People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
Comprehensive Care
by James W. Moss, Sr.
The times are complicated. Harry has a job that involves at least fifty hours of work a week and some travel. He is away from home a minimum of three nights a month. Mary works a full-time job as well. It takes both working to satisfy their financial obligations. They share responsibilities for the house. They have three children aged 12, 10, and 8. They play on three different baseball teams and three different basketball teams in the winter. Mary does most of the shuttling. They do attend Mountain Church about forty Sundays a year. It is safe to say that life is hectic for this family.
The above description is not unusual. It is repeated thousands of times over in many homes. It would be so simple for these families to slip through the crack and disappear from church altogether. Many do. They could just say, “We are too busy for church.” It is true they wouldn’t have to have so many commitments, but they do. Attention has to be provided to keep them involved in the life of the church.
Harry and Mary found Mountain Church in response to a mailing which also advertised their website. They were impressed with the quality of the church’s website.
Harry and Mary are miles from their extended families. Mountain Church has assigned a grandparent couple to mentor and keep in touch with Harry and Mary. Every couple of months, George and Barbara take their newly adopted family out to supper. Every once in a while they baby sit in an emergency. They attend the kids games with some regularity. The kids always hunt up their “new” grandparents every Sunday.
Harry and Mary are in a Sunday school class that has eleven families that look a lot like they do. They are studying a variety of relevant issues from a biblical perspective. They are a big help to each other as they wrestle with various issues of life.
The church has a vibrant ministry for youth and children. Without that, these families wouldn’t be here.
On Fridays an email message goes to everyone in the church who has shared their address with a brief spiritual challenge and an outline of the programs and schedule for the weekend.
On Thursday, a bulletin with a hand written note goes into the mail to any of the families that missed the Sunday before.
The individuals in this group are growing and maturing spiritually. They are so excited about what is happening in their church that they are inviting others as well. Though the people in this group are relatively new, they are beginning to take leadership roles in the church. It is amazing how busy people will find time to fulfill a meaningful role. It is also exciting to see how new people will frequently move to the front quicker than some of the old-timers who have seemingly “retired” from church work.
Mountain Church averages 137 in worship on Sunday mornings. Can a church this size conduct this kind of vibrant ministry? Oh, yes! Many churches with an average of less than 200 have a vibrant, relevant ministry. It may not be as complicated as it sounds.
There needs to be a devout commitment to the Lord and the Word. There needs to be a passion to reach new people for the kingdom. There needs to be a willingness to adapt and adjust programming to make possible these achievements. There will need to be some new programming and a willingness to allow new leadership to surface. Then again, change is not always as easy as it sounds.
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Read about Jim's seminars and books.
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April 13, 2005. Volume 8, Issue
7.
People Spots Online
is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life
Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org.
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