TIPS, TRENDS & RESOURCES - Christianity Today

Super Sixties

Several years ago a research project found that fewer than 1 out of l00,000 people over 70 who are exposed to the gospel will make a decision for Christ.

Despite that statistic, Super Sixties, a senior citizens fellowship from Clearwater, Florida, often registers 50 decisions a week. Operating out of Clearwater’s Trinity Baptist Church, the group saw 146 people come to Christ in January 1981.

“We are an interdenominational fellowship that ministers to the 55-105 year-old bracket,” says Dave Edwards, program director.

Each Thursday, 1200 to 1500 attend their meeting, which consists of group singing, lunch, and a special program. Two hundred volunteers from neighboring congregations serve the lunch and take charge of clean-up. Trinity Church furnishes transportation for those who need it.

Since Trinity Church finances the program, there is no cost to the members. In four years, however, they have raised money on their own to provide total support for one missionary family.

“Super Sixties is not a church service,” says Edwards, “It has all the elements of one, but the social dimensions make it something different- something that appeals to seniors who don’t like church . “

Religion and Youth

Four recent surveys conducted by the Princeton Religious Research Center discovered the following:

¥ Fewer than 25 percent of teen-agers in the United States have a great deal of confidence in organized religion.

¥ Much greater skepticism about organized religion’s ability to help people cope with their problems is expressed by white teenagers, teens from white-collar occupational backgrounds, and teens with college-educated parents.

¥ Church attendance is higher among younger teens (13-15 years old) than it is among older teens (16-18 years old). ^ ¥>

¥ While more Catholic than Protestant teens attend church regularly, a greater belief in the power of religion is exhibited by Protestant teens.

¥ Even though relatively few teens hold much confidence in the church, they rate ministers very high for honesty and ethics. Also rated high were medical doctors, lawyers, and college teachers.

¥ In questionnaires regarding belief in religion (not organized), 79 percent of teens considered the Ten Commandments relevant guidelines for today. Only 35 percent, however, could name five or more of the commandments, and only three teens in 100 could name all ten. More teens knew about the commandment against adultery than the one against murder. The least known commandment was the one forbidding the worship of idols.

Reading Deacons

For three years each of the nine deacons of Whiterock Baptist Church, Los Alamos, New Mexico, have been reading one book per month.

At the beginning of each monthly meeting, the deacons share insights received from the book they’ve read; then they trade books.

Every nine months they choose nine new books to read and trade. The old books are placed in the church library.

They choose books that relate to each person’s current area of interest, such as prayer, gifts, discipleship, or parenting.

“Our vision for God’s work in the church has been greatly expanded,” says Denny Holder, head deacon. In the present nine-month sequence, they’re reading, among others, The Cost of Discipleship, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dare to Discipline by James Dobson, and The Meaning of Gifts by Paul Tournier.

Youth Lock-ins

Scrapping the conventional three-day youth retreat, Central Baptist Church of Lawton, Oklahoma, now uses the one-night “youth lock-in.”

From 10 o’clock Friday night to 7 o’clock Saturday morning, the youth stay together as one group.

“They don’t sleep,” says youth director Jody Hilliard, “they learn cooperation in a miniature Christian community.

“Everyone who comes must take part in each activity,” Hilliard adds. The activities include fun times, serious talks around the Word, meal preparation, and clean-up.

The element of surprise is crucial to success. “Kids will stay ‘with you’ longer if they’re kept surprised,” says Hilliard. The most recent lock-in included a backwards tricycle race, bowling at two in the morning, and two surprise speakers. “It’s essential to keep things hopping,” says Hilliard.

Other than requiring the kids’ participation, the only rigid rule is that nobody leaves for any reason on their own. This is for security reasons.

According to Hilliard, three elements are required to start an effective lock-in ministry: 1) Older people who can be sponsors for the evening, 2) A facility which is adaptable to many activities, and 3) A director who likes to have fun, but who always provides a way back to the spiritual side of things.

Hilliard believes the best way to begin the evening is with a thought-provoking Christian movie to set the spiritual tone for the lock-in.

There are several advantages of a youth lock-in over the typical youth retreat:

¥ It’s shorter, punchier, and easier to prepare for.

¥ No long-distance travel is required.

¥ It’s much cheaper.

¥ Unsaved kids are more inclined to attend a one-night function than a week-end retreat.

Apartment Ministry

“There’s a definite trend of people moving back into apartments in our city,” says Bonnie Belasic, director of Apartment Ministry, Overland Park Kansas. “Yet churches neglect apartment dwellers in their outreach programs.”

Overland Park Lutheran Church received a grant from the American Lutheran Church designated for such a ministry. The church then enlisted other local congregations to take part in the effort.

They created a six-page newsletter, “The Apartment Door,” in which each church publicized its own programs and activities. They also published articles which discussed questions about Christ, the church, and contemporary issues. One “Door” contained an article about divorced dads. Another featured an article that gave suggestions for giving and receiving support for loneliness.

Each church was responsible to distribute the “Door” in at least one apartment complex in its area. Eventually the church representatives began to uncover needs of people in the complexes, and they set up services to minister to those needs.

They established programs such as Bible classes for children; they provided food and transportation for low-income families; and they counseled people who were exposed to the stresses of divorce or who were beginning new careers.

Through the apartment complex managers, they learned of new residents and left a small welcoming folder in their mail boxes. The folder contained three information cards to make the residents aware of the services the ministry offered.

“The Apartment Ministry has channeled many apartment dwellers into local congregations,” Belasic adds.

Preaching Students

Several evangelical seminary professors agree that the student of preaching is much different than a decade ago.

According to Deane Kemper, professor of ministry at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, “Ten years ago students questioned the activity of preaching. They were part of the radically different youth culture, and they viewed preaching as something weak and lacking. You had to educate them in the strength and great significance of biblical preaching.

“Today’s students are complacent, in the sense that they are uncritical of preaching. Consequently, you have to train them to go beyond simplistic approaches to the construction, delivery, and impact of their sermons.”

As far as the biggest obstacle students of preaching are up against today Professors John Reed of Dallas Theological Seminary and Donald Chatfield of Garrett-Evangelical Seminary agree that, “The greatest struggle involves bringing biblical exposition down to the level of parishioners in understandable, applicable terms.”

Computers

The Ventura Missionary Church in Ventura, California, joined a trend that scores of small businesses have found helpful in streamlining business procedures.

A computer now sits in a room near the church offices. Donated to the church by a computer expert from the congregation, it contains the church directory, Sunday school records, the church payroll, and all church financial accounts.

According to the church administrator, John Cherrie, “The computer saves the church at least eighty man hours a week-two full-time salaries.” It is errorless, easy to update, and has a printing device that writes checks in seconds.

Cherrie operates the computer and has a man from the congregation program it.

The Ventura Missionary Church has over 1,500 members and 100 employees, counting those in its adjoining school. The $20,000 computer would be “too much for smaller churches,” says Cherrie. “It would be great, though, if five or six smaller churches could get together and share one.”

Illustrating Sermons

At prayer meeting each Wednesday night, Erny Malakoff reads the text of the coming Sunday’s sermon.

He asks people to keep an eye open on Thursday and Friday for illustrations that relate to the sermon text.

Often he receives clips from psychology journals, classic novels, newspapers, and Christian books.

On Sunday, Malakoff, pastor of Lakeside Baptist

Church in Oakland, California, refers to those in the congregation who have contributed usable illustrations .

One morning he made mention of someone who had contributed Thoreau’s phrase, “Most men live lives of quiet desperation.” Says Malakoff, “I saw his wife poke him in the ribs with her elbow to make sure he was paying attention to his own illustration.

“The contributors always benefit from having a part in my sermons,” adds Malakoff. “The sermons benefit too.”

A Place To Serve

Recently the Lutheran Council in the USA published a research document that suggested today’s entering college freshmen are more selfish than they were a decade ago. “Their primary objectives express a growing interest in money, power, and status.”

When admissions personnel from the seminaries at Bethany, Bethel, Calvin, and Dallas were asked by LEADERSHIP for any possible parallels in their entering students, the feeling was that theological students are not more selfish than they were a decade ago, but that they are slightly more concerned about secure employment after graduation.

John Cassels, director of student services at Bethany Seminary, clarifies this when he says, “Students today feel a little more pressure to say, ‘If I do this degree, I’m going to have to know I have a job (or a place of ministry) on the other end.’ “