19:53 formerly as a youth pastor in a larger church I would give two sentences like this “I’m one of the pastors here. I spend most of my time with teenagers and their families.”
been a followed of the you guys for a long time - I have learned a lot from you guys - really enjoy the show, to answer Brady - I vote for "one of the pastors" - I found it interesting that one of the scares was " jargon" however later Alex gives an example of talking to the congregation to let them know whats going on that service he says - " exchange peace and grace" - Say what? I've been around churches for over 60 years - and never heard this phrase - the we will " wrestle with the scriptures" - cool - wrestling - WWE at church - I'm glad I visited today. - finally he said - "meet at the communion table " - Where are we meeting - what are we doing at the table - is there food - Sometimes we use so much jargon - we dont realize we are using it.
As a 28 year old with 3 kids… I have realized that it’s easier to invite a single friend into life with us than to try and create another ministry.. We’ve never asked them to babysit but we’ve welcomed them into doing life together. I never want them to feel used so it’s a boundary I’ve set for myself. Even on Christmas morning, we’ve invited 2 single women from the church to come into our home and share Christmas morning with us. If families would invite singles into the home and bridge the gap, we wouldn’t need a singles ministry.
I found the talk about introducing yourself as "one of the pastors here" intriguing. My grandfather used to say "with God, you have to come correct. To do otherwise is bad form." So if your going to introduce yourself this way and take the humble way, as a good and wise pastor should, then you need to be exact about it. So best to say in addition and right after "I have been graciously gifted with the ability to teach and so I am blessed to teach this next sermon" Maybe then expound on how others have been gifted other abilities and introduce them, have them stand up and be recognized with you. That's being humble, gracious, kind, instructive and it comes correct.
About the singles point...I have a theory that a lot of pastors and church leaders get married early (maybe earlier than average), so they spend most of their life married and thus aren't as familiar with singles' lives and needs. I also think that there can be a dearth of involvement options for adult singles. Many churches have options for kids, HS, YA, college, young couples, empty nesters, and elders, but singles in the 30-50 age bracket get kinda left out.
Thank you for this! It gave me a lot to think about. I am currently brainstorming ways to change how we greet first-time worshippers. I agree that it can be very awkward. Love the intention, but the methods can be adjusted.
I empathize deeply with my single friends. One told me a common interaction was hearing people say they were praying for her to find a husband. Best of intentions, dagger to the heart. Not much better in my experience as a married person without kids. Me and my wife (30 but look younger, our average church member is 60) once they ask how long we have been dating and I say we are married (8yrs) the next question is kids? When they hear no, their train of normal questions is derailed and they don't have anything else to say.
I know that we should engage singles better in our churches, but if the church is predominantly families, do you have practical ways that you are doing that on a consistent basis that works?
That’s the never ending tension. If your existing church demographics are one thing, which is contrast to the broader demographics of your region, how do you serve both? No easy answers there.
This is an important point. I’m going to pray and ask the Lord for direction. Maybe even implement some polling to get feedback from singles for suggestions of how to make them feel/be more included.
This whole thing implies the wrong method in general. Are Sunday's for attracting new visitors? Or are Sunday's for the edification of the Body? This completely disregards Discipleship. Very..."Cheap" in general.
Doesn’t disregard it. I address that in the first three minutes at 2:35. Many churches don’t operate that way though. If your church does, this information may not be as useful.
I enjoyed this conversation, but couldn’t miss the irony of the amount of cringy churchy jargon that seems to be naturally part of these guys’ vocabulary 😂 “let the Word wash over you”, “wrestle with scripture”, invite people to “the table”… and the worst of all… “folks”😂
Well, our audience is exclusively people that work and serve in churches. I can promise you we speak differently from stage to our churches. Different language for different audiences! 😁
Christian focused. Seeker friendly. The church is made up of Jesus followers and that group should be priority 1. Focusing on Christians shouldn’t eliminate seeker accessibility, but demand it. Using everyday language in church better equips Christians to make disciples of Jesus. The best example is when Jesus addressed crowds in a way that they understood whether through their vocabulary, recognition of culture, or stories.
