How Do You Call Forth Missionaries To Work The Dinner Church?
Month Four Coaching Question – How do you call forth missionaries to work the Dinner Church?
A. PRAY!
B. Ask leaders for a report on their growth steps from the previous month “How do you develop your core team into leaders?”
C. QUESTION FOR THIS SESSION: How do you call forth missionaries to work the Dinner Church?
• For this call we are assuming that you have a group of people gathered that are ready to help plant the Dinner Church, a core group of people.
• In this call we are not addressing your core team like last month, we are talking about your people who are catching the vision to be involved, to work, serve, to sit down and have conversations with people.
• They probably don’t have a specific task as yet, but they are joining you as missionaries to the neighborhood in which you are planting.
1. Talk to the people in your Sunday gatherings about dinner church. Share pictures, stories, testimonies. Help them catch the vision. Give them a means to respond – to obtain information about ministry in Dinner Church (QR code, connect cards, etc). They will begin to serve.
• The challenge with this group is continuing to cast the vision for what you are setting out to accomplish through Dinner Church. Help them catch the theology behind DC, the WHY…
2. You may not have an opportunity to initially watch the video series with them. It is hugely beneficial to have them read the “Welcome to Dinner Church” book ($9.95 each).
3. Have ongoing training to get new people to buy into the vision (2 sessions per year?)
4. They are going to catch the vision through you and your core team.
5. Guests will begin to volunteer and serve. Good Samaritans. Allow them to work beside team members who set up, cook, serve, clean up. Sometimes people have to belong to believe.
D. After launching – some keys to helping this group of people catch and maintain the vision.
Huddle up 20 minutes before you start each dinner to pray and remind people what we are trying to accomplish:
1. This is a church.
2. The most important part of this meal is having conversations with people around tables. We are not cooking a meal FOR people, we are eating a meal WITH people.
3. We are not playing the role of the Holy Spirit by pointing out sin in people’s lives.
4. This is not a place to have an Us/Them mentality…it is a place to be a friend and neighbor and realize our commonality.
5. The key to building relationships is listening…asking non-threatening questions about them. (I see you are wearing a Philadelphia Eagles hoodie. Are you really a fan?)
6. The Holy Spirit will show you when they are open to talk about Jesus. Often, they will ask a question that will open the door. (“Why do you do this every week?”)
7. Have prayer at your table or anytime someone shares a need.
E. Tell a short story of how a group applied this question to their plant and the results they experienced.
F. The Importance of Consistency
1. There is power in showing up, week after week and maintaining quality ministry.
2. Food consistency – good meal, generous servings, colorful, hot.
3. Message consistency – gospel message – short, to the point.
• If you have a message after the meal is served, make sure they know that it’s ok to eat and leave if they are not interested in hearing the message.
• At Newport’s Dinner Church, “The Dinner Table,” we do the 8-10 minute message before the meal and then focus on table conversation during and after the meal.
4. Welcoming environment, no one eats alone.
5. Greeters/Security at the door (Print name tags for guests and team members. First names).
6. A Great Commission environment – We must embrace an evangelists’ identity – Everyone is an evangelist. As we extend Christs love, acceptance and compassion, we are leading them to an encounter with Jesus.
7. Preparing and executing weekly dinners will become tiring…it may seem at times you are not getting any results…That’s when we keep showing up and leave the results to the Holy Spirit.
8. When you are facing a shortage of volunteers at Dinner Church, it’s time to recast the vision…people think you have sufficient team members until they know you don’t. Don’t focus on the need, focus on casting the vision to potential team members.
G. Open Q & A
H. Assignment for each leader: What steps can you take between now and the next monthly meeting to answer the question, “How do you call forth missionaries to work the Dinner Church.” What does this look like in your context as you continue to move toward beginning your Dinner Church?
I. Prayer of blessing over their proposed growth steps the next month.
