This Sunday my pastor begins a special summer series. It will continue through the middle of August. We talked about it, and not only does he have his subject clearly in mind, he can also articulate the precise response he wants.

“About what percentage of the congregation will eventually do what you are asking?” I questioned. “Wait,” I added. “Let’s both get a figure in mind and see if we’re close in expectations.”

Our combined figure averaged about 15%.

This wasn’t because he isn’t a good preacher. Just the opposite—he is a gifted communicator. It’s just that both of us know how hard it is nowadays to move people.

On the other hand, if 15% of the congregation make these measurable moves forward in their spiritual walk during the upcoming “dog days of summer,” that would be really quite a remarkable accomplishment.

Sometimes preachers get discouraged because their level of expectancy is unrealistic. I like where my pastor is in his head. And, I have a feeling that when he gets into August, he might be surprised that his response level is up to 20 or even 25 percent, which would be awesome.

But, if he thought unrealistically that half his people would instantly commit to his challenge, he would, of course, be disappointed. Clearly, he’s had enough experience to know that’s not going to happen.

Incidentally, what if I asked you the same question I put to him: “About what percentage of your congregation will do what you’re asking of them?”

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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As Circle Church began to consider sending people to Zion Evangelical Free Church to help save their ministry to their congregation and community, we took note that they had recently called three men to the pulpit with unsuccessful results. We thought that we could guarantee a consulting pastor from our group.

We were always low on funds. But, the people at Zion had a savings account with several thousand dollars which they readily agreed could be put toward paying the salary of the consulting pastor.

We were mostly young. They were mostly old. We felt we could benefit from cooperating with a different age group. And, they wanted very much to have their church filled with young people again.

We had a philosophy of change shich we thought needed to be tested in a traditional situation. They felt change was necessary to reach the new environment that existed in their neighborhood.

In short, it was a ready-made situation. After much prayer on both sides, we strongly sensed that God was definitely in this plan.

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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During these early days of growth at Circle Church, we brought into our new and growing fold many from the community. For example, my barber, Buster, came to church with us.

“We prefer to buy experiences rather than things,” commented one friend who was deeply interested in Zen. “I can see your philosophy is the same.” Unknown to her, we were making rather heavy investments—just not on the earthly level.

I visited the grocery store checkout lady in the hospital, as she lay dying of cancer, and led her to the Lord. Then, I was asked by the family to conduct the funeral. “Such a change came over Mom in the last months after you talked with her.” Through such contacts and a myriad of other experiences, our lives were positively bound with our community in the city!

It was with these marvelous experiences, these feelings of exuberance and power, this sense of invincibility because we had seen God meet our dependence time and again, that we entered into the union with the Zion Evangelical Free Church.

Usually when a city church is dying, the other churches wait like vultures to pick up some of the survivors. We were doing the unusual. We were going to send people from Circle Church to Zion Church to keep it alive for the sake of Christ.

Negotiations went on for several months between our two groups. And, the more we examined one another, the more convinced we each became that an arrangement was the  answer to our separate dilemmas.

Circle Church needed a place to direct its energetic growth and Zion needed a transfusion of new blood.

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Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

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During these Circle Church it was easy to share faith out of the exuberance of our feelings. “What a darling dress!” someone would exclaim to my wife, Karen.

“Thank you,’ she would reply. “Like I always say, God has great taste!” referring to the outfit that was invariably a hand-me-down.

“I found two sacks with ‘Mains’ written on them by our door,” a neighbor would explain. “Must be yours.”

“Oh, thank goodness. That’s our manna. I’m glad you found them. I think I have people coming for breakfast tomorrow. Without those sacks, Mother Hubbard’s cupboard is definitely bare!” And, as you might expect, a discussion about God’s providing our daily bread would naturally follow.

We found ourselves in the unusual position of being ministered to by the un-churched neighbors in our community.

“I baked some brownies for your board meeting tonight,”

“Let me know if I can take your children to the zoo with us today. Then you’ll have time to get ready for your company.”

“If the baby comes when you’re not around, Reverend, have your wife call the store. We’ll use the delivery wagon to drive her to the hospital.”

“Take these flowers home to your wife. Ah! Don’t bother to pay me for them They’re a day old. They’ll wilt soon.” So, the gifts from our Greek florist filled centerpieces and pitchers in our home. I had given him a copy of Billy Graham’s Peace with God in response to a conversation we had had. And, he reciprocated in full.

In all of these neighborly interactions, the Holy Spirit was constantly speaking to hearts and nudging us to offer timely words of hope to those around us.

———————————————

Sunday’s coming. Do you have your sermon ready? Is it relevant? Will it effectively motivate your congregation to walk more in step with the Master? What about that Sermon Series you’ve been thinking about?

Or, if you’re someone who plans well ahead, have you asked yourself what you will preach for your Easter Sermon, your Advent Sermon, your Christmas Sermon?

David Mains and Mainstay Ministries can help. We offer a wide variety of Sermon Starters and Full Sermons that will give you Sermon Ideas to help you prepare for regular Saturday or Sunday sermons, Mid-week Bible Sermons, and Sermons for special occasions.

We also offer assistance as you create Topical Sermons, Sermons Series, and sermons for special times of the year. We have resources available to help you with Advent Celebrations, Advent Sermons, Christmas Sermons, Easter Sunday Sermons, Patriotic Sermons, and more.

For more information on how to create better Bible Sermons and how to turn Sermon Ideas into Sermon Outlines, and then into effective, meaningful Sunday Sermons, please click here to visit David Mains’ website.

You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Just click here.

Share and Enjoy