PJT497
May 5, 2013
Goodman Ministries is being established to focus on family values and to teach the youth members and young adults in the community how to live a Christian life based on the true teachings of Jesus Christ with the main focus on education. Also the Pastor is establishing Goodman Ministries so that final decisions will be made by the Pastor instead of a deacon board and trustees like traditional churches that are established by a governing body. Goodman Ministries Soul purpose is to convert God’s unsaved children and convert them to Christian believers by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Survey was conducted why people don’t participate with church on Sunday. All survey applicants replied that they didn’t want to get up early and dress up. The thought of getting the kids ready and preparing everyone to church is exhausting. Goodman Ministries has adapted the concept come as you are, literally. No matter if you come in jeans, sweat suit or tennis shoes, everyone is welcome. Another unique feature about Goodman Ministries is that services are offered on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 6:00pm for potential parishioners that work in the mornings and weekends. Goodman Ministries also provides online services for parishioners that may not want to attend services at the church, but want to participate in services at their own leisure. (Rick Warren, 1995)
Church attendance is actually growing climbing slowly from 1996"s 37% to 47% in 2006. This research shows that other core religious behaviors are also up. For example, Bible reading increased from 40% in 2000 to 47% in 2006. The data shows the number of unchurched people is unchanged — 76 million adults," he says. "And 47% of Americans reported to us that in the last seven days, they attended a church service, excluding weddings and funerals. This research indicates that attendance at house churches has also spiked. Goodman Ministries will be the perfect religious experience for believers that want to belong to a family core group of believers.
Most U.S. congregations are not growing. Worship attendance at more than half of the congregations participating in the U.S. Congregational Life Survey shrank by 5 percent from 2003 to 2008. Fewer than 20 percent reported that their worship attendance increased by more than 5 percent in the same period. The rest of the congregations in the study were stable during this time. These facts are sad but true. That’s why Goodman Ministries offers different days to worship besides early Sunday morning, allowing parishioners to really come as you are and not dress up. This concept that Goodman Ministries adapted gives each individual their own identity. (Royal Speidel, 2007)
Conduct an annual stewardship campaign/online giving.
Surprisingly, more than 50% of all churches do not conduct an annual stewardship campaign. In their book Money Matters: Personal Giving in American Churches, authors Dean R. Hoge, Charles Zech, Patrick McNamara and Michael J. Donahue illustrate how different churches using different fundraising procedures get different results. The book explores three models that churches use to address the issue of raising money for church operations.
Goodman Ministries will adapt the concept of each year, the church leadership composes a proposed church budget and then asks members to write on a pledge card the dollars per week or per month they plan to give. Then, they turn in the card during an annual church pledge campaign. This model of fundraising resulted in an average member pledge of 2.9 percent of their income or nearly twice the pledge. Retain an envelope service.
An envelope service will mail into each home on your mailing list a set of envelopes each month. It contains at least four envelopes that are pre-printed with the name of your church and the name of the member. Each envelope will have the date of one Sunday on it. Of course, the logic is to serve as a gentle reminder