Culture Fest
Remembering our Jewish roots.
Every year on Palm Sunday night, we hold a “Jewish fest.” It serves as a bridge to understanding another culture and as a prelude to our Easter weekend services.
The evening kicks off with a video presentation of modern-day Israel. Next, a guest speaker, either a missionary to Israel or a messianic Jew, gives a brief testimony or slide presentation. If possible, we display artifacts or Jewish cultural items. Israeli music plays in the background as people play games or taste Jewish food.
We end with prayer for missionaries and unreached people in Israel, and then participate in Communion. Several Jewish families have attended, and one person became a believer. Another rededicated his life, and seven decided to travel to Israel.
—Eddie A. Clark First Christian Church Linden, Tennessee
“Prayer Chain” That Works
A systematic way to pray for every member.
Every church member receives prayer during at least one week a year through our “People of Prayer” program.
Several members commit to pray for an individual or family each day for one week. They also have a list of everyone the others are praying for; each member praying receives a list of fifty names.
The church sends a letter to inform each member that he or she will be prayed for by a specific “person of prayer” and to suggest contacting that person should a need arise. Then each “person of prayer” sends letters to the first people on the list, reminding them that they will be prayed for during the coming week. At the beginning of the week, the “people of prayer” contact those people to get any specific requests.
During weeks fifty-one and fifty-two, each “person of prayer” prays for new members. This ministry helped eliminate the drawbacks of a prayer-chain system. Now families contact their “prayer-persons” to share requests and how prayers have been answered.
—Kevin E. Ruffcorn Trinity English Evangelical Lutheran Church Appleton, Wisconsin
Growth by Combining
Invigorating Sunday-evening worship.
We share a Sunday-evening worship service with three congregations. The combined attendance among the four churches on Sunday nights used to be approximately 60; today we average 225. Because this service is more progressive, that has helped each congregation transition from a traditional morning worship service to a blended service.
We meet every Sunday evening. Each month we meet at one building, rotating among the four. All four preachers share preaching responsibilities, and the worship teams comprise members from each church.
This service has led to cooperation in other areas of ministry: a divorce-recovery workshop, VBS, an Easter morning service, a pastor/elder Bible study, and soon, a small groups-ministry.
—Michael J. Wittl Old Union Church of Christ Danville, Illinois
Children’s Dinner Theater
A fun way to raise money for missions.
The junior choir—fourth, fifth, and sixth graders—of Temple Baptist Church presents a dinner theater each year.
We have two performances and charge $5 per person. Seating is by reservation.
The children also serve as hosts and hostesses, tea and coffee servers, dessert servers, and table cleaners. The parents oversee and cook the meal.
This past year the performance raised $1,000 for our missions program.
—Beverly Evans Temple Baptist Church Odessa, Texas
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