Category: Church Development

An important issue addressed during the recent Outside the Walls training event (see link at left), was the topic of assimilation, which involves several steps taken to invite, welcome and include (assimilate) new people into a congregation. Some of these hospitality and discipleship issues are helpfully addressed at http://www.acstechnologies.com/ministry-guides/assimilation. To learn more, the GCI-USA Church Administration and Development team recommends the book, Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church by Nelson Searcy.

Theologian Martin Davis has written an excellent primer on Trinitarian Theology entitled A Window Into the Heart of God. We recommend it for your use.

You’ll find it online at: https://www.gci.org/files/Essay_Trinitarian_Theology_Martin_Davis.pdf.

A recent ChurchLeaders.com article titled “Two Big Reasons Evangelism Isn’t Working” notes this:

While a person’s response to Christ is ultimately a matter that rests in God’s sovereign hands—something we have no control over—a person’s hearing of the gospel is a matter we do have control over and responsibility for.

We take seriously God’s calling to the church to join with Jesus, through the power of the Spirit, to evangelize people who do not yet know who they are in Christ.

For tips on the kind of evangelism that works (and the kind that doesn’t!), go to http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/256290-two-big-reasons-evangelism-isnt-working.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cloutreach_newsletter&utm_content=6/18/2015+9:01:37+AM.

There’s been a lot of press coverage concerning the Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner transgender issue. For some helpful perspective, you might wish to read a series of posts on the subject of gender dysphoria written by Christian psychologist Mark Yarhouse (pictured below). The series is on the Limning the Psyche blog, beginning at http://psychologyandchristianity.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/understanding-gender-dysphoria-pt-1/ (follow the links from there to the other parts in the series).

In the United States, GCI is a member of The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) and president Joseph Tkach is an NAE board member.

NAE recently launched a new website at http://nae.net/. The site includes many resources that you may find useful in your congregation or ministry. One of those resources is a free booklet, “When God and Science Meet: Surprising Discoveries of Agreement.” It addresses questions that arise at the intersection of faith and science. You may download a copy at http://nae.net/godandscience/.

The teaching curriculum for this year’s Generations Ministries’ camps is titled Epic Story. As a companion, Gary Weldon, one of the staff members at the GenMin Pathways Camp in Ohio, wrote a curriculum with a similar theme for use with pre-teen campers. It’s titled JJ’s Epic Adventure. It would make an excellent curriculum to use in children’s Sunday school classes. Feel free to use it for that purpose.

The curriculum is a wonderfully spun tale of JJ and friends encountering the Story Master, Ranger Chris and Umoya (the characters of the Trinity) at Epic Academy. The friends experience the unconditional love of the Lord and come to realize their personal story isn’t as boring and insignificant as they once thought; their stories are part of a much grander tale—the Epic Story! They find the adventure with God is full of life!

You will find JJ’s Epic Adventure curriculum along with a leader’s guide posted at www.generationsministries.org/camp-teaching-materials.html. The graphic above can be used for name tags for the kids. Our thanks to Gary for his good work!

In the church it’s easy to fall prey to the “success ethic” woven into the fabric of Western culture. But where in that ethic is there room to celebrate the failures that always are part of our journey as churches? A recent post on the Hatchery website (they are a church planting organization) helpfully addresses this topic. Go to: http://hatcheryla.com/learning-to-celebrate-failure-in-our-churches/.

In a recent post on the Thom S. Rainer blog, Chuck Lawless, professor of evangelism and missions and dean of graduate studies at Southeastern Seminary, wrote this:

Thom Rainer and I have talked often about the process of church revitalization. Both of us recognize, though, that knowledge of revitalization is hardly enough to turn around a church; the process cannot be separated from the personal walk of the leader who longs for church renewal. Below are ten reasons why spiritual disciplines matter in church revitalization.

To read the rest of Chuck’s post, go to: http://thomrainer.com/2015/05/28/10-reasons-why-spiritual-disciplines-matter-in-church-revitalization/.

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is a powerful tool available to churches to connect with members and with non-members. However, caution is in order to avoid several common mistakes.

For helpful advice about what to do before posting, see the article entitled “Before Posting to Social Media Ask These 6 Questions” on the Church Leaders blog at www.churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/253997-posting-social-media-ask-6-questions.html.

Several Christian authors are helpfully calling for a recapturing of a kingdom perspective on the church. Here are some examples that you may find helpful in your teaching:

• A Leadership Network interview with Reggie McNeal:

• An article on the kingdom of God from GCI theologian Gary Deddo at https://www.gci.org/bible/kingdom (this article, which appeared previously as a series of posts in Weekly Update, is now posted on GCI’s website as a single article).