Evangelism & Church Growth Home

4 Ideas For Any Church Any Size

Email a welcome video to 1st time guests. It costs nothing to distribute and makes a big impression.
Give the church a new sense of mission in the community by helping with housing projects, feeding programs, school-supply giveaways and other weekday ministries.
Follow up with guests using a handwritten note instead of a typed one, which often feels like another form letter. Distinguish your correspondence from "junk mail" and make a personal connection.
Start developing apprentice leaders in your midst. Ask every small group leader to identify an apprentice and charge him/her with responsibilities, such as leading prayer time.

TheCommon.org

Many churches spend much needed administrative time acting as the 'middle-man' for connecting individuals in their church with the various needs present as well. This process can be exhausting and leaves many of the same people being asked to do most of the volunteering, never allowing others to get involved simply because their abilities may not be known to the administrative person doing the searching.

TheCommon.org is a great resource that E&CG feels is one way to help alleviate this tedious process. TheCommon.org is an online resource which "helps people in communities help each other by connecting people with matching needs inside their community."

The E&CG office feels that this is a great tool in which our churches can utilize to have greater impact for the Kingdom and build the body of Christ, and has put a direct link on their website to TheCommon.org.

To find out how your church can use TheCommon.org, check them out at simply that, www.TheCommon.org.

Prayer Evangelism

Ramadan, the month of prayer & fasting for many Muslims, begins some time between August 20th & 22nd this year. During this month, people give the greeting, “Ramadan Kareem”, which means “precious/valued Ramadan” or “have a good Ramadan” - and we hope that this really will be the time that they can get something precious from the fasting & praying that they do.

Please pray for all Muslims during this time, as many are truly seeking God and truth, and pray for those who are trying to share the Good News of Jesus with them. This is always a spiritually oppressive time for believers living in Muslim-majority nations, but it can also be a time for many open doors. Pray that the Spirit will be able to work in those who have heard or read the Word. Please pray God would draw people to himself.

Click here for an online 30 Day Prayer Calendar Guide during Ramadan.

Is Your Church Externally Focused?

4 Characteristics of an Externally Focused Church:

Externally focused churches are convinced that good deeds and good news can't and shouldn't be separated. Just as it takes two wings to lift an airplane off the ground, so externally focused churches couple good news with good deeds to make an impact in their communities. The good news explains the purpose of the good deeds.
They see themselves as vital to the health and well-being of their communities. They believe that their communities, with all of their aspirations and challenges, cannot be truly healthy without the church's involvement. It is only when the church is mixed into the very life and conversation of the city that it can be an effective force for change.
They believe that ministering and serving are the normal expressions of Christian living. Even more, they believe that Christians grow best when they are serving and giving themselves away to others. They are convinced that Christians can learn through good instruction, but they really cannot grow if they remain uninvolved in ministry and service.
Externally focused churches are evangelistically effective. People are looking for places of authenticity where the walk matches the talk, where faith is making a difference.

— Excerpted from “The Externally Focused Church” by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson

What Your Church Can Do In This Time Of Recession

IDEA BANK: Work Wanted

Pink Slip Care
Assemble practical care packages for the newly laid off – workers’ rights laws for your state; recent help-wanted ads with Post-it notes and a pen; a grocery gift card; a directory of government services; mortgage renegotiation programs and local relief organizations; and a resumé checklist, paper, envelopes and stamps. Encourage church members to give the packages to anyone they know who has just lost a job.

Job Pool
Ask church members to fill out a card indicating available jobs they know of or jobs they’re seeking. Use your church Web site and information boards at coin-operated laundry facilities, coffee shops and grocery stores to disperse the information to your community. (Tip: Delegate this ministry to an unemployed church member and compensate him or her – even if only a little – for their time.)

Weekly Gathering
Reach out to the unemployed in both the church and your community through a weekly gathering at the church, a coffeehouse or other community hangout. Offer a time of sharing and, at the end, give people an opportunity to pray and be prayed for. Ask people to submit written prayer requests and let them know a team of people will be praying for them throughout the week.

Resumé Tune-Ups
Host a free resumé workshop at your church. Recruit or compensate local personnel directors, career counselors (and maybe even an English teacher!), etc., to give a brief resumé dos and don’ts seminar, followed by some hands-on assistance for attendees.

New Videos from Western Penn District

A version of the popular "Mac vs. PC" commercials has made its way into The Wesleyan Church.

The Church Multiplication Task Force (CMTF), made up of pastors on the Western Pennsylvania District, seeks to equip pastors in leadership and empower local Wesleyan churches.

"Our goal was to equip and empower local Wesleyan churches to fulfill the Great Commission in the spirit of the Great Commandment, and the videos are one way that we are seeking to do that," says Shawn Cossin, senior pastor at Sandy Lake Wesleyan Church in Sandy Lake Pa., and chairman of CMTF. "We wanted to creatively address common misconceptions and concerns that could keep churches from joining the Mission Multiplication Movement (multiplying disciples, leaders, and churches)."

A few of the one-minute videos were originally performed as a live skit at the recent Western Pennsylvania district conference. To view the videos, visit www.theydidwewill.org.

The Wesleyan Church

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