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- Homegrown Discipleship
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:12-14
A pastor recently said something that caught my attention, "We need our people to come back."
He was talking about the members that had drifted away during the pandemic.
I replied, "Yes, we've seen that our church is close to a 50% different makeup of people."
Thing is, we didn't wait for people to come back.
Some did...but more didn't.
But that's not what this email is about.
It's about the strategy that I believe not only honors God but also works!
It's two steps:
1) Consistent fishing
2) Homegrown discipleship.
First, you've got to have a line in the water!
Most pastors I talk to confuse ministry with outreach.
When I ask how they invite people to church, groups, etc...they say something about a food pantry or neighborhood cleanup.
That's ministry. (serving, helping, loving, etc).
While those are great...they rarely lead to new people joining the church.
I'm not saying stop them...just that something is else is needed to see new people added to the church.
Outreach is reaching out with the express purpose of seeing people added to Jesus, the church, and the kingdom of God!
In a perfect world, your congregation would embrace a life of missional discipleship and actively invite and bring their friends, family, and neighbors to church.
But in this current climate of consumeristic Christianity in the western world that's like asking a dude that spends most of his time laying on the couch eating potato chips to get up and run a marathon!
That is to say...it's not impossible but it's gonna take some time.
So we use a few simple strategies to catalyze fishing!
1) We do Big Days (super focused prayer, planning, and resources go into a Sunday where we invite as many people as possible.
2) We use advertising (modern day evangelism) like TV, radio, Facebook Ads, Instagram, Google search, and more.
3) We actively teach and encourage the importance of personal missional living. (teaching each member of the church to bring people to Jesus)
That's the fishing side.
And it's core to the mission of discipleship.
Alright, I noticed this email is getting a little long...
So, I'll cover part 2 "Homegrown discipleship" in another email.
Keep an eye out for that tomorrow!
In the meantime, if you're a pastor that wants to see the church break barriers and grow I'd love to help you through UpLevel Leader.
UpLevel Leader is a coaching community for pastors (and their team) that is focused on growth and discipleship.
We use a simple 3 step system that helps churches grow!
We help pastors plan and prepare a winning strategy for their church...
For growth, discipleship, increased finances, and leadership development.
But there's limited space in Uplevel Leader right now. We keep the numbers down so we can serve the member churches better!
Talk soon,
Pastor Jake
PS - We’ve got room to help a few more churches this month but open enrollment will end soon as we approach the fall. Then it will be an application process. If you’d like to chat before joining UpLevel Leader please click here and fill out the form and one of our team will be in touch!
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Right now I’m helping churches get connected with a firm that assists them determine their eligibility for the ERC tax credit. The average check to the church we’ve seen is $18,000 per employee. Incredible right? It’s already been a HUGE blessing to hundreds of churches across the US. But there is a TON of misinformation, misunderstanding, and even scams out there so getting the right help is important. If you’d like more information please click here.
Free Resources
Here’s a couple of cool FREE resources I’ve come across that I wanted to share with you!
Want to write, publish, and profit with your own book? This will show you the process.
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The biggest news of the day, summarized in a way you'll actually understand and enjoy, paired with brief Christian perspectives.
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Daily encouragement to ditch the Standard American Diet, get healthier & happier, and save money on groceries... without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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Telling better stories means being a better communicator and inspiring people to change and grow!
Recommended Tools:
Here are some of the best tools I use for business and ministry!
1) Email Newsletter Software - Beehiiv
Want to start your own newsletter? For church communication, leadership development, discipleship, or something else? Beehiiv is my go-to tool. I use it everyday and it works great. Totally FREE up to 2500 subscribers!
2) Group Software - Skool
Skool is hands down the simplest, easiest, and BEST group software available right now. I use it for UpLevel Leader coaching and it’s fantastic. Community. Classroom. Calendar.