This is an inside the bubble article. I am fully aware that people who do not follow Jesus and who do not believe in God are part of the Patch audience. If you are a follower of Jesus I hope you are challenged. If you are undecided about Jesus then I hope this article will give you a glimpse into the hearts of a few of his followers. If you have decided not to follow Jesus then I would invite you to read the article and maybe consider your position anew. Here goes:
The article begins, “Just showing up at the altar one Sunday morning isn’t enough to join City on a Hill, a United Methodist Congregation in Woodstock, Ga.” The article then goes on to talk about how several new churches ask members to make a significant commitment to join. I loved reading this article because high commitment membership is something that The Orchard has shared with the churches mentioned in the article. For several years I have taught at the New Church Leadership Academy about the necessity to ask people to be involved beyond Sunday morning worship. Two of the pastors in the article attended the academy. High commitment is crucial! The old standard of “attendance only” membership fails to grow churches, fails to meet the needs of a community, and fails to grow people stronger in the faith. It’s great to see other churches catching on to this idea. Why does high commitment from members grow churches?
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