Faith Growing

Acts 5: 12-And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought
among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.
13
And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified
them.
14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of
men and women.)
15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the
streets, and laid [them] on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of
Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16 There came also a
multitude [out] of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks,
and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is
the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation,
18 And laid
their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
19 But the
angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and
said,
20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of
this life.
21 And when they heard [that], they entered into the temple early
in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with
him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of
Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22 But when the
officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,
23
Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing
without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
24
Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests
heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
25 Then
came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are
standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
26 Then went the captain
with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the
people, lest they should have been stoned.
27 And when they had brought
them, they set [them] before the council: and the high priest asked them,
28
Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?
and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring
this man's blood upon us.
29 Then Peter and the [other] apostles answered
and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers
raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31 Him hath God exalted
with his right hand [to be] a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to
Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are his witnesses of these
things; and [so is] also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey
him.
33 When they heard [that], they were cut [to the heart], and took
counsel to slay them.
34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee,
named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and
commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;
35 And said unto them,
Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these
men.
36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be
somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who
was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to
nought.
37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the
taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, [even]
as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
38 And now I say unto you, Refrain
from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men,
it will come to nought:
39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest
haply ye be found even to fight against God.
40 And to him they agreed: and
when they had called the apostles, and beaten [them], they commanded that they
should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
41 And they departed
from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to
suffer shame for his name.
42 And daily in the temple, and in every house,
they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

I attended a workshop a few weekends ago. It was hosted by the Methodist Church. The series of workshops was called Equipping Disciples Education. The morning workshop I attended was called Church Outside the walls.

We talked about faith raising. So many churches in today's day and age are trying to grow thier churches. Baby boomers and younger do not give as much as what members of the "great generation" did. So, Many churches are now facing the challenge of growing thier church.

When you look at the numbers, they are beyond sad. Membership is down, attendance is down, baptism is down. What many care about though is the fact that giving is down.

I think the thing is though...we are so worried about raising profit...we forget our main purpose. Our purpose as a church is not to grow profit, but instead to Raise the faith. We are God's disciples. It is our job to go into the world and make disciples of all those we come across. We are so busy looking at the dollar and cents, we are forgetting about the souls we are suppose to be saving.

Going to church for the first time..or the first time in ages is scary. It is scary that you will not know where to go, how to get there, what to do at the approriate moments, etc. But yet, you want to feel welcomed but not embarrassed. Churches today are walking a very fine line in making people comfortable while bringing them to God.

Evangelism has become a dirty word. But if we, as a church universal, want to grow...we need to start doing things differently. We need to take our message out instead of circling the wagons. We need to go into our communties and show them who we are. We need to all be willing to open our doors so that people may feel free to come in and join us. We can not depend on people to come to church because it is what thier parents did. We need to take the faith to where the people are.

Churches need to take pride and use thier own resources. It is ok for your church to build on what it has to offer. Do not feel bad because you are lacking here or lacking there. IT is about building on the resources that God has already given you. Use them in creative ways. What churches are doing now is not working. We have to change or die out. It is that simple. And it is not a matter of our own existance, but what happens to God's message when we are not there to share it?

God commands us and calls us to go out and do His work. Do not make assumptions though. Too many times churches pit themselves against each other instead of working together. We all have the same goal. To share God's message.

People are scared to come into a new church for the first time. Most of them are seeking something. When they do come it is for things like funerals or weddings. But today, most people want to remain part of the wallpaper but want acknowledged and to be made felt welcome. So to grow the faith, how do spread the good news without making those we are taking the message to uncomfortable?

The preacher who taught this workshops solution was to raise visability in the community. It is important that the church itself takes pride in what it has to offer. Accept your strong points and build on them. You need signs in your church with clear directions, resources available to guide people through getting to know your church, maybe expanding what your church has to offer to fit the needs of those coming in. A contemporary service with a more traditional one seperate. Or taking small study groups into the communty so that they can find out what you are about.

A few weeks ago in choir we were talking about what it means to be Methodist. One choir member (C) said "you mean we are going to sing ash wednesday, maundy thursday, good friday and easter sunday after doing our cantata on palm sunday?" and our pastor said "If the preacher preaches, the choir sings." another member of the choir (L) said, "And we pass the offering plate." While funny, it is a sad statement about what church has become. Yet, it is reassuring that you always know what to expect.

The Month of visability is simple. You pick one month. He chose Oct. I will get to why in a few mins. But Every group in your church in that month goes into the community...with a sign or banner...and reaches out and holds thier meeting in the community. That is board members may meet in resturants, Bible studys in a local library, sunday school groups in mcdonalds play room, a covered dish dinner in a local central location like a city park, etc. Go to places that people hang out in your community. Everywhere you go, your little sign is vital. In that month, people will see your group repeatidly. They will start asking questions of you. You can then invite them in. They will know someone before they ever walk in the door! But the key is to go where the people are. Do not hold your meetings in out of the way places. But in very public places where lots of people are. Be in parades, Do a big open service in a public place, try things like tshirts-caps-bumper stickers for your church members, have your choir sing in a public event, give each member of your congregation 10$ to go and do God's work in the community. Have them share with the people they help about this "Community missionwork" drive.

Bring creative people from your church onto a team to "grow your church" by faith sharing. If you make faith sharing your goal, the other issues will take care of themselves.