VCNP Leadership Monthly for June, 2007
Brian's Corner
I hope you are enjoying a good spring so far. I'm praying for a not-too-hot summer! Please do not forget about the leadership meeting we have on Sunday night, June 10th. It will begin at 6:00 pm and end by 7:30 pm. We will have some worship, some updates about our church, I will be doing a short teaching, and we will also have dessert! It is going to be a lot of fun, so please prioritize this meeting. As you know, we are getting ready to embark on the biggest building project we have ever been involved with here at Vineyard Church North Phoenix. We are hoping to break ground by the end of June or early July ---- the exact timing of that is dependent on getting all of the permits, etc. from the City of Glendale. But, we will be breaking ground very soon. Once we break ground, we will be entering into about an eighteen month period that will be filled with excitement! Some people who attend our church may still wonder why we are doing this. As a leader, you need to have answers for them. If you have attended our 10:00 am or 11:30 am services lately, you know why we need to do this! We are simply out of room in those services! If we want to continue to reach new people for Christ, we have to build these buildings! I want to give you some information about church growth and reaching new people for Christ. Although I’ve heard this before, I read an article by two church leaders recently who put it in language that I really liked. In their book Simply Strategic Stuff, Tony Morgan and Tim Stevens discuss three "lids" that prevent churches from sustaining continued growth and reaching new people for Christ. Morgan and Stevens say it does not matter how great our weekend services are or how organized and successful our youth and children's ministry is. If we do not address the three "lids" on a continual basis, our church will eventually stop growing and reaching new people for Christ. Again, I have known this information for years, but I like the language these authors use. The three "lids" they talk about are: Lid #1 ----- Parking If it is difficult for newcomers to come to our church, they simply won't come. If they have a bad experience getting into our building or getting out of the parking lot, they won't come back. As leaders at the Vineyard, we may not care all that much if we have to park in the dirt lot and walk three blocks to the building. But, if we are going to reach new people, we have to make their experience pleasant. Lid #2 ----- Children If we have a space problem in our children's ministry (either real or perceived), then our growth will be limited until the problem is addressed. Parents care about their children, and therefore want them in a safe, secure environment. They want their kids to have personal attention. They want them to succeed and to thrive. If it looks like a child is entering a room that is too small, understaffed, or unsafe, the parents of that child will not come back to our church. Lid #3 ----- Seats Church experts have said for decades that when a church auditorium is 80% full, that church is at capacity and will not add new people any longer. I know this is true for us. I have seen it many times over the years. Once we start having a service hit 70-80% capacity, we level off in attendance for that service and are never able to surpass that number of people (except on special occasions like Christmas Eve or Easter). Why is that? At 80% capacity in the auditorium, a married couple or a family of three or four very likely will not be able to sit together if they come in a little late. If that is the case, it is very likely their experience will not be enjoyable, and they probably will not come back to our church. We have been at 80% capacity in our 10:00 am and 11:30 am services for a few years, and our attendance at those services has totally leveled off. We have not been able to reach new people for Christ in those services very well for a few years. As a leader in our church, I wanted you to be aware of these "lids" so you can understand these problems, explain to those you are leading about these kinds of problems, and also help us do our best to solve these problems. Obviously, by building these new buildings, adding parking, children's ministry space, etc., it will help us continue to reach new people for Christ -- which is Jesus' mandate to us as a church family. Like I said, these next eighteen months or so are going to be very exciting times for us! Thank you for all you do to help make our church the church it is! See you soon! Love, Brian Update on Recent EventsMen’s Retreat: The Man God UsesThe 2007 Men’s Retreat was amazing. In the beautiful pines of Prescott, AZ, sixty-six men joined the annual getaway. God definitely showed up in big ways. The men entered into worship with enthusiasm, singing their hearts out as they experienced God’s presence. The messages and the ministry times that followed were powerful as well. Many men received prayer and a deep touch from the Lord. The retreat was also a great time for us to get to know some newer guys and to hang out with friends. -Mario Fernandez, Associate Pastor VCNP Food DriveJesus said that “it is more blessed to give than receive.” Many members of our Vineyard family had an opportunity to experience this first hand as we had our semi-annual food drive to help restock the shelves of our church’s food bank. We collected 542 bags of non-perishable food weighing 7,377 pounds. In the first four months of this year, we have helped 1,361 households with food and clothing. -Mario Fernandez, Associate Pastor moMENtumIn May, moMENtum started a new teaching series by Men’s Fraternity called “The Quest for Authentic Manhood.” We had an amazing turnout by the men at our first event. One hundred and fifty-one guys packed out the Youth Auditorium to join a two year journey. Through the next two years, these men will journey to discover what an authentic man looks like and how to be that kind of man. The men enjoyed a great teaching and a feast of 40 pizzas and 800 wings. As a result of the great turn out, we will be starting a second, identical moMENtum meeting on Thursdays at 6:30 pm. Our next meetings will be Monday, June 11 at 6:30 pm and Thursday, June 14th at 6:30 pm in the Youth Auditorium. All men are welcome to join us. You can sign up in the church courtyard beginning June 2. -Mario Fernandez, Associate Pastor |
Events and HighlightsHere are some major events that we can expect to see soon:
Upcoming Classes:
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