Tag Archive for: discipleship

Learning to be a church that welcomes members home

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As part of its ā€œWelcome Homeā€ initiative resources, WELS Congregational Services released a series of four videos with accompanying Bible studies to address some of the most common reasons Christians stop attending church and how to show love and minister to these members. The videos are meant to be used by congregational leaders and members to guide congregations as they strive to bring straying sheep back to the Good Shepherd. Rev. Nate Bourman, Mt. Lebanon, Milwaukee, Wis., was featured in the videos discussing how to be a welcoming congregation.

Bourman explains that a welcoming church is ā€œa church where no one stands or sits alone; everyone feels comfortable and safe. A place where everyone knows what is going on and feels that they can navigate the facilities or get information about our congregation. A place where parents, adults, and children feel safe to hear Godā€™s Word and can easily participate and are welcomed to participate.ā€

He says the most common reasons heā€™s heard that members havenā€™t felt welcome is because they werenā€™t greeted, no one talks to them, and they felt like an outsider. ā€œItā€™s possible to be a stranger in your own house,ā€ says Bourman.

Itā€™s important that all members participate in being a welcoming church. ā€œCare and concern for the members of the church is not just the pastorā€™s job. It is not just the eldersā€™ job. It is the job of each and every member. Love calls us to participate in their care. None of us sits on the sidelines when it comes to welcoming Godā€™s people home,ā€ says Bourman. ā€œAll are coming to church with sin and weakness and brokenness and frustration. Be part of the throng rejoicing to gather for worship with each other.ā€

All congregations are encouraged to participate in the Welcome Home Sunday, either Oct. 20 or 27, 2019. The mission is to ā€œpack the churchā€ with every member. The four videos and accompanying Bible studies in the Welcoming Returning Members seriesā€”ā€œMembers drawn away because of sin,ā€ ā€œMembers who left after being sinned against,ā€ ā€œMembers whose needs were ignored,ā€ and ā€œMembers who left for another churchā€ā€”are available at welscongregationalservices.net/welcome-home.

 

 

 

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C19: Sharing the meaning of Christmas with others

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According to current research, Christmas is the most appealing time for the unchurched and dechurched to attend a worship service. That makes C19, this yearā€™s synodwide outreach campaign for Christmas, a critical opportunity.

Available from WELS Congregational Services, C19 equips congregations and individuals to share the good news of Jesusā€™ birth with others in their community and to invite them to Christmas worship services. This yearā€™s theme is ā€œGod so loved the world.ā€

ā€œMany people look at the pain and suffering in our world and conclude that either there is no God or that, if there is a God, he doesnā€™t love the world,ā€ explains Rev. Eric Roecker, director of WELS Commission on Evangelism. ā€œJesusā€™ birth in Bethlehem proves that God does indeed love the world, a world that includes every single soul.ā€

Here are some of the resources that are available:

  • Worship materials for Christmas. C19 provides ready-to-use worship folder templates with liturgy and music that edify heart, soul, and mind.
  • Evangelism materials for Christmas Eve. Low-cost outreach postcards as well as free Facebook video advertisement and digital files to post on church websites are available to share the message of the theme.
  • School resources. C19 provides guidance for using schools as outreach arms during the Christmas season. The program resources help encourage even the youngest WELS members to invite others to worship on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
  • Special needs ministry. C19 includes materials to help congregations reach out to families who have children with special needs.

About 70 percent of WELS congregations utilized some or all of the resources provided through 2018ā€™s synodwide outreach campaign, C18. Its goal was to reach one million souls, and Roecker has high hopes again this year with C19: ā€œWith the Lordā€™s blessing, we would like to see more than one million people invited,ā€ he says.

Many C19 materials will be offered as free downloads at welscongregationalservices.net/c19. Some materials are available now; others will be provided in the coming weeks. Pastors and interested laypeople should sign up now to receive updates, which will include notices when new materials are posted online as well as planning tips and timelines to carry out the program successfully.

 

 

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10 for 10 encourages thoughtful Christian giving

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A new congregational stewardship program called 10 for 10 is now available from WELS Congregational Services.

10 for 10 is based on three weeks of preaching and teaching on the topic of giving. Then congregation members are asked to contemplate if they are able to give one-tenth of their income to the Lord for ten straight weeksā€”hence the name 10 for 10. This is based on the Old Testament practice of tithing.

Rev. Donn Dobberstein, director of WELS Discipleship, explains that the goal of 10 for 10 is much greater than amassing gifts. ā€œ10 for 10 is not a church fundraising program,ā€ he says. ā€œIt is a gospel-centered stewardship emphasis that asks people to consider how to respond to all of the many graces that God has shown to them.ā€

Some WELS congregations have already implemented initiatives similar to 10 for 10. Members of these churches have expressed an appreciation for the scriptural roots of these stewardship programs. Notably, 10 for 10 opens the conversation on the often difficult topic of money in a Christlike manner.

ā€œJesus talked often about money because he knew the vicelike grip it can have on our hearts as it seeks to replace him as our greatest treasure,ā€ Dobberstein says. ā€œWhen it came to money, Jesus was blunt. He was bold. 10 for 10 strives to mirror Jesusā€™ biblical boldness.ā€

While it is not the focus, congregational stewardship programs like that of 10 for 10 have successfully increased weekly offerings significantly during their periods of enhanced giving, explains Dobberstein. Afterward, numbers will often decrease again slightly, but rarely do they fall as low as previous levels.

While 10 for 10 can be held at any time, WELS Congregational Services encourages congregations to begin planning this summer and to implement the program this fall.

Materials to help congregations with their planning, including a step-by-step timeline, are available on welscongregationalservices.net/10-for-10. Other introductory and promotional tools plus worship materials, midweek devotions, Sunday sermons, PowerPoint slides, videos, letters, and more can be downloaded for free to help congregations promote 10 for 10 before and after the period of advanced giving.

Visit welscongregationalservices.net/10-for-10 to begin your congregationā€™s planning today.

 

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