Category Archives: Idea Bank
Missional Garage Making
- Ping Pong table – $67 on Black Friday.
- Air Hockety table – $30, second hand but near perfect condition
- Dart Board – $40, including plywood and chalkboard paint to make it a scoreboard and barrier
- Arcade Hoops Game – $100
- Interaction with kids – priceless
- Neighborhood kids hanging out in our garage – priceless
- Neighborhood dads taking each other on in darts – priceless
- My 9-year old beating me in Ping-Pong after two weeks of practice – not so good
Conviction: Our home is not our refuge, Jesus is. Our home is a place of engagement and discipleship and relationship building and refuge for others looking for a light in a darkness. How are you using your space to influence others for Christ and build in intentional interaction with kids and families?
And, I’m also proud of my Bio-Sand Water filter identical to the one we install in Chiapas, Mexico with GLED and that is used by missionaries around the world where water is a problem. $150 puts one of these in a village home, providing pure life saving water for 15+ years.
What if…? – Drive Thru Prayer
Is your church on a busy highway? Seems a little quirky, but I like it. And I think people would do it, especially in South Louisiana. Consider the possibilities…
Saw this first at Todd Rhoades uber resourceful blog. Check it out.
What if… ~ Mentoring Teen Moms
61 out of every 1,000 births in Louisiana are to a mom age 15-19. Here’s a cool story about a group of Christian mother’s mentoring teen mom’s at one Texas high school. Consider the possibilities…
Weatherization Tips for Mobile Homes
If you do ministry to Mobile Home parks, here’s a quick download that we shared with one of the largest MHP’s in our region.
We actually put on a short weatherization clinc with hot chocolate, popcorn, and a follow up outdoor kids movie at Christmas. The tips were passed out along with caulk and other weatherization supplies. All in all, we spent $200 on the event.
And, interestingly enough, a Spray Foam insulation company heard about what we were doing and volunteered to insulate the trailers for a few of the neediest residents before Christmas. Great ideas usually attract great partners. It’s a Word Doc, so feel free to adapt it, or add to it. If you make it better, send it back to me please :))-.
Doc – WeatherizationTips
A few Halloween Links:
Regardless of one’s view of involvement on this day, there is a sociological fact that cannot be denied: Halloween is the one day which neighbors are outside of their homes and engaging in something together. There is not another day during the year that we see so many faces and family in our immediate sphere of influence, together.
~ Jeff Mangum
This is definitely true in our neighborhood. How are you getting engaged this weekend? Our family is throwing an outdoor movie night in our front yard for our neighborhood. Bridge Church is incarnating and taking free souvenir pics at a city-wide Halloween Block Party in Covington on Friday, as well as throwing a Halloween Party for a local multi-housing complex on Saturday. Check out a few ideas for engagement, storytelling, and conversation below:
- On Mission this Halloween | Jeff Vanderstelt – Great list. My favorite “Give out the best Candy. Please, don’t give out tracks or toothbrushes or pennies…kids are looking for the master loot of candy. Put yourself in their shoes.”
- 3 Simple Ways to Be Missional on Halloween | Verge Network – “how does God want me to put this day to use for the name of Jesus to be magnified?”
- Resources for Reformation Day | Justin Taylor – October 31st is also the day that Martin Luther began his protest movement against the Romans Catholic Church. Great list of resources here.
- CandyNOMICS Infographic – The average household spends $44 on Candy at Halloween each year. The average American eats 24 pounds of candy. 20 million pounds of candy corn is consumed each halloween.
Courageous Movie Stuff
The movie Courageous opens tomorrow! It will highlight men’s and fathering issues like nothing before. Here’s some great ideas for your church. And some input from the National Fatherhood initiative. Check out the official music video below. The movie trailer is at the end of the clip. Or find it here. Also, check out the Courageous Song lyrics below the video. Also, check out this post by Randy Alcorn about the importance of fathers and the accompanying video with cast members and ministry leaders talking about the importance of fathers.
Courageous Lyrics
We were made to be courageous
We were made to lead the way
We could be the generation
That finally breaks the chain
We were made to be courageous
We were made to be courageous
We were warriors on the front lines
Standing, unafraid
But now we’re watchers on the sidelines
While our families slip away
Where are you, men of courage?
You were made for so much more
Let the pounding of hearts cry
We will serve the Lord
We were made to be courageous
And we’re taking back the fight
We were made to be courageous
And it starts with us tonight
The only way we’ll ever stand
Is on our knees we’re lifting hands
Make us courageous
Lord, make us courageous
This is our resolution
Our answer to the call
We will love our wives and children
We refuse to let them fall
We will reignite the passion
That we buried deep inside
May the watchers become warriors
Let the men of God arise
Seek justice
Love mercy
Walk on
Be with your God
In the war of the mind
I will make my stand
In the battle of the heart
And the battle of the hand
The Big Squeeze: Balance Study and Service for Spiritual Growth
I love what the Bridge Church Ladies ministry is doing this month. Having spent time together soaking up Bible Study, Fellowship, etc. They feel the need to be squeezed through serving others. So in July they’ve scheduled several opportunities to serve together, while encouraging spontaneous servanthood as well. They’re calling this “The Big Squeeze.” Love it! I believe this should be the natural ebb and flow of the believers life and the life of the church. Our learning should always lead to application and action.
Have you been Squeezed lately? Each week us church goers, like sponges, sit and soak up great teaching and preaching
from professional and highly trained clergy, high quality Bible Study materials and devotionals, praise and worship music that moves us to experience God, and many, like me, listen to more great teaching and preaching through podcasting and conferences. Here’s the question: What’s next for the SPONGE after it’s has soaked? It SOURS and becomes unusable. Almost nothing is more disgusting than a sour sponge. No one wants to pick it up, it stinks up the entire kitchen, and most of the time at our house we just throw them out.
As a Christian, I’ve had seasons of my life that can be described as SOUR. The sour Christian is sour toward others – nothing meets their standard, no sermon is good enough, they and their class or group or church are the only ones doing it right. No one wants to be around the sour Christian and he/she doesn’t really care to be around them. Being right matters more than being generous and graceful. (For a Biblical illustration of a Sour Christian see the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 and watch for the Elder Brother).
What’s the remedy for keeping sponges from getting sour in the sink and in the church? A GOOD SQUEEZE. A good wringing out. With the sponge, by hand. But how is the Christian squeezed? Two ways:
1) Through Suffering – When I’ve lost a loved one, or experienced discouragement, or dealt with sickness, or faced financial struggles, or walked with others who’ve experienced these and worse, I have been squeezed. I have had to put to use all that I know about God and His word. That’s why God’s word tells us that there is great benefit to suffering. See James 1:2-4, Romans 5:3-5.
2) Through Serving – Don’t wait to be squeezed through suffering. Give yourself away and be emptied out through serving others. As we give ourselves away as Christians, we are allowing God to squeeze us and use what He’s placed in us for His good and glory. As we serve others, we experience more of God and the joy of being used by Him and He continually fills us.
What are you doing that squeezes you? Church leader, is your church providing opportunities for people to serve and give themselves away on behalf of others?
July Opportunities for the Bridge Ladies:
- Saturday, July 9th, at Trinity Church in Covington – cooking for Disaster Response Teams coming to serve in NOLA.
- Tuesday, July 12th, at Mt. Zion Bapt Church in Mandeville – packaging school supplies for needy children.
- Helping out with the Summer reading and writing program at the Covington Boys and Girls Club.
- Serving at the Northlake Crisis Pregnancy Center in Covington.
- Homeworks of America, July 10-16. Repair homes for needy residents of West St. Tammany. Click here for more info.
- Block Parties at Oak Villa Mobile Home Park, Wed July 13 and Thurs July 14, 5:30-7pm. Bring hope to residents of a local Multi-housing community.
- Canned Food Drive, Wed July 13 and Fri July 15. We’ll be putting out grocery bags on doors in the Madisonville area on Wednesday and picking those bags up on Friday and delivering them to a local food bank. Contact Bridge Church for more info – 985.373.2748.
Joining God in the Neighborhood
“The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood” http://bible.us/John1.14.MSG. Two of our Core Practices at Bridge Church are Proximity and Responsiveness to the Needs of Others. We often overlook the mission field that is our neighborhood, subdivision, people right around us, etc. Check out Alan Roxburgh’s new book and this helpful list of 30 Ways to Join God in the Neighborhood. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Commit to walking your neighborhood at different times of the day. What is going on? Who are you seeing or not seeing? Keep a journal about what you see, hear and learn as you continue to pay attention to your local rhythms.
- Find and join local social media people/groups that keep you connected with what’s going on near to home: twitter, facebook, blogs, etc.
- Join a club, class or group in your community around something that interests you. Commit to getting to know some different people in your community.
- Co-plan a street garage sale. Give the $$ to a local charity. End the day with a BBQ on your front lawn.
- Local police stations will often take you for a night ride and tell you about your community after dark.
- Go visit some local real estate agents and ask how you could welcome neighbors into your area.
- There are probably immigrants coming into your community from other countries. How about welcoming them to your country. Offer some tutoring for young children or conversational English for parents.
- Become a regular – if you are not a regular already, commit to a local coffee shop, breakfast spot, family diner, etc. and show up on a regular basis.
Other Ideas?
Lane Corley 