We are now on the final piece of living in 3-D, which is all about living our lives in a way that reaches out to others. The final piece is discern the next steps. After you have Developed friendships and made connections with people who do not have a relationship with God or a church home and you have Discovered their story and really had time to get to know them, it is time to decide what to do next.
Do you invite them to worship on a Sunday morning? Do you invite them to a small group study during the week? Do you bring them to the 611 on Wednesday night? Or is it not time for those steps yet?
Discerning the next steps is about figuring out where a person will be open to receiving God's love. Some people will be fairly open quickly because they are searching and have a desire to get to know God. Other people will be less open for one reason or another they do not want to get to know God.
Part of discerning next steps will probably be trial and error. Keeping trying new ways to encourage someone to get to know God. If something works then keep on going with it. But don't get frustrated when something doesn't work, just learn from it and try something else. The goal is not necessarily to get the person over the finish line as fast as possible, but to get them to the finish line ready to receive all God has for them.
So what are some good next steps that have worked for you in trying to introduce someone to God or your church home?
I have discovered offering a look at our web page helps people check things out without even having to come to the church. It helps them feel a little more comfortable when they do show up. What other ways can we make people comfortable as they move forward in their faith journey?
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5 comments:
I usually try and figure out the person's interest points. I have brought a couple of people to the church through music, one through a book study, and one guy is now sharing his troubled past with youth groups all around the Iowa City area in hopes to prevent them from going down the wrong path. Like I said, you just have to find people's interests and figure out how to connect that with God. And of course any chance I get I invite anyone and everyone to come check us out... I usually start off by saying, we aren't your average church, we are a lot more fun! LOL!
Jamie
I love it. Jamie, I would agree we are not your average church. The average United Methodist Church is declining by 3% in membership a year. In 4 years we have grown by over 30% in membership and 100% in attendance. And we do have fun.
I just wanted to ask ~ where is your Methodist Church? Is it anywhere near North English or Keswick?
Just wondering.
Thanks.
Kate B
~ oh noooooooo ~ duh Katey ~
Sorry ~ just looked over to right side of blog and found Williamsburg.
~ little smile ~
Kate B
Kate, are you in the North English area? We have several families that come from that community to our church.
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