General Baptist National Missions Blog

The Power of Perception

October 29, 2008

The power of perception can never be underestimated. Once an individual forms a perception about your church, it is very hard to undo. Richard Reising in his book Church Marketing 101 states that good "marketing is the management of perception." Why? Because too often perception becomes reality to those outside the church. Whether their perception is right or wrong, how an individual perceives your church can determine whether or not you will have a chance to reach them with the Gospel. Let me show you an example. Creating a good perception of your church is half the battle. Here is an example: Look at these two churches. What do you see? Which church do you think an unchurched individual will be more likely to go inside?

                           

                Church 1                                         Church 2

I don't know about you, but church 1 is a little frightening. Church 2 however, wow! Here is what the unchurched individual doesn't know; What's inside?

Inside Church 1                               Inside Church 2

Church 1 may have a whole lot more to offer, but the unchurched can't get beyond initial perceptions, no matter how good things are on the inside.

I am not simply talking about the look of a building. Realize that everything you do creates a perception of who you are. The look of your mailers, the production of your services, the way people are greeted at the door, the atmosphere of the worship area, and etc... Everything is creating perceptions.

I remember my parents teaching me the power of first impressions. I was sixteen and received my first speeding ticket. They convinced me to dress in my Sunday best, a suit and tie at that time, as I went before the judge. Every other kid in that courtroom was dressed in blue jeans and t-shirts. The judge was a real piece of work. I was convinced he hated teenagers. Every one of the teens who stood before that judge was being raked over the coals.

Unfortunately, my turn came. I swallowed hard, and stood up to face my judgment. I will never forget what happened next. The judge looked at me and said, "Son, you look like a fine young man, I'm going to forgive your speeding ticket this time, but you still have to pay the court cost. Have a nice day." You could have hear a pin drop in the courtroom. I realized then, that Mom and Dad weren't as dumb as I thought. Man, I wish that still worked today, but that is another story.

Some people's perceptions you can't control. What you can't control you leave up to God. What you can control you work hard to get right. Work hard as you start your new church. Remove as many obstacles, stumbling blocks, and excuses as you can from the unchurched or dechurched. Create an atmosphere both inside and out that is welcoming, warm, and authentic. Above all do everything with as much excellence as you can afford. Do your best to generate a positive perception.

Posted 10/29/2008 in Church Planting

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Life Quest Preview

October 27, 2008

On Sunday Oct 26 Life Quest Church held its first preveiw service at the Academy At The Lakes. The first service was attended by 37 core team members and a few quests who enthusiastically loved the venue of the new chuch. Life Quest is set to publically launch on Jan 11, 2009 in Land-O-Lakes Florida. We are expecting and praying for great things from pastors Brent Neal and Jeff Roth. These leaders have a powerful, spirit-filled plan for reaching this area in Florida. Keep them in your prayers.

This Sunday was also the fourth Sunday of our new church Next Level in Tarpoon Springs, Florida. Lead Pastor Christian Farris reported that they had one of the best Sundays yet. Over 120 individuals attended the service. Pastor Farris and his wife cast vision for the future and God moved as over a dozen new volunteers stepped forward to be an active part of this new ministry. God is good!

Finally, keep The Awakening, our new church in New York CIty, in prayer. They are experiencing a great deal of spiritual warfare. Keep them in your prayers as they continue to seek God's will.

Posted 10/27/2008 in Church Planting

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If I Were President...

October 23, 2008

Imagine if you were President of the United States. what would you do? What policies would you change? What would you like to change about America? Go to www.makemethepresident.net and write your two-cents worth.

Posted 10/23/2008 in Stephen Gray

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Denominations? - A Case For Connection

October 13, 2008

The idea of being an independent/non-denominational entity has gained a lot of ground over the last decade. Many believe that it is unbiblical to belong to a denomination. "After all, there are no denominations in the Bible.” While that statement may be true, the question comes from a misunderstanding of the calling and purpose of denominational bodies. 
 
I want to build a case for connection. Does the Bible support independance or interdependence?  Which state of existence will enable your church to become a globally-minded body of believers and will enable you to fulfill the Great Commission with greater efficacy?

Think about this: Autonomy breeds contempt.
 
 I realize this long, but bear with me. The six reasons for connecting to a larger body.
 
1. The Bible teaches Christians to be interdependent not independent.
 
Paul’s description of the church is a body. “…the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the working of the measure of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the edification of itself in love.” (Eph 4:16). It is not possible to be a part of the body when you are disconnected and isolated.
 
Never in the Scripture will you find a case for being separated from other believers. Jesus prayed that those who follow Him would “…be one; just as he was one with the Father.” (John 17:21).
 
Christianity is to be lived out within the context of community. There is no such thing as a “lone ranger” Christian. Only in this Western culture do we have a sense of "rugged individualism that drives us to try and live outside the context of the body. Scripture also supports that local churches are to be interdependent of one another not “lone ranger” churches. The Churches of Acts were all interdependent.
 
The autonomy of the local church, while celebrated, must be kept in context of the larger body of believers. Even though each individual church in the New Testament was different and distinct, it was not by itself. The council in Acts 15 clearly shows us that each church was connected and held accountable. The council acted much like a governing body.
 
2. In the Old Testament, there were no independent Jews; everyone had a tribe.
 
 The nation of Israel was a prototype of the church. Today’s church is the new Israel.  “After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing. Rather, the real Jew is the person who isa Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God’s Spirit, not of the written Law” (Rom 2:28-29).  
 
We believe that denominational families resemble the tribes of Israel. As you study the history of Israel, you will quickly discover that each tribe was different. Many times they had differences of opinion and sometimes even warred with one another. Yet,  all of them were a part of God’s chosen people. There were no independent Jews.
 
3. The power of being connected to a denominational fellowship is that it provides  local churches the ability to do what they could not do on their own.
 
We are called as the body of Christ to be a witness for Christ “…in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). No church is able to accomplish this on its own. Our obedience to this call must not stop with our local area. God has called us to be globally-minded as well.
 
Ministry in the local area is expensive. At best, most local churches are able to reach Jerusalem and Judea. Being connected enables the local church to more fully fulfill the Great Commission and become an Acts 1:8 church. As local churches cooperate with other churches, the ability to do work for the Kingdom greatly increases. The local churches’ global potential for reaching across social, economical, and ethnic barriers can be experienced only when we join together. Together we can do what no local church can do alone.
 
4. People in denominational families can walk hand-in-hand without seeing eye-to- eye.
 
 Paul wrote to the Philippians, “If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tendernesses and mercies, then fulfill my joy, that you may be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind” (Phil 2:1-2).   
 
To be in “one accord” does not mean that we see eye-to-eye on everything. To be in “one accord” means that we are extending our hand of fellowship to each other in order to accomplish the task that God has called us to do.
 
You don’t have to read very far in the New Testament Book of Acts to see that differences existed between very godly men. Paul and Barnabas didn’t see eye-to-eye on using Mark. Peter and Paul struggled with viewpoints about who is a Jew. The council in Acts dealt with differences between Gentile and Jewish believers. While these differences existed, they were still all in one accord.  
 
Two great men of church history, John Wesley and George Whitfield, didn’t see eye-to-eye on theological issues. Wesley said to Whitfield one day, “Is your heart one with my heart? Then give me your hand” (2 Kings 10:15-16).
 
Where we must always see eye-to-eye is on the essentials. 

 
5. Jesus is present in imperfect local churches and denominational families.
 
I’m sure every one of us has heard people make negative comments about the imperfections of the local church. The problems many churches face are the main reasons many people stay outside the churches and denominations. There are literally millions of people who don’t like the idea of the church, let alone denominations. 
 
God told Hosea, “Go and get married; your wife will be unfaithful, and your children will be just like her. In the same way my people have left me and become unfaithful. So Hosea married a woman named Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim” (Hosea 1:2-3).
 
I think we all understand that God is calling Israel His bride, much like the church today. The church is seen as the bride of Christ in the New Testament.
 
 God’s point is this: Israel or the church is my bride; I love her; she is mine in spite of all her problems and imperfections, and they are many. But I love her. Listen to how Jesus speaks of the church. “Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church–a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.” (Eph 5:25-27).
 
God asked Hosea to marry a prostitute. Why would anyone subject himself to a relationship that had so much trouble attached to it? Why would God ask Hosea to marry such a tarnished and imperfect person? Because this is the way Jesus loves the church, even with all of its problems and discord. 
 
Why does Jesus love the church this way? Because in spite of all the human trappings and problems of the local church and denominational families, they are God’s chosen means of bringing blessing and salvation to a desperate world.
 
No church is perfect, nor is any denomination. As long as we live in this imperfect world, we will deal with imperfect systems. The good news is that God works through these imperfect systems in spite of all the problems. 
 
6. Denominational families offer fellowship and accountability.
 
We all need each other. This world stands against all we proclaim, and according
to God’s Word it will get worse as the end draws near. That is why the writer of Hebrews
said, “Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer” (Heb 10:25).
 
Fifty-eight times in the Bible it uses the phrase “one another.” It says, “Love one another, care for one another...Greet one another...Encourage one another...Pray for one another...Counsel one another...Share with one another... Help one another….” It is the mutual ministry of the body to itself.  There can be no doubt about it, we need each other.

 ***This was adapted from Falling In Love With The Church. By Larry McKain***

Posted 10/13/2008 in Stephen Gray

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LEVEL 10 Goes To The Next Level

October 10, 2008

Imagine for a moment the world-wide impact General Baptists can have and read this new blgo from Pastor Christian Farris of Next Level Church.

At the birthing stages of NEXT LEVEL CHURCH was an idea to put together, the best way possible, a professional band that would help to create the engaging environments for which this new church was striving. Little did anyone know just how far it would go. From the very beginning, Levy, NLC’S worship coordinator, began holding interviews to find the best musicians possible for this task. After a few short months nearly everything was in place and rehearsals began. Every week this group would come together to rehearse with the dream of one day soon being able to perform and lead worship in front of a crowd of people at the new church. After a few rehearsals and some minor changes within the group, it was quickly discovered that this team was not just some ordinary church band… these guys really were professional musicians. It was at this point that Levy decided to give the church band a name and then to put the wheels in action for putting together a CD. They decided to call the band LEVEL10 and started almost immediately working on their debut CD. One thing led to another and before they knew it they were invited to be a part of a radio contest. The group decided to enter the contest and by a landslide they won first place. The first place prize included $3000, a cruise to Mexico on which they would be the headline band the entire week, and radio air-time of their music.

And it doesn’t stop there. On Thursday, October 9th, Levy and the LEVEL10 group were contacted by PolyGram Record Company (Universal Records) and offered a distribution contract for the release of their first album. In March of 2009 the band will be heading to Brazil for the release party of their debut CD which is self entitled “LEVEL10”. Lord willing PolyGram Record Company will be releasing a 100,000 copies of their first album. This opportunity could open the door for some great things in the future for both NEXT LEVEL CHURCH and LEVEL10.

Posted 10/10/2008 in Church Planting

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A New Church Is Born!

October 7, 2008

                  (Click on logo to go to Next Level Website!)

On Oct 5th in Tarpoon Springs, FL. Next Level Church celebrated its first public service.What started out as 200 empty chairs

God had been orchestrating this event for months. Two days prior to the public launch, LEVEL 10, the churches praise band

entered a Jazz contest and won by an overwhelming majority. When those in teh audience started asking where the band played, they were surprised to find out that LEVEL 10 was a church band. The band members were able to tell everyone that asked about the new church and invited them to come to the grand opening service. But wait, it gets better than that. The radio station sponsering this event was so blown away by the band that they didn't stop talking abot LEVEL 10 for the next three days. Talk about free advertising! People all over Tampa heard about this new church band. It was simply a "God-thing"!

When launch day rolled around, even the kids got into the spirit by dancing with a lion. What a blast!

Overall Next Level Church had 35 children on the first day.

All fun aside, think about the tremendous impact this new church will have on the community. God is good and we fully expect to hear great things about Next Level Church and Pastor Christian Farris.

Posted 10/7/2008 in Church Planting

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