I am a speaker, and visit many small churches throughout the year.  I  have been a member of a small church, also a medium size church (which are rare these days), and I have been on staff at a large church. 

There are phrases I hear over and over from church members in my travels.  There are things we speculate, some are right and some are not.  I will elaborate on a couple ideas we need to consider.  The numbered entries are the phrases I hear frequently, and the indented green copy is a result of my thoughts and research on the subject.

1. People only want the entertainment and activities of the mega church.  We can’t compete with that.

Not everyone is looking for the stadium environment.  Many people prefer the closeness, the simplicity, and the smaller family environment of the small church.  Small church has a special place and offers a unique quality in our lives. 

Don’t try to compete with a church with a $3 Million dollar budget.  Find your own offering that is unique to the small church.  My number one suggestion is to open the church up once a week for an hour of prayer.  Jesus said the temple was a House of Prayer Luke 19:46.  There was teaching, but people certainly came to pray.  You don’t need a huge staff or budget to add this hour one evening a week.  (It has to be in the evening, so people who work, can have the opportunity to come.)  Older churches with aging congregations tend to have all activities during the day and wonder why they can’t get younger people to come.  We are all working at 10:00 am. 

Some soft music (pre recorded instrumental is best), quiet environment, open sanctuary.  Light some candles, and create a sacred time for people to meet and be with God. 

If you can possibly raise some money for it, have a trained graphic artist design a flyer or a postcard about your new hour of prayer.  Get a hundred or more copies to start.  Open up 15 minutes early, and close up 15 minutes after.  Have a greeter welcome people as they come in, and thank them for coming as they leave. 

2. People can find us, they know we are here.

People will drive past something for years and not notice it.  I have done that very thing.  “Oh, there is a watch repair shop. Never noticed that before.”  Your church might have been there 100 years.  People drive by every day, but don’t notice. 

Also there is an entirely new generation of people who were not raised in church, (76 million of them).  Some have never been to church even for Easter or Christmas.  They don’t know what you are about at all!  They don’t know a church family is waiting to embrace them, to share the love of God with them and to grow with them on the spiritual path.  Truly, they don’t know.

3.  Young people just don’t want to go to church.

If you explore the thousands of self improvement and self development websites you will notice a couple of continuous themes.  Spiritual awakening and simplicity are nearly an obsession for many people from 20 to 35 in these online communities.  They are aware there is a spiritual dimension to their being.  They are searching,  they are into meditation.  They say, “I am spiritual, but not religious.”   Yet they search.

They are looking for simplicity as their lives are busy and high tech with work and starting out on their own.  They are minimalists in some cases.  They want to their spiritual life to be simple and straight forward.  It seems we always want what we don’t have.  Their parents complained of being forced to go to church.  This new generation is actively looking for God.  This is an amazing opportunity for your small church.

They may not want the traditional service you enjoy on Sunday morning, but your new hour of prayer can open up a new opportunities for members and you can keep your traditional service.  You may also want to add an evening bible study.  You can keep the 10:00 am one. 

So don’t feel you have to give up everything you hold dear about your church.  But do open up some new and creative ways for God to work in the lives of others through your church.  It isn’t an exclusive club, it is God’s house.  It is a house of prayer. 

4.  It is such a sad thing our church in dying.  There is nothing we can do.

There are things you can do!  It is going to require some change.  It will require a little bit of effort.  But not as much as you might think.

- Your image.  At the turn of the century, the church was a big part of people’s social lives.  There were not a lot of other distractions.  Young people have dozens of their own distractions now.  So they are looking for something different that your grandparents were looking for in church.  For the new image of the small neighborhood community church, think simple, inviting, quiet, consider the mystery of God, the sacredness, divine order and time for listening for the spirit of God.

As your graphic designer works on your marketing piece about the new hour of prayer, make it simple, inviting, a time quietness in the presence of God.  A simple time of prayer.  Nourishing your spirit.  It is a special treat, and special break from the hectic demands of the world.  Take an hour to be with God.  Make sure the marketing piece contains the W’s.

What:  New Hour of Prayer 

 When:  Day and time

Where:  The address and name of the church, remember not everyone knows you are there.

Why:  Simplicity in prayer. A break from the hectic demands of life.  A special time to nourish the spirit and explore the mystery of God. 

Take care in creating your image and message.  People need to know the benefits of coming there.  What is in it for them, not you.

- The power of doubling.  I’m sure you have heard about the power of doubling with a penny.  If you double it every day for 30 days, this is what happens:

Day 1: $.01
Day 2: $.02
Day 3: $.04
Day 4: $.08
Day 5: $.16
Day 6: $.32
Day 7: $.64
Day 8: $1.28
Day 9: $2.56
Day 10: $5.12
Day 11: $10.24
Day 12: $20.48
Day 13: $40.96
Day 14: $81.92
Day 15: $163.84
Day 16: $327.68
Day 17: $655.36
Day 18: $1,310.72
Day 19: $2,621.44
Day 20: $5,242.88
Day 21: $10,485.76
Day 22: $20,971.52
Day 23: $41,943.04
Day 24: $83,886.08
Day 25: $167,772.16
Day 26: $335,544.32
Day 27: $671,088.64
Day 28: $1,342,177.28
Day 29: $2,684,354.56
Day 30: $5,368,709.12

If you are starting with 20 people in your church, go ahead and look at day 12.  If every person is praying to find people to invite to your hour of prayer and each get one person per month, in 12 months you will have 83,886 and some change and you will need a larger church building.

- Canvas the neighborhood around the church.  This marketing piece about your new hour of prayer is a wonderful conversation starter.  Let people around you know about it and that you would like to invite them for the prayer time.  Leave the flyer or postcard with them, don’t be too pushy, just invite.  Move on to the next house.  Keep doing this until everyone within 12 blocks of the church knows about this.  Also they have your marketing piece so they have it all written down, the W’s.  If professionally designed and printed, it looks cool and they will keep it around, even if their first instinct was to say no.  God can work with it and they can change their minds.

- After sprinkling this inviting image around the neighborhood, also take it with you and look for opportunities to invite others you run into or meet.  God can certainly arrange meetings, especially if you are prepared to give people some information.  Keep a marketing piece with you all the time.

 - Get a sign made for the church that states you have a new Hour of Prayer time and the day and time.

- Give this some time to work.  Plan on supporting this hour of prayer for the next year and give it time to take off.

You have had a prayer vigil.  You have created a new hour of prayer and a marketing piece with an image of simplicity, love and the mystery of God.  You are well on your way.  You have inquired of God.  You have opened your hearts and your church up to grow and to serve God.  Expect miracles.  Next week, let us explore the new simple, modern community church.  So you can continue to grow and be a blessing to the new people coming into the fold.

A vigil – from the Latin word vigilia meaning wakefulness.

While in the past 20 years some churches have grown, some are shrinking in size.  All churches especially mid-size and small churches have struggled as folks who were the pillars of the congregations have aged and died off.  Most churches have not had a plan to increase the size of their own church in 100 years.

76 Million people do not attend church.  People are recognizing the spiritual part of their being.  Many are actively seeking a way to grow in spirit.  Know that there are people in your own community looking for a way to find God, to nurture the spiritual part of their lives.

Mega churches have sprung up and several have membership from 12,000 to 20,000.  The percentage of volunteers in those Mega Churches is astounding.

A couple of years ago I spent a week at Willow Creek in South Barrington, IL where they had 22,000 members and over 18,000 were signed up as volunteers in some capacity at the time I was there.  I was blown away at their success and productivity.  I participated in a seminar focused on building up volunteers in churches.  I studied their marketing strategy. Much of what they do will work regardless of the size church you have. 

I also have worked in a marketing firm and served on a large church staff.  But I am a small church person.  So my heart is here and I have been pondering a plan to rebuild the small church community who find themselves with dwindling members and limited finances.

To rebuild your small community or neighborhood church, you will need to get the people together that are on board with the idea of growth.  You may believe everyone wants the church to grow, but it isn’t true.  Growth will represent change and some will go kicking and screaming into change of any kind especially at the church.  But remember the church is God’s house.   It is in our care.  This is our watch.

Organizing and executing a Prayer Vigil is a powerful tool in opening doors and windows of opportunity for your church.  A Prayer Vigil needs to be a 12 hour, or 24 hour time frame of continuous prayer for your church.

You will need a sign up board showing the designated hours of the vigil.  People need to sign up for a one hour period of time where they commit to coming to the church and being in prayer for that one full hour for the church.  They will need to show up a little early, and perhaps stay a few minutes late for the sake of uninterrupted coverage.

People will ask if they can just pray from home, but showing up and being focused at the church keeps those distractions we often experience while at home, at a minimum.  It is easier to pray in the sanctuary at church, especially for this longer period of time.  The short answer is no.  You want people to show up and pray for the allocated period of time, at the church and focused.

It will be helpful to have between 8 and 12 people committed and excited to help make this event happen.  You can do this with less, but see how many you can get.

Logistically speaking, 

• -Divide the prayer vigil time into three or four hour blocks of time, and assign a leader to each block. 
• -In a 12 hour vigil you will have three leaders with four hour blocks of time or four leaders with three hour blocks of time.

Leader support:

• -Each leader should have their own list of the people who have signed up to pray for one hour during their block. 
• -A day or so before, they need to call and check to be sure people are still planning to be there for the hour they signed up for. 
• -Verify you are talking about the same hour and date. 
• -The leader should say they are excited about the prayer vigil and glad this person has signed up for this important time set aside to pray for their church.  People are busy and value should be assigned to people’s time and prayers.

The time block leaders serves a couple of other important functions as well.  We can be a chatty and social bunch in church congregations.  I have seen people show up to pray, and start chatting with someone in the parking lot or talking on their cell phone and an completely loose track of time. They go in to take over from the person who has now been there praying two hours and needed to leave an hour ago.  The leader keeps us on track and focused.

I am all for kids in the service, more so than in the nursery.  But prayer vigil time is quiet and I have also seen two or three moms or grandparents show up and leave several kids each screaming at the top of their lungs, running up and down the hallways or parking lot.  The leader can also take care of these types of situations keeping things quiet and prayerful.

If someone doesn’t remember, or has an emergency and doesn’t come for their hour, the leader can pray in their place as well so the vigil remains continuous prayer.  It is really good to have double coverage.

Planning and setting the day:

Give yourselves a little time to get the event organized and let people know it is happening. A Saturday is best.  Some people will be off work (not everyone), and you can end right before the Sunday Service.  Ending right before the service is a powerful finish for the prayer vigil.  You have a time where your whole group comes back together, and I think this is a very important part. 

If you are doing a 12 hour vigil, you can begin at noon on Saturday, and end at Midnight on Saturday and then it will only be a few hours until the Sunday morning service.  For a 24 hour vigil, you can begin at 8:00 am on Saturday, and will be able to end at 8:00 am on Sunday morning.

I always worry about midnight to 6:00 am coverage on the 24 hour vigils, but somehow teenagers and night owls get it done.  Some people work nights and this is no problem, some just stay up all night anyway especially on the weekends. 

It would create something like jet-lag for me, although I have heard it is a wonderful experience praying in a candle lit sanctuary at 3:00 am, but I may never know.

Prayer Points and Notes:

Have some half size sheets of paper with points and notes about the common interest you have in growing the church.  A few suggestions follow here, but feel free to make your own point and note sheet.

• -Most Holy God, we pray your blessings on this church, help it to grow.
• -Let this church be a place where people find you and nurture their faith.
• -Let people always feel your presence here and speak to our spirits.
• -Let this be a church of service and love.
• -Let this church be a place where people grow in their spiritual walk.
• -Help us to understand what we need to do to bring new people here.
• -Reveal to us the changes we will make so people can find you here.
• -Open the way for us the way to share our faith.
• -We pray that your will is done here, God, not ours, but your will. 
• -This church be Your House, a House of Prayer, and let it grow.
• -Show us how to invite and welcome new people here.
• -How can we be a blessing to the community and the people who are seeking you God?
• -Let us be a people who shine the light and love of the Gospel.
• -Let us be a congregation of grace and love.
• -Reveal to us how we build this church up.
• -Bring peace and understanding to the members of the church.
• -How can we let new seekers see the value in being children of the Living God?
• -If changes come here, help us accept the changes and let them be useful for our spiritual growth.
• -Let us embrace change and call it good.  Allow the change to bring about the best in each of us.
• -Let this church expand it’s membership and it’s mission.
• -Let anyone in our community who has ever thought of visiting here, come and see what this church has to offer now.
• -You showed the world what grace and redemption look like up close, help us to walk in your way and share it with other.
• -Life is growing and changing in all areas.  Help us continue to grow in our spirits.
• -Gracious God, we pray your blessings on this church.  Help us grow and be a blessing.

 With an hour to pray, read each of these and contemplate them.  Make sure bibles are in each pew or seat.  But encourage people to pray and not just sit and read for an hour.

Some people can pray with music going, and some cannot.  If you use music, make sure it is soft and not disruptive.  You can have upbeat, inspiring music at the service tomorrow.  It will be a time of worship and rejoicing.

Be sure to pray together in worship the following morning.  Read Mark 11:22 through 11:25 aloud in church.  Have faith and watch for miracles.  You have just opened the doors of possibility to create something great in your church with God.  You have opened the windows to be a blessing in the community and to expand.  Fear not. Believe and have faith in God.

   Later this week – A Marketing Plan – Step Two in Growth and Rebuilding

Church was the place where people gathered on Sunday in Worship with music and prayers and gratitude in their hearts.  It is the place we are married and buried and hopefully baptized.  Those are important life events

The small community church has been a place we break bread together in the form of Pot Luck, or Hot Dish with meat loaves, jello molded into pyrex bowls with small fruit pieces suspended in the rippling color of the jello.  There were upside down cakes and a variety of puddings, potato salads and mystery casseroles with some type of canned soup featured as the sauce.  We did not go for the  food, although some was very good, some was not.  We could have eaten at home.  We went to be part of a larger thing.  We went to be part of our church family.  It was fun. 

This weekend I visited the church where I found God.  I gave a talk there about Prayer and Shining Your Light.  It got me thinking how we moved every year when I was a kid following my dad’s work as a Crane Operator and community church was the only constant thing in my life.  It was an anchor.  I could show up at the new school as the new kid, but I already knew another person or two at the school from church.

Now the rule was we had to be able to walk to the church in the new town where we moved, because my folks had one car and if my Dad was working, my Mom wanted to be able to get to functions at the church.  It was how we got to know people, became part of a new community and new church family since we were so far from our own family. 

Consequently I have attended a number of churches of different denomination to include Methodist, Church of Christ, Presbyterian, Community Fellowship Christian, Baptist, Mennonite, and I even was the only Protestant child in a Catholic elementary school in Denver in the 1960’s.  They were less than thrilled, but felt God had sent them a heathen to convert and did their best to get me through the conversion process.  Sorry it didn’t work out as they planned.  But this tapestry of doctrines and theologies has made my spiritual life rich and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

They have held bible studies and made lunches for shut-ins.  They have hosted Vacation Bible School and provided food and crafts to children whose family didn’t attend or support the church. Several I have known made hundreds of warm little quilts for babies, and old people in nursing homes each year.  Church people I didn’t even know brought food and 2 quits to my home when my son was born. (We had a church we attended, but there were 4 or 5 other churches in our neighborhood.)  What a kind thing it was.

The small community church is dying right now.  In your neighborhood and mine, the last 3 people are preparing to turn off the light and lock the doors for the last time.  Are we going to let this happen on our watch?

I believe there can be a rebirth of the community church.  I am going to outline three ideas over the next three posts.  These are going to be viewed as controversial and I know not everyone will appreciate my ideas on saving the community church; but here goes.

1. A Prayer Vigil
2. A Marketing Plan
3. Modern and Simple Community Church

Come back tomorrow and we will visit the Prayer Vigil.

Photo from Marketing blog

Be strong and courageous.  In the New American Standard bible translation; this exact combination of words occurs 13 times between Deuteronomy. Joshua, 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles.

I have visited so many of my favorite blogs this week and I can’t tell you how many people are feeling sorry for themselves.  I know it is dark in the northern hemisphere and it is January.  But it is time for the pity parties to stop. So right now, do these 6 things and then go out into the world and shine a light into dark places.

1. Get some direct sunlight
2. Take a walk 
3. Write something in your gratitude journal 
4. Think about the needs of someone else 
5. Decide to be strong and courageous 
6. Read the book of Joshua -

Set your purse down, and Spartan up! That includes both men and women. 

You are a radiant child of God.  You are not some hopeless, powerless, despicable worm in the dirt.  You are a saint.  You are made in the image of the most high God, and the very breath of God fills your spirit.

You were given the authority to heal the sick, and to alleviate human suffering.  You were given free will.  You may choose to live a life of significance!  You may leave this world a better place than it was before you got here! You be strong and courageous! Find your purpose and your joy.

The Old Testament is filled with stories.  Things never turn out well for the whiners and bed wetters.  We are told over and over about the people who were strong in the LORD.  The people who stand on the promises of God.  They stand on their faith and move mountains, and free the oppressed. Dwell upon what is possible.  Make it a great day!

Photo by Rudy Matthiesen

The key is to not do too many things at one time.  To move to a life of significance, we must focus on one thing at a time.  Big dreams, daring adventures, exciting lives are available to us as we seek a higher purpose.

The problem I find in myself is, if I am not quite sure the next step on my significant task, then I distract myself so I don’t have to continue to step forward.  I look through a cookbook, or call someone. “Hi there, no, nothing new.  Just checking in to see how you are doing?” And the big important thing vaporizes at that point.

We want our lives to count for something.  We know we are capable of being a positive change for good.  We could leave this world a better place.  The clock is ticking.  We are aware of it most at the close of a year.  How can we make the coming year count?  What significant action could be part of our higher awareness, our higher calling?

Philippians 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Photo by Chrissy Oldham

Heavenly Father, winter can be a cold a dark time of year in many places in the world. Help us to find time to nurture our spirits and live in joy and light. I pray for those everywhere who suffer from depression, sadness, grief.  Lift their spirits.  I pray for those who need to know the joy of the LORD is their strength.  Strengthen each of us according to your word. The light of the world has come.  Guide us, and let us each shine the light. Thank you God.  Amen

Photo by Chrissy Oldham

The flower reminds me of how I must look to the casual observer; a little wind blown, not symmetrical, slightly disorganized and undisciplined.  Never the less, I show up in full bloom with the grace, passion and form that God gave me.

I enjoy the new trends in the personal development blog sites.  Many writers encourage excellence, simplicity, passion in our work and  generosity.  People are sharing lessons learned, helpful hints, and encouragement daily.  That is part of the Kingdom of God.  It is about what we do for each other.  It is often about what we are willing to give of ourselves.

There is an order to the universe.  It may not match our perception of order and achievement, but the events are not all random, and there is a  divine order.  Each experience is a step toward our future and if we choose, can build our strength.  Each lesson learned, however painful, prepares the way for how we deal with future experiences and how we might learn to love to the fullest.

Father God, thank you for the beauty of the day and of the season.  Let us discover the nature of you God, as we lend a helping hand or kind word to others.  Allow us to cross over the barriers of race, religion, occupation, and social status to find our higher purpose and compassion  in serving each other.  Bring your divine order and simplicity to our lives.  Let grace and loving kindness shine from each of us. Let us bring out the best in each other.  Let us be a blessing today. Amen

1 Corinthians 16:5 – 16:7 

⁵After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. ⁶Perhaps I will stay with you awhile, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.

Paul was on a journey.  He didn’t dig in and stay one place during his ministry.  He moved around, I think as the spirit moved him.  He was a letter writer and his works became some of what we read in the new testament of our Bibles.  Each work is a different chapter.  Each chapter is a different place.

I have a dear friend who is starting a new chapter of her ministry.  She is going to a deaf church on the east coast to become their Senior Minister.  I love her sense of adventure.  She has traveled the world with various chapters of her ministry.  I will miss her in my everyday life. I am so grateful for the influence she has had on my spiritual journey. I feel confident we will meet again.

Holy God.  Thank you for the various chapters in the book of our lives.  Thank you for allow each of us to have an opportunity to bring joy and share the light of the gospel with the world.  Let us leave this world a better place than when we arrived.  Bring out the very best in each us, O LORD, and help us to bring out the best in each other.  Amen

After a Colorado storm

Gracious God, help us to find the purpose and hope of our calling.  Work with us and guide our steps.  Amen