Three reproducing movements that may stem church decline
By admin | October 24, 2008
Three reproducing movements that may stem church decline
by: Bill Easum
Reproductive church planting
The emphasis today among many leaders isn’t on church planting. Rather their emphasis is on planting churches that plant churches.
Reproductive multi-site
The multi site segment of this movement has gone beyond the fad stage or the “we’re out of room” stage and is now a full-blown method of spreading the Good News.
Reproductive raising up leaders
Equipping and coaching ministries are the underbelly of first two reproductive movements. It is impossible to exponentially plant churches and grow multi sites without greatly expanding the number and depth of leadership.
What do these three movements have in common?
Each of these movements harbors a DNA in which leaders understand their role to release a reproductive gene into the environment in a mindset that craves multiplication rather than addition. This craving results in church plants that plant churches, single site churches that multiply as fractals into many sites, and every leader mentoring a disciple. This DNA carries Jesus’ expectation “feed my sheep” to its ultimate conclusion—a shepherd feeds sheep so the sheep are strong enough to reproduce.
What are the keys to these movements?
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Jesus on Facebook: Churches use social-networking sites
By admin | October 22, 2008
Jesus on Facebook: Churches use social-networking sites
Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are redefining the way many Americans build and maintain relationships—and also how their churches communicate.
In the last few years, relating to social contacts through such sites has become practically ubiquitous among the under-30 crowd, and the practice quickly is spreading upward along the demographic spectrum.
Simultaneously, Christian leaders are realizing the sites can be useful tools, particularly for youth ministry and college groups, enabling group members to reach each other consistently and instantaneously.
That’s because social-networking sites are the new coffeehouses and community centers of the Internet. They are places where people can stay connected—in some cases, practically constantly—with what is going on in the lives of their friends, family and colleagues.
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People use their online profile pages to post pictures, send messages, create events and invite people to them, and provide status updates to show what is going on in their lives.
Dale Tadlock, the 41-year-old associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Waynes-boro, Va., has been in student ministry 20 years. He stays linked with his students using Facebook.
He even does visitation through the site. When newcomers fill out visitors’ cards at his youth group meetings, many mark “Facebook” as the best way to contact them.
While on the go, Tadlock uses the Internet feature of his “smart phone” mobile device to check Facebook to find out his students’ latest status. Their profiles reveal current activities, pictures they’ve added and other Facebook users with whom they’ve had recent contact.
Topics: Ministry, Online Media | No Comments »
What the Church should learn from Google (1 of many)
By admin | October 18, 2008
What the Church should learn from Google (1 of many)
The title speaks for itself…so here ya go.
1. Make your user interface simple!
There are few user interfaces that are simpler to use than the Google search box. Who would have imagined that the massive scope of the entire Internet could be navigated through that simple box? In contrast, we (The Church) often seem to create extremely complex interfaces to the same basic, but yet important, content. Now, to be fair, many times that is not intentional. But…that’s actually the problem (lack of intention)!
Just to clarify, I’m not simply talking about our websites. We make it complex for people to find answers about God or be a part of a church in general. We put so many barriers in front of people and try to simultaneously convey way too much information and give people very little control over what information they receive and how/where they receive it.
I would never use Google if it required me to leave my house and travel to an unfamiliar building on Sunday only once a week…listen to 30 minutes of unrecognizable music, followed by a person talking for 30-40 minutes, and still possibly have to try to find a person who looked “official” just to find “results” for my search. That would be absurd! But, that is a substantially abbreviated version of what so many churches put people through who are searching.
I’m not talking about the content you communicate (though that should be easy to understand/navigate too!), but rather the way people access and interact with that content. Is it easy for them to find what they’re looking for? And what about things they don’t even know they should be looking for—is there a simple flow of involvement that leads them there?
Topics: Technology | No Comments »
Pastor’s Video Reaches 1.5 Million Views on GospelTube.com
By admin | October 15, 2008
Pastor’s Video Reaches 1.5 Million Views on GospelTube.com
It’s not every day that you see a Pastor’s video clip, spreading the word; get a million views on any one video sharing website - let alone a fairly new Christian site known as Gospeltube. Well, Bishop Lester Love of Greater Antioch Church of Louisiana has reached that mark and everyone is talking about it.
Nashville, TN (PRWEB) October 9, 2008 — It’s not every day that you see a Pastor’s video clip, spreading the word; get a million views on any one video sharing website - let alone a fairly new Christian site known as Gospeltube. Well, Bishop Lester Love of Greater Antioch Church of Louisiana has reached that mark and everyone is talking about it.
The Christian video clip is very powerful and teaches its viewers how you can take mainstream love songs, and change the words to let God know how much you love him. “I am excited that over 1 million viewers have joined me in singing love songs to God. My goal is to offer a practical approach to ministry that can provide an outlet to worship for anyone from any background. Regardless of where you are in your spiritual walk you can still give God praise. I really believe it all depends on who you are singing to!” says Bishop Love.
Topics: Online Media | No Comments »
Worshiping online: Is it really church?
By admin | October 11, 2008