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NEW this month!
- Blog: Seven new blog posts on the topics of Coaching, Church Growth, and Church Health.
- Sermon: new sermon series on "Surviving Financial Storms"
- Software -- New version of FamilyFaces 1.4 released
- Books - new book "Entrepreneurial Faith" in the Church Growth books section
CHURCH GROWTH FACTOIDS:
During this Season, let’s praise praise God for the amazing power of the Gospel to reach people of every tribe, tongue, and culture:
The Power of Christianity in Non-Western Countries:
Non-western Missionaries
"'In fact, there are more missionaries at work today than ever before in history,' he pointed out. 'What has changed,' Anderson says, 'is at least 100,000 of these missionaries are being sent out by Protestant churches in non-western countries.'"
(LOST IN AMERICA, Tom Clegg & Warren Bird, p. 28)
KOREA
In 1900, Korea had no Protestant church; it was deemed impossible to penetrate."Today Korea is 35 percent Christian with seven thousand churches in the city of Seoul alone."
INDIA
"And Religion Today notes that, every day in India, 15,000 people become Christians."
RUSSIA
"According to Mission Frontier magazine... -- after 70 years of oppression in Russia, people who are officially Christians number about 85 million -- 56 percent of the population."
IRAN
More Muslims in Iran have come to Christ since 1980 than in the previous one thousand years combined.
These and other Factoids can be found at ChurchGrowth Factoids
HighPower Thoughts Blog
WHAT I'M LEARNING RIGHT NOW IN THE AREAS OF MINISTRY COACHING, SIMPLE CHURCH, CHURCH GROWTH & CHURCH HEALTH
Recent Posts:
- Series: Your Church’s Image in the Community
Part 1: Why Your Image is Important
Part 2: How to Know What is Your Community Image
Part 3: How to Shape Your Image in the Community
Part 4: How Long will it Take?
- Coaching Success Stories
- What is your definition of church success?
- Church Growth Math
Check out the Blog here.
Coaching
Although the following topic is not directly on coaching, the issue of handling criticism may come up as you coach people or staff. Following are some comments from Dr. Louis Diaz, Chico Evangelical Free Church, Chico CA on some ways to develop what he calls your “ER - Emotional Resilience”:
Emotionally Resilient = ER
What, or where, is the Emergency Room that helps you get through times of criticism, stress, push back, or spiritual attack? For me, there are several Prompt Care Places, People, and Principles that help me hang on, heal, and help others.
Coping strategies or principles.
Here are a few:
1. Evil caves in on itself
2. Practice the action verbs of Psalm 37 with verse 11 as the punchline - used by Jesus as a Beatitude.
3. Forgive repeatedly (like Jesus did when he was being nailed to the Cross - he said repeatedly, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing." Take the person off of your hook of accountability and put him/her on God's hook.
4. Commit your cause to him who judges justly (Ps. 37 and 1 Peter 2).
5. Find positives from God working around you to avoid thinking that all is doom and gloom.
6. Fix your eyes upon Jesus and the run the race with perseverance. Jesus endured unfairness from people so when we see his example we do not grow weary or quit (Hebrews 12:1-3).
7. Remember, "This too shall pass" - no problem lasts forever. In time trials end because they are temporary.
-- Dr. Lou Diaz, Chico Free Church, Chico, CA
Other HighPower Coaching Resources can be found HERE.
Software
- Started a Google Discussion group for all users of HighPower Software. Find the link at the bottom of the Software page.
- New Version (1.4) of FamilyFaces Photo Directory Software released.
The new version fixes a few glitches, but more importantly includes a completely new type of directory, “MultiPics Directory” which offers the option of putting 8 family pics per page. This option has the picture and name of each family. The purpose is to just provide a very quick pictorial directory with no other information other than the name of the family. It allows you to save paper and ink if the main goal is just linking names with faces. We just started using this version in our church of 700 to allow the staff to quickly identify families.
Download the new version from the HighPowerResources.com website, FamilyFaces Software section. Then you will be able to very quickly move all of your current directory information over into the new FamilyFaces 1.4 version, using the “update” menu items.
Click on www.HighPowerResources.com/Software to download your new Demo today.
Sermons
These messages and othersare available from HighPower Sermons.
BOOK REVIEW:
Entrepreneurial Faith by Kirbyjon Caldwell & Walt Kallestad
These two men have built amazing churches and accompanying ministries. They are well-qualified to write a book about combining faith, ministry, and entrepreneurial faith-based business plans.
You can pick up a copy on the HighPower Resources books page. It's in the "Church Growth" section.
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