Pastors Rap to Invite People “Back to Church,” “Fifty Shades of Grey” replaces Bibles and other religious news…

Hello World,

I love it when churches of all sizes, cultures and denominations come together with innovative ideas to benefit the church nationwide and even worldwide! Churches all across the country are preparing for “National Back to Church Sunday,” on Sept. 16. “National Back to Church Sunday” is a community outreach program designed to invite the nation back to church! The program is supported by LifeWay Research, outreach.com, churchleaders.com and sermoncentral.com. Churches that participate receive tools and information to invite friends, family members and neighbors back to church. Also, churches are also encouraged to reach out to people who have never been to church before!

From backtochurch.com:

  • Although 83 percent of American adults identify themselves as Christians, only about 20 percent attend church on any given Sunday.
  • Studies show that 82% of unchurched people would attend if someone invited them! Yet fewer than 2% of Christians ever invite an unchurched person! National Back to Church Sunday was designed to change that.
  • Last year 7600 churches participated from 34 denominations and together gave millions of invitations to church. It’s amazing to hear the testimonies of record attendance and the number of people that came to Christ through this powerful weekend. Churches responding to a post-event survey welcomed an average of 34 new visitors and increase of 25.4 percent in attendance. Survey results also show that 96% of participating churches would take part in Back to Church Sunday again.
  • Since the initiative began in 2009, “National Back To Church Sunday” has seen increased success. Some 3,800 churches participated in 2010.
  • It’s free – You can sign up your church for free on the roster. There are optional resources available to help you plan and equip your members to invite your community.
  • “Our church almost broke the attendance record for the year and we beat Easter service. Definitely worth doing and pursuing.”–Northgate Wesleyan Church
  • “We broke all our previous attendance records with 145 people including 20-30 first time visitors. That’s an increase of 70% over our normal Sunday attendance. There were multiple commitments/renewals and several others who requested more information about the church. ‘Back to Church Sunday’ is one of the most successful outreach events we have ever hosted.”–Victory Christian Church

And I love this rap video with pastors inviting people back to church, and it’s not even corny  🙂 …It’s actually hilarious!

So if you have stopped going to church, why? And would you come if someone invited you? If you have never been to church, would you come if someone invited you?

In other religious news, seems like folk in the U.K. are losing their religion as a hotel in England is replacing the Bible with “Fifty Shades of Grey!” (Clutching my faux pearls! If you haven’t heard of the book, it’s a trilogy of erotic books that have been referred to as “mommy porn.”) I wonder what the Gideons (the organization responsible for putting Bibles in hotel rooms nationwide and even in other parts of the world) have to say about this! Read the story on msn.com.

Finally, the NAACP has developed a manual to help black church leaders speak with their congregants about HIV and AIDS, which haven’t been a topic for open discussion in the black church. According to “The Washington Post,” “African-Americans make up almost half of all new HIV infections, and blacks are less likely to get treatment and more likely to die of complications from AIDS than any other race.” Read the entire article at “The Washington Post.”

Any thoughts?

 

 

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4 thoughts on “Pastors Rap to Invite People “Back to Church,” “Fifty Shades of Grey” replaces Bibles and other religious news…

  1. Jackie ~ Thanks for sharing the “Back to Church Sunday” video! It’s a riot! Our church falls into the “coffee and loud music” category, which definitely appealed to me 7 years ago when I walked through the doors as an unbeliever. Love that other styles of church are represented in the video, too. There is truly something for everyone, if folks would just get out there on Sunday mornings and look around. As for inviting the unchurched, I have done it, but should do it more! This video makes it easier!

    Now for “50 Shades of Grey.” I want to say I’m shocked about the British hotel, but I know that country ~ and all of Europe ~ are extremely secular, despite the beautiful cathedrals everywhere. As for the book itself, a neighbor tried to lend it to me. Then I read up on it and turned her down. “Careful little eyes what you see” came to mind! Why would I put those images in my head? The Lord wants me to have eyes only for my husband.

    Thanks for your thoughtful posts, Jackie. You are a blessing to the cyber world!

    • My church is of the small variety…I was so excited about this campaign when I first came across it, and I just love the video. I’m going to speak with my dad and other church leaders about being a part of this campaign..I definitely don’t invite people to church enough – partly because I don’t want to seem like a salesman and partly out of good old fashioned fear… 🙁 Yes, in spite of the beautiful religious cathedrals in the U.K., it is shocking how religion is out of fashion there…We have to make sure that does not happen here, and thanks for the compliment 🙂

  2. Fifty Shades of Grey replacing the Bible is a RIOT!! I’m laughing due to the pure silliness of the action. I’ve read the book. In fact I finished the first book of the series last night since it was my book club selection. Although it’s very popular, I’ve read more well written and deeper erotic noire in my lifetime. I guess my biggest issue with this is that the book itself is no masterpiece. So giving it this type of status baffles me.

    • I know, right! I keep on hearing about this book but for some reason I haven’t been inspired enough to read it…And I have heard that the book isn’t really that well-written…Yeah, you have to wonder why Zane hasn’t received this much press, and I think they are in the same genre…