The following post is from Lance Wallace, CBF’s director of communications.
We live in the noisiest era ever. It’s not just physical noise, but the noisy distractions of our lives sometimes prevent us from hearing the still, small voice of God.
Even among the most faithful Fellowship Baptists, the noise of our lives sometimes drowns out the message that part of God’s mission is happening through CBF, and we are called to engage our ministry passions in that work in specific ways.
How do you make sure the story of God’s work through the Fellowship is heard amid the noise? Here are five tips for telling your church about the Fellowship’s life-changing mission and ministries:
1. Bulletin inserts
The number one medium read by Baptist Christians in America each week is the worship bulletin in their local church. You can reach your church members with compelling stories from Fellowship ministries by ordering (www.thefellowship.info/ogmorder) or downloading (www.thefellowship.info/Give/OGM/resources) free bulletin inserts on various CBF field personnel and their ministries around the world. These succinct and inspiring stories will help your congregation connect more deeply with God’s work through the Fellowship.
2. fellowship! magazine
Every other month, this free, full-color magazine delivers well-told stories and beautiful photography illustrating the powerful ways God is at work. It will not only inform your church about the ways lives are being transformed through their gifts to Fellowship ministries, but it will also give your church ideas about how to be the presence of Christ in your own community and beyond. You can sign up for a group subscription by sending your request to contact@thefellowship.info. You can also access fellowship! online at www.thefellowship.info/fellowship.
3. Prayers of the People
Prayer changes things, but more often, it changes us. As we dialogue with God about the concerns of our heart, we are led to take action. The annual free devotional prayer guide, “Prayers of the People,” helps you know how to pray for CBF field personnel, church planters, partner ministries, chaplains and pastoral counselors. By encouraging your congregation to use this daily devotional, you can connect them spiritually with God’s work in the world. Order today at www.thefellowship.info/cbfstore.
4. www.thefellowship.info
You can find the latest information on CBF ministries by visiting the Fellowship’s home page. If you’d like to dig a little deeper, you can meet CBF’s field personnel, discover resources to help your church fulfill its mission and find opportunities to serve in meaningful ways. From the home page, you can access thousands of ministry photos in the Fellowship’s online photo sharing service, Flickr, and hundreds of short, inspiring videos on the Fellowship’s YouTube channel. Find the Fellowship community on Facebook to reconnect with old friends and share ministry ideas. The CBF web site and its supplemental online tools can thoroughly inform and connect your congregation to the Fellowship.
5. CBF speakers
Even with all the communication technology available today, the most effective form of communication is still me talking to you and you talking to me. Face-to-face communication breaks through the noise of our lives better than any other method. So, contact CBF and schedule a missions speaker or other ministry expert to make a presentation to your church today through face2face, the Fellowship’s speaker’s bureau. Thanks to technology, you can also bring CBF field personnel into your church virtually through online conferencing tools. Talking with field personnel in real time from around the world will make a powerful impact on your church. A simple e-mail to face2face@thefellowship.info gets the ball rolling. Soon, you will be matched with a dynamic speaker who can help your congregation experience what God is doing through the Fellowship.