Entries from Off the Agenda tagged with: outreach
Earlier this year, right before Easter, we shared a couple of Easter-themed videos from St. Helen's Bishopgate in London. That same church has produced a good evangelistic film about Christmas, which you might want to consider embedding on your own...
Simon Fox is executive director of Adventures in Caring, an organization that mobilizes volunteers to visit the sick and lonely in hospitals and nursing homes. He spoke with BuildingChurchLeaders.com about the practice of compassion. What is compassion, and how...
Tags used in this post:
outreach, relationships, service,
September 2, 2009
5 Common Cultural Differences
Things to remember when reaching out across cultural lines.
Our newest download is designed to help you equip yourself and others in your church for outreach to other faiths. Often the barriers we face in doing this aren't just religious—they're cultural. Below are five cultural barriers a Westerner...
Tags used in this post:
culture, evangelism, outreach,
In response to our latest resource on refugee and immigrant ministry, BCL reader Don Byers passed on this encouraging story from Jay Bell, director of Internationals USA, Grace Brethren International Missions: Recently we conducted our workshop (on reaching other...
The video above—assembled by World Relief—tells the story of the Dengs, a Sudanese refugee family that came to Chicago. It's a poignant glimpse into how refugee ministry can bless both the local church and the refugees themselves. If you're...
July 20, 2009
We Need Your Back-to-School Outreach Ideas
LeadingOutreach.com will be oh-so-grateful!
Here in Chicagoland it's barely felt like summer this year, but fall is already beginning to draw near. For lots of families, fall means back to school. Our sister website, LeadingOutreach.com, is anticipating the back-to-school season, and they're looking...
How does your church approach the task of outreach? There's a new entry at the provocatively titled blog Church Marketing Sucks (in quality, not philosophically, they mean) that shares one pastor's methodology: "come and care." The pastor, who came...
Tags used in this post:
blogspotting, outreach,
Ben Lowe is the author of Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for Creation (IVP 2009) and a co-coordinator for Renewal, a grassroots network committed to equipping students in the compassionate stewardship of all of God's creation. Off the...
Tags used in this post:
3 questions, creation care, outreach, young adults,
In my Google News feed this morning, an article from an Illinois paper caught my eye: "How to choose a church -- Four suggestions for seekers." The piece is written by an outreach pastor and is apparently part of...
Tags used in this post:
communication, decision making, newcomers, outreach,
May 27, 2009
What Do Young Adults Think of Church?
A survey by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
Our new resource this week is Outreach to Young Adults. In light of that topic, I went and found the above video, which was produced by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. This 15-minute piece features a wide sample of...
Tags used in this post:
outreach, video, young adults,
I tend not to pay much attention to sensationalistic titles. The last thing we need, I figure, is another alarmist manifesto on how bad the world is becoming. And that's what I thought David Olson's The American Church in...
Tags used in this post:
book corner, church planting, culture, outreach,
April 8, 2009
Free Videos for Your Easter Service
Great presentations on the gospel and the resurrection's historicity.
This pair of excellent Easter videos below comes courtesy of St. Helen's Bishopgate in London. If you're looking for any last-minute additions to your service this Sunday, these could be a great fit. THAT'S EASTER Life to Death from St...
March 30, 2009
Our Outreach Story Contest Winners
Be encouraged by these amusing and/or humbling moments.
A few weeks back, we asked for your humbling/embarrassing outreach stories. Well, the five winning entries have been chosen! Check them out below and see if you can relate. When I was a junior in college, working on my...
Tags used in this post:
contest, evangelism, outreach,
February 25, 2009
Fess Up to Messing Up and Win a Free Book!
Send us your most humbling, and amusing, outreach stories.
Outreach is a vulnerable thing, which is why most of us don't do it as much as we should. Sometimes we even make fools of ourselves. In light of this week's featured resource, Evangelistic and Newcomer Ministry, we're holding...
Tags used in this post:
contest, evangelism, outreach,
February 17, 2009
BlogSpotting: Chuck Warnock on Assimilating Newcomers
Can established groups welcome new members?
At Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor, Chuck Warnock offers an example from his church that backs up Lyle Schaller's mantra, "New people need new groups." Schaller reasoned that, since existing groups tend to resist newcomers, churches must create new...
Tags used in this post:
blogspotting, community, newcomers, outreach,
Most evenings these days, there's a knock at the door shortly after my wife and I get home from work. We know who's there: three young girls from our apartment building. When my wife took an interest in them, she...
May 14, 2008
Missional Construction?
What the building preferences of the unchurched mean, and don’t mean.
People who don't go to church may be turned off by a recent trend toward more utilitarian church buildings. By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio over any other option, unchurched Americans prefer churches that look more like a medieval cathedral than...
April 21, 2008
Secular Thoughts on Sacred Marketing
Seth Godin’s advice on spreading your church’s message.
StreamingFaith.com recently sat down with marketing guru Seth Godin and asked his advice on church "marketing" in our increasingly plugged-in, techno-driven society. At the forefront of Godin's thought-world these days is "new marketing" - methods of communicating messages that aren't...
Tags used in this post:
outreach, pop culture, technology,
Last week, we continued our series of short-term missions downloads with a download of practical articles for crossing cultures. (You can see it here.) This week, we’re continuing this focus. We’ve created a Listmania collection on Amazon to pull together...
Tags used in this post:
administration, missions, outreach,
About this time last year, our outreach committee (of which I am a member) began planning our church's participation in the community's Fourth of July parade. It's a big deal. Literally everyone in town shows up. Consequently, it has been...
Tags used in this post:
boards, community, evangelism, outreach, volunteers,
February 14, 2008
To Those Who Lead the Rural Church
An open letter to an increasingly marginalized—and marginalizing—church
Each week this month, BuildingChurchLeaders.com is considering how different expressions of Christianity can more faithfully embody the calling God has placed on them. These letters are patterned off the words of Jesus in Revelation 2?3. While they lack the authority...
Tags used in this post:
community, evangelism, failure, outreach, vision,
February 4, 2008
Pushing the Comfort Zones of Small Groups
Why today’s small groups need to move beyond a traditional Bible study
As part of my work with www.BuildingSmallGroups.com, I recently had the privilege of interviewing Alan Hirsch on the subject of his book The Forgotten Ways. If you're not familiar with that book, it's basically a call for the church -...
Tags used in this post:
Bible study, community, outreach, small groups,
December 20, 2007
It’s Not About Gay Rights
If the church doesn’t shepherd people through questions of sexual identity, sociology and psychology will.
Last summer, a friend of mine walked away from the church because he felt like his struggle with homosexuality was a non-issue for his church. There was no confrontation that pushed him away - hardly anyone at his church...
Tags used in this post:
community, current events, outreach, pop culture, training,
December 6, 2007
Wisely Managing Use of the Building
Five reasons churches need up-to-date policies and practices on facility use
Many communities struggle with a shortage of public space in which to hold meetings, events, and offer education. These communities often view local churches and their facilities as accessible and welcoming places that meet their needs. When it comes to...
Tags used in this post:
buildings, community, evangelism, legal, missional, outreach, risk, sample forms,
October 22, 2007
What Makes a Small Group?
Some clearly define "small groups," and some don't--here's why it's important we do.
Several months ago I had the privilege of attending the Purpose-Driven Small Groups conference at Saddleback Church. Randy Frazee was the opening plenary speaker, and he started off with a quote from Lyle Schaller that still has my attention today:...
Tags used in this post:
Bible study, community, evangelism, outreach, small groups,
Off The Agenda: Conversations for Building Church Leaders is a blog where people in church leadership positions — pastors, staff members, and volunteers, among others — gather for discussion, where they encourage, equip, and prepare each other for the joys and challenges...
Tags used in this post:
administration, Bible study, boards, budget, buildings, burnout, children's ministry, community, compromise, current events, devotions, difficult people, elections, evangelism, failure, family, fund-raising, giving, hiring, legal, liability, mediation, meditation, men's ministry, missional, missions, money, multimedia, outreach, pastors, politics, pop culture, prayer, quiet time, recruiting, risk, sample forms, seniors, small groups, spiritual gifts, staff, stewardship, study, team, technology, time management, tithing, training, vision, volunteers, women's ministry, worship,
October 15, 2007
The Secret Resistance to Church Growth
"Every church wants to grow, right? Not necessarily. Some leaders and members subconsciously may see growth as threatening and prefer to keep things ?the way they used to be.' This secret resistance among key people will surely inhibit growth." -...
Tags used in this post:
budget, buildings, difficult people, evangelism, fund-raising, outreach, recruiting, stewardship, vision,
October 15, 2007
Breaking Your Church's Code
What is code? It's a difficult question. We can talk about code as the essence or soul of a church. We can talk about what code does, which is to shape the face of how the church displays itself to...
Tags used in this post:
evangelism, missional, outreach, vision,
October 15, 2007
Evangelical Drop-Outs
Our friends at Out of Ur recently wrote a post regarding a new survey that finds 70 percent of young adults stop attending church by age 23. The research was conducted by LifeWay Research and directed by Ed Stetzer,...
Tags used in this post:
community, current events, evangelism, failure, missional, outreach, pop culture, recruiting, vision,
October 15, 2007
Dr. Alvin Sanders
Following years of urban ministry in Chicago and Cincinnati, Alvin and his wife, Caroline, founded River of Life Church in downtown Cincinnati in the midst of civil unrest over the shooting death of an African American teenager by a white...
Tags used in this post:
community, compromise, difficult people, mediation, outreach, pop culture, training, vision,
October 15, 2007
Leith Anderson
Leith’s many interests involve him in pastoring, teaching, writing, speaking, and leadership. Leith earned a master of divinity from Denver Seminary in Denver, Colorado, a doctor of ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, and a doctor of divinity...
Tags used in this post:
boards, community, elections, evangelism, family, outreach, pastors, staff, stewardship, team, time management, training, vision, volunteers, worship,
October 15, 2007
Ruth Haley Barton
Ruth Haley Barton is co-founder and president of The Transforming Center, a ministry dedicated to caring for the souls of pastors and the congregations they serve. She is a teacher, spiritual director, and retreat leader trained through the Shalem Institute...
Tags used in this post:
community, devotions, evangelism, family, meditation, outreach, pastors, prayer, quiet time, spiritual gifts, staff, team, training, vision, volunteers, women's ministry,
October 15, 2007
Chris Blumhofer
Chris Blumhofer is assistant editor for BuildingChurchLeaders.com, where he began working in February 2006. In his role, Chris coordinates and edits many of the articles and training downloads that reach Building Church Leaders' customers. Chris attends College Church in Wheaton,...
Tags used in this post:
Bible study, boards, budget, children's ministry, community, devotions, elections, evangelism, family, meditation, missional, missions, outreach, pastors, pop culture, prayer, quiet time, staff, stewardship, team, training, vision, volunteers, worship,
October 15, 2007
Matt Branaugh
Matt Branaugh is director of editorial and special projects for Christianity Today International's Your Church Media Group. Prior to this role, he led Christianity Today's Ministry Team, which includes BuildingChurchLeaders.com and FaithVisuals.com. He is passionate about equipping and energizing church...
Tags used in this post:
children's ministry, community, evangelism, family, men's ministry, missions, outreach, pop culture, seniors, staff, study, team, training, vision, volunteers,
October 15, 2007
Dave Ferguson
Dave Ferguson is the lead pastor of Community Christian Church, a multi-site, missional community in Chicagoland that draws more than 5,000 people every weekend at eight locations. The church recently was recognized as one of the most influential churches in...
October 15, 2007
Gordon MacDonald
Gordon MacDonald is an author, speaker, and teacher. He was a pastor for more than 40 years, most recently the senior minister at Grace Chapel, Lexington, Massachusetts. When he stepped down from that position, the Grace Chapel congregation honored him...
Tags used in this post:
Bible study, boards, budget, community, elections, evangelism, family, outreach, pastors, politics, quiet time, staff, stewardship, team, time management, training, vision, volunteers,
October 15, 2007
Reggie McNeal
Reggie enjoys helping people, leaders, and Christian organizations pursue more intentional lives. He currently serves as the Missional Leadership Specialist for Leadership Network of Dallas, Texas. Reggie’s past experience involves more than a decade as a denominational executive and leadership...
Tags used in this post:
boards, community, current events, evangelism, missional, outreach, pastors, stewardship, vision,
October 15, 2007
Sue Mallory
Sue Mallory, the author of The Equipping Church and co-author of The Equipping Church Guidebook, has spent more than 20 years in full-time ministry. Sue served as the founding executive director of Leadership Training Network (LTN) for eight years and...
Tags used in this post:
community, evangelism, outreach, recruiting, staff, team, training, vision, volunteers,
October 15, 2007
Kevin Miller
Kevin A. Miller is editor-at-large of Leadership journal and executive vice president at Christianity Today International. Kevin writes for Leadership journal and PreachingToday.com, and he is a featured speaker for Preaching Today Audio. Kevin is also the author of several...
Tags used in this post:
boards, burnout, community, elections, evangelism, hiring, multimedia, outreach, pastors, politics, staff, stewardship, study, team, technology, time management, training, vision, volunteers,
October 15, 2007
Marshall Shelley
Marshall Shelley is editorial vice-president of Christianity Today International, and editor in chief of the Leadership Media Group, which includes Leadership journal, PreachingToday.com, BuildingChurchLeaders.com, FaithVisuals.com, SmallGroups.com, and ChristianBibleStudies.com. He served as general editor of The Quest Study Bible, a best-selling...
Tags used in this post:
boards, burnout, compromise, difficult people, evangelism, family, outreach, pastors, staff, stewardship, team, time management, training, vision,
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