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 […]
Format: Article
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
10 Things: Part 10 – Sermon Series Video
In this series of posts, we will consider the practices of other churches that share some similarities with the OPC, though also some significant differences. With some of the examples (ten in number), we may see some ways in which their practice is inconsistent with our doctrinal commitments, but also hopefully learn from these brothers […]
10 Things: Part 9 – Sermon Series Intro Handout
In this series of posts, we will consider the practices of other churches that share some similarities with the OPC, though also some significant differences. With some of the examples (ten in number), we may see some ways in which their practice is inconsistent with our doctrinal commitments, but also hopefully learn from these brothers […]
Part 2: Initiating Conversations with Larry O
Last week, we looked at how Larry Oldaker approaches initiating conversations (Part 1) and saw a couple of helpful points to note (reading response/body language & prayer). Today we continue with examples Larry gave us of particular conversations—how they started—but then also how he developed them beyond initial chit-chat. So, how do you take those […]
Initiating Conversations With Larry O
We have numerous requests for help with how to start conversations with people. In particular, doing so with a view to building some trust and eventually turning those interactions to more meaningful things of life and then ultimately the gospel. We want to explore this topic in a number of ways, but one way is […]
Stories From the Field: Neon, KY
Readers of New Horizons may have seen the article on the church in Neon, KY a couple of months ago (p.13 of this pdf: New Horizons August 2018). This week’s Stories from the Field digs a little deeper into the outreach mentioned in that article which has been fundamental to the development of Neon Reformed […]
10 Things I’ve Seen: Part 8 (Gift for First Timers)
In this series of posts, we will consider the practices of other churches that share some similarities with the OPC, though also some significant differences. With some of the examples (ten in number), we may see some ways in which their practice is inconsistent with our doctrinal commitments, but also hopefully learn from these brothers […]
10 Things: Part 7 (Elders & Visitors Before Worship)
In this series of posts, we will consider the practices of other churches that share some similarities with the OPC, though also some significant differences. With some of the examples (ten in number), we may see some ways in which their practice is inconsistent with our doctrinal commitments, but also hopefully learn from these brothers […]
Stories From the Field: Normal Life
We have been sharing some more formal outreach efforts by OPC churches, but as we all know there are opportunities all around us in “normal life.” Sometimes God takes the most mundane aspects of life and turns them into moments of eternal significance. In today’s examples, eating dinner and taking a walk. We share these […]
Who’s Visiting Our Church Plants?
As we move through our church plants getting updates, we ask them to tell us about a visitor who is regularly coming to the church. Who are they? How did they come to the church?, etc. We want to share those from time to time. We hope they will serve a couple of purposes: 1) […]
Stories From the Field: Hamilton, NJ
What comes to mind when you hear the word “evangelism”? Do you imagine a scenario where a Christian shares the gospel with a total stranger? While this is not uncommon, it is certainly not the only way evangelism takes place. It is also not uncommon for many Christians to feel frightened by the thought of […]
10 Things I’ve Seen: Part 6 (When Does Sunday School End?)
In this series of posts, we will consider the practices of other churches that share some similarities with the OPC, though also some significant differences. With some of the examples (ten in number), we may see some ways in which their practice is inconsistent with our doctrinal commitments, but also hopefully learn from these brothers […]