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January 10, 2017

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GBBC, International Missions, Philippines, Staying Connected

GBBC Update – Growing Bolder and Braver Conquerors

By Joyce Porcadilla, President of General Baptist Bible College, The Philippines

Happy new year! We do hope all of you had a blessed Christmas celebration and that you are excited to embrace whatever the Lord has in store for all of us this 2017!

Here at GBBC, Christmas has always been a grand celebration. We started off with our annual Christmas missions outreach in a very remote elementary school where the students and staff of GBBC held a Christmas program, served a meal, and gave out gifts. This was held on December 6th. It is always encouraging to see our students voluntarily put their resources together and share their blessings to the pupils and their families, as well as teachers of the said elementary school. But more importantly, it was a great blessing to see the joy in them because of the love they felt that no matter how simple the celebration was, we were able to make known to them the real meaning of Christmas and the reason of the season we are celebrating—Jesus.

Furthermore, on December 12th, the college students went around the neighboring communities to share the Christmas story through giving out candy canes. The students had the opportunity to share the Gospel and pray for and with various families and even those they met along the streets.

Before we finally ended year 2016 and before everybody went on a brief Christmas break, the entire GBBC family came together on December 14th for its annual Christmas program dubbed as “Christmasensation 2016,” with the theme, “Christmas is Within Us.” It was truly a celebration with friends and family, but above all a grand celebration of the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. The program was highlighted with various musical presentations that revealed the true meaning of Christmas, giving emphasis on God’s amazing love towards us that caused Him to give us the greatest gift we could ever receive. As we have received and experienced that love, GBBCians made sure that we also share and demonstrate that love to others. Continue reading →

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General Baptist Ministries

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January 5, 2017

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Church Growth, Turnaround 2020

Jumpstart Your Ministry: Start With The Basics – A 2020 Resource

Successful Turnaround efforts in a local church will add new people to the fellowship. Some will be transfers from other churches. Many times those already committed to Christ and His church relocate to new communities while others may leave a church environment they view as uncomfortable or even toxic. Growth by transfer is important to conserve the overall impact of The Church. Nevertheless, when the church receives transfer members the local church grows but The Church does not.

Real Turnaround then must focus on conversion growth rather than transfer growth. Conversion growth means that those who come to personal faith in Christ will also come into the fellowship of the church that won them.

In the not too distant past, churches relied on the visibility of their buildings or on a simple advertising campaign to attract new participants. Bill Easum describes an early effort to attract people to church by borrowing a piece of earth moving equipment and pushing piles of dirt across the church lawn. The visibility of apparent construction activity helped gain a crowd. (See Go Big!). This was in a day, however, when people routinely went to church so the main goal was to gain recognition of location. An early mentor of mine pointed out three criteria for church growth: location, location, location! Many suburban housing developments in the 60s and 70s routinely allowed for a few lots to be sold to churches. The church growth strategy in those days was that people from the immediate locale of the building would simply show up because everybody went to church.

In the 21st century buildings do not win people, nor do programs guarantee church growth. For example, in recent generations young families would be attracted to church about the time the children entered public school. In those days an effective children’s program guaranteed the growth of a church since religious education was the driving motive in a family’s return to church.

In the 21st century neither programs nor buildings guarantee church growth.

Continue reading →

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General Baptist Ministries

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December 16, 2016

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Congregrational Ministries, General Baptists

Christmas Eve Planning Tips

With Christmas on Sunday this year more churches than usual will offer a Christmas Eve Service as an alternative worship setting. Despite this periodic increase, Christmas Eve services have become one of the most popular means of reaching unchurched and dechurched families in our communities. Here are a few general suggestions for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Worship Services.

1. Will the church offer both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Services?

If a Christmas service is designed to reach the unchurched or dechurched it probably will do so best on a pre-Christmas date. Many churches will also feature a Christmas Eve-Eve service on December 23 to avoid conflict with family Christmas traditions. With Christmas on Sunday and Christmas Eve on Saturday it may be realistic for many churches to offer similar services on both days with the hope that members will attend at least one of the services.

2. Will the church print a special bulletin or program?

A brightly colored bulletin or program cover lends a festive air to the service. Some will prefer a more utilitarian approach of a simple handout that guides the worshipper. Others will opt for verbal instructions or the use of a projection system to guide the worshippers.

3. How will Invite Cards be distributed?

The special rules that guide the production of any Invite Cards apply here: proof—proof—proof, include contact information, include service times. Invite Cards should be distributed to the congregation on Sunday, December 18. If these cards can coordinate with the bulletin cover and other themes the worshipper is more likely to enter into the spirit of the worship theme.

4. How will information from guests be gathered?

A Communication Card that is completed by all in attendance is one of the most non-threatening means of gathering guest information. Once again standard rules of operation apply: keep the card simple but be sure there is adequate space to fill in the blanks, do not leave the date line blank, explain the card with some version of “complete as much information as you are comfortable sharing.”

5. Will an offering be received?

If the strategy of two similar services is used then the offering instructions for Christmas Eve will probably be very similar to the offering instructions for Christmas Day. If, however, Christmas Eve is treated as a special or an “extra” service then consider the offering to be designated for some benevolent or charitable purpose. If large numbers of guests are expected please remember that these Christmas guests may be very generous if they know the specific needs being addressed by the special Christmas offering. After all giving is a required part of a secular Christmas celebration too!

6. Will Communion or the Lord’s Supper be served?

Many Christmas Eve services feature a Candlelight Communion as the climax of the service. If Communion is served be sure to be clear with instructions since guests may come from a variety of church and non-churched backgrounds. In General Baptist churches the Lord’s Supper is always prefaced with a general invitation for all believers to take part. If servers are limited, then invite the worshippers to come forward where a more ‘self service’ approach can be taken if needed.

7. Will candle lighting be part of the service?

The lighting of candles at the conclusion of a Christmas Eve service is a moving experience especially as one person lights another person’s candle with the declaration “Jesus Christ is the Light of my life!” Then to sing Silent Night as the benediction becomes a powerful statement of faith and worship. Candle lighting supplies are readily available from Christian bookstores and suppliers but be sure to order yours in advance so they will be on hand for your special event.

8. Will creative elements be used?

Creative elements may be provided by members of the congregation or by friends from the community. Creative elements are available for purchase on-line or from many bookstores.

www.SkitGuys.com offers several Christmas themed video productions.
www.hymncharts.com will acquaint the shopper with the possibility of purchasing music scores for an entire service including special background music for Scripture readers.
www.YouTube.com remains an ever popular site for video elements. Just type in “Christmas Worship Songs” and view 735,000 possibilities!