After all the innovation of the past several decades of growing churches, guess what the most significant factor in the twenty-first century is in getting people to attend church? Ready? According to a recent Lifeway Research survey, the answer is: an invitation from a family member or friend. That’s it. A majority of respondents (67%) said an invitation from a family member was either somewhat or very effective, and 63% said an invitation from a friend or neighbor was effective. (Baptists Today, May, 2009:13)

 

Things like billboards, TV commercials, impersonal door-to-door visits, even social networking websites lagged far behind in effectiveness. Bottom line: people today are open to invitations to church—they just need to be personal. There is no magic potion for church growth whether it be cool music, casual dress, formal liturgy, hip preaching, or state of the art facilities. Without authentic relationships church growth will not be sustainable. It will be short-term at best.

 

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There are a lot of great things about the annual summer rite of passage we in the church know as Vacation Bible School. The basic thrust of VBS hasn’t changed a lot since I was a kid: Bible stories, fun, snacks, singing, crafts, etc. But the form is way more cool now. The songs are more contemporary and upbeat, the snacks are more creative, the themes are more modern, and the decorations are more elaborate.

These days there is no marching into the sanctuary and pledging to the flags and the Bible. There is no watered-down Kool-Aid, no dry cookies. But the focus is still on the children. Even in their world of Nintendo, X-Box, and the Internet, their innocence and thirst for God becomes evident during VBS week. Their complex world is simplified for a few days in the summer. I am reminded that our children are still in many ways an open canvas waiting to be painted.

The old...

I have had an amazing two weeks. I spent last week at Passport Camp with some of our youth. I have spent this week getting ready for Vacation Bible School here at church. We kicked off VBS this morning with a wild and great group of kids. Today in VBS everyone got a bracelet that says, “Watch for God.”

It is nice to have a reminder to look for God in our everyday lives. God is always with us, but sometimes we forget to look for him. Imagine how much closer to God we would be if we spent time looking for him each day. We would see God in the big and the little things of life.

For the last two weeks, I have felt God all around me. I saw God last week in camp as I watched youth rededicate their lives to him. I heard about how they saw God and experienced God while playing with kids and cleaning up the earth. I saw God this morning as kids made crafts and played games. God is all around us. Take time this week to focus on seeing God.

I know you don’t have a cool bracelet to remind you to “Watch...

God is huge and cannot be summed up in a few words. It’s hard to explain the unexplainable. Jesus understood God. He was his father. No matter how familiar Jesus was with God, those who he was sent to did not have the same understanding. Jesus was given the task of explaining the unexplainable to those he met.