doing church as a party

Steve Sjogren over at jumpstart church has some observations on turning gatherings into a party. It is a barebones outline of a presentation he made recently to some D.Min. students.

1. Invite Jesus’ presence in a big way to your gatherings.
   
   
2. Invite the city to come to church.
   A. lots of people
   B. on a large scale
   C. all of the time
   
   
3. Prepare your people for newcomers a bit in advance of their arrival
   Don’t get it perfect before you start inviting people.
   
   
4. Never underestimate the power of strategic preaching over a several month time frame to usher in change with your people.
   I learned to speak as I went along. I was thrown in the deep end, had to swim before I drowned, but one thing I did right: I’ve never done a single message without it being a part of a strategic piece of where I was seeing our people going.
   
   
5. Stop demanding perfection (often spelled “e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-c-e”) from all aspects of your services / gatherings.
   
   
6. If you are the primary communicator, two key words: “Lighten Up!”