Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations – Results
Each group met for 4 nights to discern God’s will for our church.
These are the ideas they arrived upon and presented on the 5th night of the series.
Some ideas can start immediately; some are long-range goals.
Intentional Faith Development
· Define “Disciple of Christ” in worship, heritage study
· More opportunities for young adults/older youth
· Small group studies in homes/coffee shops
· Teacher, leadership training
· Offer need based support groups – AA, grief support, etc.
Risk-Taking Mission & Service
· More communication of projects on facebook
· Called board meetings to quickly approve projects
· Have a central place to learn about different projects, results
Project Ideas:
· Prom Dress Drive
· Teen study group tutoring & meal
· Weekly tutoring for elementary students, teens as tutors
· “Mission Night” informational meetings (3-4 times/year)
· Renew “Operation Christmas Child”
· Pen Pals for people living in nursing homes, soldiers, jails, etc.
Radical Hospitality
Get Them in the Door:
· Renew “Bring a Friend to Church” and “Fill a Pew.”
· Hold Bible study at another site – ex: Hanover Manor, coffee shops, etc.
· Have a table at Randolph-Macon orientation
· Strawberry Faire
· Brochures available at Visitor Center, hotels, ACES, etc.
· Inactive members receive personal letters inviting them back.
· t-shirts
· More signs around Ashland
· Calling cards with church information
Making Them Feel Welcome:
· Add items to the gift bags, which are very popular
· Try to anticipate needs of visitors
· Greeter training, schedule
· More signs and maps
Changes/Upgrades:
· Summer lunch program for children
· Pair members for transportation in evening, on Sundays.
· Repair doorbell for use during the week
· Handicap accessibility – more parking spaces, ramp at side door, bathroom.
· Maintain bulletin boards – remove items after 30 days
· Upgrade playground
· New signs on rt. 54
· Obtain a bus
Passionate Worship
Preparing for Worship Ahead of Time:
· Outline of the year’s sermon topics and scriptures
· Devotionals for the following week
· Greeters
· Upgrade the library with current materials
In Worship
· Time of silence for individual prayers
· Better indication of when to sit/stand
· Use favorite music on “Fill the Pew” Sunday
· Handicap accessibility in pews
· Use of the bell tower
· Brief announcements
Outside of Worship
· More communication of worship series, Bible studies, etc in community
· More photos by small groups on website
· More signs/maps
· Playground for younger children
Members of the Extravagant Generosity group either had time constraints or decided to participate with a different topic.
