What Schedule Changes Are You Talking About?

There is a Town Hall Meeting scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 10th for the purpose of a congregation discussion regarding our Sunday evening programming as well as our enhanced evangelism strategy. I hope you'll make a concerted effort to attend this dialogue opportunity.  We have the opportunity to further develop our strengths while providing additional resources for creative venues of ministry and influence.

 

Here are the basics as it pertains to the proposed schedule changes.  These changes relate primarily to the Sterling Campus. Sunday night activities as we now have them would discontinue on the Sterling Campus.  Wednesday evening programming would be enhanced with additional offerings.  A Family Night Supper would be made available at a nominal cost per meal with a maximum cost per family.  Our ministry to children would be enhanced by offering both childrens music (choirs) and missions.  Prayer Meeting, discipleship classes, and rehearsals would all continue on Wednesday.

 

While our organized FAITH Evangelism program would discontinue, our efforts to reach out to our guests and event attendees would not. The small group experience is vital to a congregation's success. Contact through the existing structure of Sunday School will be emphasized with additional contacts by staff and ministry leadership.  The primary contacts will be through letter, phone, voice, and email.  Personal visits will be made with an advanced appointment.

 

Our biggest shift in evangelism is an intentional effort to reach out to non-church attenders. These are the vast numbers of Baytown area residents that do not attend a local church. Our new effort can be summarized in providing training and support for members of Memorial Baptist Church to intentionally establish and maintain relationships with non-church attenders for the purpose of introducing them to Christ through authentic and transparent living. I'm keenly interested in the individuals we would never get through our doors with programming and advertising.

 

This is a somewhat simplistic overview of the changes.  We'll discuss some additional reasons for these transitions in the days to come.

 

Posted on Wednesday, July 30, 2008 by Brad Hoffmann filed under

2 comments (Add your own)

1. Mary Brinkley wrote:
Bro Brad, I just want you to know that I support you in your endeavors to make the necessary changes that will help Memorial reach the lost. Web has a little laundry on James St and almost all of our customers speak hardly any english or no english. My concern is what are we going to do to reach that segment of our community. I give Ebeneezer Pastor names if they are Spanish speaking, but I don't know what kind of followup he does. My Spanish is limited to hello and thank you and Jesus Christ is "mi Amoure". I am aware that Gerald is trying to start an ESL class, so that would be great. I can tell them about that as I feel that would be a great outreach tool.
By the way, flip flops and jeans or whatever do not bother me, nor does the staff wearing a more casual attire. A suit and tie in South Texas weather is not the most comfortable attire. I grew up in East Texas on a farm and my clothing was made from feed sacks and flour sacks and we went to church barefooted. I really don't think that Jesus cares how you are dressed if you are in need of salvation as long as it is decent. God Bless You! I am glad you are our Pastor at a time as this.
MKB

August 11, 2008 @ 12:57 PM

2. Tazz Dickey Sr wrote:
Well, I will share my thoughts on this and with them and $.50 you can get a coke in front of Food Town.

My wife and I left a church we had attended for quite a while because they stopped having Sunday night church. We were very involved. I was head of the greeters and ushers, taught mens bible study and had just finished a 6 lane rock climbing wall and rock cave for the youth. The pastor and I were best friends and we spent time at his farm, just he and I. But for the life of me, I could not get past a church quitting services on Sunday night.

I had all of the good reasons I heard the other night and several others no one brought up about why it should not be stopped:

* What would Jesus think?

* If that helps, why not stop Sunday morning and be twice as
helped?

* If we are not reaching people with the church open, are we going to reach MORE with the door locked?

There was not a scenerio you could come up with that I could not counter with 2 reasons to the contrary. So you could imagine how this news hit me and my family. So I prayed and talked to Brad. These are some thoughts I would like to share based on that:

What would Jesus think? I am not sure I know of a single scripture referencing Jesus attending Sunday night church. Don't believe it was happening with the crude oil lamps of the day. I have read a lot of scripture about Jesus meeting people where they are - at the well, on the road, in their home, at a tomb, on a cross. When asking what Jesus' thinks, ask what He thinks of a Sunday night attended by 47 out of nearly 500 people from Sunday morning. That's what would trouble Jesus' heart.

Sunday nights being freed up to be used to reach people we don't normally reach out to is a good thing. If it is only stopped for the sake of stopping, then it is wrong. But, if it allows the staff and assets of our church to be used better, then that is good stewardship.

As for as closing the doors to reach poeple, we are not filling the pews by sit here on Sunday night (all 47 of us) and wishing more people would come. There has to be a fundamental change in the mentality of the church if it is to reach all people. "I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" is not 'trying to make everyone conform to our model'. (1 Cor 9:22) Most of Jesus's ministries happened "outside the box" and it was even why He was brought to trial. He did not fit in the traditional church mold.

I understand that to do the will of God, we must die to self. That means you must not be a slave to tradition, protocol, or even our own logic, but a slave to Christ. It is His will we seek and not our own. If this is the way He leads, we will follow. If it is not his leading, then like The Good Shepherd, He will correct our feet.

Tazz

August 13, 2008 @ 3:08 PM

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