World Cup “big screen” can make connections

During the Olympic Winter Games earlier this year, many churches offered “big screen” coverage of major events. At one of these events, Trinity Lutheran Church in Richmond B.C. made contact with a local family who are now part of their worshipping fellowship.

This month an even bigger event provides new opportunities for connecting with people in your community – The 2010 FIFA World Cup. We North Americans don’t understand how important soccer (football) is to the rest of the world! The fervour of the fans far exceeds that of Canadian hockey fans. And we have thousands of Canadians who follow soccer, many who are new to our country.

Begin planning for a big screen soccer event by checking the demographics of your neighbourhood and choose specific games that may be of interest. Using a fellowship area in your church, connect a video projector and sound system to a TV feed and find the biggest, whitest wall to show the games. Pop some popcorn, provide some beverages and let the community know they can join others for the big games. Make sure you have helpful literature available (Lutheran Hour Ministries’ Project Connect booklets are excellent) along with information about your church programs. The most important part is having friendly, helpful volunteers to meet and greet. 

By providing ‘big screen’ fellowship events during the World Cup, you may find yourself making new friends with people from other cultures who otherwise may never think of coming to your church.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup may open new doors for sharing the Gospel with new groups of people.

Share the link!

Find creative ways this week to share the link www.whatiseaster.ca.

*Add it to your e-mail signature;

*after you sign a credit card sales slip, find a place to write www.whatiseaster.ca

*if your car is dirty, write it on the trunk where drivers behind can see it!

*share the link on Twitter and Facebook

If you have other ideas, post them here as comments.

LCC launches Operation Holy Week

Recent surveys in the US have indicated that a significant number of people don’t know what Easter is or means. We suspect it is similar in Canada.

Beginning today, March 23, Lutheran Church–Canada wants to help address this situation and we need your help.

“Check out this video and share it!”

Using your e-mail list, website, Facebook or other social media site, we want to share President Bugbee’s Youtube explanation of Easter, Good news from the cemetery, with as many people as possible.

It’s as simple as sharing this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iM_4niqVeU by copying and pasting it into an e-mail or on your website or in a Facebook message.

Then ask people to share the link too. The viewing statistics tell us that many who have viewed the video arrived at the site through the recommendation of another person!

As the network of contacts and viewers expands, the number of viewers grows and there is the potential for the video to “go viral.”

Have you ever wondered 

Click here to find out.

 LCC is also running ads on Facebook. The ad reads: “Have you ever wondered What is Easter? Click here to find out.” Clicking the ad sends the viewer to a page with an explanation of Easter aimed at the un-churched (www.whatiseaster.ca ), and an invitation to remember Good Friday and celebrate Easter at a Lutheran Church–Canada congregation. You can add this link to your website or online communication too.

Use your church sign, website, e-mail signature or any other communication to advertise www.whatiseaster.ca

Sharing the Easter message gives you an opportunity to share what you believe and could open doors for more discussion and witnessing about Jesus’ resurrection and yours.

Always good information for sharing your faith

Lutheran Hour Ministries’ Equipping to Share newsletter always has practical ideas for touching lives with the Gospel. You can subscribe to receive an e-mail copy or check it out online at http://www.lhm.org/equipping/newsletter.asp

What’s in a name? A simple change can make a big difference.

Sometimes people avoid serving on a church’s evangelism or outreach committee because they fear witnessing to their faith. You can overcome that fear with training and experience, however perhaps the word ‘evangelism’ itself scares people away. Effective sharing of the Gospel (evangelism = telling the Good News) usually happens as a believer builds a relationship with an unbeliever. So the church committee is not necessarily the group that does the work, but empowers all members of the congregation to share their faith with family, friends and the community.

There’s nothing sacred about the name ‘evangelism committee’ so why not consider a ‘re-branding’ as the marketers say. Call it the ‘community connection team’ (most people today don’t like the word committee) or faith engagement group. I’m sure there are lots of ideas out there. In a simple name-change, you also establish a focused direction. The goal becomes creating opportunities for members to share their faith perhaps through servant events, Friendship Sunday, special concerts – ways to engage the community in the life of the church. And you can define the various communities: active members; inactives; community-at-large; youth; seniors etc.

Your congregation exists as a community of believers within your larger community. Make 2010 the year you discover new ways to touch the lives of those around you with the love of Christ.

What to do with leftovers

Often congregations find they have extra copies of church publications like The Canadian Lutheran. LCC’s mission executive, Dr. Leonardo Neitzel, takes the extras and leaves two or three copies of the magazine on a table in the lobby of his apartment building. By the next day they are gone. He then places another two or three and they to disappear. He suggests if you do this type of outreach not to leave a large number of copies as they are more likely to draw the attention of the cleaners. He is now going to begin including information about a nearby LCC congregation inside the magazines.

You can do a similar type of outreach with Project Connect booklets from Lutheran Hour Ministries (www.lll.ca). These booklets focus on topical issues such as coping with cancer, divorce, depression and parenting and provide a Lutheran perspective from God’s Word. There is a place on the booklet to add your church information or even your own information if you want to connect one-2-one with those who pick up the material.

Community outreach tips for Christmas

Community Outreach Tips for Christmas
from Lutheran Hour Ministries’ Equipping to Share newsletter

If you haven’t yet made plans to connect with your community this Christmas, now is no time to dawdle. We will help you along by providing the ideas so you can focus on gathering your team and resources to quickly engage for Christmas outreach!

Bring church to the community.
In a community gathering area
-perform a Christmas production.
-conduct your Christmas Eve Service.

Provide Senior Citizens with a ride
-to a lights display.
-Christmas shopping.

Go Caroling
-in low income areas
-on a street corner or out front of a store.
-Hand out hot chocolate and candy canes.

at senior centers.
-Bring the children to sing.
-Bring Christmas cookies.

Offer give-aways on college campuses.
-Hot chocolate
-Christmas cookies
-Candy canes
-Gas cards to drive home

Offer free daycare for community parents to Christmas shop (if licensed).

Bless Business people.
Surprise employees by delivering a basket or stocking of Christmas goodies to be shared by the staff. Include a card that says, “Merry Christmas (or Blessed Christmas)! This is a busy time of year for you. We want you to know how much we appreciate you and to show you God’s love in a practical way!”

Give away Christmas trees.
A week before Christmas, contact Christmas tree lot owners around the area. A few days before Christmas, they may be willing to give away their remaining trees. Deliver these to financially stretched single parent families.

Utilize witnessing tools to spread the Christmas message.
Give out nails or candy cane ornaments with the Gospel message attached and an invitation to your Christmas event.

Perform random acts of kindness in the community.
-Shovel snow for the congregation’s neighbors.
-Provide free gift-wrapping at the mall. Depending on your mall, you may have to rent the space.
-Feed the homeless.

Christmas invitations

During any year a congregation sees a lot of visitors or people on the fringe who attend special events. They know where the church is and may even have relatives who are members. Why not invite them all back for Christmas services?

The church will have records of those who were part of baptisms, marriages, funerals and confirmations. And don’t forget all the families who attended your VBS!

Many congregations see outside groups use the building. Invite those people too. Ask the leaders to distribute invitations at AA meetings, Cubs, Scouts, Brownies and Guides, nursery school, kids programs—all those who know who you are and where you are.

At Christmas or any other time, we know that a personal invitation is the best way for people to become involved!

Advent and Christmas connections

Rev. Dr. Leonardo Neitzel, Lutheran Church–Canada’s mission executive shares connection ideas.

1. Unwrap the Gift of the Advent and Christmas services to your church’s surrounding community, to your family members and friends. Outward-focused congregations try to engage people in their surrounding communities especially during this season, inviting them for fellowship, worship, coffee or hot chocolate and singing Christmas carols. These activities build bridges for Gospel sharing. During this time encourage your pastor and church members to focus outward, unwrapping for many the Greatest Gift of all.

2. CCCC – Connecting Christ with the lonely and solitary in your community this Christmas. Several churches and organizations will hand out food and clothing for those who are without food, clothing and shelter. At this time of year caring churches get busy outside their sanctuaries trying to warm up the lives and hearts of people with the love of Jesus Christ. A women’s group in one congregation participated in “warm feet for the street.” They went out to needy people on the streets of Vancouver and handed out socks and warm clothing with a Christian greeting and message. Doing these things for others is like doing it for Jesus Himself, as He says, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (Matthew 25:35-36).

3. Connect for Christ with those in nursing homes, hospitals and prisons. A friendly visit, a Christian Christmas greeting, a prayer—or just being there with those who suffer—is a great sign of love and compassion. It imparts comfort and helps to alleviate their burdens as we share Jesus with them. Members can find themselves enriched greatly in their Christian life as they take time to regularly visit people in hospitals and prisons. As Jesus said: “… I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me’” (Matthew 25:36).

4. Among her other activities, Ruth Peng keeps herself busy during the week reaching out to others and inviting them to meet Jesus at her church on weekends. As her pastor, I had the privilege of meeting the friends she would bring to service and fellowship on Sunday mornings. Early this year she met a lady, Linda, at a shopping mall in Vancouver. After personal introductions and ice-breaking moments she invited Linda to join her in church. It took some time for Linda to come, but Ruth had kept in contact with her. Ruth started faithfully and regularly praying for Linda in our prayer service. One day they arranged to go out for coffee together. The following Sunday Linda and Ruth attended worship, Bible study and fellowship time. Linda had made the point that her mom had been baptized in a Lutheran church, but she had never attended a church herself. Linda became interested in the teachings of the Bible; she came to our adult class; later she was baptized and now Ruth meets with her every week for Bible study and prayer. What a joy! “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” (Isaiah 52:7).

5. Pray for your community this Christmas, for someone to come to faith in Jesus Christ. Build bridges for Jesus’ sake. A member of my previous congregation makes a point of keeping her prayer list up-to-date. She prays for each member of her congregation. When she meets people in her community or when visitors come to church, she reaches out to them, takes their names and prays for them regularly – and follows up with a personal contact. Prayer and community mission outreach go hand-in- hand producing results for the salvation of people and for the glory of Christ.

Outreach on the run

Here’s how one congregation connected with its community. http://infodigest.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/outreach-on-the-run/