March 2010

archive

Home March 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Church using Social Media to Reach More People
Hattiesburg, MS
The methods of churches reaching people has evolved from large crusades and door-to-door cold call visits to Facebook invites and blog discussions. The Grove Church, a new church launched in September of 2009, focuses on social media to tell the masses about Jesus.
“These days if you aren’t on facebook or twitter, you don’t come up on people’s radar,” said Greg Johnston, Lead Pastor.
The Grove Church’s “Connection Pastor”, Justin Grice, is responsible for maintaining the online community. “We are committed to connecting people to God, to others, and to service. Sometimes that means connecting online through social media” Grice said. “Every person on our church staff writes a blog to stay connected with our congregation. These days people don’t just want to hear a sermon on Sunday. They want to know what you are thinking about during your everyday life on Monday.”
New methods are needed to gain followers as membership in mainline churches drops. The Southern Baptist Convention, with which The Grove Church is affiliated, has seen a decline in membership and baptisms. “We have been gripped by the reality of the lost condition of our world and about our condition as a denomination, but through this journey we have also been set on fire by the call of God to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said Ronnie Floyd, chairman of the SBC’s Great Commission Resurgence Task Force.
The Southern Baptist Convention is rolling out an aggressive campaign over the weeks before and after Easter to bring people to church. It has developed a video rich website at www.findithere.com with personal stories of people who found hope from trusting in Jesus. The website is coupled with television advertising that will play locally on WDAM as well as flyers left at doors inviting people to church this Easter.
“It is my prayer that God uses the Find it Here effort to show people the love of Christ,” Grice said. “People, especially young people, feel burned by churches. I hope that people will see through our reaching out online and on television that we do care about their hurts and don’t look down on them.” The Grove Church meets at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday’s and is found online at grovechurch.com
###
Direct questions to Justin Grice at 601-336-0468 or justin@grovechurch.com

Read More →

Double Agent

Double agent is a counterintelligence term for someone who pretends to spy on a target organization on behalf of a controlling organization, but in fact is loyal to the target organization. Double agents may be agents of the target organization who infiltrate the controlling organization, or may be previously loyal agents of the controlling organization who have been captured and turned by the target; the threat of execution is the most common method of turning a captured agent into a double agent.” – Wikipedia.org

I often wonder just how many “Christians” would be considered a double agent.  I’ve grown up in church my whole life.  I’ve seen “Christians” come to church, put on their mask, leave, and take their mask off outside the doors of the church.  I personally consider these “Christians” a double agent Christian because they are NOT loyal to Jesus Christ!  If these “Christians” were ever captured and given the choice of life by denial of Christ or death by upholding His name, they would most certainly choose life by denial of Christ!

I pray that we are not double agent Christians!  I pray that we are the type of Christians that are honest about our lives, our struggles, and our problems.  As a church, we are family!  Family should be people that you depend on to give you honest advice, lift you up, and encourage you.  Earlier I mentioned that I have grown up in church my whole life and I’ve watched the way “Christians” in the church have lived their lives.  Well, God has given me the privilage to be a part of this church plant at The Grove Church.  God’s vision for this church is for us to reach the unchurched – the lost!  All praise to God, that is exactly what we have been doing!  Through this, I’ve seen people with problems come to know Christ!  Although they have come to know Christ, they still have problems in their lives just as we all do.  The only difference between these new believers and the “Christians” I watched in church my whole life is the simple fact that these new believers are not double agent Christians!  These new believers would uphold the name of Christ if put in a situation which they must decide.  I have witnessed people come into this church, give their life to Christ, take off their mask, acknowledge their struggles, leave the church with encouragement, tell others about Christ throughout the week, and come back to church the next week to find more encouragement and hope!  This is how we should live our life!  Christianity is about living your life for Christ EVERY DAY and not just Sundays!  I pray that we are not double agent Christians!  Live your life for Christ each and every day!

Read More →

APP WARS!

You may not know it, but the student past (Britt) and I have a little competition going on. He has the the blackberry curve and I have the iphone.  The competition is to see who has the best app for there phone. I have a new app I can’t wait to show him, but he always gets me when he says do you have the app that charges your phone and I respond  they don’t have an app for that. We live in a society that is dependent on quick fixes and is amazed by new technology. People say they have an app for everything, but one thing they don’t have a app for is a broken heart.

It reminds me of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked “what must I do get into heaven.”  Jesus responded to him, “sell all what you have and follow me.” Rather than following Jesus, he went back to his wealth and possessions living  the life he wanted to live. So the truth is thatjesus is the only one can heal a broken heart that is filed with sin. Will you let him heal your heart and stop trying to fill your life with apps that leave you wanting more. Lets sayif we compare your self to a smart phone: what apps would you fiill your life with instead of Christ?

Well there is the Consumer app- This App is made up of Wall street, Ebay and Amazon which try to make you fill the void of unhappiness with quick fixes that don’t last.

Addicted app: This is your favorite app: the one you go to all the time. It can be sex, drugs, or alchohol

The Controller app: this app hasto be over someone or something, trying to fill your void with power and popularity.

You may realize one of these apps represent you. Remeber what I said about the only one who can fill the void. That is Christ and Christ alone!

In Christ Bro Will

Read More →

Concert featuring:
Severed Ties – www.myspace.com/severedties08
Flight From Below -www. myspace.com/flightfrombelow
Shaken – www.myspace.com/shakencore
To Love a Monster – www.myspace.com/theunfinished14
One Day at a Time – www.myspace.com/onedayatatimemusic
Bridge

This benefit concert will help a friend of the church pay for a costly surgery! Asking for $5 a ticket or other donation amount. No tickets sold in advance. Gate opens at 6:30 p.m. Show up early! It’s gonna be great!

Read More →

Scrub a Toilet

I remember when I was hired at The Grove Church.  I was told my job description would be to learn about ministry in a church. Since we are a new church, we do not have a secretary or janitor, which means those duties fall upon the staff.  The student pastor and I clean the church, take out trash, and clean the restrooms every Friday.  While most people say those jobs are what a grunt or goffer does, and little respect is given to those who do these tasks, may I remind you that this true in the secular world, but not in the Christian world. I find it very humbling to do these tasks, although I also do other things for the church like teach, make visits, and help plan ministry events with our staff.
I remember hearing a pastor explain it like a pyramid. In the secular world, the CEO is on top, and the lowest people are on the bottom of the pyramid. Well in Christian leadership it’s the opposite.  We lead by humility. We do not lead with pide and power, and the interesting way God reminds us where we are in our leadership is when we find ourselves scrubing toilets and washing dishes. We should remember that Christ washed the diciples feet in the upper room. The feet were dirty and smelly, but he washed them to show how a leader should lead. We may not wash feet in the 21st century, but I can tell you, we still can lead by humility!  Today, may I recommend some reading?  Study John chapter 14, or you can read Jesus on Leadership by C. Gene Wilks.

Read More →