Reaching & Keeping

Did you know that God wants His church to grow? He gave the church the mission statement: Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you (Matthew 28:19-20).

Did you notice the word ‘go?’ He didn’t say to the people outside the church to come to the church. He said to people inside the church (disciples- this includes you and me) go to people outside the church and make them disciples.

What that means is that everyone who calls First Free home is responsible to fulfill the mission. That means that we never move beyond the task of reaching new people. And we (I mean every one of us, not just pastors) never give up the ministry of connecting people more deeply in relationships within the body of Christ.
Now every church loses people. It’s a natural part of living in our culture. 3% will likely move away, 2% will die, and 5% will just fade away and stop attending without connecting to another local body. Some of this loss can’t be helped, but some of it can.

There are only two ways to experience net growth at First Free: reach new people, keep the people you reach. That is why we set apart 2-3 Sundays a year for something we call ‘Friends Day.’ An overwhelming percentage of people who visit a church on a Sunday do so because of the personal invitation of a friend or family member. This has far more reaching effects than social media or traditional advertisement.

So, will you help First Free grow? Will you invite several of your unchurched friends to join you this Sunday at 9:15 or 11:00 A.M?

Getting the word out about First Free is only part of the equation. We must still focus on helping people long-term, and the one single key to this is relationships.

Make sure the friends you bring this Sunday get introduced to others and get information about our next informational 4-week Life Group. People will develop closer friendships in a Life Group and this will help them want to stick to the church.

This is how churches grow- we work hard (all of us) at reaching new people (by you inviting your unchurched friends) and we keep working with the people you’re reaching in order to create deeper relationships.


Blessings,
 

P.S. Do you feel like you’re surviving each day just to get to the weekend? Are you feeling unfulfilled, unmotivated, and caught up in the rat race of life? Come this Sunday, invite a friend, and discover there is so much more than just living for the weekend.