Churches often need more accountability with their funds. 34% of leaders surveyed said that their church has not had an audit in over five years or more.
Read the article here: LifeWay Research: 1 in 10 Churches Has Had Funds Stolen
Signed, Sealed and Delivered
Eph 1:13 (CSB), “In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.”
Years ago, I came to Christ in a not too dramatic way. Simply put, I heard the gospel, I responded to the gospel, and I was changed by the gospel…slowly. What I mean is that it took time for me to grow and live in Christ, but He was patient with me! He brought godly people and even some circumstances to help me grow. But most of all, God brought me to the Word.
We are all called to the gospel to walk in Christ as an example to others (see Mt 5:16), but we all know that this is hard! Life, work, distractions, sin, flesh, etc. pull us away, but let me encourage you: don’t give up. As what Paul wrote, that you were called to Him, you were sealed in Him and you are already redeemed in Him. The Spirit is with you whenever you go, so trust Him to help you to walk in Him. Signed, sealed, and delivered, you are His! He who has called you is faithful to complete you until the Day of Christ.
Let that sink in as you struggle through whatever you are going through.
In Christ,
Pastor Fran
Must Reads for Monday!
Here’s some great articles to browse through as you start your week.
The theme I picked for this week is 5:
– 5 Ways to Pray for Persecuted Christians
– 5 Mistakes Most Preachers Make
– 5 Things You Want Said About You At Your Funeral
– 5 Ways to Battle Anxiety in the Pulpit
Enjoy!
Fran
For our Pastors…
Isaiah 6:8b (CSB), “I said: Here I am. Send me.”
God has called you, He has sent you, He is glorified through you. Remember that as you serve His Bride.
Are You Missing?
I really love my truck. It’s a manly, testosterone laced, V10 F250 beast that pulls anything I want anywhere, anytime. I’ve taken it up hills in the snow, gone into the woods where puny she-cars can’t go, and I’ve never gotten stuck. Ever. Yep, breathe in that manliness!
The problem is the only thing it never passes is a gas station! And though I love my truck, 10 miles per gallon on a good day is tough to swallow (7 when pulling my camper). However, I recently had new plugs and wires put in the truck and my gas mileage increased by 20%, not too shabby! You see, it turns out that one or more of the cylinders in my hefty engine wasn’t quite connecting right, and the engine wasn’t performing as it should. My engine was misfiring. It was “missing,” and I didn’t even know it.
There are plenty of churches that are not performing as they should. And what I’ve seen is that they miss the mark on one major thing- the discipling of others. In fact, a church without a clear strategy for discipleship is like a sputtering engine that over-consumes resources and lacks power. The church might exist, but the potential to do so much more is left unused.
If this is you and your church, what can you do? I think it is so important to pray for a strategy that is easily remembered and easily repeatable. As a local church pastor, I encouraged people to come, grow, serve, and share the gospel, and I used this as a process as much as a tag line. New believers were quickly encouraged to be a part of a bible study, serve on a team, and were encouraged to share what Christ did for them. The result: lives were changed, leaders were developed, and a church was changed.
So let me ask you: are you missing? Are all your cylinders firing? You can change this! Begin with yourself, then look to help another. If you are a church leader, begin to think about what discipleship looks like. Pray, think, and ask questions, hard questions, and come up with a memorable, repeatable process. Do this, and let God use you and your church in a remarkable, amazing way!
Pastor Fran
Should you work hard?
”Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; because you know better, stop! As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky.” Proverbs 23:4
Far too many people wear themselves out on the rat race for the almighty dollar. They think that they are doing something good, but the opposite is often true. They work, eat, sleep, work, and maybe, just maybe get rest on a weekend or a vacation here or there. But is this what God wants?
We are called to work and work hard, yet there needs to be joy along the way. When God created the universe, it was a six day workweek with a one day rest, yet you get the sense that it was a joy for Him. Each day He looked at His work and declared it to be good (the last day very good).
So is it biblical for us to work hard? Absolutely! But work must be a joy, and this is done when you see the purpose of what you do as compared to the overall picture. Working for money as an end is fruitless, it flies away anyway. Working for the Lord, however, is a blessing, and when we do anything for God and His glory, we will be more satisfied on his daily basis. 1 Cor 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.”
Pastor Fran
A thought to help your day…
Imagine the greatest distance that you can see as you look up into the sky. You can see miles away, ten, twenty, hundreds, even (with your imagination) thousands or more. As you look up, now imagine how much bigger God is.
He is big enough to create everything you see, all you hear, the sense of warmth from the sun- He created it all. And what you see is a microscopic fraction of the world you live on.
Even more, He created the entire world, a microscopic fraction of the galaxy, which is a microscopic fraction of the cluster of galaxies, which is a microscopic fraction of the universe. This is how big God is.
Yet, amazingly, He is personally interested in you and your relationship with Him. You are not only invited to be part of His creation, you are invited to be a co-heir of His creation. All He has is yours and you are invited to love Him and enjoy Him forever.
This is love, undeserved and unearned! Let that sink in as you go through your day. I pray that it changes you as it has for me!
Pastor Fran
6 Things I’ve learned about Minnesota
- The people are really, really nice.
- The Google map is not nearly as big as real life.
- The weather changes. Really fast.
- The scenery is gorgeous. And clean.
- The Mall of America is huge.
- God is all over this place.
Four characteristics to look for in a Church
Since transitioning from my church to a new ministry that serves the church in her mission of making disciples, Teresa and
I have embarked on an unexpected journey: trying to find our next church family to join together with in order to serve Jesus. This is the first time that we have had to do this in 25 years, so you can imagine how intimidating this has felt!
However, through this we’ve seen a wide variety of worship styles and I am encouraged for the church as a whole! Its been a very rich experience and we’ve met some wonderful people and faithful belevers. Yet as a result of this search, I’m reminded of some essentials to look for and hope that three principles might be helpful for you if you are in the same boat. As I heard someone say once, approach a church with a critical eye, not a critical spirit. Keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive list:
Four characteristics to look for in a Church:
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They are Christ centered and Bible focused. This is a non-negotiable. If the church does not preach, teach, or show a concern for Christ and His Word, there’s no sense being there. Thankfully, we saw that most churches were serious about the Bible.
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They are caring and friendly to others. We were shocked, yes shocked, that in one case, no one said a word to us. I did have a moment when I thought a woman was going to shake my hand, that is, until she reached around me to grab a bulletin next to me! We were not looking for an overwhelming outpouring of attention, just a friendly hello or two would have sufficed from someone other than the pastor.
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They are concerned about the gospel. We exist to glorify God, and we glorify God by living and loving the gospel on a daily basis. When we are challenged by the gospel of Jesus Christ, it can result in an amazing, beautiful time of praise and glory to His name. This is shown when a church emphasizes missions, ministries, and daily personal evangelism.
- They are unified with one another. Every church has negative Nates and Nellies, but there’s a difference between a person or two who can be cranky a church who has a culture with many of them. When personal preferences disrupt unity in a church, there is a spirit that permeates everything. This can become obvious to a guest.
That’s all I have for now, and I realize that there’s only four characteristics here, but these are essential. Personal preferences in worship style, preaching style, driving distance and other items might come into play, but these, in my opinion, are secondary. Over all of this is the overriding leading of the Holy Spirit, so prayer and discernment must come into play.
That’s what I have, would you add anything to the list?
Pastor Fran
Five Ways to Follow Up on VBS
Over the years, I have seen incredible, vibrant Vacation Bible Schools, complete with 
biblical teaching, gospel responses, and life altering experiences. I mean, it’s just awesome to see families, workers, and leaders with nothing but smiles as the week is finished and Sunday worship approaches. Now, if we can only find ways to connect the people from the past week with Sunday morning, right? Well, sure, we all want that!
There are many, many creative and enjoyable ways to reach those who have experienced one of the greatest efforts that you and your church family have made all year. Here are a few ideas, in no particular order:
- Host a post-VBS Family Day. Several churches that I have visited have done this. In some cases, they have a Sunday morning worship featuring the children, followed by a church-wide picnic. Personally, I have seen whole families come to Christ through this sort of personal touch.
- Visit with a thank you gift. To connect your Vacation Bible School with your Sunday School/Small Group, how about a thank you gift, delivered to their home? I know, it sounds old fashioned, but you wouldn’t believe the great reception people give when you show up and have a conversation at a doorstep! Some ideas: bring a small gift, a plate of cookies, a flyer advertising the classes for the child, and even a Sunday School Personal Study Guide for the parents.
- Send a thank you card or letter. Children love getting mail, and a card to a child would make their day as well as show parents that you care. Consider sending a card or letter once in a while advertising the next big event and the regular activities.
- Start an email newsletter. This doesn’t have to be hard. Remember this: MailChimp is your friend, MailChimp is your friend. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s easy. Build a good address list and email them great info in a newsletter monthly. It’s a great way to build familiarity with the parents. And don’t forget to include stories of changed lives in your newsletter!
- Call to set up a follow up on decisions made. This is the single most important task that you need to do. It’s a command and a pleasure to have a discussion on the gospel. Be sure to make an appointment and clarify the key points of the gospel story with child and adult alike.
All of these ideas are for one purpose alone: to be a catalyst to conversations so people can know Christ personally. After all, isn’t this what we want to do with this giant outreach? Please share if you have used other ideas that have worked.
Fran
Pastor Fran 