Could a place like this happen by chance? Don't think so.
At the end of November I talked about GIFTing. This is something we can do as a church family all year long. So many times when people come to a new church, it can be intimidating. Also, the minute they come through the threshold, they are seeking comfort in a new environment and also discerning if this is a place they want to come and worship at on a regular basis. Karl Vaters shared a statistic that people usually decide within the first 9 minutes if they are going to return to a church or not. Thus, first impressions are important (no pressure). Many times people come to a new church and find themselves literally navigating around current attenders existing relationships just to get to the sanctuary. (Excuse me, pardon me)
But what if the current attenders made it their goal to GIFT new attenders with welcome faces and easy access. Let me remind you again of the simple accrostic I learned from Karl Vaters at a workship I attended. Greet someone you don't know. (or don't know well or haven't seen at church for awhile) Introduce someone to someone else. Follow up with someone you've connected with previously. Thank someone for a job well done. We also need to understand that the smaller the church, the more important it is for each person to be involved in helping others feel welcome. This isn't a job for just a few people, but everyone. I'm challenging everyone who is a regular attender of the church to do at least one of these every week they attend on a Sunday morning. We are two days away from Christmas Eve and I anticipate folks we have never seen or haven't seen for awhile attending our church. So now is the time to practice GIFTing. Who have you invited to this year's Christmas Eve services? Will you be prepared to help make a theFederated Church of Brookston a place of warmth and welcome this Christmas Eve and all year round? I hope you embrace the challenge and slow down long enough on Sunday monrings to put it into practice. Allow me to be cliche. GIFTing should be the congregational gift to others that keeps on giving.
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AuthorRev. Dave Doles is the Pastor of The Federated Church of Brookston, IN. He has served in ministry for 20 + years and has a heart for the small church. Dave believes the size of the church is not what matters but the heart within the people and their willingness to be a healthy and vibrant church. A sign of a healthy church is one that doesn't just look inward but outward. When a church doesn't give to its community it is deciding to die, but Christ promises life and life to the full and this life comes through giving of oneself to the cause of the KIngdom. ArchivesCategories |