• 25 Questions for people who want to make churches grow

    1. Do you have a decent church website?
    2. Is it up to date?
    3. Is it responsive – ie does it work on mobile phones?
    4. Does your own online profile feature your ideas and hopes and dreams other than a desire for people to turn up to church?
    5. Do you know what you are doing with twitter and facebook?
    6. Who could you learn more about social media from?
    7. Do you have a compelling reason why people should come to your church other than where it is or what denomination it belongs to?
    8. Can everyone in the church tell you in one sentence what that compelling reason is?
    9. What is your beginners’ course like?
    10. What comes after the beginners’ course?
    11. Do people like the preaching?
    12. Do people enjoy the music?
    13. Have you dealt with conflicts from the past?
    14. Are the people friendly?
    15. Do you have any new groups starting soon?
    16. Do you talk about making the world a better place?
    17. How will people experience joy if they come to your congregation?
    18. If someone from your past turned up unexpectedly at worship how would it make you feel?
    19. How do you identify newcomers and what do you offer them?
    20. What problems will arise if you do grow and how will you deal with them?
    21. Do claims that you welcome everyone stop you working at welcoming those who traditionally find it hard to find a home in church?
    22. Do you use language that is inclusive of everyone?
    23. How do you know?
    24. Is there any identifiable group of people that you can’t explicitly say are welcome because of how an individual or group in the congregation will react?
    25. Do you want to grow or not?

8 responses to “Lightbox time”

  1. Kimberly Avatar

    you forgot to mention that light boxes work much better in proper offices, rather than those shared with cats.

  2. Kelvin Avatar

    Oh, that’s one of those PhD theses never yet completed: Symbiosis and Stasis – the effect of cats on lightboxes, the effect of lightboxes on cats and the effects of each on those living with Seasonally Affective Disorder.

  3. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    According to those posters on the underground, catowners are apparently more stress-free and content and the norm so, surely, a cat AND light box owner ought to be chirpy as Santa Clause!

  4. Coxy Avatar
    Coxy

    We have one. Not out yet but it might have been had it not been for a few days earlier this week in Belfast while NI pretended to be Spain in summer!

  5. kelvin Avatar

    Thanks Coxy. Can I also saw how much I am in awe of your Church Times Page 3 Stunner success this week.

    A media triumph.

    Now, if I dressed up in pink and had my photo taken running about in shorts, I wonder if the Church Times….

  6. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    Not a CT subscriber, so : Link?!! Hope it was the neon number 😉

    Although surely, given the choice, Italian Vanity Fair makes for the more impressive C.V. entry 😉

  7. Stewart Avatar

    ….with and without the Cope of Glory, Kelvin??

  8. Kimberly Avatar

    Kelvin, no.

    But let us just enjoy that for once Nick looks better in pink.

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