82% of unchurched people said they were “somewhat likely” to attend church if they were invited. 21% of active churchgoers have invited anyone to church in the course of a year. (And the number that invite an unchurched person is more like 2%!) Evangelistic Accelerant: This Sunday is arguably the day that an unchurched person […]
A Welcoming Congregation – Part 3 (by Shane Lems)
Shane (Covenant OPC, Hammond, WI) has taken us on a thorough journey of how to be a welcoming church, including the role of the pastor and the congregation (Series Posts). We are thankful for his work and thoughts from someone who is on the field trying to implement these things! This week he closes with […]
A Welcoming Congregation – Part 2 (Practical Action)
Last week, OPC Pastor Shane Lems gave us some great illustrations of how to think about welcoming visitors to our church (Part 1). Now, it’s time to take action. Shane gives 10 practical ways church members can welcome visitors. Maybe you could discuss these as a family, or an outreach committee could use them to […]
A Welcoming Congregation (by Shane Lems) – Part 1
Here’s a multiple choice question to get us thinking about visitors in church: When you see a visitor on Sunday, what do you usually do? A) I try not to stare. B) Visitors? I never notice visitors. C) Nothing. I’m afraid to talk to new people. D) I try to at least say hello and […]
Stories From the Field: Sharing Christ in a Coffee House
Here is a great example of loving your neighbor for the sake of the of the gospel in everyday, “simple” life. We love this example: —————————————————————————————————— While working as a coffee house barista, I gradually learned an important lesson: a barista is more than just a barista. Often, you are the individual that people look […]
Stories From the Field: San Antonio – True Love Sunday
Last month, Pastor Andrew Moody and San Antonio Reformed took the opportunity to have an intentional outreach for their worship service on the Sunday before Valentine’s Day. They called it “True Love Sunday.” The description on the Facebook event page first caught our eye: They provided members with a card to invite people: Members invited […]
Welcoming Pastor (by Shane Lems) – Part 3
Last week, Shane Lems explored some insightful thoughts on being a welcoming pastor in leading worship and preaching (Welcoming Pastor – Part 2). Here’s Shane continuing to look at the pastor’s interaction with visitors: Love in Conversation Another angle of being a welcoming pastor is that we show love in conversations. Whether we talk to […]
Welcoming Pastor (by Shane Lems) – Part 2
Last week Shane explored the biblical background and role of a pastor in leading the way in being welcoming (Part 1). Now, he digs into the practical ways to implement those principles. Here’s Shane: Practical: Love in Leading Worship & Preaching In many ways, the pastor sets the tone for worship. In Reformed churches we […]
The Welcoming Pastor (by Shane Lems) – Part 1
In the first part of this series, Shane Lems took us through a 3-part approach to being a welcoming church: biblical, balanced, and a missionary bent. You can read those posts here: (Welcoming Church). Later in the series Shane will focus on the congregation, but in this second part he focuses on the pastor. Over […]
What People Leave Behind When Becoming Reformed
Recently, Covenant OPC in St. Augustine hosted a conference about reforming race relationships in the church. One of the speakers was Alicia Williams, a member of Christ Church in Charleston, SC (PCA – Pastor Jon Payne). Alicia gives her testimony of what it was like to come from a very non-Reformed background into a Reformed […]
John Shaw @ Church Planters’ Conference
Last week at the Church Planter Training Conference, John Shaw spent an extended time with the church planters discussing evangelism. A particular segment of that time warrants a summary here for a brief refreshment, encouragement, and direction in this important task for our churches. John opened with a quote from a 19th century minister named […]
An OPC Pastor’s Facebook Video
Before you watch this video and read this post: STOP for just a moment and think about one thing: Have you heard the objection from Christians who are against having creeds and/or confessions? “No Creed but Christ” is a common contemporary way to put it. How have you heard that objection answered? Maybe you yourself […]
Welcoming Church (Shane Lems): Part 2 – A Missionary Bent
In this series so far, Shane has set up a three-pronged approach to being a welcoming church. Last week, we considered the first two: Biblical & Balanced (Part 1: Biblical & Balanced). Now, the third: A Missionary Bent….Here is Shanes’s post: A Missionary Bent When I was a church planter, I necessarily had a “church […]
Being A Welcoming Church: Part 1 (Shane Lems)
Last week, we introduced and previewed a new series by OPC Pastor Shane Lems (Covenant Presbyterian in Hammond, WI). (More about Shane and last week’s post). Now, we will start to dig into the full articles. Below is the portion on being biblical and balanced as a welcoming church. Next week, the third prong: a […]
Shane Lems: Being A Welcoming Church – Introduction
We begin 2019 with a new series about being a welcoming church written by OPC Pastor Shane Lems. Shane is the pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Hammond, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Lisa, have 4 kids. Prior to ministry, Shane was in the US Army Reserves for 6 years and worked in the auto […]
Reaching Out During The Holiday Season
We came across an article about “Reaching Out to Non-Believers This Holiday Season”—in particular it’s geared toward inviting friends and family to church with you. The article is by Ed Stetzer—a Calvinistic Baptist who was formerly the Executive Director of LifeWay Research and has planted 2 or 3 churches as a pastor previously. We’re sharing […]
On The Frontlines: Postmodernism: Lyrics That Preach to the Masses
In the last video, Eric Watkins, while discussing postmodernism, referred to musicians as “the pastors of the soul” for many, including himself before he was a Christian. This final installment takes a fascinating look at the message those musicians preach to countless lost people. From their “gospel” to their eschatology, Eric dissects how music, particularly […]
On The Frontlines: Watkins on Postmodernism & Music
Part Analysis. Part Testimony. Eric Watkins takes a look at postmodernism and music from an insider perspective that no other OPC pastor could give. Not just a critique, Eric’s analysis sheds light on how it’s important for us to understand why a certain style of music resonates with many, and how it relates to reaching […]
On the Frontlines: Eric Watkins on Postmodernism
Earlier in the year, we ran a series of videos with Eric Watkins discussing church planting, evangelism, and related matters. We have a short series remaining from that interview where Eric discusses various aspects of postmodernism–an area of focus in his postgraduate studies. In this first video, Eric lays out an overview of the impact […]
The Shape of Evangelistic Prayer – John Shaw
Recently, John Shaw published an article in Tabletalk magazine (Ligonier Ministries). The title in the magazine is “Prayer That Matters,” but as you will see if you read the article, the emphasis is on evangelistic prayer. The setting of the prayer discussed is an evangelistic setting and John was thinking about how it applies to […]