An Entertaining Week!

This week started out for my by attending the Externally Focused Church Seminar with Don Handyside at Roanoke Bible College. The focus of the seminar was to teach us how our church can get more involved in the community.

One of the biggest statements that was emphasized was we help others becasue it is part of who we are. We help others because we are Christians. The seminar also helped me realize the potential of our church getting involved in the community.

The potential is we will win more people to Christ and we will become a influence of good in this community. Thay explained the process this way. You help some people out. While you help others out you develop relationships. As these relationships grow opportunities will pop up where we can share our faith in Jesus Christ. As we share people begin turning to him.

It's not like we go into the community breathing hellfire and passing out tracts. We build relationships with people and then we simply open the door for Jesus to cross their path.

I left the seminar pretty jazzed by this idea.

Also, I am currently reading a book about how to bring and keep people into our church. In the book the author has some startling numbers. If you want to maintain the current attendance of your church then you need at least 3 new visitors each week per 100 people. If you want to grow moderately then it jumps to 5 new guests per 100 in atendance. For a fast growing church you need 7-10 guests each week.

If our church is going to continue to grow rapidly then I suggest we all begin to pray for 10 new guests a week.

Kirk