Sun, Oct 27, 2019

Scott Wakefield   -   October 27, 2019

The “GO!” Campaign to Create More Space at Greeneville and More Momentum at Afton – Part 17: It’s Not Going Away

  • What is this? – We are using this “GO!” series to kick off our campaign to Create More Space at Greeneville and More Momentum at Afton by sending 50 people to Afton. (Also, our next series, 4 weeks in the book of Nehemiah, called “Rise and Be Built”, will continue our campaign to send 50 Greeneville campus folks to Afton.)
  • Why are we doing this?
    • Read ”New GO!” Series and Campaign…”, from a previous Scott’s Thoughts, for more details. This is important to understand the rationale.
    • To continue turning all our people and processes into a campus-launching strategy. (Go to Next Steps to gain more vision for what we mean by this.)
    • Because people in Greene County need Jesus.
    • Because, Lord willing, this is a small version of something we will be asking in another year or two when we plan to launch a new campus! I.e., this kind of campaign isn’t going away. It’s part and parcel of a growing church with a big vision to plant campuses to reach the lost in our county.

The Places Information is Available

I recently came across statistics that show that the average church attendee on any given Sunday in America is present 3 out of every 8 Sundays! (See https://churchleaders.com/pastors/pastor-articles/139575-7-startling-facts-an-up-close-look-at-church-attendance-in-america.html for more.)

What this means, especially for a multisite congregation working to become a campus-launching strategy, is that we must be both extremely selective and extremely ubiquitous in terms of what and how we communicate information. We can’t say everything and we have to say the few things we say often! So this is how to stay informed…

  • Worship Guide – Handed to all who attend one of our worship services, the Worship Guide functions as a key place to get info and provide feedback. It has ways to sign up for things that are always changing, highlights a few important items of note (fccgreene.org/worshipguide), and includes space for Sermon Notes, and Study Questions (fccgreene.org/studyquestions).
  • The Hub – If you’ve got any questions, find a Guest Connector with a lanyard. They know things and can find answers.
  • The Care Room – Need prayer? Wanna know the latest Prayer Requests? Have questions about following Jesus, joining First Christian Church, or being baptized? Wanna write someone a note of encouragement? The Care Room is the place!
  • Pulse Email – Sent out right after Sunday morning services, this email is an insider look that has it all: blurbs and pictures that Tell the story of what God is doing among us, important upcoming events and initiatives, links to ministry areas, sermon audio/video, our weekly Spotify playlist, etc. Sign up here if you don’t yet receive it.
  • Pulse Video – Shown during every service, this video highlights the most important things to know and helps us Tell the story winsomely! It’s also posted on Facebook (see below to follow us on FB).
  • Social Media – We post lots of content to Facebook and Instagram for the following areas:
    • FCC: Facebook & Instagram
    • Students: Facebook & Instagram – Our Student Ministry also hands out a Worship Guide each week with upcoming/important events/info.
    • Kids: Facebook & Instagram – Our Kids Min also hands out a Parent Cue with a summary of the lesson. (“252 Basics” for Elementary is weekly and “First Look” for preschoolers and toddlers is handed out monthly.)
  • Parents Emails – These weekly emails have summaries of each week’s lesson and upcoming/important events/info. We also maintain a Txt Msg Update List. Sign up here for:
  • Scott’s Thoughts – Found at fccgreene.org/st, this is a weekly(ish) place to touch on things not well covered in other outlets, mention important churchwide initiatives, name wins we’re seeing, spread vision, link to Great Questions Answered, and communicate what’s on my heart as Pastor at FCC.

So, when we repeat something over and over, don’t be surprised. Given the stats cited above, if you’re well informed, you’re a weird exception. Please try to be patient with us if you hear/see us repeat things over and over. When a small minority of us become sick of hearing about something, most folks are just beginning to get it!

Quick Tweak to Great Questions

Wanted to let you know of a small tweak we’re making to Great Questions on Monday nights, 7:30-8:30p at our Greeneville campus. It can be intimidating asking a question, so we’re going to add the option, each night, of letting people turn in a question anonymously, on a 3×5 card (which we’ll have handy) or by texting the question to 97000. Cool, eh?!

A Few Friendly Reminders…

  • Help us send Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes – We usually end up needing a few thousand dollars to help send a couple/few hundred boxes, so if you can help with that, just specify “Operation Christmas Child” on your check or online, or text “help” to 84321 and follow the instructions.
  • We’ve got Updated Next Steps Videos – Content in Next Steps has just been revamped to include missing and new content and vision, so, if you haven’t yet done so, now would be a great time to sign up.
  • Membership Update – fccgreene.org/multifaqs has exacerbated all that. (For further details as to why we’re doing this, check out this previous Great Questions Answered, “Why are we making changes to membership requirements…?” and this Fall Update Letter from the Elders.) Make sure you fill out the renewal and survey if you haven’t yet. It takes just a minute or two to do so here… fccgreene.org/membershipupdate2019.

Great Questions Answered: “What do we do about the presence of both the regenerate and unregenerate in the local church?” – Part 1: Definitions and Differences

Friendly reminder that you can get to previous Great Questions Answered by going to the shortlink fccgreene.org/gqa.

We recently had someone who wanted a few questions answered in light of the presence of both the regenerate and the unregenerate in the local church.  Keep reading…