I have been a lot slower on the blog lately. The transition to Alabama has taken a lot of time and energy, just as it should. I wanted to update you on a few things that are going on here by talking about a few areas of ministry that we are focusing on right now that are all necessary for the health and future of the congregation. I am going to list them, share a few thoughts on them and solicit your feedback of what you have tried that has worked in each of these areas.
Involvement – We are starting by creating a 101 class first for the whole church to take and turn in new “involvement forms” to let us know what areas of ministry they are volunteering for. Then we will have the class as needed as people ask for more information on the congregation or to place membership. This class will inform people about our core beliefs, what it means to be a Christian, what is then expected and how they can get involved in ministry at the congregation. This will coincide with a conversation with our deacons and ministry leaders about making sure they use the volunteers they have been given so no one drops the ball.
Member follow up – We will be adding some systems to keep track of who is in attendance so no one falls through the cracks. Member retention is essential and part of member retention is member involvement. As more people are involved and invested in ministry retention and see their role in the life of the congregation it should help our retention.
Outreach/evangelism – Working simultaneously with the member follow up piece is the outreach/evangelism piece. We will be getting some ministries in place that will help the congregation be equipped for and engage in outreach. We can label all sorts of reasons why churches don’t grow but the bottom line is if you aren’t studying with non-Christians you aren’t growing from convert growth. You might get transfer growth but to baptize new people and bring them to Jesus it takes study. So we will be providing some training on that and a place for regular conversation and prayer over new people we are reaching out to.
New building – We are in the process of building a new youth building and updating some of our older facility. By the time these ministries are online I hope that we have our spaces available to use them to their fullest capacity including an updated children’s ministry area.
Discipleship – After we get the new facility running we will need to start working more specifically and intentionally on discipleship. More on that later!
These are exciting and challenging times and I solicit your prayers for the church here that we will continue to trust in God to provide us what we need to do the things He is calling us to do!
One Response
Sounds great Matt. There are several students from Betta View Hills that attend Auburn. I’m encouraging them to become involved with the Auburn congregation. Blessings!