I’m working to become a person who constantly realizes it’s not just about “Us and Them”. The “Us and Them” mentality creeps in easily at church. Those who are already a part running a particular ministry or enjoy membership in a certain group or have been a part of the church for a long time can easily begin to see … Read More
Why Volunteer?
People volunteer to serve in churches for all kinds of reasons. Some are looking for recognition for others to see how great they are or maybe for God to notice their hard work. Others serve in hopes to receive something more by contributing to God’s kingdom. I’ve met others who serve simply for social connections. I’d like to suggest that … Read More
Us & Them
A few weeks ago, my wife popped into a ministry here at our church and began talking to a man who had been here for a couple years. They started talking about how he and his wife had begun to volunteer in a church ministry recently. He made the comment that he felt like the church had moved away from an … Read More
Moving to the Center
If you attend First Assembly of God here in Lafayette, you probably have noticed an increase in attendance over the past several months. For those of you who are interested, here is a quick overview–our average Sunday morning attendance has seen an adult increase of 244 people on average per Sunday in 2011 over the same period in 2010! That … Read More
“Shake a Little Hand, Shake a Hand Next to Ya”
Those are the words to a pre-schoolers’ church song that I learned back in the United Methodist Church in Albany, Indiana when I was about 3 years old. I’m putting them up today because of what a woman said to me yesterday after our 9AM service at First Assembly. This lady, new to Lafayette, said she loves our church, the … Read More
Making Introductions
These are some thoughts about how our amazing church can become more and more effective at bringing people from the edge of our community in the core of the highly committed people who make First Assembly thrive as it does. Getting to know more people through introducing yourself to people you don’t know and through introducing them to your social … Read More