There are
many factors that attribute to church growth.
I believe RELATIONSHIPS are
probably one of the most foundational reasons we've experienced growth.
There must be intentionality to what we do as
a church each week, if we hope to see people coming back each week. Relationships have to start in the parking lot, lead
to the lobby, connections café
and the Worship Center. Our members
should be shaking hands, hugging and just talking with people.
Coffee
and doughnuts aren't enough to retain new members. Churches are constantly looking for ways to “close
the backdoor” and create an atmosphere where families, singles, etc., will want
to come back!
We use
connection cards to gather pertinent information of each person. Our goal is to do intentional follow-up with
each person/family by Monday of each week.
We’re bombarding people will emails, text messages, phone calls,
etc. But honestly…when it really comes
down to it, the top reason people come and stay is because of FRIENDSHIPS!
Friends Invite Friends
Regardless
of what happens at the church with staff changes or whatever, people keep
coming back because of the relationships they have with each other.
This is
where we are constantly being challenged!
With growth, it remains an increased challenge to make sure people get CONNECTED to other people, whether that’s
through small groups, volunteerism, Bible studies or whatever.
Starting Point Lunch
Every
quarter, we have a starting point luncheon immediately after our morning service for new or unconnected people.
We have a catered meal, and Beverly and I are able to share for a few
minutes about the church’s history and future.
We give people an opportunity to tell what brought them to BFWC and what
made them stay.
It’s very INSPIRING to watch people declare what
makes them want to belong to BFWC. We
hear words like “friendly” and “real” and “I feel like family here.”
Approachable
It’s
important for us to be available in the lobby after each
service. It does make us vulnerable –
because you never know what someone will say to you or if they might cling to
you. But it’s POWERFUL to be there to make that CONNECTION!
Jesus was
approachable! At the end of the day…we’re
all doing what we’re doing because we’re trying to CONNECT people to CHRIST!
C.L.I.M.B.
Our sincere desire is to bring people into the LIFE of our
covenant family as fast as possible. We
invite everyone to “take the climb” with us!
CONNECT, LEARN, INVEST, MINISTER,
BEGIN! We are always pushing people
to get PLUGGED IN as soon as possible.
Our Climb Classes
are designed to answer questions about
WHO we are as a congregation, WHERE
we’re going and WHY we do WHAT we do. We believe that if we will sustain the right
CLIMATE long enough, we’ll produce a
CULTURE of believers, servant
leaders, disciplemakers, etc., who are excited about JESUS and His mission!
Belong
and Believe
When you love people, you have to love them where they are
and allow the Holy Spirit to do the drawing,
cleaning and shaping. If we will
provide a place of LOVE – people will
fall into that love! And guess what?
They’ll be “Red, Yellow, Black & White…Precious in His sight!”
In the culture of LOVE - racial boundaries are destroyed, rich and poor get a long...simply because they see themselves working for the same goal - LOVING PEOPLE!
We've witnessed incredible diversity within our covenant family...it's pretty unique! Honestly, you don't see this everywhere. However...that's what LOVE does! It DRAWS people. It's INCLUSIVE not EXCLUSIVE!
In the culture of BELONGING before BELIEVING, I've discovered that sometimes people will want to belong to what we're doing before they ever believe in Christ. We have learned to make room for those who are newly discovering a relationship with Jesus and are skeptical of churches and Christians. Over time, they'll eventually place their faith in Christ and discover a NEW LIFE in Christ for themselves. When that happens...all you can do is SMILE!
The future is BRIGHTER because of the LOVE of Jesus in our lives! Share Him with someone today and allow the Holy Spirit to position you in the RIGHT PLACE with the RIGHT PEOPLE at the RIGHT TIME!
