Toward a Bigger Church Contest Reminder
Last week, in my post “New Contest: Toward a Bigger Church,” I introduced a new contest that I’m running on my blog.
The purpose of this contest is to answer the following question: How do we reach across the man-made boundaries that are currently keeping the church “small�
If you would like to take part in this contest, send me an email at aknox@sebts.edu explaining how you would reach across man-made boundaries in order demonstrate and maintain relational unity with other brothers and sisters in Christ. You can write about actual experiences that you’ve had, or you can write about suggestions to help the church move toward relational unity.
I will accept email contest entries through Monday, April 18, 2010. That gives you three weeks to write and send in your entry. The person who writes the winning entry will receive a free copy of Armstrong’s book Your Church is Too Small.
2 Comments
Comments are closed. If you would like to discuss this post, send an email to alan [at] alanknox [dot] net.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
- The Assembling of the Church | Encourage visiting other churches? Are you crazy? - [...] week, in response to my post “Toward a Bigger Church Contest Reminder” (and don’t forget about the contest!), my…
Here is what one church is doing to support widows who homeschool their kids, and get thier home churches to consider pitching in. In the past, they simply sent scholarships of $500 or more directly to the moms who applied.
This year, in an attempt to connect with and collaborate with other churches, the following outlines their strategy for various members to make contact:
NCHE Scholarship Ministry
Opening statement:
“Hello, my name is ________ ________. I am calling you because ________ _______ has applied for a scholarship from the North Carolinians for Home Education. The scholarship is intended to provide means for her/him to attend the NCHE annual conference May 27th- May 29th in Winston-Salem. She/he has identified you as the contact for her/his church.†Are you aware of her/his need?
General outline for discussion:
-Our objectives are twofold:
-to serve widows and orphans
-to enlist the local body of Christ to serve the widows and orphans
-We are offering matching funds of up to $500 for those in need.
(Depending on the circumstance, we may provide funds regardless of local church participation)
-We are trying to remain anonymous. However, if the individual asks whom you represent, please tell them that you are connected with (their church name). Please have them contact (name) if they need more information.
-We are not in competition with the local body. We are trying to make them aware of a need that they may not know about.
What if your fellowship were to meet at 4 PM on Sunday? Not only would this faciliate the sharing of a common meal together as part of the gathering, but it would leave Sunday morning free.
What if you encouraged people to visit other churches close to them a few times a month? Purposes?
1. To build connections where weekday relationships might be built.
2. To bring needs from nearby churches back to the assembly, for prayer and for practical ministry considerations (how can we help our brothers and sisters in this…)
3. To set an example of finding and purposely seeking pathways of connection with other believers.