Early Results from TCN Process are Encouraging

[David J. Born]

Here are some reports from congregations in the Mid-South District which have been working the TCN process over the past few months:

First Lutheran, Hot Springs AK. First had an initial downturn in attendance but now is seeing some very good growth, . Attendance is up over 17% so far in 2008 over fall of 2007, which was their low point. There have already been 25 confirmations this year. Offerings are up $500 per week so far this year.

Community of Faith Lutheran in Little Rock, AK, has shown an increase of 7% in worship in 2008 over last year.

Pilgrim Lutheran , Jonesboro has shown an increase of 11% in worship and 7% in offerings in 2008 over last year.

Grace Lutheran, Knoxville TN, has increased in worship by 8% over last year.

[Terry Tieman]

Net Fishing Lands Big Catch in Hot Springs

On Saturday, June 20, about 50 people attended our net-fishing event. In the morning we heard an inspiring presentation about being a church with an outreach focus. In the afternoon all of the participants went out into our community to do servant evangelism events. We broke up into several groups. Some groups went prayer walking at an apartment complex with about 200 units. Other groups hung VBS door hangers in a neighborhood known to be full of families with children. The rest of the groups went around town handing out cold drinks on a hot day along with free t-shirts. All of the groups had great stories to tell about their interaction with individuals they met. We had some families send their kids to VBS. (See below.)

We accidentally happened upon a soapbox derby event where the crowd was extremely appreciative of the cold drinks. Kids immediately put on the t-shirts. Several people mentioned how amazing it was that we would do such a thing. Everyone who took part came away with an excitement about being in the community and doing more such events. From the debriefing time we began to plan our next event, which is going to be a family fun party in a city park sometime in October. What a joy it was to see people so excited about getting outside the walls of the church and into the community where we can make a greater impact on sharing the Gospel through the opportunities that come with random acts of kindness. (See Pictures on Main Page.)

More Net Fishing

Our VBS was held the week of July 14-18. For the 2nd year in a row we had 120 day campers from our YMCA. In addition we had 220 from our own church, preschool and day campers.
On Sunday July 20 we invited all the families to come to our regular worship service that featured the VBS program and songs. We had 75 more people than usual that day, with several families coming for the first time and who have continued coming for the past several Sundays. As part of the closing program on that Sunday we handed out certificates to all of the VBS children that included a color picture of the children in their crew, along with their crew leader, as a reminder of the wonderful time they had at VBS. (See Picture.)

Having gone through the revitalization process, our congregation not only allowed the second service to be used in this way but they actually encouraged it. We had more volunteers involved than in previous years and everyone was excited about doing it and trusting God to work through it. What a difference from past years when volunteers were sometimes hard to find.

(Rev. Jon Beyer is pastor of First Lutheran Church, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Rev. Randall Lewis is pastor of Community of Faith Lutheran Church, Little Rock, Arkansas. First has been participating in TCN’s Mission Revitalization process for about a year, and Community of Faith about 9 months.)