In a recent poll concerning our evangelistic outreach 50% of those who responded said they had invited 1-3 people to worship with them at Mt. Oak. Another 10% said they had invited 13 or more people to Mt. Oak in the last six months. Unfortunately 18% said they had not invited anyone.
Evangelism is all of our jobs. We should always be ready with a witness, a report about our faith, an invite to worship with us and grow with us in Christ at Mt. Oak.
Who can you invite to Mt. Oak this week? How about some stories from your experiences?
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When Quoting Scripture Inflicts Harm
6 years ago
2 comments:
One thing I've always liked about Mt. Oak is, while it is more "meaty" than "seeker-oriented" churches, it remains somewhere I would be pleased to take friends, even non-Christians, to. Indeed, over the years, a handful have done so. For a long time there was never anything I would balk at were a friend to be visiting with me.
Unfortunately, over the last few months, there have been numerous such occasions (mind you, none this past Sunday). For instance, the standing up to the front to make some sort of proclamation, which over several minutes it seems the entire congregation is crowding the front. If you are coming to church seeking, you are stuck between the choice between making a completely empty "proclamation," or remaining in your seat, sticking out even more even though you could have been hoping to make an innocuous appearance.
Others include having the men come up to the front to sing, and exhortations to dance. If someone is inclined to dance, that's great -- Mt. Oak is not a place where such a person would be disinclined to do so because of the people around -- nor, meanwhile, is someone who is disinclined to do so likely to do because of exhortation from the stage.
Don't get me wrong, I still consider Mt. Oak my home, I am all for proclaiming one's faith, testimonies, singing, and dancing -- but if we are talking about bringing visitors to church with us -- being mindful of events such as these I would be less likely to do so.
Note -- It was me who posted this originally. I completely understand the desire/need to have posts such as these not be Anonymous. I sincerely apologize for having done so -- I did not and do not mean any harm.
Erik,
Some great thoughts and ideas for sure. We are constantly seeking a balance in our worship. Are we a foyer or seeker friendly place? Are we a living room or a place to help grow Disciples of Jesus Christ? Are we a kitchen or a place for mature Christians who want to grow to be servant leaders? Most every church wrestles with Sunday mornings and some will tackle one area or try to reach all areas from time to time. We tend to be foyer/living room oriented on Sunday mornings, trying to be an inviting place where people will feel welcome but also a place that will challenge the majority of persons to grown in their faith by asking some serious questions. At times these questions require a response.
In worship, the Holy Spirit at times speaks to a leader or another person and they might come up front to share what has been given. Would we want to stifle the Holy Spirit? A pure seeker might be caught off guard by this or by having all the men come up front to sing as you mentioned, or folks being asked to make a commitment by standing or moving to the front or to the cross. If you have a visitor with you or see one around you on the mornings that this happens it might be your place to share with them what is happening. We try to have challenges for the growing disciple while not making the seeker uncomfortable, but it is a balancing act for sure.
I thank you for presenting your thoughts and ideas. We are trying to be seeker friendly in our worship while also trying to challenge growing disciples. We are trying hard to be a blend of the foyer and the living room in worship, a place to welcome new folks and a place to become part of the growing family.
Are there other thoughts out there? Am I explaining things well or am I off the mark?
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