Sign-ups at church.
April 16, 2008 – 7:11 amI have found over the years that sign-ups aren’t very effective at church. Have you had a similar experience? Here’s what I think might be the problem…
Jesus tells his disciples to go and make disciples. We are called to personal invitation and reaching out to others. If that is the intent of Jesus for his disciples from the beginning and the vitality of the church comes from disciples following, then it makes sense to me that a sign-up sheet will not work as well as personal invite.
Next level: if we are to be effective as followers of Christ, then what does, “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors” (the slogan of the UMC) do for us. Maybe it could be something like “Out in the world with open hearts, open minds, and a great message of hope.”
“Build it and they will come” is a great movie phrase that I have heard used in the church context, but if that is true then why would any church with a building be in bad shape. As UMCers our openness is great and important, but just openness inhibits the Kingdom of God and perpetuates our decline.
One Response to “Sign-ups at church.”
I have often imagined Jesus walking past the disciples saying “If you’d like to follow me, make sure you sign the sheet up at the temple.” Discipleship is different. Churches need to get away from the volunteer mentality. I know volunteer is just a word, but words are important.
Morning after morning, people request volunteers from the pulpit, yet one day I heard a long time member say “no one ever asks me to do anything.” The fault belong with all of us in the church (her included, she’s a bit stubborn). We need to help people work in areas their gifted in, and we need to expect and hold one another accountable to do the work of the church.
As you say, the “build it and they will come” idea doesn’t work for church. We need to be intentional about going out and getting people. An announcement in the paper isn’t enough anymore.
By Gary on Apr 16, 2008