Author Archives: Lane Corley
6 Simple Holiday Outreach Ideas for Your Church
Here’s a few simple Holiday outreach projects that any church, small group, family, or individual can afford. I can testify that these make a big impact with a small investment of time & money.
1. Gift cards for ICU Waiting Rooms. At any given time in your community there are people reeling from traumatic events or devastating illness. Their families can be found in waiting rooms at your local hospital. Pick up a handful of Gift Cards to the closest restaurants & coffee shops, drop by & give them out with a “Praying for You” card from your church. Offer to pray for anyone you get to talk with. Simple act of kindness can breathe life into someone that is overwhelmed with bad news. If no one is there, give them to the nurses desk & they’ll pass them out for you. These nurses could also use prayer & encouragement. Call ahead & find out when visiting times are so that you know when people are in the waiting rooms. $100 for 5-10 gift cards.
2. Care packages for the Homeless. If you live in a metro area or near the interstate, you probably get an invitation to serve the homeless everyday at area red lights. “Should I give them money?” is a constant question. Few of us carry cash anymore. Doing nothing is not desirous for most believers. How about make up some simple care packages with some goodies that that can be passed out the window of a car? Keep 3-5 in your car at all times. $10 per bag.
3. Christmas Decor for Nursing Home Residents. Go to your local nursing home & ask for a list of residents with no local family. The reality for these residents is often few visits if any, few seasonal decorations for their walls, few convenient items like warm socks or lotion. Offer to pray for them. Find out what they want or need & plan a return visit. Spend some time listening to their story. $25 for a few Christmas decorations & simple cards colored by kids.
4. Fruit baskets for Elderly shut-ins. Local shut-ins are lonely. They often feel trapped. They often have simple to-do’s around their home that can be taken care of in less than an hour. Making up fruit baskets to deliver to them gives you a reason to encourage them with a visit & find out other needs that your faith community can take care of on their behalf. $25 for a bowl or basket & fruit & other goodies to go int them.
5. Weatherization for Local Widows. In every community there are widows & widowers that can no longer take care of simple things like wrapping their pipes or preparing their home for winter. A great project for the men’s group could be spend one Saturday per year wrapping pipes. $100 worth of weatherization supplies.
6. Holiday Treats for Local Teachers Lounges. We often hear laments about churches not being able to “get into the schools.” Most of the time, we’re trying to get in on our terms instead of thinking of ways to be a blessing. We found one way that is enthusiastically accepted 100% of the time at our local schools: stuffing snack baskets full of goodies for teacher’s lounges at the beginning of the school year, holidays, & end of school. Christmas is a great time for this. Shoot for the week that school is getting out. There’s probably a party going on! $100 per Teacher’s lounge.
What other similar outreach ideas have you or your church done at Christmas?
What if…
- Every ICU Patient family got a gift card & a prayer.
- Every homeless person got a care packet.
- Every Nursing Home resident had Christmas decorations.
- Every shut-in got a fruit basket.
- Every widow had her pipes wrapped for winter.
- Every Teacher’s lounge had holiday treats & a note of encouragement from your church.
Multiply I-20
Twelve Louisiana parishes touch I-20 & is home to 16% of our states population. Two of Louisiana’s nine Metropolitan Statistical areas are on I-20 – Shreveport-Bossier & Monroe-West Monroe. About 83% of the population of I-20 live in these two areas. This area is also home to around 30,000 college students each year, in four great universities – La Tech (12,014 students), Grambling University (4,553 students), University of Louisiana-Monroe (8,800 students), LSU-Shreveport (4,383 students). This part of Louisiana is more true Bible belt than south Louisiana, with evangelical populations near 50% across the I-20 corridor. But many churches in this area are in decline & in need of change to reach younger generations. Church Planting & church revitalization strategies are greatly needed moving forward. Here’s some data for us to get the strategy wheels turning:
- Population of I-20 Corridor is 737,504. Up 1% since 2010. Fastest growing parishes were Bossier (7% increase), Lincoln – where Louisiana Tech is located (up 2%), & Ouachita – West Monroe & Monroe (Up 2%). The other 9 parishes are projecting drops in population from 1%-6%.
- There are 364 SBC churches in the parishes that touch I-20 for a church to population ratio of 1/2,026.
- 47,989 residents worship in an SBC Church in 2015. Only 6.5% of the population. Worship attendance dropped by 7% since 2010. Only three of the 9 associations across I-20 experienced an increase in worship attendance since 2010 – Madison, Concord-Union, & Webster-Claiborne.
- Only 4.4% of the population attended Bible Study in an SBC Church. 32,604 residents. Bible Study attendance dropped by 10% since 2010. Only one of the nine associations along I-20 experienced an increase in Bible Study attendance since 2010 – Madison.
Current Louisiana Baptists Planters along I-20:
- Cleto Perez – Iglesia Bautista Nueva Vida – Arcadia
- Miguel Barrios – Filadelfia Baptist Mission – Bernice
- Barnabas Son – Monroe Korean Baptist Church – West Monroe
- Richard Thomas – Gethsemane Baptist Church – Shreveport
- Carranza Johns – Hip Hope Church – Shreveport
- Trandy Wade – New Life Journey Baptist Church – Bossier City
- Ivory Jackson – North Star Baptist Church – Shreveport
- Roy Thomas – St. James Baptist Church – Shreveport
- Greg Shyne – United Outreach Church – Shreveport
- Daniel Hernandez – Broadmoor Hispanic Mission – Shreveport
- Miguel Guillen – First Hispanic Church, Haughton
- Mt. Kham Nang – First Zo Baptist Church – Bossier City
A Mission Greater Than Yourself
Highlights from our Bridge On Mission Message Series
November was On Mission Month at Bridge Church. We tackled the questions of how to live life ON MISSION to the Vulnerable, the Nations, the Next Generation, & to our Neighbors.
Check out a few great quotes from this series presented by Evan McGinty, Steve Elworth, Cherish Leblanc, Elizabeth Johnson, & myself.
- Christ Followers never say, “That’s not my problem.”
- There’s no such thing as an unwanted child in God’s Kingdom.
- The drive behind our mission is obedience to God. Sustainable mission is a series of small steps of obedience.
- In Christ, our lives will not end in brokenness, but with promised restoration.
- If God calls you to it, He’ll give you the grace to do it. – Cherish LeBlanc
- God doesn’t call the qualified. He qualifies the called. – Elizabeth Johnson
- God is a missionary. Therefore, the church is a missionary church.
- Missions is something God does, not something I do.
- “God’s mission is a reason there is a Bible at all.” – Steve Hawthorne
- “Do not ask ‘what is God’s will for my life?’ Instead, ask, ‘what is God’s will for the world and what is my place in fulfilling his will?’” – John Perkins
- If every evangelical gave 10% of their income to missions we could easily support 2 million new missionaries.
- Your Character, Lifestyle, & Example as a parent, or other influence in their lives, help kids know WHAT is right.
- Good character around them can be a kind of North Star. That’s also why we need a church community, b/c our kids are not just watching us, but those we associate with.
- Your Intentional Words, Discipline, Discipleship help them know what AND WHY the Christian life is right.
- “There is just one way to bring up a child in the way he should go and that is to travel that way yourself.” — Abraham Lincoln
- Missions does not equal distance. We have a mission field within walking distance of us everyday.
- Consumers like the mission. Disciples own the mission. Romans 1:14
Listen to the messages HERE or on Itunes.
The Impact of the Church
Recently I got to sit down with Minister of Missions from ten different Louisiana churches, ranging in size from 75 to 1,800 attenders. The purpose of the meeting was to communicate with them a bit about church planting in our state, but I was really curious about what it would be like to get these missions leaders together and talking about their missions engagements around the world. I was not disappointed! Just these 10 churches reported:
- 15 new churches currently sponsored
- 26 overseas missions engagements in at least 12 different countries
- 4 national missions engagements
- 9 state missions engagements
- 9 local missions engagements
- 4 unreached people groups adopted
- 5 multi-site campus developments
And remember, this is just 10 churches!!! It speaks to me about the impact that Christ followers working through their churches can have on our world. We recently reported that Louisiana church based compassion ministries had given out 635 tons of food to people in need so far in 2016. And we can only track probably less than 1/3 of the churches doing this type of ministry in our state. If we could see the full impact of the tens of thousands of churches on our world, we would see THE THING that’s holding back darkness, famine, devastation from this earth. And we would see heaven being populated from every tribe and tongue. Take away the church and this world is a dark, dark place.
Thanking God today for His work through His people in our world.
A few highlights:
- First Baptist West Monroe has send out nine missionaries from their church over the past 10 years.
- Cedar Crest Baptist Church in West Monroe sponsors a national pastors conference for pastors in Bulgaria! They also paid to translate, print, & distribute Experiencing God in Bulgarian.
- First Baptist Hornbeck hosts a Youth Camp in the summers for Jr. High & High School students from all over their area.
- Istrouma Baptist in Baton Rouge hosts an English as a Second Language ministry (ESL) that includes people from six nations.
What Does it Look Like to Walk by Faith?
Hebrews 11 is called the Faith Hall of Fame, describing some of the great heroes of Old Testament faith and their walk with God. I love these 8 descriptors of their lives, picked out of Hebrews 11. They answer the question, “what does walking by faith look like?”
- “he went out, not knowing where he was going” – 8
- “He considered God to be able” – 19
- “they didn’t fear the King’s edict” – 23
- “chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin” – 25
- “his attention was on the reward” – 26
- “he persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible” – 27
- “as though they were on dry land” – 29
- “gained strength after being weak” – 34
This chapter and these descriptors remind me that the Christian life is about trusting God above anything else, believing in God when it seems irrational to do so, and placing hope not in today’s reward but the one to come.
These descriptors shaped into Questions for Reflection:
- Am I willing to take risk and be made uncomfortable because of what I believe about God?
- Do I believe God is able to do the impossible?
- Does the edicts and opinions of this world have more sway over me than God’s desires?
- Am I living for short term pleasure and comfort or for God’s best reward for faithfulness?
- Do I really believe the greater reward for the life of faith is to come? or am I expecting my reward today?
- Can I persevere though I can’t see the end? though I can’t hear God’s audible voice?
- Am I experiencing God’s power to do the impossible sometimes?
- Is my faith and belief in God’s power enough to give me strength when I’m weak?
What should a church planter do THE DAY AFTER election day?
1. Pray, Pray, Pray to the one who governs the nations. (Psalm 22:28, 47:7-8, Jeremiah 10:7, Acts 17:26).
2. Write notes to any local election winners pledging your churches prayer support.
3. Go share the gospel. Our battle is not political, but spiritual. Our kingdom is not of this world, but eternal. (Ephesians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 9:25).
4. And maybe go to the gym. Healthcare expenses are still going to be killer on the church planting budget. Lol!
What else are you doing this DAY AFTER?
Growing Churches = Growing Leaders
Last night was our annual Leadership Appreciation Dinner with Bridge Church. Bridge Church started in 2009 and in 2010 we held the first Leadership Appreciation Dinner with one table at a restaurant. Last night, we had six tables and another two tables full of leaders that couldn’t be there for various reasons. Grateful for these great friends in ministry and grateful to God for what He is doing in our lives together.
The real task of growing churches is that of growing, releasing, encouraging, equipping, and increasing leaders. Nothing increases the capacity of our churches to make a difference like leaders. A growing church is finding ways to grow leaders, PERIOD.
The struggle to grow leaders is often our own.
- The fear of losing control – as if control is what God called us to.
- “they’re not ready yet” – ministry was Jesus’ tool for development of leaders. Giving people opportunities was His model.
- and the “If I only had” – instead of developing leaders, waiting on someone else to send them.
Leaders are drawn by vision/mission and relationship.
- Like Mark, who shared last night about his journey beginning with two guys from our church showing up at the hospital after he was in a major accident. Today, he and his wife lead our Kids Ministry Team.
- Like Josh, who said, he’d been encouraged by numerous families from our church at area Foster Care meetings. Today, they’re adopting and have plugged in to our kids ministry team.
- Like Evan, who said the church said yes to his crazy ideas allowing him to explore his calling. Today, he’s on our Pastoral Leadership team and shares the teaching and preaching load.
It’s not just about how many are there on Sunday, but how many are influencing others, multiplying themselves, being shaped into disciples who make disciples. How many tables do you have right now? Grow leaders and grow your church.
The Key to Everything – TEACHABILITY
I’ve been the young leader that has it all figured out and doesn’t need anybody’s help. ESPECIALLY not anyone older than me. Now I’m fighting being the older leader that has been there, done that, and knows exactly how to do it, no matter what’s working for others or what others say. I’m also in a position where I get to help a lot of younger leaders that are 5-10 years behind me in planting churches, but often meet the brick wall of no or low teachability. The prideful side of this can be ugly. The innocent side of this can be costly. I truly believe this strong statement that TEACHABILITY is the KEY TO EVERYTHING. Where is that in the Bible? I think its wrapped up in James 4:6 – “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Teachability is humility. Being humble enough to know that I’m not always right, that I need others, and that I need correction and instruction from God and others.
Matt Keller’s book The Key to Everything: Unlocking the Secret to Why Some People Succeed and Others Don’t is a great primer on Teachability. Highly recommend it to every leader. Would be a great addition to a residency reading list. Keller builds his case for teachability looking at King Saul on the wrong side and the Apostle Paul on the right side. Much needed reminder for me at this stage in my life. And another book added to the file “I wish I’d read this 15 years ago.” Lol!
Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:
- people’s level of teachability is the greatest determinant of their long-term success. (p. xviii).
- Desire to learn times willingness to change equals our level of teachability. (p. 7).
- pride breeds presumption, and presumption kills teachability. (p. 16).
- the only way to multiply is to be willing to lose control— or better, to share control with others. (p. 33)
- everything good in life, including teachability, lives and grows in the margins. And an unhealthy pace eliminates the margins in our lives. (p. 65).
- Without margin, creativity stops. Without margin, fresh ideas don’t emerge. Without margin, conversations that produce breakthroughs don’t happen. Without margin, you don’t have the ability to grasp anything new. Without margin, teachability dies. (p. 70).
- Are you allowing your natural ability to give you a license to not pay attention and learn from others? (p. 102).
- One of the leading characteristics of the most teachable people in the world is that they don’t just tolerate feedback, they welcome it. Teachable people see feedback as their friend— their best friend. (pp. 107-108).
- openness to feedback is the great multiplier (p. 110).
- Your teach-ability determines your use-ability. — TODD MULLINS (p. 135).
- Real teachability says, “I’ll learn anything, anytime, anywhere from anyone.” — BRAD LEACH (p. 139).
- When you make the choice to invite teachability into your life on a daily basis, life becomes an adventure. Every day you are given another opportunity to gather valuable insight that will make you a better person in some way. (p. 187).
Check out the website for the book and hear from Matt Keller and check out some neat resources HERE.
THIS IS CHURCH: Obedient Hearts Coming Together
Highlights from Bridge Church’s study on the book of Acts
This Fall, our church has been tracking with the first Christians in the book of Acts. The book of Acts tells the story of how an average sized church of 120 changed the world through the power of God’s spirit and their obedience to Him. You can hear the series here or by subscribing to our podcast on Itunes. Here’s a few highlights from the past 8 weeks:
- A church will be Biblical, when the lives of the people in the church are Biblical & their lives line up with the practices & commands of Jesus Christ.
- THIS IS CHURCH: OBEDIENT HEARTS COMING TOGETHER BACKED BY THE POWER OF GOD.
- One of the greatest enemies of life on mission is HURRY. What possibilities might life hold if we slowed down rather than stepping on the gas? What dangers might depths of relationships born over long talks with friends save us from? What strength is missing in my life because of lack of time spent sitting quietly with God & His Word? What opportunities to witness to & serve others fly by me as I hurry to the next big thing? Ministry, growth & maturity, depth of relationships happen in the neutral ground & at the intersections of life. Not at 70 miles per hour.
- The question is not, are you being discipled? but by who or what? Are we being discipled by our screen time & social media, or by Christ & His people?
- The early church prayed 10 days & preached 5 minutes & 3,000 people came to know Christ. Today we do the opposite & get the opposite result.
- The confused, scared people in the upper room, became an unstoppable army of witnesses that spread across the world sharing the message of Christ.
- The Holy Spirit is not a tool for our satisfaction or to puff us up with how great we are or to make us feel better about ourselves. His purpose is to empower us for God’s mission.
- If you say, I’m not experiencing the Spirit’s power – What mission are you on? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone to tell others about Christ lately? Have you took a risky stand for Christ at work?
- We are saved to be sent. We’re washed to be witnesses.
- If I’m believing & looking to be obedient, walking with God. I’ll not lack for opportunity to be a witness.
- Christianity is not a lone ranger affair. To grow, to be obedient, to be on mission, you must be in relationship with others.
- The Holy Spirit will change your priority from personal comfort & safety to selflessness & sacrifice.
- Purpose leads to SELFLESSNESS! We begin to realize that my gifts, my resources, my time is NOT MINE! And it’s NOT ABOUT ME!
- when God gives you purpose, He also gives you the means to accomplish that purpose. GET THIS: It’s HIS WORK through You!
- God’s purpose & the needs of others trumps personal comfort & even safety for those who have aligned their lives with God’s purpose.
- Generosity is not something God wants FROM you, but something God wants FOR you. God doesn’t need your money, He wants your heart.
- It’s dangerous to focus on what we appear to be, instead of what we actually are.
- Preoccupation with appearances is a root that will lead to deception, depression, and possibly disaster. Our preoccupation should be on approval from God. On allowing His grace to shape in us a Godly character. On obeying Him carefully & one step at a time.
We’ll return to this series in 2017, and pick up with the life of Paul the Apostle. November will be Bridge On Mission month. We’ll look at our mission to the least, to the nations, to the next generation, and to our neighbors. In December, we’ll look fresh at the Christmas story in a series called Looking for ADVENTure. If you are in West St. Tammany and you don’t have a church you attend, gather and grow with Bridge Church, 10:30am at the Maritime Museum in Madisonville.
God doesn’t try… God ACTS
Our Church has been tracking through the book of Acts on Sunday’s this Fall in a series called This IS Church. Our small groups have been tracking through Greg Matte’s Bible Study on the book of Acts called Unstoppable Gospel. Matte also published a great book called Unstoppable Gospel: Living Out the World Changing Vision of Jesus’ First Followers. I love books that put us into the 1st century with the first believers of Jesus. My favs are probably 30 Years that Changed the World and The Rise of Christianity. I’m adding Greg Matte’s book to that list as well. Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:
- God’s purpose is for the church to be more than just an event on Sunday morning; it’s meant to be a fuse lit to unleash the explosive power of a believer’s life.
- He has made no provisions for us to follow Him while living in isolation from other believers.
- Nowhere in the book of Acts do you see the word church used to describe a building where people gather on Sunday mornings. In Acts, the church is the people of God in love with God doing the will of God.
- God doesn’t try. God doesn’t attempt. God ACTS.
- We cannot pray a prayer so big that God will not wish we had prayed for something even bigger.
- Christianity has never had a more dangerous enemy than Saul of Tarsus, or a more dedicated friend that Paul the Apostle; both are the same man.
- The book opens with a handful of terrified disciples. It closes with Paul, ambassador for Christ par excellence, telling the story of Jesus “without hindrance” in the capital of the known world. (on Acts 28:30-31)
If you’re looking for a new perspective on the book of Acts, pick up Unstoppable Gospel. And I’d highly recommend Unstoppable Gospel Bible Study for small groups.
Lane Corley 