Ideas for Impact |
What kinds of churches can we become?
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At every church there are many opportunities to learn and be involved. There are weekly, monthly and yearly activities and events. So here is an interesting question to ponder. A month or a year from now, or maybe 10 or 20 years from now, which things will I feel had the greatest positive impact on my life? Which things helped me the most to grow spiritually?
From a "how do people learn" point of view, I think activities that include these things will have the greatest impact. ENGAGEMENT Active engagement in learning will be better than passive learning. Active engagement includes things like reading, thinking, group discussion, answering questions, asking questions, explaining something to others, and using what I learned in real life. GUIDED PRACTICE We rarely learn to do anything well by only doing it once. It is really useful if we try something, get feedback on how to improve, and then try it again and again. RELATIONSHIP Discipleship happens in the context of healthy, positive, challenging relationships. High expectations and high support at the same time. So what kinds of things might have the greatest impact? Engagement: Camps, retreats, mission trips, Vacation Bible School, being on a sports team, small groups and leading or helping to lead a class or ministry. Guided Practice: Saying a memory verse over and over for several months. Practice explaining the gospel not once, but 40 times. Reading the Bible daily and picking out verses that stand out to you as opposed to only reading the Bible on Sunday in the worship service. Relationship: Sunday School classes and small groups that are intentional to spend time together getting to know one another in addition to "class" time. When a "coach" helps someone learn by giving them individual attention and support. As we look for ways that our church can help people grow spiritually as they follow Jesus, lets think about increasing engagement and practice and being more relational. |
AuthorGarry Goodin is the Executive Director of the Mid-State Baptist Association Archives
April 2024
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