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Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis commissioned America’s Research Group to investigate why young people leave the church. The findings are published in Ken Ham’s new book Already Gone. Some insights include:

Among 20- to 29-year-old evangelicals

• 95% attended church regularly during elementary school
• 95% attended church regularly during middle school
  >> 40% first had doubts about the Bible in middle school
• 55% attended church regularly during high school
  >> 43.7% first had doubts about the Bible in high school
• 11% attended church regularly during college
  >> 10% first had doubts about the Bible in college

Oddly, the study discovered that those who attended Sunday school (61%) are actually more likely than non-attendees (39%):

• to not believe that all the accounts and stories in the Bible are true
• to doubt the Bible because it was written by men
• to defend keeping abortion legal
• to accept the legalization of gay marriage
• to believe in evolution
• to believe that good people don’t need to go to church

Clearly, most children’s ministries are failing at producing long-term disciples. So what will it take to change this?

On the one hand, I believe that every children’s ministry can absolutely improve what they do. There is always room for improvement, but I also think these failed children’s ministries are the byproduct of failed churches.

If you want to reach and disciple children, you must reach and disciple their parents. Church going kids spend only 1% of their time at church, 20% at school, 30% sleeping, and much of the rest watching TV and playing. Children’s ministers can determine the 1%, but it is the parents who have the power to decide what reaches their kids during the other 99%. If you disciple the parents, you disciple the kids.

For Discussion:
- How can children’s ministries better disciple kids in the Sunday school classroom?
- How can churches better train parents to disciple their kids during the rest of the week?

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Last year, I blogged about special needs ministry for children with autism. It has become a forum of discussion for parents and children’s ministers to discuss the challenges of church for children with autism.

I stressed the importance of developing a unique approach and relationship with each child. I highlighted research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison that discovered, “autistic children shy from eye contact because they perceive even the most familiar face as an uncomfortable threat.” But the greatest insight comes from the answers to my question:

What advice do you have for ministering to special needs children?

Here is a summary of the insights.

WHAT WORKS

• Buddy System - children with special needs are paired with trained adults to assist them at whatever level is needed. Experienced volunteers trained by child psychologists and educators are a plus. (Example: Joy Zone)
• Childcare Nights (respite care) - childcare for children with special needs and their siblings so the parent(s) can relax. On-site doctors, nurses, and OT/PT’s is a plus. (Example: Revive)
• Community Outreach - go beyond the church walls and minister in the community because some parents will not attend church because they believe their child with special needs will disturb others or cannot be entrusted to others.
• Dual Classrooms - sometimes children with special needs participate in the same class as their age group, and other times the children with special needs are in a quiet room especially designed for them as not to be overwhelming or too stimulating.
• Separate Classroom - children with special needs are separated from the standard children’s classrooms but their parents and siblings are welcomed.
• Zachariah’s Way - trains churches how to better minister to people with special needs and their families.
• Prayer

TIPS

• Labeling their Identity - Do not refer to people by their disability. Say “children with autism” rather than “autistic children” because it can subtly change one’s perception of a child with autism.
• Every Child is Different - Determine how to reach each child. Children with autism don’t like too much stimulation. But children with other disabilities may thrive on it.
• Give Expectations - many children with special needs behave better when they know what is expected of them.
• Be Visual - Include inanimate objects need to be included in lessons. Things like puppets, pictures, and videos take the focus off the teacher and engages the child without intimidating him.
• Use Music - children with autism love music.
• More than Chairs - children with autism do not like to sit for long periods of time.
• Keep It Small - children with autism like small environments
• Ask & Research - do not tell the parent what you think. Ask the parents about the child then do some research.
• Don’t gossip.
• Love the child.

WHY IT MATTERS (stories from parents)

• I have a stepson who is autistic, and I tried to take him to church, I really miss going to church. My problem is I spent more time in the child’s room than I spent at church because the people who teach there are simply not educated in the needs of an autistic student. I have been looking into getting a tss or a pca to come and help during church but to no avail. It would be wonderful if more people truly understood instead of staring and whispering. (Stacy)
• I have a 20 year old son with Asperger Syndrome who loves the Lord deeply. Sadly the church environment has been the one place he has never been welcomed or encouraged to return. The secular world has been far kinder to him. Though he desperately wants friends and fellowship, the lack of encouragement within the church body has caused him to retreat further into his own world. He now refuses to try again. (Rhiannon)
• I have been very grateful for a Special Needs Sunday School class that was started. I feel comfortable with leaving him there and I am at least getting to hear a sermon once a week! (Sheryl)

For Discussion:
- What advice do you have for ministering to children with special needs?

Keep the insights coming!

Environmental design for churches has changed drastically over the last two decades (at least on the fringes). It has become much more than church interior design. It has evolved into creating entire worlds and environments.

For example, when Cornerstone Harvest Church (Lima, OH) recently revamped their Heir Force youth ministry, they hired Little Mountain Productions to develop the environmental design. The result was a youth ministry design that featured a lifesize M-1 Abrams tank and 40 foot wing span plane coming out of the walls.

To complement these installations, Little Mountain Productions also added acoustic panel military graphics to the room.

In case you are wondering how they did it, here are some production shots.

OooRah!

For the first time since 1995, more Americans are pro-life (51%) than pro-choice (42%) on the issue of abortion according to Gallup. This coincides with the trending decrease in U.S. abortions since 1990.

While most Christians are pro-choice and view abortion as morally wrong, there are differing views on how to further reduce the popularity of abortion.

Stereotypically, Christians believe the solution is legislating abortion and making it illegal. This solution is particularly popular among those who take the theological stance that the shedding of innocent blood curses a nation.

Donald Miller counters this perspective with:

A sort of Republican Evangelical Conservative mindset has been to make it illegal, and it’s never worked. I don’t see it working anytime soon. It’s a great bit of idealism. But it is a pipedream, and I think we need to face that now twenty years in.

We need to face that, and we need to be able to work together to come up with other solutions. And so many people will disagree with that. They will say, “No, we have to win a moral victory,” and actually, the moral victory will cost many, many lives. And they will say, “It’s worth it to be right,” and I would say, “No, I think we need to deal with the issue holistically.”

Eugene Cho shares a similar perspective (part 1, part 2):

Like most Christians I know, I am against abortion.  However, I just do not believe we can legislate it.

Rather than legislating it, I wonder how abortions can be reduced by speaking and appealing to the Heart and Soul of a person and to make all necessary provisions if a person decides to have that baby.  In short, can we maintain choice but do all that we can to preserve and ensure the life of an unborn?  This is where most of us fall short.

I find it incredibly frustrating and naive when Christians take a stance of being against abortion at all costs but are unwilling to yield to issues that have direct correlation to abortions: sex education in schools [starting in middle school], health care benefits for low income families and women, post birth care and benefits, usage of contraceptives, etc.

Legislation understandably is an ideal solution, but it has been a sloppy and weak one. Unfortunately, politics has become a stumbling block that drives Christians further away from the people they need to reach. Christians have been labeled as judgmental, insensitive, and too involved in politics.

Ultimately, only a life-changing relationship with Christ can effectively change a person and a culture for the better. If you want to reduce abortions, create a better ministry.

In the big picture, a toolbox with all hammers isn’t very effective. You can hit nails, pry, and not much more. A good toolbox has hammers, wrenches, files, and screwdrivers. It has a drill, some pliers, and plenty of other tools.

So why do so many churches try to be a hammer?

Eugene Cho of Quest Church (Seattle, WA) recently blogged about the pursuit so many churches have to be a megachurch. He states:

Megachurches only comprise 1% of the churches in North America. But then why do the majority of the conferences revolve around the megachurches and their pastors?

I think megachurches and their leaders are doing phenomenal ministry.  I really do.  But we’ve elevated this 1% as the epitome and face of a successful ministry and created a machine of conferences, publishers, books, and networks based on this very limited expression.

Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) puts it this way:

In order to reach people that no one is reaching, you will have to do things that no one is doing. But in order to do things that no one is doing, you can’t do what everyone else is doing.

We each have a unique God-given calling, but many of us want to live the calling of  the ministers in the limelight. Likewise, each church has a unique God-given calling, but too many churches distract themselves by pursuing the calling of famous megachurches. Consider how 1 Corinthians 12 reads when substituting church terms:

The Church has many different parts, not just one part. If the house church says, “I am not a part of the Church because I am not a megachurch,” that does not make it any less a part of the Church. And if the rural church says, “I am not part of the Church because I am not a gigachurch,” would that make it any less a part of the Church? If the whole Church were a gigachurch, how would you reach rural areas? Or if the whole Church were a rural church, how would you reach urban areas?

But the Church has many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange the Church would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one Church. The gigachurch can never say to the megachurch, “I don’t need you.” The Internet church can’t say to the church plant, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some parts of the Church that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary.

To clarify, I do think it is good to study successful churches when the principles learned are considered within the context of your church’s unique calling. And I do believe that good ministry typically grows churches. However, some of the greatest ministries have the smallest numbers. Sometimes small is needed to be effective. Sometimes huge is needed.

I recommend that you study them all. Learn from megachurches, house churches, rural churches, and the rest.

Above all else, never lose focus of staying true to your church’s purpose. If God wants you to be a hammer, be a hammer. If God wants you to be a wrench, be a wrench.

[Photo credit: dipster1]

Ben Arment is putting together another fresh ministry conference called STORY (Chicago, IL) at the Paramount Theater on October 28, 2009. It has been a year since he debuted his first conference creation, The Whiteboard Sessions.

STORY conference is quite different though. It has a Q conference vibe with a focus on creatively telling the greatest story ever told - the gospel. Speakers include Nancy Beach, Mike Foster, Dave Gibbons, Donald Miller, Chris Seay, Stacy Spencer, and Ed Young. The following day, workshops led by artists, scholars, authors, and communications experts will be held at Orchard Valley Community Church (Aurora, IL).

And if you go to STORY, you should consider coming a day early to attend the Cultivate Conference.

Dave Gibbons is the senior pastor of Newsong Church, an international multi-site church with 8 campuses located in California, Texas, Mexico, United Kingdom, India, and Thailand. He is an entrepreneur and owns YangDang and Xealot. And he is the author of The Monkey and the Fish.

ABOUT NEWSONG CHURCH

Year Began: 1994
Locations: 8 Campuses – Irvine, CA / Culver, CA / Fullerton, CA / Dallas, TX / Mexico / London / India / Bangkok

10Q WITH DAVE GIBBONS

1Q = What is Newsong Church’s chain of command from the senior pastor to the church volunteers?

The Leadership Team comprised of both volunteer leaders who represent the congregation and support staff guide the church but all under the submission to the Holy Spirit. The congregation affirms major decisions.

2Q = For big decisions, what is Newsong Church’s decision making process?

Depends. The big decisions can originate from our members or from the leaders of the church. But eventually, there is affirmation with Leadership teams, Management teams and the congregation.

3Q = How does Newsong Church market itself?

Mostly word of mouth and via technology.

4Q = What is the most effective thing Newsong Church has done to reach people?

Created an ethos that is dependent upon the Holy Spirit and empowers the people to be the front line of God’s movements locally and globally.

5Q = What is your leadership style?

Intuitive and collaborative.

6Q = Your book, The Monkey and the Fish, discusses third culture. What is it?

Third culture in a word is Adaptation. In two words, Painful Adaptation. The longer definition is “the mindset and will to love, learn and serve in any culture even in the midst of pain and discomfort.”
A short view of this can be found at 3culture.tv.

7Q = What is a Third-Culture Church?

It’s a church that is able to flow with the Holy Spirit, choosing to live out the two great purposes of the church: Loving God and Loving Her Neighbor. The Neighbor though being someone NOT like you even someone you would hate or not want to forgive. It’s a church that chooses obedience over passion  as well as radical sacrifice over comfort.

8Q = How can a church become a Third-Culture Church?

This process is definitely the work of the Holy Spirit! To ask people to enter into pain and suffering, eat foods they don’t like, hang out with people that make you uncomfortable is counter-cultural. I would say the key is for the one who does get it to start living out the third culture life. Personally, before the movement became church-wide, I felt God telling me I had to live it out more intentionally. So my family and I moved out to Bangkok. It starts with leadership and prayer.  As one engages real suffering and poverty, clarity emerges.

As you live out third culture, invite others with you on the journey. I still remember taking a group of friends with me on a third culture vision trip about 5 years ago. We have never been the same. The impact now goes beyond personal to people all over the world. These men embody third culture.

It’s a journey there are many other ideas contained in the book.

9Q = What is the greatest ministry lesson you have learned?

The Primary Task of a Leader is to “build trust and bear pain.”

10Q = What is the best advice you have for church leaders?

Explore the world. Listen, Observe, Ask Questions. Do it now. Then be willing to give it all away to act upon what you experience. The whole time praying, “Father, break my heart with the things that break your heart.”

Be sure to check out Church Relevance’s “10Q” category to read previous 10Q interviews.

Recently, I had the opportunity to discuss the future of church websites over a video conference with Cleve Persinger and the team at The Chapel (Libertyville, IL). I spent some time sharing my thoughts on effective SEO church marketing, and Cleve was kind enough to archive the talk for your enjoyment.
[pardon the rocky audio]

To sum it up, optimize your church website content by using the keywords that are most often searched by the people your are called to reach. You can research these keywords with Google AdWords Keyword Tool.

For Discussion:
- What is your church marketing SEO strategy?