40 Ideas for Inviting Someone to Church!

Hey RRBCers...below are 40 IDEAS FOR INVITING SOMEONE TO CHURCH...some are real basic, and some are pretty wild...but, here's the deal: PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO ATTEND CHURCH IF YOU INVITE THEM...Take the challenge to make ONE of these ideas a reality and then let us know how it goes. Here's the list:

• Grill out for the employees of a company or business.
• Set up our party trailer, which comes with a grill, moonwalk, helium tank and balloons, video games, chairs, etc. at any community events. \
• Dress up like a Star Wars character wherever there are people and take pictures with kids and families. Give them a special invite card with the location they can download the picture. You will have a blast and invite a bunch of people to church.
• Tailgate at high school football games. Give away hot dogs and invite people.
• Set up a moonwalk at a local park while events are happening.
• Volunteer at community runs and bike races
• Hand out coffee or hot chocolate at the First Friday events in downtown Wilson
• Give out hand warmers with the RRBC logo at winter events
• Do a free oil change or car inspection in the House of Rock parking lot
• Show UFC fights on Saturday night at the House of Rock
• Host a block party for your neighborhood. Again, the party trailer is available.
• Provide “full service” at a local gas station – wash windows and leave a car freshener
• Show free family movies at the House of Rock on Friday nights
• Help local schools with their fall festivals. Instead of re-creating the wheel, just help a school make their event better.
• Take professional pictures at local school talent shows
• Visit a nursing home
• Take a couple of hours and put out door hangers in your neighborhood or apartment complex.
• Go put invite cards on car windshields. Try not to get arrested…that keeps it fun!
• Be intentional about coaching a kids sports team.
• You and your kids set up a lemonade stand.
• Have a free garage sale…give away things and invite people to church
• Do a free car wash
• Walk around a neighborhood and collect canned food. Invite people to church while asking for food.
• Hand out helium balloons at special events
• Get a truck, ladder and a bunch of light bulbs and walk around and ask people if they need light bulbs changed.
• Set up a bounce house at the movie theater when a big kids movie premiers. Or in front of another store. Managers are often open to anything that draws attention to their store.
• Put out road signs on the weekend (did you know some churches report that nearly 15% of people who attend church for the first time do so because they saw a road sign?)
• Put a giant leaf sign in the back of your truck. Politicians do it – our cause is way more important!
• Give away silly bandz anywhere there are kids.
• Enter a float in a parades. Walk along side it and give away candy and invites.
• Take breakfast to school teachers. Simply email the principal and ask if you can do it, set a day, and make it happen.
• Get a backpack sprayer and offer to spray weeks around your neighbor's homes. Sounds strange, but it may give you an opportunity to invite them to church!
• Salt driveways when it ices during the winter.
• Help with field days at a local elementary school. What school wouldn’t appreciate volunteers?
• Take food to fire stations. Let them know you appreciate them and that they are always welcome at your church.
• Valet cars when a school has an open house.
• Provide childcare for high school graduations.
• Cook team meals before home games at local sporting events
• Pass out candy and invites at your own house on Halloween, or invite your unchurched friends to Raleigh Road for the Fall Family Fellowship.
• Enter a team in a BBQ or Chili contest. Give everyone a card inviting them to church with the food you make.
• Better yet…come up with your own idea, get your friends or group involved, and make it happen. Let us know how we can help.

Thanks to Eddie Pullen, IBSA Church Planting Strategist for making me aware of this list!

ReDiscovering Church & Back to Church Sunday

We'll be rolling out a new Sermon Series on August 1 entitled ReDiscovering Church. This series has several purposes.

First, we want to help equip every member and regular attender at Raleigh Road to give an answer to those who have stopped attending church. Not just stopped attending RRBC...but ANY church.

Second, we want to provide a biblical, well thought out response to those who have stopped attending by addressing several of the most commonly heard reasons people stop attending:
- I don't need the church to connect with God (8/8)
- The church just wants my money (8/15)
- I don't need the church to be a good person (8/22)
- I won't be accepted at church (8/29)

The series will also feature messages addressing:
- Why people leave churches (including why they left Jesus' ministry!) - (8/1)
- How will we receive people who have been out of church awhile? (9/5)
- What commitments do we expect people to make at RRBC (9/12)

The series will include BACK TO CHURCH SUNDAY, Septmeber 12. We have several resources that will be available on August 1 to help you invite people to worship on Sept 12.
- Invest and Invite Card - This credit card sized reminder will keep the names of those you are investing in and inviting in front of you; not just to Back to Church Sunday, but throughout the whole year. Who's in YOUR Wallet?
- Back to Church Sunday Invite Card - this business-card sized card will be useful for handing out to people as you invite them to worship on September 12.

On Sunday, September 12, the message will center on the commitments we ask people to make at Raleigh Road Baptist Church. They can be summed up like this:
- Worship - Be in worship and invite and unchurched friend at least once a month
- Grow - Get into ONE discipleship class (Sunday AM, Wed PM, or Tues/Fri Precept)
- Serve - Find at least ONE area in which you can regularly and faithfully serve

Worship. Grow. Serve. That is what we are about at RRBC...you can also think of it as Live. Learn. Love. It is in knowing and worshipping God that we find the strength to LIVE. It is in growing spiritually that we LEARN to honor Christ in all. It is in serving others than we LOVE our neighbor as ourself!

Please be in prayer for the ReDiscover Church series and Back to Church Sunday. The best is yet to come!

Pochek's Email and Facebook Rules of Engagement

Particularly in light of the discussion of Eph 4:25 and putting off falsehood, I thought it might be a good idea to re-post a few of my own personal Email and Facebook "rules"...these are not intended for or directed to anyone in particular, just a quick public posting for clear communications:

1. I seldom forward anything...EVER...even if it is a really touching story, changed your life, could change my life...etc, etc, etc...

2. I NEVER forward anything that tells me "if you really love God" / "if you are proud of our troops" / "if you are proud to be an American" / "if you really love Jesus" send this to 10 friends. Really? I love God. I love Jesus. I am extremely proud of our troops and I am proud (and blessed) to be an American...but, neither my faith nor my sense of patriotism are increased by sending an email to 10 (or 100) people.

3. I NEVER forward emails that tell me to send this to the person who sent it to me and 10 other friends that I really care about...do you really want your friend's concern / love / affection to be tied to an email? I didn't think so...If I know you, I love you...at least in Christ, and maybe as a great friend...but, I don't think our relationship is determined by an email that has been circulating for years!

4. I ALWAYS verify stories emailed to me at http://www.snopes.com/ ...if you send me one that proves to be false (i.e. threat to religious broadcasting, Pres Obama's muslim allegiances, stories about the troops, etc), I will send you (and everyone else who received the original email) a note that says something like: "God is a God of Truth...and he calls us to be people of truth. Spreading falsehoods does not advance God's kingdom. Please verify stories like this before forwarding."

5. I ALWAYS verfify stories posted on Facebook at http://www.snopes.com. If you post a story because you saw it on someone elses wall and thought you just "had" to share it...be SURE it is TRUE...current stories circulating on Facebook that are false include: Diamond Rio's song not being permitted on radio stations (FALSE), Facebook is going to charge to use their site (FALSE), _____ Restaraunt is giving away $500 in gift cards for just signing up as a "fan" of their FB page (FALSE)...and the hits just keep coming!


6. If any of the first 5 offend you...I apologize and ask that you simply do not send me the types of emails in question...that way you will not be perpetually offended! Ha!

7. On Facebook, I try my best to keep my status updated...but, I do not guarantee that I will respond quickly to every comment or message. I will do my best...

8. On Facebook, I ALMOST NEVER respond to event invitations, mafia requests, farmville help. glitz, bling, or quizzes...And, I NEVER,NEVER, NEVER "send gifts", "hugs", etc on Facebook...quite honestly, I have enough trouble just keeping it updated with my current status!

9. As for this blog...I will do my dead level best to keep it updated...usually related to something God is teaching me or something we are learning together at RRBC. Of course, sometimes I will digress and put up a post about something completely "unspiritual" (i.e. Like the one I am thinking about posting regarding my newfound appreciation for Tony Stewart...after he spun Kyle Bush!)

Ok...that should do it...hopefully this will prevent too many hurt feelings in the wonderful world of electronic communication!

God's best...
Pastor Rob

Taking Oaths...some questions for reflection

On Sunday, June 6, the sermon was based on Matthew 5:34-37. The subject was that of taking oaths. In that message I sought to argue that Jesus' aim was that we be people who are truthful and faithful. Truthful in the commitments or statements we make and faithful to carry them out as we have promised. In short, to be people of our word.

One question that has come up since that message is: Should Christians take oaths in court? And, the related issue of taking oaths of office or for military service. Indeed, I want to thank Mike Eatmon and Bill Hall for bringing up these questions, as I am sure many of you have thought about them.

I do not find either of these kinds of oath taking to be at odds with Jesus' teaching. Jesus' prohibition here is against the improper use of oaths, in particular the attempt to use God's Name to reinforce a promise we never intend to keep. It is a prohibition against using an oath to mask our insincerity or lack of inention to fulfill what we promise.

So, an individual who takes an oath before a court of law and perjurs himself has violated the heart of Jesus' teaching. A soldier who takes an oath to defend the United States when his intention is to do harm to the United States is violating Jesus' teaching. However, when an oath is a demonstration of our intent to be truthful, it does not violate Jesus' teaching. Again, the point Jesus is arguing against is the attempt to use an oath to cover or mask our lack of intention to ever follow through on what we are promising. In the case of a court of law or a soldier, etc, our unwillingness to take the oath would likely signal that we do not intend to be truthful.

Hopefully this will help clarify the intention of Jesus' teaching and address a couple of topics that I did not talk about Sunday morning.

Resources to Battle Against Lust

After the sermon on May 16, 2010 (available here: http://www.raleighroad.com/category/series/mythbuster/), I got a LOT of questions about resources that were mentioned during the message. So, I have gathered several here, and added some that I have just learned about.

Every Man's Battle and Every Young Man's Battle by Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker.
Both of these are available at Christian bookstores and / or websites everywhere...or by clicking on the links provided! I have both in my office if you'd like to preview them. These books recognize that today's media bombards men with sexual images and temptation, so it's no wonder that "sexual addiction" is on the rise---even within the church. In this compassionate brother-to-brother guide, Arterburn and Stoeker tackle this serious problem head-on, offering a practical battle plan for men---married or single---who desire to live by God's standard.

Wired for Intimacy: How Pornography Hijacks the Male Brain by William Struthers is another great resource. In this book, Struthers examines how images are imprinted along neuropathways in the male brain. An important book to understand how powerful visual images are to men. Also a great warning for women and/or mothers who regularly subscribe to magazines featuring half dressed women on the front! You are inhibiting the ability of the men in your life to fight temptation when they can't go past the coffee table without seeing it.

False Intimacy: Understanding the Struggle of Sexual Addiction by Harry Schaumburg is another book that can provide insight into the challenge of sexual addiction faced by so many. False Intimacy offers honest biblical solutions to help overcome the compulsion to act on false "relationships" and find true intimacy. A Focus on the Family Recommendation.

Josh Harris tackles the issue in my "It Doesn't Hurt to Look" sermon directly in his book, Sex is Not the Problem (Lust Is). Josh shows how lust has become so pervasive in our culture to the point that sexuality has become a negative - contaminating what God intended as a gift. Learn how to reclaim sexuality and sex as God originally planned as you cut through the deceptive lies of lust. See through new eyes enjoy a life of purity as you follow the steps in this countercultural guide.

Another great resource is ScreenIt.Com...This site offers a FREE and Pay version...it provides a detailed accounting of language, violence, disrespectful attitudes, and sex/nudity in a film. I HIGHLY recommend this site...although, I have to warn you - it may cut down the number of films you watch!

A final resource is X3Watch, an accountability software available from the folks at TripleXChurch. These guys have a unique ministry to those in the adult film and strip club world. And, they provide a great accountability resource in X3Watch...essentially you give them an accountability partner's email address (or your spouse's) and they get an update every 2 weeks or so of any / all the questionable sites you have visited. Our Student Pastor has been using this resource with young men for a number of years with great results.

Jesus: The Real MythBuster

What does life look like in the Kingdom of Heaven? What does Jesus expect of His followers? What should life look like in the church?

The seven part MythBuster series will examine Jesus’ answer to those qustions as we Matthew 5:20-48. In that section of the Sermon on the Mount, we will look at the six times Jesus said "You have heard it said...but I say unto you." In so doing, he is NOT overturning the OT...rather, he is correcting the erroneous interpretation of the OT by the scribes and Pharisees. In other words, he is Busting Myths perpetrated by the religous leaders of His day.

Unfortunately, there are many of these myths are still perpetrated in the kingdom of God and in the church. So, it is incumbent upon us to BUST these myths with the Truth of God'sWord.

During this series, we will examine the following seven myths:
5/2 – Actions are more important than my attitudes.
5/9 – Worship is not affected by broken relationships.
5/16 – It’s ok to “look,” as long as I don’t “touch.”
5/23 - Marriages are not meant to be permanent.
6/6 – A lie is just not that big a deal.
6/13 – Getting even is alright if you were really hurt.
6/20- There are some people I just can’t love.

If you cannot make it to worship at RRBC, you may download the messages via iTunes or by visiting http://www.raleighroad.com/category/series/mythbuster/.

The REZ Factor

Beginning Easter Sunday, we will be in a three part series entitled The REZ Factor...essentially, what difference does / should the resurrection make?

Easter Sunday, April 4 - Beleive the Unbelieveable...in short, the REZ demonstrates that a holy God is willing to forgive sinners based on His acceptance of Jesus' work...The REZ proves that God accepted Jesus' sacrifice and has made forgiveness possible.

Sunday, April 11 - Love the Undeserving...in short, the REZ makes is possible for the most unloving, uncaring, thoughtless person to be restored. Specifically we will look at the re-instatement of Peter from Jn 21.

Sunday, April 18 - Do the Impossible... in short, the REZ makes is possible for frightened, overwhelmed men and women to be transformed into those who turn the world upside down. Specifically, we will look at the appearance of Jesus to the disciples from Luke 24.

If you cannot be at RRBC in person, you can follow the messages via the Media page at www.raleighroad.com/worship-services, or you can subscribe to the podcasts via iTunes...

Pastor Rob

An Open Letter to PTI...

On the February 15, 2010 episode of Pardon the Interruption, Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon had a brief discussion around the question: Can the NFL learn anything from the NBA for it's halftime show? I have to admit that:

1. I did NOT see the NBA halftime show, other than the video of Shakira and Alicia Keys shown on PTI. Frankly, that was enough to prove to me that I would have channel surfed had I been tuned in...

2. I DID see the NFL halftime show...and love classic rockers...

Of utmost concern to me was the assumption by Wilbon and Kornheiser that the NBA had something to teach the NFL...specifically because the NBA paraded half naked women, dancing suggestively in front of the camera, while the NFL halftime show featured 60 year old rockers.

I decided to send an email to PTI...but, because they will likely ignore my sentiments, I decided to use the "new media" and post my email as an open letter in my blog...


"I was so disappointed in your discussion comparing the NBA and NFL halftime shows. Perhaps those of you 'in the big city' have a different set of values than the rest of us...or, maybe those of
you in the media do. Either way, showing half-naked women, dancing suggestively is not entertainment for those of us who do NOT frequent strip clubs.

Quite frankly, I could not be more happy that the 'wardrobe malfunction' happened. Not because it exposed Janet Jackson's bare right breast, but it exposed an entire culture/sub-culture that is bankrupt of even the facade of decent moral values. Can we do anything at all in the realm of 'entertainment' without it becoming 'sexertainment'?

As for me...I'll take a bunch of old classic rockers over the sexploitation of women anyday. Can the NFL learn anything? Yes...keep doing what you are doing...or, I'll go back to turning
OFF the halftime show!"

Sincerely,
Rob Pochek
Husband, Father, NBA/NFL/Nascar/MLB/NCAA FAN!