Outreach, Inc.
In 2005, churches will mail over 50 million direct-mail postcards created by Outreach, Inc., the largest provider of Christian outreach products and services in North America. In addition, churches will hang 200,000 Outreach door hangers on houses, hand out several million bulletins, and display 160,000 banners to promote their church. “2005 was a big year for us because of The Passion of the Christ ,” said Matt Harper, product manager at Outreach. Outreach’s goal is to help churches reach local communities and convert people to Christianity. Last week, several thousand pastors and church leaders attended an Outreach conference in Mission Valley on how to attract non-Christians. The conference offered workshops “led by some of the fastest growing and most innovative ministries and church leaders.” The workshops included, “They Like Jesus — Not the Church,” “How to Attract Visitors Through Direct Mail,” “The Modern Day Orphans: Ministry to Kids in Single-Parent or Blended Families,” “Reaching the Business Leaders in Your Community and Reaching Today’s Urban Youth: They’re Closer than You Think.”
Exhibitors promoted additional outreach services, from golf events by In His Grip Golf Association, financial management seminars based on the Bible, to business-leadership seminars with telecast lectures by people like author John Maxwell, supermodel Kathy Ireland, and NFL quarterback Peyton Manning. Outreach promoted a comedy event for churches. “A comedian will come and perform 40 minutes of stand-up comedy that is family-friendly,” said Paul Pickard, Outreach events general manager. “The events are effective and are not something that the community expects from a church. It allows people to attend a church that might otherwise not feel comfortable.”
Full Article : National Outreach Conference
Read MoreNational Outreach Convention
I spent today at the National Outreach Convention. I will dedicate a post to each session I attend to share what I learned. Here are the sessions I plan or have to attended:
Breaking Attendance Barriers
Do you desire to see your church grow to the next level? Do you feel stuck at a certain level in your church’s growth? In this session you will learn how to effectively develop growth systems that work whether your barrier is 125, 250, 500 or 1000.
You will learn:* How to identify and remove the barriers that keep your church from growing
* How to develop effective systems for staff, space, small groups, and finances in order to strengthen your growth potential
* How to think strategically about growth in order to avoid future barriers
The TurnOut Solution: Solving the Problem of Plateau and Decline
Churches lapse into plateau and decline because, over time, they turn more and more inward. The solution is simply that churches must turn outward in order to correct spiritual negatives and to reach lost communities strategically. When they do, they foster health and growth, and see an increase in turnout.
You will learn:
* The origin and nature of plateau and decline.
* Spiritual and strategic dynamics of moving from plateau and decline to health and growth.
* The first steps in turning their churches around by turning their churches outward.
Putting E-Communications to Work in Family Outreach
Our culture is media dominated – a fact particularly true for young marrieds and younger families where the opportunities for preventing marriage and family problems vs. remedial efforts to fix problems are the greatest. These same opportunities provide an open door to use marriage content to reach families for Christ via e-communications.
This presentation will highlight the latest research from secular studies and the Barna Research Group on how the Internet is changing daily life. Identify opportunities for impacting marriages and families through church e-communications.
You will:* Learn how the Internet & e-communications are shaping daily life among various age groups
* Understand the fundamental and basic considerations in choosing e-communication objectives
* Experience some best practices in using e-communications in marriage, family, and outreach ministry
Creating a Church that Connects & Integrates Visitors
This session is for those who are looking for practical tools that will greatly increase visitor assimilation in their church. Gain insights from a leading authority on assimilation in a concise presentation that provides practical “lessons learned” and “best practices” from fifteen years of working with thousands of churches.
You will learn:* 7 Laws of Assimilation with associated principles
* Best practices and lessons learned in assimilation.
* The big picture of assimilation
The Power of the Internet for Outreach, In-Reach, and Up-Reach
Read MoreWebsites: The hub of communication inside and outside the church? The front door of today’s church? The meeting room for ministries? When the doors are shut and the lights are off at the church can your website can be used of God to actually reach people?
You will learn:
* How to use your church website as an Outreach, In-reach, and Up-reach tool for your church
* Website keys to create stickiness and generate ongoing traffic flow
* How to improve communication to your community, your membership, and your key leadership
* Practical web-based applications and ideas to harness the energy from your other internal and external media, advertising, and outreach initiatives
Twelve Tribes : The Commonwealth of Israel
“If a Christian is a true seeker of God, they are better off reading the word of God at face value than buying into the traditions of mainstream churches. When a believer sincerely cries out to God, God will lead them into [our] community,” said Wade Skinner, an elder of the Twelve Tribes community in Vista. Twelve Tribes was born out of the Jesus movement by Elbert Spriggs in the 1970s. “To me, Spriggs’s teachings have an equal authority to Peter, Paul, or John,” said Skinner, a friend of Spriggs for 15 years. Spriggs visualized the community as a new spiritual nation of God. The Twelve Tribes has grown to 50 communities in nine countries with two communities in San Diego County. 
The Twelve Tribes community believes they are the only true disciples of Jesus on earth. “After the book of James was written, Christianity underwent a period of Dark Ages, where there is no evidence there were people living as the Holy Nation. Sincere Christians today are righteous people, but they are no different than atheists,” said Skinner. “If you are the seed of Abraham, you must do the deeds of Abraham. This means Christians will live as the early believers did in Acts 2, who sold their possessions and shared based on the needs of people.” People who join the community give their possessions to Twelve Tribes. “When Christians hear about our community, they are very threatened by our life. All they want is personal salvation. But they are not truly God’s people.”
Full Article: Twelve Tribes : The Commonwealth of Israel
(Also read my post Is the Twelve Tribes a Cult?)
Read MoreIs the Twelve Tribes a Cult?
There are many ‘anti-cult’ sites (Rick Ross Twelve Tribes resources, Twelve Tribes-EX) that attack the Twelve Tribes for being a cult. Their claims often attack positions the Twelve Tribes takes on discipline, lifestyle and Biblical authority. I’ve had a couple people request feedback from my stay at the Twelve Tribes commune in Vista, and whether I believe they are a ‘cult’.
First, I want to say that my experience there greatly impacted me. I was blown-away that a community of people were willing to ‘give it all away’ so that they would share all their life’s resources. At the start of each day, the community gathers in a covenant reminder that they will ‘die to themselves’ and love one another. Much of the bad press towards the Twelve Tribes isn’t so much an attack on their community but on them living out what the Bible commands. You may be surprised I say that. Well I do need to say my experience was not exhaustive, so I did not get to see how (method) they lived out these beliefs (principles). But they do seek to base their principles on the Bible. For this, most of American modern Christianity will want to reject what they are doing. The price is far too great for us to give up our worldly possessions and consumer mentality. Many of us our too deeply entrenched in the American-brand of Christianity that fits our lifestyle easily.
Here is where I would differ with the Twelve Tribes and warn people about deciding to join their community.
1. They believe that in order to be saved, you must accept Jesus and move in to a Twelve Tribes community. They mix justification with sanctification. I asked several questions to determine what they meant. First, I asked, if a person came to the same convictions and were not in an area where the Twelve Tribes had a community, would they be saved. Second, if a person came to the convictions and decided to move to a Twelve Tribes community but died before they got there, would these people be saved? An elder at the Vista location could not say ‘yes’ to these scenarios.
2. Three different people stated that from after the book of James was written until 1970, there is no evidence of true Christians in this (roughly) 1,900 year period.
3. They believe there is no room for disagreement with their doctrine. Those who disagree are considered rebelling against God’s bride, the church. There ‘doctrine’ is the interpretation of scripture based on Eugene Sprigg’s (and other leaders?) interpretation.
4. There is an element of sectarian us/them with the world. Don’t catch sin like the ebola virus out there in the evil world. People only work for the Tribes, they see the ‘world’ as being the evil system rather than a place where they work side-by-side with non-believers and live out the gospel.
5. An elder told me that John Calvin was ‘under a spirit of evil’ when he interpreted scripture. He said that the modern (false) church has been under his influence ever since.
6. They believe that all professed Christians that are not apart of their community are no different than atheists.
It is because of these stances that I would not encourage people to get involved in their community. I say this with sadness because so much of their life seems more Christian in substance than my life and the church-communities I see.
Read MoreSalvation Gate Ministry
“Fundamentalist Muslims are manifesting what they believe today. Their mission is to change the world so that it is under their control. If you don’t agree with them, they will kill you. They don’t value or respect other people’s lives or even their own lives. They will have no mercy. Americans may want to be tolerant, peaceful and loving, but [Fundamentalist] Muslims will get rid of [these Americans] because they are not following their teachings. They want to change the lifestyle of everyone to the way things were 1000 years ago. The culture, customs, and dress will return to the Stone Age. These Muslims undermine women, who are considered second-class citizens. These Muslims want to tell you what to wear, eat, and how you live. If a person doesn’t go by their rules, they are justified in their killing of you,” said Getachew (Gary) Wymedihin, chairman of the board at Salvation Gate Ministry. Salvation Gate Ministry is a group of San Diego–based Ethiopians whose stated mission is to bring the revelation of God and His kingdom to Islamic regions. 
Fundamentalist Muslims have targeted Africa as a continent to Islamize as part of their growth strategy. “Ethiopia is being targeted by Muslims. Muslims believe if Ethiopia is converted, Islam will spread through all of Africa,” said Henock Menebo, the founder of Salvation Gate Ministry. Menebo said this is based on a plan that Muslims devised and taught at a 1989 conference in Nigeria. “There are three reasons Ethiopia is central to their plans,” said Menebo. “First, it is the capital city of the African nations, with ambassadors from every African country present there. Second, Ethiopia has the second largest number of ambassadors, second only to New York. Third, the Ethiopian city of Harer is considered the fifth holiest place, according to Islam.”
Full Article: Salvation Gate Ministry
Read MoreThe Twelve Tribes
I spent 5 hours Saturday with the Twelve Tribes community in Vista. Have you ever heard of it?
Read MoreDrew Goodmanson
CEO of Monk Development creators of Ekklesia 360. Co-Founder of Kaleo Church where I served as Pastor for 8+ years and helped coach several church plants in San Diego. Co-Founder of the GCM Collective, President of the Board at the Center for Church Communication, Board Member of the Entrepreneurship Organization, Internet/Technology Advisory Chair at the Christian Leadership Alliance. Connect
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