19 standout sbc churches encouragement for evangelism
DESCRIPTION
Common themes among the 19 Southern Baptist churches with sustained evangelistic effectiveness Evangelistic Appeal Pastors plan a consistent evangelistic appeal in their worship services Atmosphere The churches possess an environment conducive to reaching people for Christ The tone is described as: “exciting,” “friendly,” “welcoming,” “energetic,” and “positive” The church body trusts the leadership and has embraced the evangelistic vision of the senior pastor; the people are living it by reaching out to others Intentional Outreach Pastors and staff are intentional about reaching people for Christ; across a variety of methods, there is a focus on outreach in everything they do Pastor The pastor sets the tone for the church and regards evangelism with utmost importance Each is described as: “strong leader,” “highly relational,” “passionate,” and “authentic” The pastor provides significant leadership and yet creates an empowering environment of shared leadershipTRANSCRIPT
19 Standout SBC Churches
Encouragement for Evangelism
Standout Churches Defined1. A minimum of 26 baptisms for 10 consecutive years (1996-2005)2. A membership to baptism ratio of no more than 20 to 1 each of
these ten years3. A minimum of 5% growth in worship attendance overall (2005
compared to 1996)
Standout SBC Churches Studied 22 Southern Baptist Churches met these criteria based on data they
reported through the Annual Church Profile
19 agreed to a process of one-on-one interviews with the senior pastor, key staff members, and lay leaders
Interviews were conducted on-site at each church in September – October 2006
LifeWay Research studied transcripts from more than 200 interviews
Common themes among the 19 Southern Baptist churches with sustained evangelistic effectiveness
Evangelistic AppealPastors plan a consistent evangelistic appeal in their worship services
AtmosphereThe churches possess an environment conducive to reaching people for Christ • The tone is described as: “exciting,” “friendly,” “welcoming,” “energetic,” and “positive”• The church body trusts the leadership and has embraced the evangelistic vision of the
senior pastor; the people are living it by reaching out to others
Intentional OutreachPastors and staff are intentional about reaching people for Christ; across a variety of methods, there is a focus on outreach in everything they do
PastorThe pastor sets the tone for the church and regards evangelism with utmost importance• Each is described as: “strong leader,” “highly relational,” “passionate,” and “authentic”• The pastor provides significant leadership and yet creates an empowering environment of
shared leadership
Customer Analysis
1
3
0
4
5
6
1700-1799 1800-1899 1900-1949 1950-1979 1980-1989 1990-1996
Year Standout SBC Churches Founded#
of S
tand
out S
BC
Chu
rche
s
3
10
3 3
< 10 years 10-14 years 15-19 years 20+ years
Pastor Tenure of Standout SBC Churches
# of
Sta
ndou
t SB
C C
hurc
hes
Size of Standout SBC Churches
1996 Average Worship Attendance
5 5 5
2
1 1
1-249 250-499 500-749 750-999 1000-1499 1500-1999
# of
Sta
ndou
t SB
C C
hurc
hes
2005 Average Worship Attendance
2
5
4 4 4
500-749 750-999 1000-1499 1500-1999 2000+
Before 10 years of evangelistic effectiveness After 10 years of evangelistic effectiveness
Baptisms Among the 19 Standout SBC Churches
21,943 Cumulative Baptisms
2,7354,699
6,7568,869
11,31613,834
16,43719,246
2,6972,8092,6032,5182,4472,1132,0571,9641,5061,2290
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Cumulative Baptisms
Annual Baptism Totals
Invitations Among Standout SBC Churches
13
6
Altar call or other public approach Decision Cards
# of
Sta
ndou
t SB
C C
hurc
hes
MY DECISION TODAY:
___ I’d
like to
talk to
someone about m
y
Faith.
___ I’m
beginning a relatio
nship with Chris
t.
___ I’m
renewing my r
elationship with
Christ.
MY DECISION TODAY:
I’m committing my life to Christ.
I want to be baptized.
I’m renewing my commitment to Christ.My Decision Today: I prayed to receive Christ as my personal Savior. I’m renewing my commitment to Christ.
Location of Small Group Meetings/Classes in Standout SBC Churches
11
6
2
On Campus Homes Both on and off campus
# of
Sta
ndou
t SB
C C
hurc
hes
9 named “Sunday School”
“Bible Fellowship Groups”
“Small Groups”
2 named “Small Groups”
“Host Homes”
“Home Groups”
“House Churches”
“Community Groups”“Bible Fellowship Classes”
“Community Groups”
Preaching Style of Standout SBC Churches
6
9
4
Topical Expository/Textual Other
# of
Sta
ndou
t SB
C C
hurc
hes
Visitor Follow-up Among Standout SBC Churches
12
34
Formal visitation night Call visitors who completecards
No formal process identified
# of
Sta
ndou
t SB
C C
hurc
hes