New England news & perspectives
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Multiply Your Outreach
I am certainly not an expert on outreach. Doubtless there are pastors and churches who are far more effective than me on this. However, I’ve learned a few things, mostly from my mistakes! Let me share a few things that have worked for me, and perhaps they will spur you on to find ways that work for you and your church.
Obstacles to engaging my community: Part 2
In Part One of this article, I identified two obstacles that impact how I am engaging my community with the Gospel. First, am I waiting/longing for things to return to “normal”? Second, am I only listening to those voices that reinforce what I already think? This article identifies three more obstacles.
Obstacles to engaging my community: Part 1
In a recent email this caught my eye “your experience . . . caught our attention . . .your skill set, and background mirror our current franchise owners.” I was intrigued, so I kept reading.
What was the franchise offer that they thought would connect with my values and interests? Owning and managing a boxing for fitness franchise! This sounds like a great idea and a great platform for physical fitness, but there is nothing about me that makes one think of boxing! It was like they were speaking a foreign language to me.
Fruitful ministry hides in plain sight
It’s like searching everywhere for your glasses while wearing them on your head, or looking for your cell phone while holding it in your hand: sometimes we overlook fruitful places of ministry located right in front of us. You could say they are hidden in plain sight.
The three percent
Our family arrived in Charlestown in late 2016 to plant our lives and a church. We took photos, found our coffee shop and grocery store, discovered a park our boys loved and began to navigate Boston driving. But one thing we needed to settle on was how to meet people. If we were going to plant a church, who did we need to meet; where and when would we meet them; and how many people should we meet?
The case for multiethnic churches in Boston
For 10 years I served as the pastor of a church in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. It was an historic church, located in an affluent neighborhood where military families and federal employees lived. And it was almost completely Caucasian. The neighborhood, however, gradually changed. Different ethnic groups moved in and church attendance began to decline.