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Pishon River Ministries
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We want to personally welcome you to our site. We produced it knowing that you'll find many things here that will help you, equip you and answer some very important questions about life for you.
HolySpiritSentMe@msn.com
LUKE 14:23
Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full'
God has given us a ministry of encouragement and exhortation as well as evangelism. While we have the overwhelming joy of seeing precious souls saved, We also feel that we are needed in the areas of encouraging pastors and leadership, helping them renew their vision for ministry, helping the church in the area of restoring broken relationships, providing hope for those who are wounded and discouraged, helping people re-discover their lost joy in the Lord, and re-establishing biblical priorities in ministry. Evangelism is the "Good News" of hope and healing for broken hearts and lives. It is our desire that churches love each other, all of them, love their pastor and staff, love the work of ministry, and love the Lord Jesus Christ more than before we came to share God's Word with them. Please allow us to Evangelize for you! Email us at :
HolySpiritSentMe@msn.com or ILuvPsalms23@msn.com
www.freewebs.com/pastordan/
Many pastors are reluctant to invite an evangelist they don't know or have'nt heard speak. Visit with us by phone or arrange to meet with us personally to help you get to know us and to decide whether I am God’s man for your church. Ask God to give you a peace about inviting us to speak. He knows you, your church, your needs, and Me, the evangelist. Our God is an awesome God, he will speak to you about me. Just ask!
Please consider the desperate need for this great work:
"But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."
"Then He said to His disciples,
"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." " Matthew 9:36-38
Will you proclaim His Word today?
How to Make Your Church Guest-Friendly
There are a lot of reasons a church might grow. Sometimes people come because of the preaching.
There are a lot of reasons why a Church might grow. Sometimes people come because of the preaching. Sometimes people come because of the music. Some people like the great programs for kids and youth.
But I’m convinced there is an often overlooked factor in Church growth:
Growing Churches are friendly to guests. All Churches think they’re friendly, but when you take a good look at them, you often discover they’re friendly to people who have been attending for a few years or more – not to new people.
A guest’s first 10 minutes will no doubt influence whether they’re coming back or not.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression!
When non-Christians come to a Church for the first time, their number one emotion is...fear. What will people think? What are they going to do? Am I going to have to sign something, sing something, sacrifice something, or say something? They don’t know what’s going on, and they’re scared to death.
Your first goal with your new guests is to get them to relax. Then you can communicate with them. When people are afraid, their barriers are up and it’s like, "I dare you to teach me something!" No matter how good your Sermon is, they won’t listen to the Good News about Jesus until they get past those fears. You need to put guests at ease.
How do you do that? ....Here are some ideas:
If you had guests for dinner at your house, you’d probably do whatever it took to make them feel more comfortable. You’d give them your best silverware and your best dishes. You might ask them about food preferences before you plan the meal. You should show the same type of courtesies to guests at your Church.
Have greeters outside your building. You need people strategically placed around your Church to greet guests. Most guests don't like to be greeted publicly during the service, but they love to be greeted personally.
Set up an information table. Put all kinds of information on the table that might help people find their way around. Have restrooms easily marked. Put out brochures about the Church that give people information they can take home and read. Most importantly, have hosts stationed there to help people find where the restrooms are and where the children should go, etc.......
Have music playing when people enter. Why? Because people expect to hear Christian music playing at a Church. Music will make them more comfortable.
Here is a hint.....If you play soft music, people talk softly. But if you play loud music, people talk louder. When non-Christians come into your Church, they want it to be noisy. They want to hear what’s going on!
Allow guests to remain anonymous in service. DO NOT make guests stand up! Most people do not like talking to crowds of people, So when you ask your guests to stand and say their name and where they are from in front of everyone, you subject them to more fear or to feel embarrassed.
How do you identify guests if you don’t have them stand up? Have them fill out a welcome card. Then someone from the Church can connect with them later.
Begin and end each service by having people greet each other. Five times in the New Testament Christians are told to greet one another and share affection. You could say during the service, "Turn around and give somebody a hug or Turn around and give somebody a handshake. Human beings need touch. It’s a great way to help lower the barriers of your guests.
Offer a refreshment table or coffee fellowship at each service. People like to have something in their hand when they’re hanging out and mingling.
You have to break down the fear barriers before people will ever open up to your Message and consider coming back to your Church. Thats probably why I do Comedy in my Message... Well, Try these guest-friendly tips in coming weeks, and watch your Church grow in 2009.
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Don'ts for Pastors/Shepherds
1. Don't use the pulpit as a soap box to vent your frustrations, address them privately with those involved. People need a word from God not from you. If you are too aggravated or hurt by something, find someone else to deliver the Word until you can effectively address the problem with those it pertains to.
2. Don't intentionally play favorites and or create "Cliques". Even though you may have more things in common with a certain group of people don't publicly make it obvious. It make's Sheep feel as though they are not good enough or special enough in your eyes.
3. Don't tell people what they should or shouldn't do without Showing them how. A leader leads, which means they are out front, a dictator just stands and tells people what to do or not to do. You are to lead and guide them into becoming disciples.
4. Don't stay away from certain functions just because they don't personally involve you. Your presence shows you care, even if it just to pop your head in to say hello and that you appreciate what they are doing every once in a while.
5. Never and I mean Never allow meetings to continue when people are getting angry and in the flesh. Stop them and go to the altar immediately. What you are arguing about is NEVER more important than those you are arguing with.
6. Never think or act like you are more Special than anyone else. A reserved parking spot that is closer than those for the handicapped gives off an impression that you are better than them. Don't cut to the front of a line at the pot luck dinners, allow your Sheep to be served first.
7. Never suggest holding a Pastors appreciation day, an anniversary celebration for yourself or anything else that brings honor to you, let your Church do it and if they don't; Oh Well, it is not about you anyway. Act real and down to earth, don't act like you are higher or closer to God than anyone else. This way when you mess up (and you will) it is not that much of a fall. Too many Pastors make themselves seem spiritually invincible or know-it-alls and when the natural man eventually pokes through, they seem as through they have been all talk. If you don't put yourself on a pedestal, you won't have far to fall when you do.
8. Visit those who are sick the most, the most lonely, the widows, the ones in the most sin and the ones who need the most encouragement. Let the rest live their life. If they want a visit, they will ask you for one, especially if they are already active in the Church. They have a life outside of Church and are busy at work all day. Let them have their time to themselves; you don't have to hoard over them and don't expect them to be at every function, every bible study you want to teach or every program someone wants to put on. You will burn them out. Coming to Church once or twice a week and a bible study, plus being on some committee is a lot of work for someone who has a busy life. Let them live it. And don't always go over the most successful and wealthiest for lunch; they most likely don't need encouragement and probably really just want to get back to work making more money anyway.
9. Don't talk over your congregations head and be relevant. Flaunting in your ability to speak Greek or Hebrew does nothing to equip the Sheep, they are not going to memorize it and their neighbors will care less. Leave that for in depth bible studies for the more mature ones who want to go deep. 90% of those coming to Church just want to make it through another week without backsliding. Minister more from the heart than your brain and use common sense. Any 12 year old child with an internet connection can probably come up with enough questions about the bible that will make you stumble and look like you don't know anything, but you cannot get passion and heart from anywhere but God. Use it and use it well.
10. Don't expect more from your Sheep than what you already have. Minister to them at their level and expect only what people at their level of faith can give. If they are a babe in Christ and they cuss or don't tithe; don't pitch a fit, that is what babes do, they mess up. Love them where they are at and let them know it. Don't be harder on them than you would want someone to be on you when you mess up, especially from the pulpit! You are there to equip them and build them up, not tear them down.
12. Again.......Get off your Pedestal!
A Pedestal tempts Pastors to have an unrealistic perception of themselves. It tempts others to have an unrealistic perception of Pastors. People don't relate to those on pedestals. It causes people to have unrealistic expectations of Pastors. It makes it difficult for Pastors and their family to have friendships within the Church. It tempts Pastors to pretend they're perfect. When Pastors fall from a pedestal, they fall alone. When Pastors fall from a pedestal, it appears further and harder.
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