be told by any number of families across the United States, but their courage and resilience at overcoming these hefty challenges is remarkably and singularly inspiring.

[easyazon-image-link asin="0736927042" alt="Get Healthy, for Heaven's Sake: 7 Steps to Living Strong, Loving God, and Serving Others" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/416E57C5pcL._SL160_.jpg" align="left" width="104" height="160"]If you want to have a book club I HIGHLY  recommend the book Get Healthy, for Heaven’s Sake: 7 Steps to Living Strong, Loving God, and Serving Others

Overweight, slouched, deconditioned, and very tired. This describes millions of American Christians—men and women who are frustrated in their desire to serve God and their families because their bodies and minds simply aren’t up to the task.

Health author Lisa Morrone gives readers an overall life plan for restoring their energy and ability and staying strong in their usefulness throughout their life span. Not a short-term repair job—not a rigid, inflexible plan—this resource lays out balanced, practical advice in seven areas

[easyazon-image-link asin="1433669730" alt="Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51AciXVN4EL._SL160_.jpg" align="left" width="106" height="160"]Another book you may want to check out is Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness Candace Cameron Bure first became known to millions as a co-star on the hit ABC television series Full House. Today, like her brother Kirk Cameron (Growing Pains, Fireproof), she is the rare Hollywood actor who is outspoken about her Christian faith and how it helps overcome certain obstacles.

Bure’s healthy lifestyle has been featured in US Weekly and People magazines as well as national talk shows including The View and NBC’s Today. In Reshaping It All, she continues the story, inspiring women to embrace a healthier lifestyle by moving faith to the forefront, making wise choices, and finding their worth in the eyes of God. Candace shares a candid account of her struggle with food and ultimately her healthy outlook on weight despite the toothpick-thin expectations of Hollywood.

More than a testimony, here is a motivational tool that will put readers on the right track and keep them there. In addition to practical advice, Candace offers a biblical perspective on appetite and self control that provides encouragement to women, guiding them toward freedom.

Includes 16-page black and white photo insert

[easyazon-image-link asin="1591857147" alt="The Maker's Diet: The 40-day health experience that will change your life forever" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51T2E-S-meL._SL160_.jpg" align="left" width="107" height="160"]One popular book I see a lot is The Maker’s Diet: The 40-day health experience that will change your life forever, which has additional resources tied to it that include: ,The Maker’s Diet for Weight Loss: 16-week strategy for burning fat, cleansing toxins, and living a healthier life!, Makers Diet Shopper’s Guide: Meal plans for 40 days – Shopping lists – Recipes,,Makers Diet Daily Reminders: Here are 365 daily reminders to encourage you to live in better health for the rest of your life. and Maker’s Diet Audio Experience

Set to chart-topping inspirational gospel music, these workouts combine the power of your faith with your desire to lose weight and get fit. It’s a party with a purpose, and you’re invited.

Each Body Gospel begins with a prayer, then gets you moving to joyful gospel music. This comprehensive at-home program combines faith, fitness, and nutrition to enhance your faith and transform your health. Soon, you’ll see and feel inspiring results. It inlucdes 6 DVDs including:

Body Revival:
This calorie-blasting cardio workout lifts your spirit, slims your body, and leaves you feeling energized all day long.

Core Revelation:
Lose those love handles and define your abs while slimming and trimming your thighs and backside.
Stretch in the Spirit:
Increase your flexibility, reduce stress, and breathe new life into your healthy temple

Power & Praise:
An interval-training workout with Donna’s specially designed resistance bands to help tone and define your muscles while you burn fat.

Gospel Glory:
An advanced body-slimming cardio workout to help shrink your hips and thighs, and flatten your tummy

Strength & Spirit:
Alternates between strength and cardio training for maximum fat and calorie burning. Sculpt and tone your body from head to toe.

It also includes a nutritional guide, strength bands, and online tools, t-shirts and more
Just 2 monthly payments of $39.95. Plus… a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee. More information

If you are looking to make it a competition check out these sites:

Weight Loss Wars

Earndit.com (You need something electronic like a Fitbit to track your changes).

Logical Weight Loss “Biggest Loser” Spreadhseet.

Christians Are Fatter Than Non- Church Goers is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today I talk about YouVersion a free bible app, that does so much more.

Here is what the event for this podcast looks like:

Free Christian Book

We also listen to a snippet of Organic Outreach for Ordinary People: Sharing Good News Naturally. Here is the description from Amazon.com

“Fulfill One of Your Deepest Longings Every follower of Jesus has a sincere desire to share God’s love with others. We want to tell friends and family about who Jesus is, what he means to us, and all he has done for them. Deep in our hearts we have a burning passion to pass on the good news we have received. But, where do we start? We want to share our faith, but we don’t want it to feel awkward, uncomfortable, or unnatural … for them or for us! Organic Outreach for Ordinary People will help you shape a personal approach to passing on the good news of Jesus in natural ways. This is not a system or a program. It’s a collection of biblical practices that you can incorporate into your life starting today. You can begin right where God has placed you. You can share the love and message of Jesus in a way that fits exactly how God has wired you. In this practical and easy-to-read book, Kevin Harney offers the tools needed to reach out with God’s love in organic ways. In these pages you will discover that sharing the good news of Jesus can be as natural as talking about your favorite sports team or telling a friend about a wonderful new restaurant. On the golf course, over coffee, while taking a walk—anywhere and everywhere—become a bearer of grace. Share the amazing love of God. Tell the life-changing story of Jesus. Discover ordinary ways to communicate God’s love and the message of salvation—naturally.”

You can get this audio book (read by the Author) for free by going to audibletrial.com/dave

Make Your Church Service Interactive is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today I comment on an article from Outrreach Magazine where they polled 100 Pastors.

They talk about creating leaders.

Talk about when to talk about Politics.

Favorite Words of Advice.

If I Could Do One Thing Differently is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Its Fall and as I sit in the stands of my local football game (My Step Son is in the Band) freezing I would LOVE if someone offered to buy me a hot chocolate. You could so this, and then hand the warm cup to the person with a small pamphlet for their church. Your actions would stand out, and the person should be thinking, “What’s up with this person?” The answer shuold be obvious: I’m a Christian. Here are some other fall activities:

1. Send teams of four to rake leaves.

2. Get some ladders and clean the gutters. Its a lot of work, but deeply apprecaited.

Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture

[easyazon-image-link asin="0825438942" alt="Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41G6iwQeEGL._SL160_.jpg" align="right" width="104" height="160"]The church spends $1.5 million for every one new follower of Jesus. Apple sells 26 iPads every minute. What is it that makes Apple so exciting and Jesus so boring? What is it that compels someone to bring their iPod everywhere and their Bible nowhere? In a word: marketing. Jesus is a life-changing product with lousy salespeople – people who are intimidated and embarrassed by the word “evangelism” and who show more enthusiasm for their gadgets than their God. What would life look like if we could market our faith like Nike and Apple market their products – sharing relationally, from person to person?

Using examples from these and other successful companies, author Tim Sinclair challenges Christians to throw out their casual attitudes toward faith and sign on for a marketing campaign for the Savior.

Written with the wit and wisdom of an experienced marketer, Branded peels away the feelings of fear and explains how to share faith in ways that are honest, authentic, and, most importantly, effective

Fall Connections and Branded: Sharing Jesus with a Consumer Culture is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today we review an article from Outreach magazine. They discuss how the Churches that are growing are:

1. Building Leaders

2. Going into the Community

3. Leading by Example

4. Understanding their congregations.

This comes from the Outreach Magazine Special issue “100 Largest and Fastest-Growing Churches in America.”

Grow a Church of Any Size is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

If you’ve listened to this podcast you know I’m a big Fan of Host Gator. Well they are offering some “Black Friday Offers”

First off all to anyone on the email list this is a bit of a rerun and I apologize.

Without further ado, here is the Black Friday 2010 Special Offer:

They’re offering 50% OFF EVERYTHING From 12:00AM CST to 5AM CST

They’re offering 80% OFF EVERYTHING From 5AM to 9AM CST WHILE SUPPLIES LAST (first come, first receive; so definitely don’t miss out!)

From 9AM to 11:59PM CST OR after 80% OFF accounts have sold out, They will continue to offer 50% OFF EVERYTHING

This applies to ALL Accounts and ALL Term Lengths. You have the opportunity to receive up to 80% off of up to 3 years worth of Hosting! That would come out to $35.64 for 3 FULL YEARS!

That includes Shared Hosting, Reseller Hosting, VPS Hosting AND even Dedicated Servers! Never before have we allowed the promotion on EVERYTHING including reseller, vps and dedicated servers!

This will apply to the client’s first invoice (first term length they sign up for whether that be 1 month or for 3 years).

This promotion gives our customers our award winning hosting for as little as:

Shared Hosting: $4.95/month AS LOW AS $0.99/month

Reseller Hosting: $24.95/month AS LOW AS $4.99/month

VPS Hosting: $19.95/month AS LOW AS $3.99 First Month

Dedicated Servers: $174/month AS LOW AS $34.80 First Month

As you can see, this is an absolutely CRAZY DEAL and you have an opportunity to make a LOT OF MONEY promoting our Black Friday 2010 Offer!

For more information Check out Host Gator’s Website

Host Your Churches Website for .99 a Month is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

One of the things you need to ask yourself as you look at your church family is “what do we have?” What talents are available in my congregation. As its not officially the holiday season, do you have a photographer? Why not offer free holiday pictures for Christmas Cards. When they show up for the picture, off to email the pictures to them (where they can opt in for future updates about your church – completely optional) or you can simply burn them to a CD and let them take the CD with them. With the low price of CDs this costs the church almost nothing and can be a great ice breaker. Now when everyone asks, “where did you have these photos taken they can answer the name of your church.” The photographer may pick up some extra business.

Free book The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask available on the Kindle for free for the next 10 days. If you have people who are afraid that they me “stumped” by someone this is a great read. I mentioned this book in a previous blog post.

Lastly, don’t let fear stop you from reaching out. You may take precaution, but do not fear stop you in your tracks.

Holiday Pictures is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

A group of teenagers ascended on Vineland in NJ to give out Free Hugs.

All they did was make some signs that read “free hugs” and went into the neighborhood. There wasn’t any street preaching, no bible banging, just hugs. They identified themselves as Christians, but the goal was to show God’s love for anyone who needed a hug.

Outreach doesn’t always need lots of planning, props, and promotion. Sometimes it can be as simple as a hug (and who doesn’t want a hug?).

If you’re not sure what to do? The bile says in 1st Corinthians that there are three items left. Faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love. Follow what Jesus is saying (through Paul). Lead with something that demonstrates our Christian Love.

This idea is from an old Outreach Magazine article.

Free Hugs – Simple and Effective is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Outreach Vs Evangelism

I was reading a great article in Outreach magazine. It was talking about how people use the words outreach and evangelism interchangeably. On this podcast I’ve been asking for your ideas on what you do to evangelize. Looking back, what I’ve been doing is asking for your outreach ideas.

Outreach is the Wii bowling league. Evangelism is not the prayer you do before you get started. It’s not the “movie night” you host at your church, or the regular Bible study on Wednesday night. Those actions are outreach. They are vehicles for you to bring people into your church (or other location) so they can meet you, and get to know you. You can start to build relationships through outreach. But outreach is not enough. You can feel good about paying for the person’s meal behind you in the drive through, but it’s not evangelism. It is a way to find something in common with people, and gently lead them to Christ.

Some define evangelism as “Joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God, and calling people to repentance, to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to active membership in the church, and to obedient service in the world.”

Outreach is a vital part of evangelism. We need to develop friends who are unchurched. We need to let them see that Christians are not as whacky as we are depicted on television. Outreach is a great tool for this, and it lays the groundwork for evangelism.

Without outreach, evangelism is like going up to a stranger and asking for their hand in marriage (before asking them on a date). It catches people off guard. It’s abrupt and assertive. On the other hand if you found someone you really like, you get along great, and you date for five years all of your friends will start to bug you and ask, “When are you going to get married (commitment)?. We worry about “forcing our beliefs” on someone, and end up doing outreach, outreach, outreach. It’s time to pop the question, “So what is your relationship with Jesus like?,” or “How do you feel about God?”

It’s tough pointing out to people that they are sinners and in need forgiveness. It might make them feel bad, and Satan will convince us to sit back and lay low. There is a difference between outreach and evangelism, and in the same way it makes no since to plant a garden and not harvest it, it makes no sense to perform outreach without evangelism.

Outreach Vs Evangelism is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

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Today I talk about some of the items that I’ve already blogged about. To be notifed when a new post comes out sign up for the newsletter (over on the left).

Can you imagine if we all write down what we’ve tried to get in touch with people outside of your church? Write odwn both the ones that worked and didn’t work, can you imagine how the people that come after us would benefit from such a list? People would read an idea and take them and tweak them into better ideas, more effective ideas, and avoid the ones that didn’t work so well. Can you imagine?

I’m already committing my 2010 to making this site better, and making sure its updated on a regular basis. I hope you will work with me to spread the word of Jesus. You can call in your comments at 888-563-3228, email me dave “at” growyourchurch show “dot” com (spelled out to avoid spam), or just leave a comment on the blog.

A Huge List of Evangelism Ideas is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

So many times we think we have to memorize a bunch of scriptures to be able to talk about God with people. We contemplate the worst case scenarios and we get scared about sharing our faith. Here is something you should ponder.

Answer this question:

What is your favorite Dessert?

(answer out loud or in your head, but answer the question).

Why?

If I was to answer this question I would say “Mitchell’s home made strawberry ice cream in Lakewood Ohio. There are actual chunks of strawberry in it, is so sweet and yummy. It doesn’t taste artificial at all, and ….(you get the picture)

Yet when we go to talk about God with people we meet, we get scared.  We don’t get worried about people asking for the recipe of our favorite dessert, but we get worried that we have to have the bible memorized before we can speak about our faith.

God Gets Bigger

As you get older, things from the past get smaller (like your high school or elementary school). However, as we get older and bigger God gets bigger as we have a better understanding of our faith. His mercy is so huge we can’t comprehend. Yet it is this awesome gift that we can’t find words to tell our friends.

What if you have more passion for ice cream than Christ? Then read the word, pray, and attend church on a regular basis. You will begin to see the world through his eyes, and your walk will become closer with God. Like your best friend, the more time you spend with them the better you understand each other, and develop a closer bond.

You didn’t have your favorite dessert memorized, and you don’t have to have the bible memorized to tell your friends about Christ.

Whats Your Favorite Dessert? is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

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According to an article in Christianity Today 80 to 85 percent of people looking for a new church find it through a website. With this in mind you NEED a website. If you do not have a website please contact me as I will counsel you for free on how you can get your own website for about 10 bucks a month.

Now that you have a website, and you know people will be going their first, why not direct people their first by using business cards that in a non aggressive fashion point people to your website, which points people to your church, which points them to Christ?

Business cards are fairly inexpensive, and if you buy enough for your congregation to hand out they are very inexpensive (pennies a piece). Right now PSPrint has their business cards 50% off. (offer expires soon).

To find out more about promoting with business cards, check out the book from Reno Lovinson “Turn your business card into business.”

What is God’s Take on Money?

With the economy in such bad shape, people are watching every penny. If you are looking for a way to reach out to your community this may be a topic that really gets their attention. I did a small amount of research and found two companies that help promote financial freedom using principles in the bible.

Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey has been helping people with their finances since 1988. He has been a millionaire twice. I just got done listening to the “Total Money Makeover” by Dave Ramsey, and this is a step by step approach to helping you get out of debt, and start saving money. Dave backs up his strategies with scripture references. One of his earlier books “Financial Peace Revisited” covers the attitude change that needs to take place to truly follow Gods principles. You can bring Dave’s “Financial Peace University” right to your church.  The leadership kit is around $300.  Each family member that attends need to buy the class membership for around $93 You can find out more at www.daveramsey.com

Crown Industries

Crown has been helping people with their finances for over 30 years. In fact in the book “Financial Peace” Dave Ramsey quotes Larry Burkett who was one of the founders of Crown Industries.  Crown Suggests that you start with their “Road to financial freedom.”  If you want to host this seminar at your church the kit is around $25. This kit will walk you through implementing the seminar at your church. You can order the materials for your church (a 4 week class) for $2.50 ea. Obviously ordering one copy and copying it would be stealing, and at $2.50 for each person, I found this to be absolutely reasonable.

The good news about crow is they have TONS of information. The bad news is they have tons of information (and it may be hard to find what you want). A call to their office had me listening to someone tell me to go back to their website.
UPDATE: I contacted my local representative and he was very, VERY helpful, and it turns out there are local meeting for leaders and for people looking to launch any of the many ministries crown offers.

You can find out more at www.crown.org

Chicken or the Egg?

I’m not sure who came up with the plan first, but if you compare Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Make Over” to Crown’s “Money Map” you will see they are almost identical (steps one, save $1000, step two pay off your debt).  If you want to investigate this yourself the Money Map is free (where Dave’s version has a monthly fee).  In general, I feel crown is more of a ministry that talks about money management. Dave Ramsey is focused on money management who happens to be a Christian. Both have great information.

T-shirt of the Week

One of the things I really liked about my honeymoon in Tennessee is I didn’t feel like a fish out of water. People were openly Christian, and I could see where sharing your faith would be easier in a more Christian environment.  So many times we feel like we are the only Christians on the planet. This is why I urge people to share their faith. Wear it on your body,  wear it on your car.  If we all don’t feel so out numbered we may have the confidence to be more open about our faith. This may be something as simple as handing someone a business card that points them at our church. The bottom line is we need to constantly point people to Christ in any way we can.  I saw a very cool static sticker that turns your break lights into a Jesus sign.

Music

Today’s music comes from Michael Jason Frost who is a great singer from Tennessee the song ‘God’s gonna give you a testimony” from the album “Sing Like it’s the last time”

You can find him at www.michaeljasonfrost.com

Promoting God with Business Cards is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today we talk with a Daniel Johnson Jr who shares some of his insights into using Facebook and Twitter with your church.

What the Heck is Twitter?

People answer this by saying “a micro blogging platform.” If we were to say this in English, you can use it as your own press release system, and you can only release very short items (144 characters).  The people who will receive your releases (called “tweets”) have to choose to “follow” you.  With this in mind it is a way for people of the congregation to update each other on what is going on in their life and stay in touch with each other. Here are some examples:

“Worship service starts in an hour”

“Megan had her child, it’s a boy, Ethan Bradley, mother and baby are fine.”

“This weeks sermon is “the most important thing for kids” ”

You can sign up for twitter at www.twitter.com

FaceBook

Facebook is a free website that allows you to make friends and when people update their status, their friends can see what is going on. You can share pictures, and much more. You can sign up at facebook at www.facebook.com

Time Shifting is the Key

One of the keys to both Face Book and Twitter is the ability to “time shift” your content. Think of this like an answering machine. When you leave a message for someone the person checks the message whenever they can get to it.  So I can leave a “tweet” on twitter, or post an update on Face Book and people can catch those items whenever they want to.

The best thing about twitter and face book is they are both free.

Reaching a Younger Audience

If you are trying to reach that younger audience, using twitter and facebook may make your church look “cool” and may entice people to stop in and see what’s going on.

Facebook, Twitter, and Your Church is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Wii Bowling League For Your Church

Today we get some email from a listener with some tips on a Wii Bowling League for your church.  These include:

1. Don’t bother personalizing the Wii characters.

2. You need at least two systems to have a league.

3. It takes around 4 hours with two lanes

4. Room for flexibility depending on how many games you bowl.

5. If needed you can charge to participate.

Personalize Your Thank You Notes

Technology is a great thing, and yes we can print directly on envelopes to send the through mail. This is fine in soe cases, but if you are sending a thank you note to a visitor you should hand write the enveloope (and if you have the handwriting the note as well). By taking the time (and effort) to hand write a note it shows its personalized, it’s not a form letter, and you took the time and effort to say thank you. We want to create a personalized experience for our guests so they can start a personalized experience with Christ.

T-shirt Of the Week is “Jesus – It’s just that Easy” from Kerusso. Show your faith to everyone around you.

Personalized Thank You Notes is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today we are talking about an article from Tony Morgan where he points out 10 things that Churches do on their website that make you NOT want to visit your church. You can read the list at his blog then I saw at faithhighway.com someone added an additional 5 mistakes.

You might be thinking, “My church doesn’t even have a website.” Well you can fix this by using WordPress and hosting it at Cooler Websites for a few bucks a month. You can also learn about wordpress by using a site known as Marketing Musician. While this site doesn’t focus on building a church website, you can learn the basics for $10 a month (and you can probably learn all you need in one month and cancel your subscription).

Other sites mentioned

School of Podcasting – www.schoolofpodcasting.com

MUSIC

Jon Bauer from www.jon-bauer.com

This show originates from www.growyourchurchshow.com

Top Mistakes Churches Make On Their Website is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

I just received my copy of Outreach Magazine’s “The Outreach 100” that spotlights the 100 largest and 100 fastest growing churches. This is some great information. You get this issue when you subscribe to the magazine or your can purchase it separately.

There is a great story “Starter Ideas for any church of any size” that really shows me ways we can serve our community and raise awareness. Items such as:

Hand out popcorn bags at the local video store that have your church’s information on it.

Have the youth replace the batteries in the smoke detectors in the neighborhood (batteries supplied by the congregation).

Go fishing (great idea for the older to mentor the younger)

Take food the the local firehouse, police stations and trash collectors around thanksgiving.

I had an idea of having a Wii Bowling League (another great activity that can unite older and younger people).

Offer marriage seminars (I recommend Love and Respect ).

These are fun low pressure ways to meet people in your neighborhood, as well as get to know your members better.  You can subscribe at www.outreachmagazine.com

Music

Steven S Billings “T.G.I.F. Thank God I’m Free

For more information go to http://www.myspace.com/stevensbillings

Ideas For Any Church Any Size is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

I got some great stats from the lovely people at kerusso.com who basically make the coolest t-shirts on the planet. They polled some of their customer and here is what they found.

98 Percent of those people wearing a christian t-shirt wanted their shirt to be noticed by unbelievers.

56.8 percent of the people wearing a shirt actually had an unbeliever ask about their shirt.

7.4 percent of the unbelievers made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their savior immediately from the faith-apparel discussion with a Christian T-shirt wearer

Starting your own T-shirt ministry is easy, and a fun way to break the ice with people. Plus I know as I wear mine,  I act different as I’m now representing Christ. You don’t want to give giving someone the bird and swearing out the window in a “Faith Book” t-shirt.

Impressions magazine said the average T-shirt may be read as many as 3,000 times before it’s thrown away.  You can find Kerusso t-shirts in our Amazon Store.

Starting Stats From “How To Share Your Faith” book.

I found a GREAT book called “How To Share Your Faith.” Its a quick read, and just so down to earth I loved it. It was filled with great examples. great references, and it really has me thinking, and preparing myself to start sharing my faith.

It did have one very shocking statistic. What percentage of CHRISTIANS have lead another person to Christ. Want to take a guess?

95% – nope

75% – still to high

50% – I’m sorry you’ve over-bid

35% – Sadly you’re still to high.

15% – Close, but not there.

5% of Christians have lead another person to Christ.

So if you think “Well isn’t that what the preacher is for?” the answer is WRONG!. That’s what YOU are for. Christ called us all to go out and preach the gospel. Now before we get too depressed at the statistic. Let’s look at it another way.

Look at all the room for improvement! You can do it.

Music

Jerimae Yoder – Evidence (more music from Jerimae)

Start a T-Shirt Ministry is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today I talk about an easy, inexpensive way to create an ice breaker. Take an address label and use your printer to have it say “I went to Church Today” (much like the “I voted today” stickers). This may be just the ice breaker to have someone ask, “What church do you go to?

Then be ready to provide a brief description of your church and then see if they ask for more information.

This was inspired by the Newsweek Article Stating the end of Christian America read full story. I think if we could all identify ourselves, we wouldn’t feel so alone. The media definitely wants us to feel like “outsiders” and to feel like we are an “idea” that has simply come and passed.

Bible Study Podcast

My friend Chris Christensen does the The Bible Study Podcast. The bible study podcast is just that. It is a podcast about what the bible says. It is not a political platform so if you are expecting a political theme, this is not the podcast for you. Yes, it is a Christian podcast. For more information go to http://thebiblestudypodcast.com

Music From Karmyn Tyler “Amazing Grace”

Karmyn Tyler is not only beautiful on the outside, but a tremendous person on the inside. I had the pleasure when my Fiance and I were in California a few years ago to attend the Tonight Show with Karmyn and some good friends.  Her voice is just amazing.

For more information about Karmyn, go to www.karmyntyler.com

photo by Michael D'Ambrosia

I Went To Church Today is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today I talk about the Book Just Walk Across the Room By Bill Hybels. It’s a great book, and I’ve already started to put some of the ideas into practice.  Here are some of my favorite points.

The Zone of the Unknown

Christ spoke with prostitutes, tax collectors (who were considered the lowest of the low), and strangers.  If Christ was here today, think of him starting up a conversation with Bernie Madoff.
If we just listen to our christian music, and hang out with out christian friends and attend our christian events, the church will die.

We Need To Be Prepared

Right now I’m getting ready to graduate college for the second time. I will be preparing answers that I’m sure I will be asked in job interviews. In the same way we need to think of the questions that the unchurched are going to ask us and be prepared. Bill points out that many times when we get asked about our faith we unleash an answer that is 45 minutes long and during which we take a total of two breaths.

The Jesus Christ Elevator Pitch

Thomas Edison has to sell the concept of the telephone. Not everyone got the idea. Likewise, there are times we will need to explain the benefits (“sell”) the idea of Christ. Bill says to get this ready in 100 words or less. This is as easy as thinking about your life before knowing Christ and after knowing Christ.  For me this is different ans I was raised in the church from day one. But none the less here is my answer to “Why do you follow Jesus?”

“I was raised in the church, so I’m not sure what life without Christ would be like, but I know that when times are hard, like when my Mom died at an early age, when I went through my divorce, my bankruptcy, and now getting my second degree at age 44, I never would it made it through any of these without the hope that Christ provides. I know God has a plan for me if I stay alert I will see his guidance. I’ve never known life without Christ, and I can’t imagine a life without him. ” (98 words).

Throw a “Matthew Party”

This is a part where you invite your unchurched friends, and your friends from church and you have fun. You get to know them. You understand them before trying to be understood. We just did this at my church. We had a “Remembering the 50′s” night where we listened to old music, had a pie throwing contest (poor pastor), and drank malts, and had french fires.  We had a fair number of people who had never graced our church show up. Using the techniques from the book, I was able to walk across the room and say “Hi, my name is Dave.”

Buy Just Walk Across the Room

You can get the Curriculum Kit for $66 at Amazon.com

You can get the book for $13 at Amazon.com

You can get the audio book at Audible for $17 (get the unabridged version)

This show originates from www.growyourhcurchshow.com

Just Walk Across the Room Reviewed is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

Today we interview Debi Hullinger the connections director from The Chapel in Akron, Oh and we great some great tips and resources.

Make Your Guests Feel Welcome

First things, they are not visitors. Visitors are those people that show up unannounced. You prepare for a guest (bake a cake? clean the house? etc).  But you can make them feel special in many ways such as:

1. Give them assigned parking (then you don’t have to guess if they are a visitor or not).
2. Give them a gift (like the book Anchor for the Soul), and have them fill out a card.
3. Have people designated to greet them.
4. Have a PLAN to DO SOMETHING with that card you have them fill out.

That guest to makes a first impression in as little as seven seconds. At that point they decide if they want come back again (before a song has been sung, a sermon has been preached, etc.).

The Attitude of the Chapel

Debi explains at how its nice on Sundays when they “bring the Church inside.” During the week the congregation is the church as they are “out there.” They occasionally hold classes on evangelism using the curriculum “Just Walk Across the Room” ( I just bought this audio book from Audible and its awesome). They have a library (why not pool all your Christian related books so your congregation can have a constant stream of knowledge).

It Was Nice to Worship With You

One thing you can do (regardless of your church size) is to look around you at the end of the service and find someone you don’t know. Go to them and say, “Hi I’m ___ I don’t think I’ve met you before. It was nice worshiping with you. Then take a few minutes and chit chat. Now next week you have a new friend. Find another person you don’t know. Maybe introduce your new friend to the person you met last week.

Music

Green Bananas by the Rev. Jimmie Bratcher

I had the pleasure of meeting Jimmie in California at a podcasting convention. This song is great fun with a great message. We don’t know when Christ is coming back. It might be a year from now, it might be tomorrow, so don’t sell me no green bananas.

Coming In the Future

In future episodes I will be talking about the book Fusion, my Connection Power demo, your website, and more.

Join In the Conversation

Call our toll free number 888-563-3228
Leave a message on this site (comment)
Send an email to dave “at” growyourchurchshow “dot” com (separated to avoid spam).

This show originates from www.growyourchurchshow.com

Mega Church Insights is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

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Welcome to “episode zero” of the Grow Your Church Show. This is that boring show where you learn a little about the host, what inspired the show, and what to expect. With that in mind:

Dave Jackson

I’m the host. I’m 44 and I attend the Community Baptist Church of Tallmadge. I’m interested in growing my church, so that is one of the reasons I started it. I also think that a podcast can be a great way that Christians can have a “water cooler” to share ideas of that is and is not working at your church.

Same Message – Different Formats

I was at amazon.com and I saw where you can get the movie “Gone with the Wind” in the following formats:

1. The sound track
2. As a VHS tape
3. As a DVD
4. As a special 4 DVD package
5. As a 70th Anniversary edition on Blue Ray.

It’s the same movie, but its in different formats. Why? Because some people like VHS, some people like a DVD. So the company behind Gone with the Wind is delivering it in the formats that people want.

Likewise, one of the thoughts behind the “Grow Your Church” show is that the gospel of Jesus Christ will never change. However, we need to deliver it in formats that people want to consume it. This may be via podcast, via email, via contemporary service, via traditional service. It’s all the same message in different formats.

I hope you help us by sharing what is working (or not working) via email, phone, or by commenting on this blog, or by participating in our forums. If you don’t feel like doing any of those, I ask you to pray for this podcast. My goal is to harness the power of the Internet so we can all work together to further the message of Christ.

- Dave

Same Message – Different Formats is a post from: Grow Your Church Show

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