Outreach

As we mentioned on Sunday, be thinking of ideas and reviewing our outreach. Outreach, if you recall, is not how we reach current church members. It really isn't how we reach other church's members. It should be how we are seeking to reach the unchurched in our community. This is not a small number of people. More than 1/2 of Parker County is considered unchurched. These are often people who are not interested in "religion," or haven't darkened the doorstep of a church since they were young. They won't necessarily come to a normal church service, but they might be willing to entertain the idea of church if it is something that they need. It might be something that is a new angle that reaches them. Whatever it is, once their guard is down, we can let them see church and Jesus from a whole different view. It is the church being the church. Now, think... (Cue the theme song to Jeopardy!...)

Long time, no see...

Yes, it is time for us to use this site again. If you are new, or have not used this site before, let me explain. As the pastor of FBC of Poolville, I am leading what is called the Strategic Long Range Planning Committee. The members of this committee can come onto this site, and either comment on another person's comment, or discuss the topic that we as a committee are discussing. It is like having a committee meeting while we are physically apart. I will be posting things soon to get this next phase started.

New position

Per our last business meeting, our church will begin seeking a new music and youth minister. Requests for resumes have been sent to a variety of locations. While we are not a personnel committee, we can have input as to the job descriptions for this position. Be thinking...

Mission Statement

From our previous meeting, this seems to be the favorite:

"The mission of First Baptist Church of Poolville is to be the light of Christ to Parker County and the world through teaching, preaching, and baptizing all those who will hear and follow "The Word."

Any other additions or subtractions? We will take this for a vote soon!

Back to Business

Now that the summer is over, and the revival planning is past, we can now get back to work! I am waiting to hear about meeting at a retreat in the next couple of months at Possum Kingdom's Associational Retreat Center. It would be for the members and their children to come and relax while we work on our mission statement and programs!

Also, we would like for those on the committee to come to our house for a get-together! With Lauren's college visits and Shellie's grad classes, the scheduling isn't easy. But, we'll do it! More info to follow on that as well!

Let's have our next scheduled meeting after church on October 26th!

In Christ,
Brother Chris

Sample Mission Statements

If you have come up with any sample mission statements, please leave them here. I will be writing some at church camp, and will post them in the next couple of weeks. Soon, we will meet and see what we have received already (both here and in the last post about mission statements), and then begin seeking what our mission statement should look like.

Retreats and stuff

I would still like for us to have a retreat as a committee. So, I've decided to try to have it at Camp Copass instead of Possum Kingdom Lake (Associational Retreat Center-ARC). The ARC site is on the other side of PK, and it takes forever to get there. Plus, it is in the middle of nowhere. I want for this to be fun, not a survival skills exercise! Since I know the area around Camp Copass, and it is a fantastic facility, we'll try for there. It will be a little more expensive, but it will be worth it.

As for the date of the retreat, I'm looking at October or the beginning of November. The summer is too busy, and September is the revival. When I am at Camp Copass with the youth, I'll line up a date for us.

Also, I'd like to have the committee and families over to our house in the next month or two for dinner. I don't know if we'd get anything productive accomplished, but it would be fun!

So, please tell me personally, not here, if you will be out of town anytime in the future. If you tell me here on this blog, any random internet surfer will also know. :(

Summer Reading

As our summer continues, as any good teacher might do, I am giving you some "summer reading" to do. No, there will not be a test. But, we will discuss it as it pertains to our work in moving us forward as a church.

The book, entitled "The Unchurched Next Door: Understanding Faith Stages as Keys to Sharing Your Faith," is by Thom S. Rainer. Rainer is the President and CEO of Lifeway in Nashville, and was the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. The book breaks down the unchurched, after an extensive national survey, into 5 stages of faith. It will help us to better visualize the intended recipients of our ministries in our church as we plan.

I have already started handing out the books, and I'll get the rest of you your books in the coming weeks. We'll discuss it, and any ideas that come from it, in a couple of months.

Mission Statements

As you come up with your mission statement ideas, please post them here so that we can see them.

Whatever else

Please put anything here that you wish to say, but it doesn't necessarily fit neatly into another location. Sometimes, good stuff ends up here.

Prayer requests

If there are any prayer requests on your hearts, please tells us here so that we can be in prayer for them.

Wording of the mission statement

In this section, leave your ideas of wording that could be included in our mission statement.

Whom do we serve?

In this section, leave us your ideas of who some of the typical people are that our mission should be directed toward.