Garry Poole from OneLife Advisors joins the guys on this episode! Garry has spent his ministry years in outreach ministry, notably as the Director of Evangelism at Willow Creek for 15 years.
Garry worked with Mark Mittelberg and Lee Strobel on projects like Becoming A Contagious Christ, and also co-authored projects with Chuck Colson and Bill Hybels. Check out the 3D1 and One Life principles that Garry lays out in this episode. These are things you can easily implement into your church ministry. Share this episode with your leaders and ask for their help in making your church an outreach oriented church.
Rob and I sat down in his office this summer to record this conversation for the 200churches Podcast. Rob has pastored Bethel since Easter Sunday 1996. Bethel is a special place that exhibits both grace and mercy to run-of-the-mill sinners, as well as notorious sinners!
Rob and I were notorious roommates in our college days, and have been best friends ever since, now over thirty years! There is not much we don't know and understand about each other. Rob is a 200church pastor about 8-times over. His church has grown from 80 to around 1,600 in the past 19 years. That is very slow, but very steady growth. He is a 200church pastor in the very best sense of the term. Rob speaks with passion, conviction, and clarity in this episode about being the kind of church that attracts and loves the people Jesus hung around with - which caused the religious elite to say he was a "friend of sinners." We know you will be encouraged and challenged by this episode. A Great 200church Side-Story...
I (Jeff) was stuck in NY this week without a printer, and needed to print off an important insurance document to help my mother. I dropped by the neighborhood 200church - the Avon Wesleyan Church (Avon, NY) and Pastor Peter Maclauchlan was very willing to help me out! (I mispronounce his name in this episode, at 46:11) Sorry Peter!
Peter had never met me, yet was willing to adjust a busy schedule on the fly to help a total stranger. A big SHOUT-OUT to Pastor Peter! THANKS for helping a fellow pastor in a time of need. You get the gold star this week from the 200churches Podcast! You can view the Avon Wesleyan Church website right here! This week we talked with Dave Jacobs about being more outward focused as a church. Easy to talk about, but challenging to actually do! We might need to ruffle some feathers in the pews in order to focus more on people in the streets. As we were reflecting on that conversation, we thought – what could we do, as a church, that would surprise our community? We mean a good surprise now, not the usual, “Well, that’s surprising!” of a scandal or split. Usually organizations and businesses look out for their own members’ needs, desires, or demands. Clubs serve their membership, and service companies try to keep their customers happy and coming back. The police and fireman are looking for donations, the youth organizations want sponsors and volunteers, and the fitness centers want more annual memberships.
What Would They Say? What do churches want, from a community’s perspective? How do people in our town or city view us? What would they say? “They want to be left alone.” “They want a lot of property, tax-free.” “They want more land for parking, or parking privileges from their neighbors.” “They want us in the community to be for what they’re for, and against what they’re against.” Churches are usually against homosexuals and same-sex marriages, gambling establishments, bars and nightclubs, gangs and drug dealers, and the overreach of local government. Churches are normally for more donations and charitable giving, more members, volunteers, and baptisms. They want to add services, parking, staff, facilities, and technology. A New Year! Well, we have a new school/church year upon us. What in the world could YOUR church do that would surprise your community – in a very nice way? What could you do that would be counter-intuitive and that would bless your neighbors/community/community leaders? What Do They Need? What are the greatest needs in your community? What do single-parent families need? What do single parents need? What do the children need? What do the teenagers need? What are the greatest needs of the new people moving into your town or city? What do the business owners in your neighborhood need? What do the elderly need in your community? What do the poor or social outcasts need? What do the people in your hospital, retirement center, or long term care facility need? What do the same-sex couples in your town need? What do the alcoholics, drug addicts, prisoners, or homeless people need? The Answers Might Be Your Opportunity! What are the answers to those questions? The answers might provide you an opportunity to surprise your community in a way that spreads the love of Jesus and the message of the Gospel? What could you do this fall and during the coming school/church year that would surprise your community? Talk to your leaders and the people in your church. Have a brainstorming session. Sit and talk around a dinner or lunch. Here’s a thought – go ask them! Elevate the discussion. Find answers. Make a difference. Happy Friday! Next week: Episode 83 – Two Crucial Steps To Breaking Your Pornography Addiction.
(Editor’s Note: Jeff and Jonny are both on vacation this week, but they prerecorded this episode with Dave Jacobs just for YOU! Enjoy!)
For episode 82 we talked with Dave “the Coach” Jacobs from SmallChurchPastor.com about how to help our churches be more outward focused. It’s a tension that we always have to manage as pastors.
We care for our people, we put them in small groups so that they can develop deep and significant spiritual relationships, and we train them to discover their gifts for service. Then we also try to get them to think about others and look outside the church. We don’t want the old “us four and no more” to be true of our churches.
Also in this episode we talk about the difference between having an outward focused church, and simply designing our worship services with outsiders in mind. Those are really two separate things, related, but separate. A church service is not the same as a church. One is an event; the other is a group of people. So while we might fashion our services to be thoughtful of outsiders, we want to shape the hearts of our people to care deeply about the people who live in their community. Dave shares some examples of churches being outward focused. He talks to pastors every day, and he’s heard of some things recently that they’ve done to reach out to their communities. Again, this is an episode you just have to listen to – print just does not do it justice! When Jonny asked Dave what things pastors should focus on to help their churches be more outward focused, Dave shared four things:
We hope that you enjoy this episode – that it is both encouraging and helpful. Recently Jeff talked with Dave about what he has to offer small church pastors and their boards, as a professional small church pastor coach. He is one of the few people who has vast experience coaching both pastors and their boards. You can hear that conversation here on Episode 77 - How Pastoral Coaching Could Really Help You.
This episode is a special one! It features a pastor of a 200church, and two of his Deacons - the first Deacons to speak on the 200churches Podcast! We are honored!
Pastor Mark Meyers is the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Warrenton, MO. The ministry leaders with him on this episode are Tory and Steve. These guys, with their families, are part of the Grace Bible congregation, and they are also part of the leadership team at Grace. You will hear some very cool stuff from all three of these guys that will encourage you and challenge you as you lead in your 200church. Jonny and I had a blast talking with these guys, and when we were done recording, we spent some time just talking about our own church here in Iowa, and how we could integrate some of what we learned from Mark, Steve, and Tory. Rather than writing a bunch of blather (is that what our blog posts are?!) we're just going to let you listen to episode #70 yourself. Plus, here are a number of pictures of the guys in their natural habitat, doing family and doing ministry. Together. When we started 200churches, this is exactly what we envisioned - thousands of pastors being encouraged and challenged by other pastors doing ministry in the trenches just like they are. Enjoy the pictures, and thank you to Mark, Steve, and Tory! Slideshow disclaimer: some captions may have been written tongue-in-cheek!Have you ever written a blog post, and started with the Title? Yeah, me too. Today. I started with the Title, for the purpose of attracting attention. Did you really think that I had those five secrets?? LOL! Of course I don’t! I do have a couple secrets, but there’s no guarantee… still want to hear them? Read on… In case you still haven’t gotten it – the Title is a joke. It’s a ruse, a fraud, an apparition, a bait 'n switch! There are no five secrets and there are no guarantees. No one could really give them to you. They don’t exist, unless of course you wanted to pay people to come to your church. But again, here are some secrets I could share with you…
Well, those five things may or may not be secrets, but they are thoughts for you as you start this week. You know, we say it all the time, but do you really understand how important and valuable you are to the Kingdom of God, as you pastor your small church? Your 200church? Can you comprehend the import of God calling YOU to serve and love at your church? It's huge! You are very valuable. So go for it! LOVE those people, TRAIN them to serve, RELEASE them to love and give in the name of Jesus. TRUST in Jesus to lead and grow your church to its Kingdom potential, whatever that is. Enjoy the grace, light, joy, and love of Jesus this week. Karl “The Shark” Vaters is with us on Wednesday, as we talk about the topic – Your Church IS Big Enough. We can’t wait to be with you on Wednesday for Episode 58 of the 200churches Podcast!
Here we go BaBeeee! Dan "The Enforcer" Reiland joins us for the first time in 2014! We talk about six powerful words for small churches that will challenge and stretch your thinking about your 200church. We also want to say to you - Go for it in 2014! Your church can make significant Kingdom impact in your community, no matter its size!
You can find the Pastor's Coach post, written by Dan, called "Big Ministry In Small Churches" that this episode is based on... RIGHT HERE. Sign up for The Pastor's Coach, with Dan Reiland, RIGHT HERE.
PODCAST OUTLINE: Here are the six words that the guys talk about on this podcast:
|
Welcome to the 200churches blog! We have hundreds of posts covering every issue imaginable. So pull up a chair, pour a cup of coffee, and stay awhile.
|