www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization What is your Church doing to grow?

I wanted to get ideas about what your Church is doing to grow. I also wanted to share what we are doing at the same time. Perhaps we can share ideas that work.

1st. We have contacted the local paper and they did a write up on our Church. ( Byzantine Catholic Church celebrates Feast of St. Nicholas on Sunday [tcpalm.com]).

2nd. We are using a service by Home Owner Data Service [newhomedata.net]for which we get monthly mailings of people moving into our area. We then mail everyone new a brochure about our Church.

3rd. We hold routine Evangelization meetings and share ideas and discuss progress.

4th. Most important we routinely pray for growth.

5th. We did have a local radio program but because of funding that has been cancelled. Perhaps we will start it up again.

6th. We are involved in public ministries (ex. Pro-Life work with other Churches).

7th. We have a group of Greeters who make sure that each person, whether a regular parishioner or a first time visitor, is made to feel welcome upon arriving at our church. Greeters give each person a copy of the parish bulletin and the proper parts of the Divine Liturgy for that particular Sunday. They also make a special effort to see that newcomers are seated with someone who can help them to follow along with our beautiful Liturgy.

So, what is your Church doing?

I expected someone to post a reply to this thread. But when I wrote it I knew in the back of my head that most BCCs aren't doing anything to grow. Sad!

You know when Bishop Andrew Pataki came to our Church recently he gave us marching orders to grow. We took him seriously. I fine it difficult to believe that he hasn't given similar orders to the Churches up north.

The UGCC that I attend attracted me by welcoming us into the family at the very first instant that my wife and I attended the first liturgy.

In business, the best client is one who is referred to the business by another. How does one get referrals? By giving spectacular customer service, one creates a raving fan of the business so that he has no option other than spending 20 minutes telling everyone about the business.

This should be the primary evangelization tool. Every parishioner should treat everyone he comes in contact with as a Christian should treat his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. He should be willing to lay down his life for his brothers and make everyone he comes into contact with feel that way.

Sadly, sinners such as myself don't always do this. But Saints will pull in new parishioners like magnets. Holy lay people are the secret ingredients to parish growth. Get a bunch of those and your parish will get so big that it will have to split into two parishes, then four, etc... Even better, let's become living, breathing saints and our parishes will achieve exponential growth!

So, is this why the Evangelical Churches are growing at an exponential rate while our Churches are declining in an exponential rate?

Are Evangelicals living Saints? Is there faith the true and proper Christian faith? Is this the reason why they are bearing much fruit?

"What is your Church doing to grow?"

Nothing!

Have you ever seen that Joel Osteen guy?

He has the largest megachurch in America. Have you listened to what he says?

He doesn't say anything!!!

He is no different than Wayne Dyer, except that he mentions "God" every few minutes and he says that he believes in the Bible without expressly explaining what that means except for that God wants you to be happy and successful.

We live in a extremely shallow, pop a pill, no commitment society.

The Eastern Churches are deep, so deep, there is no quick fix, but a lifetime of struggle, and they require an eternal commitment. We are offering a diametrically oppositional concept to this society. Those we will attract are those who are seeking that counter-cultural mindset. But just like in the first 3 centuries, Saints are what converted the pagan empire.

Is an eastern megachurch really a good thing?

There is NO reason why my little Church in Florida can't be the next "mega church"! No reason at all!

We are like a beautiful jewel hidden from sight. All you have to do is take it out and wear it.

InCogNeat3's,

Might I recommend you go to your priest and volunteer to start a mailing campaign? You can use the service that we are using. It might not be much, but its a start. At the same time you need to organize greeters at the front of the Church in the event that new faces do show up. If you don't have that then the new people will turn around and leave. We know from experience.

If you need help organizing I can share resources and ideas we have implemented.

Perhaps God is calling you to do this?

Have you ever seen that Joel Osteen guy?

Dr. Eric,

Do you think he rehearses his steps and turns too?

Now I know he must, he takes X amount of steps and turns 30 degrees, then he walks so many feet and does an about face. Seems to me there are better things to do with your time in God. Sorry! It's just seems to me to extremely corregraphed. Oh well, I guess they would say whatever floats your boat. They must float an awful lot of boats.

Or maybe that is just their version of our porcessions, only the procession faces the man and not Christ as the Altar.

"Is an eastern megachurch really a good thing?"

Dr Eric,

Depending on your definition of megaChurch. If your definition of megaChurch is the Protestant one then the answer is simply No. If you definition is thousands of faithful Byzantine Catholics going to Liturgy on Sunday then the answer is Yes.

I want the second definition. Some Antiochian Orthodox have been successful in this area. We can too!

Ray S and others:

Our parish like most others is small and working on growing too, but rejoice! Over the past three years we have more than doubled! Many other parishes are growing too. It takes a lot of work, prayer, outreach, personal contact, and time.

It also takes time to get on this forum, find threads like this one, and then respond positivly to them. (there are so many threads and most of us do not read them all) I am sure that others will share their possitive ideas if we give them some time.

Sadly, when we are frustrated at the lack of growth in the Church(or speed of which it grows), we often frustrate others, which in turn slows the process more. (I admit that I often get frustrated about this topic, but thankfully my wife helps me out of most self inflicted depressions.) Be of good cheer. Keep working, keep praying.

In addition to many of the above stratergies our parish tries to:

• Work very closely with the schools - We on average volunteer 3 days a week in the Catholic Schools, of which only about 5-ish % are church going students and staff (Thats a 95-ish % captive audience!)
• potlucks - every Sunday after liturgy we eat! This is a great opportunity to get to know one another and to sound out ideas and needs in the parish. I wish I could take some credit for this one, but this was here before I came.
• "Theology on Tap" (meeting Young Adults in a pub-like setting) - a great program that we can use to welcome many who are spiritually hungry but also not comfortable with walking into a Church (yet)
• education - people appreciate the faith (& liturgy) much more when they understand it.
• having a human priest - being normal and not super-human makes the clergy much more believable and approachable.
• programs for children - work with the kids and the parents (guardians) will follow. This is also a great way to catechise those parents too.
• good, authentic, Eastern Liturgy - we struggle some times with our singing and such in our parish (just like everyone else) but this is critical. If they have a positive experience they are likly to return. If the singing is painful, the homily is bad, the people are all glum, then they will certainly not come back.
• asking people to invite their family and friends. It is not only the priest's job to evangelize.
• having visible projects on the go, and a busy schedule. If people see that there is stuff going on they tend to want to see how things turn out. (even if we only get small crowds)
• asking people to help - There are many people on the perefery (sp?). If we ask them to help, they feel appreciated and wanted (which they are).
• propaganda - we are working on a pamphlet to introduce people to our parish and to the Christian East. They wont come unless they understand who we are.
• some level of non-ethnicity - each parish is unique, but in areas where there are no options, everyone needs to feel welcome, especially non ethnic people. I always get people asking if we (a UGCC) parish are just for Ukrainians. My responce is: "The Ukr. Cath. Church is not just for Ukr's, just like the Roman Cath. Church is not just for Italians".
• much more...

I believe people are not looking for perfection in a parish, they are looking for community, sincerity and effort. (they will smell the hypocracy if we try to pretend we are perfect) If we work, pray and encourage eachother, then things will go well.

The area I think we need to work on most is inter-parish cooperation. It hurts when one parish makes evey effort, and a neibouring does not. Hopefully we can realize that we are not a bunch of seperate Churches, but one Church. But even if others do not work together as we wish they would, we need to keep going. As Patriarch Husar said: "With God - Forward!"

Take heart: Even though our Churches will likely shrink a bunch over the next while, we have already seen some increadible spiritual renewal. The momentum is growing. People are spiritually hungry, and they are learning about the richness of the Food we offer. Rejoice; nothing can stop God. The Church will not die.

Fr. Bo

My point is that people who attend those shallow megachurches of upwards of 50-60,000 people per Sunday are only getting a shallow message and no liturgy. It's like going to a lecture at a university. Is that what you want, a shallow church?

Eastern worship is deep and demands a great deal from the laity and clergy. Most Americans can't handle it, it's too personal, it involves all one's senses, it's just too beautiful for the average "Joe Twelve-Pack."

Why do you think that most people only bother to show up for Christmas and Easter?

I can grow your Church by 500% right here and now, find a way for the C&E Crowd to show up every Sunday, now that I think of it.

Question:

Wasn't Hagia Sophia a "megachurch?"

Amen! Preach on brother Pseudo-Athanasius... Preach on...

It is easy to get people into a megachurch if the society supports the ritual. Especially if the Emperor, who has the Divine Right, attends.