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95% of church members are actively sharing their faith with Tapes and CDs!
Last Updated: 02/24/2009
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Charles Minter gives a CD of the gospel. (Church members are encouraged to give CDs to visitors and family members.)
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Goshen Baptist Church, VA – Two years ago we shared how this church grew 1,200% in just 22 months mainly due to media ministry! Recently we asked for an update on their progress.
Most pastors today face the harsh reality that only a small percentage of regular church attendees are actively involved in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. How is it that 95% of the regular attendees at Goshen Baptist Church are actively participating in the Great Commission? Recently Pastor Scott Reese responded to that question. “I don’t want people to think that I am anything, but a sinner saved by grace. It is the Lord! Thank God He is using us! I want to glorify God by teaching others to do this.”
God revealed keys for mobilizing church members to deliver His message!
1) Never charge for a recorded message! Trust God! With no request for money, Goshen Baptist Church has been able to purchase $20,000 worth of recording, duplication, and on-disc printing equipment. The church distributes 160 CDs and 75 Tapes each week for free. At the end of every recording, there is a clear and simple message of salvation with an invitation to accept Christ. Every week the church receives anonymous donations to the Tape and CD ministry, while at the same time regular offerings are increasing. God will always make a way for His Word to go forth!
2) Report regularly from the pulpit about how the Tape and CD ministry is working! Ask the members to keep you updated on what is happening with them personally concerning media ministry. Help your congregation to see that this ministry is real by arranging for testimonies to be shared publicly. People will want to get involved when they see the fruit of changed lives.
3) Impart God’s #1 priority of delivering the message of Christ! God’s Word is powerful, but we are responsible to deliver it. Teach the people to sacrifice things of lesser importance in order to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. Educate the people about the many jobs involved with media ministry. Some preach, some record, some duplicate, some print on the media, some put recordings in cases, some display or distribute the recordings at church, and some mail recorded messages. Some display the recordings in the community or at the workplace, some play messages for someone else to hear, and some hand recorded messages to someone else. Encourage everyone to find his or her place in this vital team effort.
Weekly, 470 recorded messages are distributed!
What would your church look like if 95% of your members were actively reaching out to the lost? For Goshen Baptist Church, it looks like a Tape and CD ministry that is bigger than the church itself. In a church of 150 faithful members, 470 recorded messages go out every week (many of the recordings have two messages on them). All this is taking place in a town of less than 500 people.
Media ministry is a multipurpose tool!
Like a carpenter with a new tool, Goshen Baptist Church has been excitedly discovering many different ways to use media ministry for effective outreach! Pastor has been encouraging the congregation to take recorded messages of the sermon wherever they go. Many people are handing out Tapes and CDs at work. One young man was offended by the vulgar language he heard at the workplace, so he gave his boss a CD. Eventually there was an opportunity to discuss the message. As a result, the boss came to Christ! Several of the church members work in prisons and play CDs of the sermons there. Inmates have been hearing and asking questions about the messages. In this way, prisoners are
Lettie Alphin practices giving out a CD to her mom. (Children play an active part in the CD ministry.)
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continually coming to the Lord! A youth at the church repeatedly gave recorded messages to his friend at school. This friend had a difficult time reconciling religion and science. After listening to many messages, he came to faith in Jesus Christ!
This man’s vehicle served as a church on wheels!
Richard is a church member and faithful friend who displayed a great commitment to taking God’s message to a friend in need. For over a year, Richard got a CD of the sermon every Sunday and went to the home of a friend who was seriously ill, but did not want to go to church. Richard drove around with his friend for 45 minutes playing the CD. One day Richard’s friend asked if he could be saved. He confessed Jesus Christ as his Savior! Because Richard would not let church be confined within the four walls, his friend is in glory today!
Can a five-year-old be an evangelist?
Caylie and mom Trish Alphin have their CD to listen to and then pass on. (Church members are encouraged to take a Tape or CD, listen to it and tehn pass it on to someone else.)
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CD ministry turns every parishioner into a preacher. Recently, a little girl was leaving church with five CDs. When asked why she had them, she cheerfully replied, “My teachers like them!” This five-year-old is fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus!
Internet radio-broadcasting reaches at least 500,000 people weekly!
Pastor says, “I want to preach the gospel all over the world, and I am doing that. Only, I do not have to travel, the CDs do it for me.” He does this by partnering with globalgospelradio.com. Each Friday at noon, a sermon from Goshen Baptist Church is broadcasted through Internet radio. People are known to be listening in Iraq, France, all over Italy, and all together, in 100 countries! Recording messages on CD makes this possible.
Messages of hope will soon be offered at funeral homes!
God provided a marvelous opportunity to reach people who may be considering spiritual matters during a rare season in their life. A local funeral home recently requested a recorded message of comfort for the bereaved. Copies of this message will be made available at two funeral homes. The message, “You’ve Lost a Loved One,” will share the good news that heaven is real and peace is available, explaining that it is only through Jesus that they can be accessed. The message will include peaceful music and welcome phone calls for help with questions or counseling. It is expected that this ministry will come with some tough issues, because people will ask if their loved one is in heaven. This will be compassionately addressed by identifying God as the judge and sharing His prerequisites. The goal is to have this message at every funeral home in the area, so that hope in Jesus can be offered to the 100 to 200 people daily who are confronted with mortality as they flow through each funeral home.
Bethany Reese shows an assortment of CDs and Tapes. (Many school age children take CDs to their teachers on a regular basis.)
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Media ministry helps grow a healthy congregation!
Often in sermons, pastors help people to understand and overcome real issues in their lives. Pastor makes notes about which sermons address what specific needs. When these needs arise in counseling, he will offer the appropriate message to help meet that need. Effective results are produced with less counseling time.
You too can see active participation in outreach grow at your church!
Wouldn’t it be great to see your church members exhilarated by the fact that God is using them to carry His wonderful message to others? Picture people everywhere taking recorded messages of the power of God unto salvation to co-workers, neighbors, family members, and friends. What a joy it is to think of new Christians coming into the kingdom of God! You can use a few, simple, proven keys for mobilizing church members to deliver God’s message! Then bathe the effort in prayer, relying on God who is at work in you (and each member of the congregation) to will and to do for His good pleasure. To Him be the glory forever!
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