March 2006 Archives

Before equipping volunteers, it’s essential to ask yourself these three questions: What does each volunteer need to know? What does each volunteer need to have? And finally, what does each volunteer need to be? Build your training on these basics:

1. Each volunteer needs to know:
* our church’s doctrinal statement,
* our department’s mission statement, and
* how to relate to and work with the people they will serve.

2. Each volunteer needs to have:
* faith in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior,
* regular Bible study time,
* a consistent prayer life, and
* an ability to articulate his or her faith.

3. Each volunteer needs to be:
* ethical,
* growing in Christian character, and
* filled with the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23).

From Group's Church Volunteer Central

We are now set up to broadcast live and pre-recorded seminars from the Church Communication Network. The broadcasts can be shown in the Main Sanctuary or the Student Center.

Here is a list of some of the upcoming seminars:

Leading Kids To Christ: How To Share Jesus With Children
Ministry and Marriage: When Leaders Live Together
Seekers Uncensored II: Next Steps to Reaching Seekers Around You
Prophecies of the Passion
Character Traits of Leaders
Every Young Woman's Battle
Reaching Emerging Generations: They Love Jesus But Not the Church<
MOMSense: Dare to Reach Your Mothering Potential
How to Handle Conflict as a Leader
Truth Telling in Leadership
Creative Romance in Marriage
The Family Life of Leaders
Work Does Not Equal Family
Becoming a Better Communicator in Your Marriage
Becoming Fruitful in Leadership

Take a look at the complete list CCN's upcoming broadcasts to find training opportunities that would benefit you and your teams.
PDF of 1st Quarter of 2006 Schedule
PDF of 2nd Quarter of 2006 Schedule
PDF of 3rd Quarter of 2006 Schedule

Churches Use Technology For Outreach
By Jeannine F. Hunter

Although nascent, the podcasting landscape is growing with an audience expected to reach 60 million people nationwide by 2010, according to The Diffusion Group, a consumer technology research firm based in Plano, Texas.

And religious content is one of its fastest-growing segments, say observers. Lycos.com reported last year religious that programs and sermons are the most popular genre.

One in five Americans owns an iPod or MP3 player. Born-again Christians account for 40% of the consumer technology market, which includes digital cameras, laptop computers and high-speed Internet access at home, Kinnaman said.

Check out our podcast site at growingtogether.net/podcast

Emerging generation church looks to old classic for Easter outreach
by Stephen Alligood

Sometimes when you are trying to do something new for the Lord, it's best to borrow from ideas tried and true. Pastor David Trotter, founding leader of Revolution Church, a Reformed Church in America congregation in Long Beach, Calif., understands that rule, especially when it comes to planning for Easter. In fast-growing, fast-moving southern California, where, according to pop culturists, the next "big thing" is always incubating, Trotter has discovered the most effective tool to reach the unchurched in his community at Easter is – are you ready for this – an egg hunt. Does it work? The hard-boiled facts are indisputable, the pastor added. "Including kids, we had 600 to 700 last year. It works just great. There's not a lot, at least in our area, of Easter egg hunts anymore. The kids absolutely loved it. Combine that with a free pancake breakfast and it seems to draw them in." As for their tried and true Easter plans, Revolution plans no changes. "We'll keep doing the same thing," Pastor Trotter said. "The egg hunt and free pancakes have become something the community can count on. Obviously it's a non-threatening way for people to invite their friends and family to Revolution. They come and see there are normal people here." "We just pray for them to join us."