We have been doing our Church Steps program for one month as of this week. Here is an update on what has happened so far:
- Connected with over 50 new people who have attended Northwest
- Connected with a dozen people who haven’t ever attended (neighbors, friends, etc) and encouraged to attend something (class, worship, small group, service project, etc)
- Prayed for over 100 people we are trying to reach
- We have 1 one-on-one Bible study going and another three that are planned but haven’t yet begun. (We have several other one-on-one studies going but were already in process before the formal start of this program)
- We have one person placing membership this Sunday
- No baptisms yet
Here is what I am learning. Turning a ship is no easy task. Some people won’t get it. Some people get it but don’t want to be a part. Still other people get it and stick with it! I am learning that the work here is more than getting the names, praying and studying. The real work is engaging our members in ministry, changing the urgency with which they see lost people and helping them catch the vision and culture change we are trying to produce in our church.
Please pray that more people will participate and that God will continue to send people to us and us to them. Pray that God give us a spirit of boldness and that God bless us with the words to say to effectively reach those around us!
0 Responses
You are making progress. As you said, turning a ship is difficult – especially when it is sitting dead in the water! A ship must be under-way to be steered. Some churches cannot be steered because there is no forward movement – just drift. If you are making progress, NW is not dead in the water – but it still takes time to change the culture of a church or a sub-group within the church.