Evangelism Committee Meeting – 02/16/12

Present were: Fr. John Kline, Kay Wynn, Vibert LaMaison, Charly Clark, Adrienne Leonard, Marnie Tao and Jon Browne.

Fr. Kline had Mathew 26: 16-21 read. This passage includes the Great Commission, an important responsibility of all Christians. He then opened the meeting with prayer.

Fr. Kline and Kay Wynn reported on the Evangelism Conference held at Incarnation on December 3, 2011. The speaker was Rebecca Manley Pippert, a highly regarded speaker and author. Key points noted include:

• Evangelism is a primary duty of each Christian.
• Our weakness (re: Evangelism) is God’s strength. God uses the weak to accomplish his purpose.
• Jesus had a “go to them,” rather than a “come to me” approach. He was welcoming, yet got under people’s skin in a good way.
• We should build relationships with non-Christians, not to treat them as “projects,” but rather to plant seeds of faith in a loving way. God harvests the seeds we plant
• We should look for areas of agreement and focus on these. We should not be in a hurry.
• We should learn to disagree without being disagreeable.
• We must care about the non-Christian. Listening is critical.
• Encourage the good you see in them.
• Discern needs they are really feeling
• We don’t need more self-confidence, we need more God confidence.
• We don’t convert, God does.
• Fear of rejection is universal. The right fear to have is fear of God.
• We should expose he Gospel rather than impose it.

Most of the material presented is in the speaker’s book : Out of the Salt Shaker and into the World. We were all encouraged to read this book.

Marnie Tao suggested that we consider role playing to sharpen our evangelism skills. Adrienne Leonard suggested we consider putting on a course on Evangelism for members of the Parish. Both suggestions will be further considered at the next meeting, which will be Thursday, March 15.

Evangelism Committee Meeting – 11/17/11

Present were Fr. Kline, Jon Browne, Malcolm Catter, Kay Wynn, Adrienne Leonard, Phil Masquelette, Vibert LaMaison, Charly Clark and Shawn O’Neal

After an opening prayer by Fr. Kline, Kay, Adrienne and Jon reported on their meeting with Jon Richardson of Custer Road United Methodist Church regarding their experience conducting Alpha programs. Custer Road has done Alpha for about eight years. Programs are held in the spring and fall. A summer program will be added. Details shred with us generally fit information gained from the Alpha Conference some of us attended the previous month.

The Committee then spent about one hour listening to a CD by Nicky Gumbel on the principles of Alpha. This CD is one of five from the Alpha Conference. Purpose of playing the CD was to give each of the listeners a good sense of the program. Jon then passed out a summary of staffing required for a program, together with a cost estimate. Following some discussion, Jon suggested we postpone any recommendations to a later meeting.

Phil reported on progress towards erecting banners at the front of the church. An anonymous gift of $1,000 has been received to provide funding. He is working with John Phipps. Phil expressed some concern that sign posts could impinge on sprinkler lines and asked about sprinkler line location. He was told to speak to John Johnson, or Ben Moore.

Charly updated us on newcomers. She has been keeping track of both newcomers and those persons who have not been seen for some weeks.

Our next meeting is scheduled for December 15.

Evangelism Committee Meeting – 10/20/11

Present were: Fr. John Kline, Jon Browne, Doris Chumley, Charly Clark, Adrienne Leonard, Vibert La Maison, Kay Wynn, Malcolm Catter  and Shawn O’Neil.

Jon reported that St. Louis Stephen Ministry management has cancelled the Acts 15 program. Apparently, there has not been sufficient enrollment response from churches.

Kay and Jon spoke about the Alpha Conference held October 14 -15 in Irving.  Kay, Jon, Phil Masquelette and Fr. Garrin had attended. The conference was both inspiring and challenging. Considerable resource material was provided during the Conference. Fr. Kline suggested that our attendees contact key Alpha volunteers at Custer Road Methodist to learn that Parish’s experience. Adrienne said she would make the contact.

Fr. Kline noted that the intercessory prayer ministry is proceeding well. We have about 70 intercessors. The prayer list will be modified starting in November.

Questions were raised about the progress towards key topic publicity banners to display outside the church building. Phil Masquelette has been working on this but could not be present due to job travel.

Fr. Kline reminded the Committee about the Stanton Lecture by Peter Kreeft, November 12, 9:00am  to 2:00 pm  Space may be limited, so early registration is recommended. He also reminded us of the ‘Sharing our Faith Today” talk by Rebecca Manley Pippert at Incarnation, December 3, 9:00 am to 5:00pm.  Registration for both programs can be done on the Diocesan web site.

Our next meeting will be November 17.

Evangelism Committee Meeting – 9/22/11

Present were: Fr. Kline, Jon Browne, Phil Masquelette, Vibert La Maison, Kay Wynn and Shawn O’Neil.

Fr. Kline read Acts 28: 16-31, then opened with prayer.

Intercessory prayer ministry will begin October 2. The primary objective is to be sure each person on the list is prayed for on a regular basis. An attempt will be made to keep the prayer list current. Julia Deslatte will coordinate the prayer ministry.

Small group ministry will begin September 26 at Jon and Marilyn’s home. The initial (pilot) small group has 11 persons. Intent is to perfect the group process, and then expand to form additional small groups within the parish.

Marilyn Browne presented the Acts 15 program to the Vestry at their September 18 meeting.Phil and Shawn reported that the presentation was very well done. The Vestry has tabled action on this program. Fr. Garrin will be reminded that Stephen Ministry/Acts 15 management in St. Louis wishes registration and initial payment on or before November 15, unless other arrangements are negotiated.

Kay and Fr. Kline reported on the Alpha Small Group Leadership training held August 27 at Trinity United Methodist, Irving. The training was excellent and was fast paced. Fr. Kline passed out his notes consisting of 14 typed pages, double spaced. Much of what was learned applies to our beginning small group ministry. Additional information is available on the internet. Kay has the links.

Phil reported that banners are still being discussed.  John Phipps has ideas which Phil will pursue.

Blessing of Animals will take place October 4. Publicity is in progress,

Fr. Kline alerted the Committee to a Diocesan Evangelism Conference, announced by Carrie Boren at Incarnation, Saturday, December 3 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The leader will be Rebecca Manley Pippert of “Salt Shaker Ministries.” She is the author of many books and is considered outstanding.

Phil reported that the Vestry had suggested that the Committee consider contacting families which had sent their children to VBS. Concern was raised over the passage of time since VBS.  Fr. Kline will attempt to get the list of participating families. Letter writing is under consideration.

Kay has been working with Allison to put together a new Parish Directory. The work is essentially complete.  Draft pages will be on display soon for parishioner corrections and additions.

Next meeting will be October 20.

Evangelism Committee Meeting – 8/18/11

Fr. Kline read Acts 15, and then opened with prayer. Acts 15 describes a turning point in the early Christian church a leaders in Jerusalem made a very intentional decision to become more missional.

Marilyn Browne then gave a full report on the Acts 15 program developed over the past several years by Stephen Ministries, St. Louis.  She and Janice Ashmore had attended at presentation of the program in Dallas by Stephen Ministry St. Louis management. The program has been “pilot tested “in Chicago area Lutheran churches. Testimonials from these churches are glowing.

Acts 15 is a complete system for growing and deepening the missional power of congregations.  It combines three vital elements:

• Leadership Development. Acts 15 thoroughly equips an Acts 15 Team to successfully lead the congregation to be more missional. Trainers can also use Acts 15 resources to equip other leaders in the congregation.
• Spiritual Growth and Renewal. Acts 15 provides practical resources and an intentional plan congregations can use to help members grow spiritually, use their gifts in meaningful mi nistry, and live as missionary Christians on a daily basis.
• Best Missional Practices. Acts 15 includes a ministry toolbox filled with well researched proven ideas and resources to help congregations reach in and reach out more effectively. Congregations can choose from and adapt their best practices to achieve key ministry goals and be as missional as possible.

It is recommended that four members, including the Rector attend the first training week scheduled for October, 2012. Perhaps our parish can send as few as three including the Rector. A full discussion ensued during which several mentioned the dangers of making changes in this conservative parish. These concerns were acknowledged. The committee unanimously agreed that Marilyn Browne should present the Acts 15 program to the Vestry in October

Fr. Kline then asked for any feedback from the personal “we care” letters sent to members of the Parish last month. Several on the committee recounted favorable feedback received.

Phil has made some progress on outside “theme” banners.

The Alpha National Conference on October 14-15 will be attended by several committee members. The conference is at Irving Bible Church, Irving.

Fr. Kline reported that the prayer chain ministry is ready to start in September or October.  The same is true for the start- up of small groups under Jon and Marilyn Browne.

Evangelism Committee Meeting – 6/16/11

Kay Wynn reported on the workshop on Alpha which she attended on June 4 at the Diocesan office. The DFW Regional Director of Alpha made the presentation. Alpha is a little course in Christianity. Although started in the Church of England, the Alpha program has evolved to more than 100 denominations in 83 languages and in more than 160 countries. Approximately 16 million people have attended. Over the next several months, we will consider the feasibility of bringing this program to Holy Nativity.

A variety of other topics were discussed. These included: small groups, themed banners along the street, letters to parishioners and prayer requests. Additionally, a mission statement for the committee aill be written over the next several months.

Evangelism Committee Meeting – 5/17/11

The meeting started and ended with prayer led by Father Kline.

John Phipps discussed the HNEC web site and the need for the Evangelism Committee to be “visible” to the Parish.

In follow-up to previous discussions, Father Garrin stated his support for forming small groups. He noted that there are two important factors in such groups:

1. Building of community within the group, and
2. Providing a place for people to grow.

The first factor could lead to cliquishness, which should be avoided. He also noted that leadership of a group is important. Another aspect  is that the presence of small groups may attract new members,

Jon Brown said that he and Marilyn had considerable experience with small groups following years in Episcopal Marriage Encounter community.  He and Marilyn would be glad to lead a group. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that Frs. Garrin and Kline would confer and select parish members with leadership potential to form a pilot small group under Jon and Marilyn. This program would potentially start in September.

A revised procedure for handling prayer requests was described by Fr. Kline.  The intent is to pare the list each month as appropriate, and to make sure that each person on the list is prayed for daily by at least one parishoner.

Charly Clark discussed our concern to better care for our fellow members. She has secured  three persons (10:30) willing to observe consecutive absences of regular attendees, so that we can contact them in case of problem or need.

Next meeting will be Thursday, June 16.