Tag: Welcoming Church

The Gospel Is for Everybody

Leave a comment

This week we are kicking off a brand-new teaching series. God has been doing a pretty incredible work at my church. We are experiencing explosive growth thanks to the movement of His Spirit in our midst. We are also on the cusp of breaking ground on an expansion and renovation of our current facilities. It’s a pretty exciting time, and we are most definitely going somewhere. But in order to make sure we are truly heading in the right direction, we need to remember who God made us to be. For the next three weeks, we are going to be explore afresh the basic elements of our identity as a church. Thanks for coming along for this journey with us.

The Gospel Is for Everybody

Social media can be a great tool for the advancement of the Gospel. But social media can also be a place where people vent their spleen without really thinking through what the full consequences of their words might be. I won’t ask you to raise your hand if you’ve ever posted something you later wish you hadn’t and even perhaps had to take down because of the negative impact it was having. And the thing is, because none of us are particularly disciplined with our words on a good day—whether they are coming from our mouths or our fingers—all of us are susceptible to this kind of thing. Even pastors. 

Read the rest…
People greeting outside Grace Community Church beneath a Come As You Are sign

Creating a Welcoming Culture

Leave a comment

“So he told them this parable: ‘What man among yo, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go after the last one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!” I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.'” (Luke 15:3-7 CSB – Read the chapter)

Have you ever been in someone’s home before where you knew you weren’t wanted? Maybe they didn’t say it out loud, but from the way they greeted you to the way they spoke to you once you were inside to even the state of the house, you knew. They made it abundantly clear. For people who have been a part of a church for very long, it can become an extension of their home. The other members are all brothers or sisters and they are one big family together. Because of this, when someone new comes in the door for the first time, it’s like they are walking into our home. How we receive them communicates whether or not we really want them there. And if we want our churches to be growing churches, we had better think long and hard about that reception. Today we are looking at the sixth ingredient in a growing church. Let’s talk about creating a welcoming culture.

Read the rest…