Winning Ways -- Hillcrest Baptist Church

"Connect with Our Connection Campaign!"
by Tom Goodman
August 8 , 2007

We need "all hands on deck" to join together in a God-sized project!

We're launching a "Connection Campaign" designed to connect 200 unchurched neighbors to the fellowship of our church and to the power of God. There's a place for you in this great work.

In a few weeks, we'll set up a "call center" at Hillcrest that will operate for several weeks. We will call ten thousand neighbors within 3 miles of our church building, and we'll say: "Hello, my name is . We are calling to invite people to our church. Do you currently attend a church in the area?"

If the person has a church home, the caller will say, "That's great. We don't want to interfere with that, but before I hang up, we have a team of people praying right now for people and needs from our community. Is there anything they could pray with you about?"

If the individual asks for prayer, someone will take the request to the prayer room. Team members will start to pray for the request immediately, and then prayer warriors will continue to pray for the request at home across the next several weeks.

If the neighbor we call has no church home, the caller will ask if he or she is interested in visiting Hillcrest. If they express interest, the caller sends an invitation to our special Sunday, October 14. A follow-up call will also be made the week before the event. On October 14, greeters will welcome the guests to Hillcrest and sit with them for a meal afterwards.

The week following this celebration, we'll need people to hand-deliver gift baskets to every guest. The baskets will include goodies plus a booklet on Christianity, information about the church, and ways to get involved.

And that's when the real work begins! After the Connection Campaign, we'll be asking workers in our Bible study ministry to reach out to the 200 who expressed interest in our church and involve them in our small-group Bible study.

As I said, this is a God-sized task and we need all hands on deck. We need callers, prayer warriors, greeters, visitors to drop off the gift baskets, and excited Bible study leaders to follow up on the newfound families. The sign-up begins in the worship services this Sunday. I want you to be a partner in our campaign! Start praying now for God to help us connect with 200 neighbors!

--Tom

Bat Watching with my sister, bat biologist Meg Goodman, this Thursday, August 9, 8:15pm. More here.

Softball, Anyone? Get more information here.

"Adventures with Tom: Destination #2" -- Makeup. Hosted by the 18-35 age range. Learn more here.

One Combined Service on Sunday, August 26. Enjoy breakfast together at 9:30am followed by the musical presentation, "Love Will Be Our Home" at 10:30am.

Holy Land Trip. We're going to the Holy Land March 2008. If you missed our first meeting, don't miss the next one: August 12, 7pm, at the Lawhon's house. More information here. Deadline for first deposit is in September!

Links to Your World (From my weblog, "Get Anchored")

Last Sunday I taught that Jesus is both willing and able to fix our broken world. If you want more study on the subject, check out "A Brief Primer on the Problem of Evil." While all three explanations for evil have their place, I think most of the biblical writings deal with the author's second defense (though it needs more explanation that he provided).

Not only is Austin ranked the best place for business; it's also ranked #3 in Forbes' top cities for volunteering (story here; slide show here). Estimated percentage of the metro area population that volunteers annually: 38.1%.

C'mon, you young married couples! Don't be such slackers! Follow the lead of this couple and build the Hillcrest nursery!

Convert your golf swing to music and improve your game. (Music and golf: that's "Gene Chappell heaven"!) But it still won't help you hit like this.

"This was a 'God is real' event," said the sister of a teenager who walked away from a six-story fall. But don't tell Christopher Hitchens.

See more informative and quirky links at my weblog, "Get Anchored" (click here).

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