2. We learned to begin from where we were with what we had.
My friend Doug met with some church planters recently all stated, 'We don't have the funding to sow seeds.' Doug was stunned, he then asked what business they were in? He clarified, ‘we are spiritual farmers, we sow seeds it is what we are called to do’
...He then told them about what he did during the early days of the Dayton Vineyard, how he began to care for the community with 7 bags of groceries, and cooking hotdogs on street corners, and how his simple beginning grew into a 1.5 million dollar per year enterprise supplying over 50 other ministries with food and reaching over 150,000 people a year.
The principle, begin where you are...with what you have. If you wait for tomorrow before you begin to reach out to your community, you may have a long wait, for your tomorrow may never come.
He encouraged them to use what they had, to begin now, to invest in the community, to fling seeds, to invite, to encourage, to challenge the people to do the same, and to experiment with what they had.
Last week I talked to a church planter who is beginning where he is. They went out to a local laundry mat to feed some quarters into the machines and to talk to the people...only problemo...no people...many leaders would have become discouraged and quit...He, being a good leader, led the small group to a coin operated car wash and fed quarters to pay for the car wash...after touching several lives with kindness and having some great conversations. They returned from the adventure encouraged.
Later, when I was asked how can he and his church begin to kick up the volume? I answered, ‘by inviting people to become shareholders.’ I gave a tip...Invite the people to bring outreach items to the weekend meetings...i.e.This month is granola bar, trail mix and packs of peanuts. When you go shopping pick up a box or two of the above items we will store the items for our monthly outreach.
One month ask the question, “Are we a coke church or a pepsi church or a water church?” (I did this in Cincy and we raised 28,000 drinks for a summer outreach.) Encourage the people to bring cokes, or pepsi, or water to the church each can or bottle is a vote...plan a 4th of July drinks outreach...and use the drinks as your outreach items.
3. We learned we needed to be spiritually smart.What’s being spiritually smart? It’s:Learning that all of life is an adventure.
Learning to take risks and to experiment.
Letting some ideas bubble.
Not chasing fads, or ‘spiritual’ side tracks.
Remaining focused on the main and the plain. (The Great Commission)
Guarding your heart and your talk.
Being who you are… all the time.
Not fixing what’s not broken.
Being humble enough to learn from others…a life long learner.
Not reinventing the wheel.
Understanding your God assigned area /city/regional culture then adjusting your methods to reach out accordingly.
Being consistent in outreach.
Being consistent with the weekend services. No pastor tricks, bait and switch, or being weird on weekends.
Praying much.
Taking the time and the cash to develop a vibrant children’s area.
When trouble comes your way being honest and explaining/communicating with those who are affected by the issue.
Nurturing a few key worship leaders.
Worshiping the God who is, because He is the God Who is.
Using humor to make a point of just for the fun of it.
Deciding there will be no more staff mercy hires.
Making strategic staffing hires.
Learning to trust your team, then releasing the team, to do the stuff.
Developing a membership track that works. (Entry Point. Beginnings. Group Link.)
Working what works.
Learning to drop certain areas that are not producing according to your vision / DNA or alignment.
Establishing positive consistent energized outward focused traditions. (Kindness to Go. Turkey’s Giving Away Turkeys. Making Christmas Dreams Come True. Halloween FunFest A Safe Place For Families on Halloween. Back To School Backpack Giveaway.)
Encouraging and modeling a lifestyle of serving others.
Inviting and allowing all who want to play in the game, to play in the game at some level.
Taking field trips when life seems stale, or when you want to launch something new.
Encouraging your team to use all of their vacation days.
Understanding your church seasons, energy levels and then plan accordingly.
Not canceling, period.
Learning that God blesses outward focused-ness.
Doing the stuff Jesus did / does.
Not taking yourself tooo seriously.
So what makes a pretty good church? Discoveries along the way? 1. We began to understand…evangelism is a process?
If you want a harvest, you must sow many seeds.
See Mark 4:15-16 Jesus said, 'Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.' Later He said, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.' When challenged by His disciples He then added, 'Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?'
He went on to explain the parable. In short, the sowers are men, the seeds are God’s words and the four soils are the hearts of men and women at various degrees of readiness.
Later, He continued to explain the Kingdom of God and described how the seed grew. The seed, when planted, matured and produced grain by the All By Itself Principle.
He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain-- first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." Mk 4:1-29 NIV
The seeds we sow can be defined by what we do: our actions, and by what we say:our words, and how we relate to the people within our sphere of influence: our attitudes.
We sow seeds by actively serving our way into the heart of our community. We find a need and seek to meet it. We see a hurt and seek to bring some relief the pain. It might be a cold drink on a hot day, to quench someone’s thirst or feeding the homeless helping them be filled, or by praying for the emotionally wounded bringing encouragement and hope.
Sowing is hard work...consistency is the key...day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year.
...Jesus said, 'I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.' John 4:38 NIV
Most of the time the seeds we sow don't spring up in a day, sometimes it takes weeks, months, or years to see the harvest. It is a spiritual principle foundational to outward focus and outflow.
What we sow into our lives will bear fruit someday...That's why it is important to continually sow positive, good things into our into the core of our lives. Positive inflow=positive outflow.
It is also why it is important to sow seeds into the lives of the people in our communities...the principle: no sowing, no harvest.
A few weeks ago we went out to a low income housing area with mainly a bunch of guys, out of the 25 people who showed up only four were women. We delivered groceries and offered prayer. At one door one a single mom with 4 kids opened the door...she burst into tears...she didn't have any food to last that week...When she was prayed for she sobbed. At 5 pm a van drove up in our parking lot. I noticed a lady looking lost so I went and greeted the lady and the 4 kids in the van. It turns out she was the lady. She had been so moved by her experience she felt she just had to come and see who we were. She also said thanks. She cried again as I prayed for her and her kids.
It is moving when something like this happens...it's not the norm.
Most of the time the seed we sow is hidden in the ground of a persons heart. How it grows? Nobody really knows, it is a mystery.
Watering Planted SeedsI was washing my car yesterday. A guy pulls up in a truck. He then gets out asks me about the house next door. He mentions his parents are returning from Vietnam that night, they are missionaries. I noticed he was a searching, needy guy. After our lengthy conversation about lawn care I asked if I could pray for him. Startled he agreed. I grabbed his hand and prayed blessing prayers over his life, that God would crown him with favor just as God had given favor to his mom and dad and family, that God would provide for him, that God would open doors for him. At the end of the prayer he said, 'You know, you're not the only person who has prayed for me lately.'
My job, your job, is to fling seeds of kindness, by our actions, through our words and by our attitudes and to water the seeds already sown into the hearts of men. God brings the increase.
A pretty good church is a seed sowing church.
here are a couple of great emails concerning the backpack giveaway...
Hi Steve,
Brooke Hurt here. We did "Operation Backpack" this past Saturday at a local park. Since this was our first time doing this sorta of thing, we orderd 100 backpacks from a company and had our church members take them and fill with school supplies in which we put a list in the backpack for them. Well it was AWESOME!! I was totally overwhelmed at the response we had. We ending up giving away 85 backpacks that had been returned. We are definetly gonna INCREASE next year! You can go to Pastor's blog and check out pics and such.
So I just wanted you to know that I think people are starting to catch a little bit of fire as to what kindness can do for the Lord!
Our next outreach in September will be underwear and socks!! We cant wait!!
Thanks for all your ideas and blog! They are GREAT!
Blessings,
Brooke:)
Hi Steve,
Just a brief note to thank you so much for the hard work you put into the Back Pack project for the benefit of the children in Trotwood-Madison. As I said Friday, some of these kids come from very poor homes and most of us can only imagine what it must be like to not have basic items to begin school. Your church certainly exemplifies what it means to bring "church to the people" instead of the other way around. Thank you again for your generosity and Christian love.
Rexann
Rexann L. Wagner, Ph.D.
Assistant Superintendent
Trotwood-Madison City Schools
Friday we headed out to the Trootwood to film the teachers handing out backpacks to their kids. It was an exciting time. The Deputy Superintendent for Trottwood and Madision Schools thanked the Vineyard on film...It was a one take filming she hit all the marks and ques in less than 90 seconds (film coming soon) We then filmed the teachers gather their backpacks and head out to the housing areas to distribute the backpacks. It was electric...the teachers giving their kids the backpacks. One mom was moved to tears, another group of kids jumped up and down with excitement. Meeting a need...meets more than the physical need, it touches the heart. We returned...very energized...
how do you know when a church is healthy? are there indicators? are there signs that show health and growth?Jesus often talked about faith and action. The book of James also talks about faith and action. It seems that those who sought to know God...this is the work...to believe in the Father and whom He sent...and to seek to make God known to others through caring service seems to point to personal growth and health. Those who are in the process of becoming gracious givers instead of grasping receivers seem to point to personal growth and health. Freely you have received freely give...Jesus. The giving Jesus was talking about was to give forgiveness, love, genuine care, time, and material goods. When a large percentage of a church continues to reach out beyond themselves it is a sure sign of health.During the last two months over 400 Vineyard people decided to put faith into action through participating in our City Care initiatives. They are learning that as they are giving to others, somehow they are refreshed in return. They are learning the principle of sowing and reaping... actions combined with an active faith= personal growth.Back Packs an indication of health...This year our backpack mound was off the chart...more people participated than expected and more people were generous beyond the norm. As the packs came in I noticed healthy attitudes, smiles, and a willingness to invest in the education of kids they knew not. Most included their families in the project as they packed and brought the backpacks to the Vineyard. It was exciting to see kids wearing the backpacks and then being challenged to throw the backpack on the pile. Health can be measured by how many people are actively turning outward by practically serving others. Othercenteredness is a key to personal growth. Giving, caring, loving are active words that should move us beyond ourselves toward faith in action. Want to have a healthy life, or a healthy church? Then seek to motivate people toward a great Cause. A Commitment to a worthy Cause Creates a healthy Community...Cause Creates Community.
kindness to go backpacksUsually we begin to ramp up for school in July. I know that sounds early however, parents begin to shop for supplies early August. Our special Back to School Bash needs to begin by the second weekend in July in order to ensure their return to the Vineyard in good time to deliver to the schools.Here’s how it works.
We purchase back packs from www.sctb.org/(Somebody Cares Tampa Bay) They have been doing this for years and have networked literally hundreds of churches in the Tampa Bay area for this important project. I think last year over 150 churches of the Bay area gave 36,000 backpacks to the underprivileged kids.
I purchase them for $6 each... then sell them to the Vineyard people for $5.* ($5 is just enough to help the person remember they have a pack to fill up) I usually purchase 450 backpacks. That’s about our limit.Interestingly the packs usually sell out in just two weekends.
People then return the backpacks to the Vineyard we place them in a visible area in the building which generates buzz and a sense of accomplishment. Stacking up 450 backpacks makes a huge stack.
Here is the information flyer I use to help connect the dots.
Back to school backpacks ...Why?Under privileged children of Trottwood are not able to purchase their school supplies. Therefore, each year we partner with the Trottwood teachers to make a small, yet significant investment to help further a child’s education.
Why$5? Five dollars is really your commitment that says, ‘Yes I want to help.’
How? It’s simple. Take the list on the back of this instruction sheet to any store that sells school supplies like Wall Mart, Target. Purchase the items then fill the back pack and bring it back to the Vineyard.
Tip: if you have children let them shop with you. As you are shopping talk about the project, why you are shopping for someone else and where the packs are going.
Tip: people often place some other exciting items in the backpack, key chains, to teddy bears. Be creative, be generous and put some fun in the project.
Supplies list:3 3”X 3” postits1 inch 3 ring binder2 packs of wide ruled lined paper2 Elmers glue stick1 box of No.2 pencils1 box of 2 erasers1 box of colored pencils 121 box of Crayola Markers1 Fiskar’s scissors1 plastic folder 2 pockets blue1 8 by 10 composition book1 box of Crayola crayons 24 count1 5 section divider5 pronged 2 pockets folders1 4oz school glue1 dry erase markers low odor2 pencil holders, zippers with grommets
Thanks for making a difference!
July 1 well over 100 people gathered to help us reach out to the people of Dayton...many had experienced reverse outreach the previous weekend...several commented, 'this was great!' 'we had fun.' 'we'll do this again.' the experience was experienced.
