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When Tim Ahlen became pastor of the struggling Forest Meadow Baptist Church (Dallas, TX), the congregation's outreach-minded mission statement and logo were prominently displayed in the church's hallways. In spite of plans the congregation had made, many of the 30 active members were ready to close the doors.
"They were discouraged, ready to quit," Tim recalls.
Tim was the full-time pastor at the church while also working as director of church planting for the Dallas Baptist Association. When he accepted the job as pastor, he saw it as a church planting opportunity.
"I looked at it like a church plant core group that had seven acres and a debt-free building," Tim says. Church members didn't change their mission statement, nor did they follow the one hanging on the wall. "No one paid much attention to it then," Tim admits.
But the church did make changes. "We are surrounded by the largest and densest multi-family housing in Dallas. We went to work," Tim says.
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Today, the original church building houses 33 different congregations representing 28 different people groups. Each church meets in the same building. |
"We have flags surrounding the auditorium representing countries that are affiliated with us," Tim says. "That's the first thing we've displayed that says who we are. Our purpose statement is clear. It's the Great Commission."
As members of Forest Meadow Baptist Church discovered, a church's brand is more than a professionally designed logo and an impressive website. The brand is the reputation a church has in its community. . . |
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Reasons Muslims Convert to Christianity
A recent survey of 750 Christians who had converted from Islam revealed five common reasons why they choose to follow Christ. . .
Addicts Are Aging
In 2005, 184,400 Americans who were admitted to drug treatment programs (roughly 10% of the total) were over 50 years old, up from 143,000, (8%) in '01.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration foresees 4.4 million older substance abusers by 2020 vs. 1.7 million in '01. The numbers are "likely to swamp the current system," says agency executive Deborah Trunzo. (New York Times 3/7/08)
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Culture Shift--No Longer "15 Minutes of Fame"
The Internet is setting a new standard for celebrity. Fame is no longer about getting "15 minutes"; it's about becoming famous to 15 people.
The Internet allows the masses to wrest control of fame from traditional media, creating micro-celebrities with the click of a mouse, says David Weinberger of the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society.
Traditional celebrities live and die based on raw numbers. . . |
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Asian American Churches Connecting
Approximately 7,000 of the 300,000 U.S. Protestant churches have a majority attendance of Asian Americans, according to a 2007 survey by Leadership Network.
As an outgrowth of that study, Leadership Network brought together 29 leaders of top English-speaking Asian American churches. . .
| In this month's installment of Audio Advance, Leadership Community Director Greg Ligon talks about innovative multi-site churches. |
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An increasing number of American churches are diving headlong into a life-altering ministry--recovery ministry--that is meeting the deepest needs of all types of people, including the most damaged in society and in our churches. Case studies in this paper explore four motivators for churches as they consider venturing into the choppy waters of recovery, relapse and restoration.
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| You can peruse more than two year's worth of Leadership Network Advance feature articles, and get valuable information on a variety of ministry topics at the newsletter's Archives. Select VIEW ARCHIVES LIST for the full list of Advance archives. |
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