Visions, grand plans, wish lists ... phooey! I've sat in my share of these types of meetings and personally I think they're frustrating. Churches have a mission and it's not to erect a new gymnasium. Years ago, our church wrote a mission statement that was pretty good: "... to make disciples and meet human needs." But when attendance is down and giving is down, the attention turns to the cold, hard numbers and the questions turn from "how can we make disciples?" to "how can we balance our budget?"
It's a fair question to be sure but adding programs that require the resources of an already tapped-out congregation can be counter-productive. And in the end, it seems the program in question gets a cool reception at best when people are attempting to assume what the "outsiders" would be attracted to.
So here's my suggestion: If you have a group of ladies that like to scrapbook, allow them to use the facilities and invite their friends. If some of your youth love frisbee, suggest they invite others for a game of ultimate on the church grounds. The point is to rely on your strengths, make use of your interests and enjoy what you do. And ALWAYS be inviting friends and neighbors to join in the fun.
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