OUTREACH
DISTRICT
OUTREACH STAFF
Rev. John Perling- Chairman
Rev. Todd Biermann- Central
Rev. Daniel Grams- Eastern
Rev. Mark Moreno- Southern
Rev. Steven Lange- Western
Synod and partner churches reaching 100 million people with the Gospel by 2017.
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As partners in the Ablaze program,
we in the SELC District made it our goal at our District Convention to
reach 500,000 people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ by 2017. In order to keep track of our District's
progress you can report your own or your congregation's contacts at the Synod's web site by going
here
.
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Be An Ablaze! Congregation
"Praying to the Lord of the Harvest, LCMS World Mission, in
collaboration with its North American and worldwide partners, will share the good news of Jesus with 100
million unreached or uncommitted people by October 31, 2017." That is the purpose statement for
Ablaze! Ablaze! is a movement, not a program. Ablaze! is a movement that is bigger than LCMS World
Mission. Ablaze! is a movement that is bigger than the LCMS. Ablaze! is a movement in which every
Christian can participate by sharing the good news of Jesus with an unreached or uncommitted person in
such a way that the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to connect with that person.
Our SELC District goal as part of the Ablaze! emphasis is to reach ½ million people with the Gospel.
Contact your Circuit Outreach Representative or Chairman John Perling for resources on promoting Ablaze!
in your congregation.
For general info about Ablaze!, go to
GENERAL ABLAZE INFO to find details under the following headings:
Ablaze! Resources
FAQ's about Ablaze!
Participate
View Ablaze! Stories
Report Our Ablaze! Activity
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New "Ablaze!/Friendship Celebration Resources in 2005
Thanks to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for a generous grant to develop new "Ablaze!/Friendship" celebration resources. This project will be done in collaboration with the Center for U.S. Missions and should be completed by mid-2005. In the meantime a number of past "Friendship Sunday" resources, like Bible studies entitled "A Friend for Life," (S01683) "A Time for Friends," (S01757) "Friend to Friend," (S01733) and "Love for the Stranger" (S01760) are still available. Go to www.cph.org and enter the "S" stock number into the "Search" box for prices and more information.
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Outreach grants are available from the District for SELC congregations. But you need to apply to receive one. Contact the Outreach Circuit Co-ordinator for your circuit (Rev. Dan Grams - East, Rev. Todd Biermann - Central, Rev. Steven Lange -West) for more information.
Blank Grant Application Analysis and Project forms in PDF format are found here.
Improving Our Outreach
The District and Congregational Services-Outreach Ministry Web site (http://www.lcms.org/outreach) features a large variety of resources, links and ideas for improving our outreach. "Outreach Discipleship" is a fairly new resource developed by Dr. David Mulder intended to help congregations learn what a disciple of Jesus is, what kind of leader to follow, and how best to do outreach to "all nations." The resource is divided up into five sessions that can be studied weekly one by one or all together in a retreat setting. Permission is given to reproduce for local use.
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The Center for U.S. Missions
The Center for U.S. Missions, located on the campus of Concordia University Irvine, California, provides resources, services and ideas to help make your congregation into an "Ablaze! outpost." A free e-newsletter is one of the resources offered.
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The Way of Life: A Beginning
This Bible study guides the new Christian through the basic concepts of Jesus, God, the Scriptures and the Church. Five individual lessons can be given out one at a time or all together in a pocket folder. This study originally sold for $2.25 a copy but has now been put in packages of ten for $5.00 plus shipping. It is a very good resource to use with people who are new to Christianity and the church. You can order online by going to www.cph.org, and entering S01689 into the "Search" box. You can also order by calling Concordia Publishing House at 1-800-325-3040 and asking for stock number S01689.
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Share Life
Share Life is a relatively new five-session witness workshop with a leader's guide, participant's manual and video. It is designed to help congregations train members to share their faith in their daily lives. This easy-to-teach workshop will help individuals understand how they can use their unique personality type to effectively "share life." It can be used in a retreat setting or on Sunday mornings. The kit is available for $19.95 plus shipping by calling CPH at 1-800-325-3040 and asking for stock number S01744. You can also order it online by going to www.cph.org and entering stock number S01744 into the "Search" box. Additional participant's guides are available as stock number S01745 for $3.00 plus shipping. You can get a discounted price on larger quantities by contacting Rev. Larry Reinhardt at larry.reinhardt@lcms.org or 1-800-248-1930, extension 1720.
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Hire A Paid Guest?
If you want to get a candid opinion of what your church is like for a visitor on a Sunday morning, consider hiring a "paid guest." A "paid guest" is a non-member who has little or no familiarity with your church. This person can give you useful information on such items as accessibility and visibility, ease of parking and finding the front entrance, first impressions of welcoming and friendliness, cleanliness of facilities, especially the nursery and restrooms, and the overall flow of announcements and worship. Hiring a "paid guest" might be the best $50 - $100 your church has ever spent.