The 52 Churches Workbook E-Book

Peter DeHaan

• Herausgeber: Rock Rooster Books
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Visiting Churches Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 67

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

What would you learn if you visited 52 churches?

How might that experience change the way you treated visitors at your church?

But you don’t need to go to a boatload of churches to find out. Church-reform advocate Peter DeHaan, PhD already has. The 52 Churches Workbook is the perfect tool to gain valuable insights without the pain and hassle of going to a different church every Sunday for an entire year.

Merely thinking about making your church better isn’t enough. It’s time to act.

With over 200 thought-provoking questions to propel you and your church forward, you’ll discover:

- How to greet visitors well.

- The importance of making a good first impression and a parting memory.

- The way one person can make the difference between success and failure.

- Best practices from churches that treat visitors well, along with what to avoid.

- Why a website is critical and shouldn’t resemble a dating profile.

The 52 Churches Workbook is the perfect companion for 52 Churches, but it also works great as a standalone book for those who haven’t yet read 52 Churches.

Don’t go another Sunday without this essential resource. Perfect for leaders and members.

Get The 52 Churches Workbook and take the first step to becoming a church that matters.

Leseprobe

THE 52 CHURCHES WORKBOOK

BECOMING A SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY THAT MATTERS

VISITING CHURCHES SERIES

BOOK 2

PETER DEHAAN

The 52 ChurchesWorkbook: Becoming a SpiritualCommunity that Matters

Copyright © 2019 by PeterDeHaan.

VisitingChurchesSeries, book 2.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, disseminated, or transmitted in any form, by any means, or for any purpose without the express written consent of the author or his legal representatives. The only exception is short excerpts and the cover image for reviews or academic research. For permissions: PeterDeHaan.com/contact.

Published by RockRoosterBooks

ISBN:

978-1-948082-35-8 (e-book)978-1-948082-36-5 (paperback)978-1-948082-37-2 (hardcover)

Credits:

Developmental editor: CathyRueterCopy editor: RobynMulderCover design: CassiaFrielloAuthor photo: CheleReagh / PippinReaghDesign

To all spiritual seekers looking for a place to belong and all churches that want to be that place.

CONTENTS

The Beginning

Getting Started

Church #1: A Friendly Place with a Homey Feel

Church #2: Growing Deeper, Not Wider

Church #3: It Only Hurts When You Care

Church #4: Successfully Melding Contemporary and Traditional

Church #5: Catholics are Christians Too

Church #6: A Quintessential Country Church

Church #7: The New Church

Church #8: A Grand Experiment

Church #9: Methodists Know How to Cook

Church #10: A Special Father’s Day Message

Church #11: Charismatic Lite

Church #12: More Methodists, More Food

Church #13: A Dedicated Pastor Team

Part One Perspective

The Second Quarter

Church #14: The Pentecostal Perspective

Church #15: An Outlier Congregation

Church #16: Something’s Missing

Church #17: A Doubleheader

Church #18: Revisiting Roman Catholicism

Church #19: A Near Miss

Church #20: Different Language, Same God

Church #21: A New Kind of Church

Church #22: A Caring Community

Church #23: They’ll Be Fine

Church #24: Good but Not Typical

Church #25: Embarking on a Metamorphosis

Church #26: An Unknown Situation

Part Two Perspective

The Halfway Point

Church #27: A Charismatic Experience

Church #28: Intriguing and Liturgical

Church #29: Led by Laity

Church #30: Misdirected and Frustrated

Church #31: A Day of Contrasts

Church #32: Commitment Sunday and Celebration

Church #33: A Shepherd Cares for His Flock

Church #34: Acts Chapter Two

Church #35: A Well-Kept Secret

Church #36: The Surprise

Church #37: Another Small Church

Church #38: A Refreshing Time

Church #39: A Great Way to End the Year

Church #40: No Time to Return

Church #41: People Make the Difference

Church #42: High Expectations and Great Disappointment

Church #43: A Welcoming Church with Much to Offer

Church #44: A Familiar Place

Part Three Perspective

The Home Stretch

Church #45: Another Doubleheader

Church #46: False Assumptions

Church #47: Significant Interactions

Church #48: Small, Simple, and Satisfying

Church #49: Large and Anonymous

Church #50: Saturday Mass

Church #51: The Megachurch: A Grand and Welcoming Experience

Church #52: Playing it Safe

Church #53: Home for Holy Week

Part Four Perspective

Reflections

A Lot Like Dating

Greeting Well or Not at All

Format and Size Matters

Candy’s Take on 52 Churches

Generalizations

Tips for Improvement

Conclusion

The Visiting Churches Series

About Peter DeHaan

Books by Peter DeHaan

Series by PeterDeHaan:

40-DayBibleStudySeriestakes a fresh and practical look into Scripture, book by book.

BibleCharacterSketchesSeriescelebrates people in Scripture, from the well-known to the obscure.

HolidayCelebrationBibleStudySeriesrejoices in the holidays with Jesus.

VisitingChurchesSeries takes an in-person look at church practices and traditions to inform and inspire today’s followers of Jesus.

Be the first to hear about Peter’s new books and receive updates at PeterDeHaan.com/updates.

THE BEGINNING

What started as a desire to learn more about nearby churches morphed into a much bigger vision. AtGod’s prompting, I planned an unconventional faith journey, one of adventure and discovery. My goal was to learn what he would show me by visiting a different Christian church every Sunday for a year.

My wife, Candy, served as my faithful accomplice throughout the whole thing. We eventually called our sojourn “52 Churches.”

Some people thought we were crazy. We were. Others thought we were brave. We weren’t. Any courage came from our dependence on God each step of the way.

Each week I blogged about our experience. Readers wanted more.

ThenI wrote a book: 52 Churches: AYearlongJourneyEncounteringGod, HisChurch, and OurCommonFaith. Readers still asked for more.

This book is the first step in providing more: more information and more insight. This workbook is a guide to discovering key truths from 52 Churches that we can apply to our local branches of Jesus’s church.

Note that 52 Churches is a narrative that celebrates the good we experienced when visiting churches, along with some recommendations for improvement. To be of maximum value, this workbook, however, focuses on the items needing correction. This isn’t to denigrate the churches we attended, but to serve as a guide to move all churches into a more effective outreach.

Use this book in whatever way benefits you the most. It might be for personal introspection, a small group or Sunday school class discussion starter, or as a guide for church leadership to reform church practices for greater kingdom impact.

As we move forward to contemplate and respond to this workbook, we can become a church that matters to our community and advances the good news of Jesus.

But whatever you do, don’t let this book collect dust. Read it, contemplate it, and apply it. Then give God the glory for the results.

Amen.

GETTING STARTED

I’m preparing to go to Church #1. The enemy harasses me. I don’t want to go. I now understand why the non-regular church attender can so easily stay home despite their best intentions. The living room recliner and television remote are much more inviting and much less threatening.

Welcoming visitors starts before they arrive. What can you do to make it easy for them to show up?

A personal invitation is the most effective way to encourage people to visit your church. What specific things can you do to invite people to visit?

CHURCH #1: A FRIENDLY PLACE WITH A HOMEY FEEL

This church has no online presence, as well as an uninviting exterior. But the people inside are friendly, and we feel at home—mostly.

An unwieldy wheelchair ramp tacked onto the front of the building desperately needs painting. We bypass the ramp, but it remains our focal point and forms our first impression. What changes should you make to give your church better curb appeal and offer a better first impression?

A man lacking in social skills, with possible mental issues, corners us when we arrive. We can’t escape his plodding monologue. What can you do to protect visitors from regular attendees who may repel or scare them away?

There are only seventeen people present. With a smirk, the minister asks first-time visitors to raise their hands. I want to disappear. What practices should you stop so that people won’t squirm?

After the service, everyone lingers to chat. Many thank us for visiting and invite us to come again, but they aren’t pushy. What can you do to help a person’s first visit not be their last?

CHURCH #2: GROWING DEEPER, NOT WIDER

The church is three years old and meets in a strip mall. Their goal is to “grow deeper, not wider.” Everything about this church is the opposite of last week.

I park near the door. I later realize they leave the prime spaces for guests, with the regulars parking further away. When you arrive at church, where do you park and why?

Scores of people mill about, all engaged in conversation. We mosey in, giving time for someone to notice us. No one does. We sit and squirm in silence. Who do you talk to before church: friends, regulars you don’t know well, or visitors? Why? What needs to change?

Despite