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Pastor Will Kahkonen is going to make Back to Church Sunday a part of his annual church outreach schedule, and when you hear what has happened at Victory Christian Church in Livermore, Maine since their first Back to Church Sunday event, you understand why. “Our church of 85 people had 60 visitors on Back to Church Sunday,” says Kahkonen, “half of which were first-time guests, and five of them made commitments to Christ that day. Our Harvest Festival the next month broke all attendance records by drawing 200 people from our community, then Christmas broke all attendance records again! Our overall attendance over the past six months has increased by 35%, and we’ve even been able to hire a part-time secretary.”
Kahkonen sees Back to Church Sunday as the catalyst for all this growth. He had been looking for something to kick off the fall season, and Back to Church Sunday did exactly what he wanted it to do – it refocused his people, giving them confidence in their own story and releasing them to make a difference in their own spheres of influence.
“Back to Church Sunday was such a success for us because it ignited a passion in our people,” Kahkonen said. Five weeks before their event, Kahkonen preached a message he called “The Power of the Package,” where he exhorted his congregation to realize that each of them has something to offer the world. He cast the vision for Back to Church Sunday, and challenged them to join in their church’s version of cardboard testimonies . Twenty-five people shared their testimonies during the Back to Church Sunday service by showing their “before” story printed on one side of a piece of cardboard, then flipping it over and showing how God changed them.
Empowering his people to realize they each have a story and God can use them was the key to making Back to Church Sunday such a success. Kahkonen explains, “I told them, ‘Give these invitations to your friends because YOU are going to be sharing your story that day.’ And they grabbed onto that concept. They are the ones who invited people, made calls, got them rides to church. The realized they didn’t need to wait for the church to do something – they had the power to make a difference with their own lives.”
To other pastors considering Back to Church Sunday, Kahkonen says, “DO IT! Don’t just make it a church program. Make it a people program. Release your people to be the ones to make a difference. That’s how you multiply yourself, and that’s where real momentum happens.”
Great ideas from Victory Christian Church you can try:
- Preach a sermon a month or so ahead of time to cast the vision for Back to Church Sunday
- Place 10-packs of invitations on the altar and pray over them before distributing them to the congregation
- Do cardboard testimonies during the service, which gives the participants an extra incentive to invite people
- Follow Back to Church Sunday with a dynamic sermon series. Pastor Kohkanen’s five-week series was called “Connections: The Power of a Relevant Church,” and he went through the five purposes of the church from the book of Acts.
Reposted with permission from the Outreach, Inc. Blog: http://blog.outreach.com/
Outreach is always developing campaigns for churches to help you engage with your community. I’ve been blessed in having the opportunity to help with a couple of these projects over the years. I think my favorite though, is Back to Church Sunday. So many people are really struggling with life’s burdens in the current depression – and many of those are previous church goers.
As I did the research into the “target audience” of the de-churched, I was fascinated in the statistics and information available. But no amount of data can easily represent a wounded spirit, or disillusioned heart. Just how mature can the church be? Are we willing to own the things we’ve done wrong? And what about an invitation extended to them? Will it even be welcomed? How skeptical and anti-church are the de-churched? It’s one thing reaching out with a targeted and timely message to a totally unchurched person, but how do you break through the barriers that have been built up in the heart of someone who used to be there, but left?
As the campaign tools took shape and the project came together – I continued to reflect on their hearts. God seemed to whisper to me one day, “It’s not about the church – it’s about the people. I want my people back.” Huh! So what to do with that?? I stopped thinking and reflecting – and started writing instead, as if I was sitting across the table with one of those folk. I’ve heard so many of the reasons people come up with for not going to church. Why argue, when often they are right? Instead, I wanted to remind them that the church is no more perfect that anything else in their lives – because its made up of broken people – imperfect people loved by a perfect God. I wanted to re-kindle the sense of longing in their hearts – enough to want to return and try church again. The result of those “conversations” became the little publication – “Re-Discover Church” – one that is proving popular as an outreach tool for your church members to connect with the de-churched friends and family.
National Back to Church Sunday is coming up in September and more churches are beginning to engage in this amazing opportunity to re-connect with people who are not attending church on a regular basis. Maybe this is that “one chance” opportunity your church needs to connect with new people. Or even if you’re pretty outreach oriented, have you perhaps overlooked the “been there, done that” folk? Be part of the national movement – you have nothing to lose, and eternal results to achieve.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u9Wzjuiw8Y
September 13, 2009 First Baptist Church of Douglas (FBCD) participated in the National Back to Church Sunday. This was an opportunity for us to extend an invitation to those who have not attended in a while, time to ReThink church. Also, people who dont have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we are encouraged them to try church for one day.
These are tough, uncertain times, filled with rapid changes that can shake our future, and our faith. If you have ever longed for a simpler time when things made sense and there was hope in something greater, come join us at First Baptist Churcb2ch of Douglas (FBCD). Here we look past todays bad news and return to simple values, and work toward a brighter future. Join us this weekend and be a part of a community that cares for one another.
We have gathered some videos that are about inviting people to church:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCnwdMZ8JYc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_SBgEW7XT4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSaAasQp850&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkz9_06ERgo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAfKRNQLGUU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPE8FFnRxQw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lxbFO9ZwFA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6vD4PL4BQk&feature=related
Are you attending the National Outreach Convention (http://www.nationaloutreachconvention.com/)? If so, you will find Back to Church Sunday among one of the many breakout sessions available to conference attendees.
The breakout description: Most people in the U.S. have been to church at least once; many have nothing against it, but no longer attend simply because they haven't made time for it. In fact, many people are happy to attend a church service if someone they know invites them-but who's inviting them? Join Eric Abel as he explores why people leave the church, and what will get them back. You'll also look at the remarkably simple idea behind Back to Church Sunday, the campaign from Outreach designed to equip church members to welcome their neighbors, friends and loved ones back to church. You'll learn how to partner with other churches in your area, and you'll leave with practical planning tools and materials to get you started!
Presented by Eric Abel, VP Marketing. http://www.nationaloutreachconvention.com/speakers/profile/eric_abel/
Outreach magazine wrote an article titled "Coming Home" by Thom S. Rainer and Sam S. Rainer III July /August 2007 issue. This article was a foundational piece in constructing Back to Church Sunday.
View the article here: http://backtochurch.com/docs/JA07%20reprint.pdf