DAWN Fridayfax 1997 #35

DAWN News from USA

USA: Mormon missionary is saved

Steve McNutt was a Mormon missionary from 1984 to 1986, during which time he met many evangelical Christians who spoke with him about the Gospel. Recently, he felt strangely attracted to a service at the Belmont Heights Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee which he saw advertised in a newspaper, and went to the service. He responded to one of the altar calls, and was baptised the following week. He describes what it means for him to have started a personal relationship with Jesus Christ: "From the Mormon perspective, I have just left the 'true church' and will spend eternity in hell, but I could never have imagined experiencing such a peace as now." He immediately started telling his Mormon friends about his experience. "They tell me that they can see an almost incredible joy in my life. I used to be depressive and cynical, but my life changed when I became a Christian. When Mormons see this transformation, they begin to feel something."
Source: Tobin Perry, Religion Today.

Debunking 9 church-growth myths

"If we build it, they will come"

Many churches have unrealistic expectations of a new building. It is better to concentrate on expanding your ministry by adding new staff and on improving quality. This and an effective integration of new members into the body attracts people, not a new church building.

"A pastor shouldn't change anything in his first year"

That may be good advice if your predecessor left in unpleasant circumstances. Otherwise, make the most of the 'honeymoon' - earn trust, make allies, and initiate overdue change.

"People will come if we are friendly"

People will come if your services are relevant to their spiritual needs.

"We need more money before we can expand our ministry"

If your finances are chronically low, make sure you are not communicating low expectations. Congregations need a challenge to get involved; give yours an exciting vision.

"The best pastors are enablers or facilitators"

That's true for small churches - they want a 'loving shepherd'. Churches with more than 125 members need a leader with initiative.

"More people will join the church as our community grows"

It is more likely that the competition will grow: new churches, improved programmes, more staff and better quality are needed.

"As we grow, our budget per person will decrease"

The 'cost per unit' may sink if you're building cars, but it won't with church members. As more people come, the church needs to add new programmes and improve quality, which adds costs.

"It's time to extend our building so that we can have a single service again"

Multiple services allow more flexibility. Consider ways of tailoring each of your services to a particular segment of the population.

"The sermons should be shorter"

The larger the congregation, the longer the service. Larger churches need longer worship times to move from "a collection of individuals" to "a worshipping community". Higher attendance also makes it necessary to focus more on teaching, spiced up with effective humour, pacing, anecdotes and sensible repetition.

Source: Leadership, Winter 1997

Boat services - like Jesus on Lake Galilee

For many people, vacation does not mean time out of services, according to Religion Today on 26 August 1997. Many pastors find holidaymakers to be interested and open to the gospel. A group of pastors in Lake Wawasee in Syracuse, Indiana, USA, took the initiative in modernising Jesus' example on the Lake Galilee: using a motorboat as a pulpit, they drop anchor around 40 meters from the shore, with their church in boats around them. On a typical Sunday, the congregation is between 80 and 100 boats containing a total of some 400 people, and another 100 listen from the shore. Even hotel guests are attracted by the unusual collection of boats. From a jetty, volunteers with small fishing nets on poles take the collection, which often reaches US$1000. The proceeds are used for projects carried out by the 12 churches involved. Many visitors describe the events as "the best cathedral I have ever visited". The pastor's stern voice does not always harmonize with the relaxed atmosphere of people dangling their feet in the water, but many observers comment that vacation is a good time for such projects, because the beautiful surroundings and lack of work pressure make the people more thoughtful.
Source: Religion Today.

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