Literature Sales.
Again, this is an area that is under utilised, but one with great potential for being a very effective tool of ministry. That having been said, this area has already grown and is well established in both Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Paper Sales (War Cry) have almost doubled in the last 12 months and can easily be expanded a great deal further. The War Cry is one of the best ‘weapons’ we have and we need to make use of it as effectively as possible.
At present we have approximately 50 copies going into Grimsby each week and around 120 into Cleethorpes. If more people are encouraged to become involved in this area we can see huge increases in numbers. In terms of street sales, a second Grimsby stand could be started. Allowing for 60 papers per stand, that would mean we have 240 copies of the War Cry going out each week via this route. It goes without saying that the resultant increase in funds would be welcome also. Our income could go up by around £3,500 per year as a result, thus reducing our current annual deficit by at least 15%.
However, one of the drawbacks of the current situation is that the vast majority of the papers that go out are going to people over fifty. That in itself is not an issue because the over 50’s have as much need of Gods word as anyone else, but it does mean that we are totally failing to reach two or more generations of people. The only practical way of reaching the younger people is to go to them, and that means getting back into the pubs once more. If we can establish a regular weekly pub round we can, without too much effort, get another 75 copies (minimum) into the hands of people we just would not reach on the streets.
Another area of concern is the number of Salvationists who do not buy and read the War Cry. It is, I believe, seen by many as being for ‘those out there’. At the time of writing this we have only 15 people within the Corps who buy the War Cry each week. Assuming that 35 people in the Corps bought and read the War Cry each week, and then passed it onto a friend, neighbour or colleague, that would further increase the number of people who read of Gods love for us each week.
Finally, in terms of numbers at least, if 30 people in the Corps would invest an extra £1 per week, they could each purchase an extra five copies to simply give away to friends etc, or, even more simply, post them through the doors of five neighbours in their street. After a few weeks this could then be followed upwith a quick knock on the door to ask what people had thought about the paper. A great way to initiate contacts. We could even fund these from the pub round money if needs be.
If all this is added together then the numbers become both surprising and impressive.
Four street stands per week, one pub round, 35 internal sales plus 30 people buying an extra five copies a week and we will be getting 500 copies of the good news of Jesus into the hands of non Christians every single week! Thats 25,000 copies every year!!!
In terms of witness via the written word that is just one string to the bow, so to speak
Leadflets and tracts.
Numbers alone though are not enough. They must be used effectively and as part of a wider programme of ministry via the printed word and as an integral part of our church evenagelism stratagy.
The space on the back page of each copy (local info) must be fully utilised. A rubber stamp and a couple of ink pads would cost no more than £40 to buy. It’s then an easy job to have local information and contact details going out with every copy of the paper. The second element of targeting each copy would be to have a leaflet printed up. A5 size, printed both sides, could carry a lot of information. One side could have a direct and plainly worded Gospel message, while the other side could carry more infiormatrion about church services, groups and activities etc, with a direct invitation to come along to these, and giving clear and easy contact details.
The bottom 30% of this side could be given over to a return slip, where anyone who wanted to know more could fill in their details and either return it either to the person from whom they got the war cry or pop it through the door at the hall.
A leaflet such as this would serve a duel role of being used in the wider area as an insert into every copy of the War Cry, and also as a tool to be used in the immediate locality in a door to door leafleting campaign, as well as for handing to people on the street. Of course there would be a cost implication for this but by allowing us to increase our income from the Street Stands, God has already blessed us with the funds we need. Whats more, if we order these en masse (say an initial 20,000 – which should last us about a year) and also do our own design work, then the costs can be kept to a minimum. Following the model that Barton used we could also have a single sided A5 leaflet produced specifically for Cafe Church with the intention that these could go directly into the hands of people on Freeman Street, giving them both a verbal and written invitation to come along to this.
There are also other areas in which we can utilise the written word for evangelism. Firstly we should get around 400 copies of 'The Unique Jesus'. At 25p each that would cost us around £100. Also, for 25p each, we can order through DHQ copies of Marks Gospel. 200 of these would cost us £50. These can either be used door to door, given out on the streets or handed to people using the hall. Backed up by our own leaflet this can be another valuable tool for us in the fight to preach Christ.
The third way of utilising the written word is through tracts. These can prove to be very effective on a use them or lose them basis. 'Use them' by targeted distribution (ie handing them directly to people) and maybe following this up with a few questions or a conversation later. 'Lose them' by leaving them in places where they could be picked up and read (bus, train, doctors waiting room etc). If ten people in the Corps undertook to 'lose' 5 tracts per week, that would mean 2,500 tracts are 'planted' every year. If as many again are handed out then we are into some serious numbers.
Of course an initial, and understandable, reaction to these suggestions would be that all of this is going to cost a lot of money. Money that we do not have. This assumption would be both correct and incorrect in equal measure. It will cost us a lot of money but it will also cost us nothing. It is true that 'we do not have the money'...at this moment. However, we will have it. I have erred on the side of caution in the projections that follow. In reality i believe that the income will be higher and the costs lower. This though is what it may cost us as a Corps each year.
For the additional papers to give away each week (30 people givng away 5 copies each) I have assumed that 15 of the 30 are able to buy the papers themselves (Laura and I will take 2 of these blocks) and that we subsidise the remaining 15 blocks, which would be 75 papers per week. That would mean an extra outlay by the Corps of £15 per week. Of course if all 30 people buy the papers then we save on this, but I have calculated cautiously on this.
So, these are my projected annual costs.
£750.oo - 75 copies of The War cry each week (3,750 per year)
£600.oo - 20,000 double sided A5 leaflets @ 3p each
£100.oo - 5,000 single sided A5 leaflets @ 2p each
£500.oo - 5,000 tracts @ 10p each
£100.oo - 400 copies 'The Unique Jesus'
£ 50.oo - 200 copies St Marks Gospel
£ 40.oo - Rubber stamp + 2 inkpads.
£2,140.oo - Total cost per year
That is, without doubt, a great deal of money. Especially for a church running the deficit levels that we are. However, the good news is that we can cover this with ease. These are my annual projected income figures from paper sales. Remember though that these are conservative estimates.
£11,250 - Currant Street Stand income
£ 3,750 - Extra Grimsby Street Stand
£ 3,225 - Pub round income
£18,225 - Total projected annual income
The key figure in these projections though are the ones for the extra street stand and the pub round. Based on these rather conservative estimates, we can cover the full cost of the extra papers, the full £2,140 for the other papers/leaflets and tracts, and still put at LEAST £3,385 per year into Corps funds (about 15% of our deficit). This of course does not include the boost we get leading up to Christmas.
Open Air Evangelism
This is what Booth used to call 'Our special sphere'. These days we get out onto the streets barely a handful of times a year. Easter Sunday morning and a handful of times leading up to Christmas. Whilst accepting that such factors as numbers and age restrict our options here, it is still entirely faesable for us to do much more in this area. In terms of 'traditional' open air meetings, we could and (IMHO) should be aiming to be out at least once, but preferably twice, a month. Not, as is the norm, before the morning meeting, but either afterwards or during the afternoon, and targetting just one area rather than trying to spread ourselves too thinly. My suggestion would be to use one of the open airs each month to back up the Cleethorpes work, so an open air, followed by the meeting.
I also suggest we do these from Easter till the end of October and then take a break through the winter months (don't want to actually kill anyone after all)
This way we can establish contacts with local residents, backed up by leafletting and door to door visits. Even allowing for limited numbers and age related issues, one hour twice a month is a committment we can and should undertake. Half a dozen band members, a couple of leaders and half a dozen door knockers would be very effective. If done in an afternoon we could tie this in with a Corps 'faith tea' and thus make progress in the blue area of our Trinitarian Compass. Sharing together in this way would be good for us and bring us closer together.
So far, none of what I have discussed here is 'new' so to speak. War Cry evengelism is as old as the Army almost. Tracts are a tried and tested method as well (I just want to use than as effectively as possible). Cafe Church, while new to us, is proven and working elsewhere. Everything else is just using what we already have to maximum effect and value.
There is an area though that is brand new to us in Grimsby, though it's effectiveness has been proven in other regions of the country. That is whats known as street art (or Sketch board) evengelism. It would require a team of around half a dozen people and that team would need to be trained. Such training is available although it would probabaly cost money (a question there for our DDE perhaps?).
However, if we are to have a significant impact and see any real growth then we have to start taking things much more seriously than we are now, both in terms of finances and time. This project could be one for the future, but it has proven to be a very successful area of street evangelism elsewhere.
Prayer.
Of course the thing that must underpin anything and everything we do is prayer. Lots of prayer. Otherwise we are doomed to fail before we begin. Of course, back in the day, Prayer meeting were a regular and integral part of prayer life. I am not suggesting that we try and return to that once more, as it would be impractical to do so. However, a Corps prayer meeting, say monthly, is entirely feasable and (IMHO) to be desired. However, prayer for the work the church is doing can become and integral part of the house group meetings, with each group being asked to focus on one or two particular areas.
The other area of our Corps prayer life that must continue and develop are the prayer walks. I believe that these are essential if we are to be effective and make a difference in our community.
Conclusions
Overall my feeling is that we are already doing lots of very good things. We just need to do thewm better and more effectively. Yes, there are new thing to work towards, but I believe that we have a basis here to move forward significantly and to become a healthy, thriving and growing church. God is going to do something big, both in our Corps and in our town and we have a major role to play in that. As NCD progresses I am very confident that we will see significant rises in our scores, and our congregation.
Whats more I believe that we cuold be a catylyst for other churches in this area. if we can show that NCD works, and that people are finding the Lord as a result, then they too may well want to go down a similer road.
This could be big...really big.
Again, this is an area that is under utilised, but one with great potential for being a very effective tool of ministry. That having been said, this area has already grown and is well established in both Grimsby and Cleethorpes. Paper Sales (War Cry) have almost doubled in the last 12 months and can easily be expanded a great deal further. The War Cry is one of the best ‘weapons’ we have and we need to make use of it as effectively as possible.
At present we have approximately 50 copies going into Grimsby each week and around 120 into Cleethorpes. If more people are encouraged to become involved in this area we can see huge increases in numbers. In terms of street sales, a second Grimsby stand could be started. Allowing for 60 papers per stand, that would mean we have 240 copies of the War Cry going out each week via this route. It goes without saying that the resultant increase in funds would be welcome also. Our income could go up by around £3,500 per year as a result, thus reducing our current annual deficit by at least 15%.
However, one of the drawbacks of the current situation is that the vast majority of the papers that go out are going to people over fifty. That in itself is not an issue because the over 50’s have as much need of Gods word as anyone else, but it does mean that we are totally failing to reach two or more generations of people. The only practical way of reaching the younger people is to go to them, and that means getting back into the pubs once more. If we can establish a regular weekly pub round we can, without too much effort, get another 75 copies (minimum) into the hands of people we just would not reach on the streets.
Another area of concern is the number of Salvationists who do not buy and read the War Cry. It is, I believe, seen by many as being for ‘those out there’. At the time of writing this we have only 15 people within the Corps who buy the War Cry each week. Assuming that 35 people in the Corps bought and read the War Cry each week, and then passed it onto a friend, neighbour or colleague, that would further increase the number of people who read of Gods love for us each week.
Finally, in terms of numbers at least, if 30 people in the Corps would invest an extra £1 per week, they could each purchase an extra five copies to simply give away to friends etc, or, even more simply, post them through the doors of five neighbours in their street. After a few weeks this could then be followed upwith a quick knock on the door to ask what people had thought about the paper. A great way to initiate contacts. We could even fund these from the pub round money if needs be.
If all this is added together then the numbers become both surprising and impressive.
Four street stands per week, one pub round, 35 internal sales plus 30 people buying an extra five copies a week and we will be getting 500 copies of the good news of Jesus into the hands of non Christians every single week! Thats 25,000 copies every year!!!
In terms of witness via the written word that is just one string to the bow, so to speak
Leadflets and tracts.
Numbers alone though are not enough. They must be used effectively and as part of a wider programme of ministry via the printed word and as an integral part of our church evenagelism stratagy.
The space on the back page of each copy (local info) must be fully utilised. A rubber stamp and a couple of ink pads would cost no more than £40 to buy. It’s then an easy job to have local information and contact details going out with every copy of the paper. The second element of targeting each copy would be to have a leaflet printed up. A5 size, printed both sides, could carry a lot of information. One side could have a direct and plainly worded Gospel message, while the other side could carry more infiormatrion about church services, groups and activities etc, with a direct invitation to come along to these, and giving clear and easy contact details.
The bottom 30% of this side could be given over to a return slip, where anyone who wanted to know more could fill in their details and either return it either to the person from whom they got the war cry or pop it through the door at the hall.
A leaflet such as this would serve a duel role of being used in the wider area as an insert into every copy of the War Cry, and also as a tool to be used in the immediate locality in a door to door leafleting campaign, as well as for handing to people on the street. Of course there would be a cost implication for this but by allowing us to increase our income from the Street Stands, God has already blessed us with the funds we need. Whats more, if we order these en masse (say an initial 20,000 – which should last us about a year) and also do our own design work, then the costs can be kept to a minimum. Following the model that Barton used we could also have a single sided A5 leaflet produced specifically for Cafe Church with the intention that these could go directly into the hands of people on Freeman Street, giving them both a verbal and written invitation to come along to this.
There are also other areas in which we can utilise the written word for evangelism. Firstly we should get around 400 copies of 'The Unique Jesus'. At 25p each that would cost us around £100. Also, for 25p each, we can order through DHQ copies of Marks Gospel. 200 of these would cost us £50. These can either be used door to door, given out on the streets or handed to people using the hall. Backed up by our own leaflet this can be another valuable tool for us in the fight to preach Christ.
The third way of utilising the written word is through tracts. These can prove to be very effective on a use them or lose them basis. 'Use them' by targeted distribution (ie handing them directly to people) and maybe following this up with a few questions or a conversation later. 'Lose them' by leaving them in places where they could be picked up and read (bus, train, doctors waiting room etc). If ten people in the Corps undertook to 'lose' 5 tracts per week, that would mean 2,500 tracts are 'planted' every year. If as many again are handed out then we are into some serious numbers.
Of course an initial, and understandable, reaction to these suggestions would be that all of this is going to cost a lot of money. Money that we do not have. This assumption would be both correct and incorrect in equal measure. It will cost us a lot of money but it will also cost us nothing. It is true that 'we do not have the money'...at this moment. However, we will have it. I have erred on the side of caution in the projections that follow. In reality i believe that the income will be higher and the costs lower. This though is what it may cost us as a Corps each year.
For the additional papers to give away each week (30 people givng away 5 copies each) I have assumed that 15 of the 30 are able to buy the papers themselves (Laura and I will take 2 of these blocks) and that we subsidise the remaining 15 blocks, which would be 75 papers per week. That would mean an extra outlay by the Corps of £15 per week. Of course if all 30 people buy the papers then we save on this, but I have calculated cautiously on this.
So, these are my projected annual costs.
£750.oo - 75 copies of The War cry each week (3,750 per year)
£600.oo - 20,000 double sided A5 leaflets @ 3p each
£100.oo - 5,000 single sided A5 leaflets @ 2p each
£500.oo - 5,000 tracts @ 10p each
£100.oo - 400 copies 'The Unique Jesus'
£ 50.oo - 200 copies St Marks Gospel
£ 40.oo - Rubber stamp + 2 inkpads.
£2,140.oo - Total cost per year
That is, without doubt, a great deal of money. Especially for a church running the deficit levels that we are. However, the good news is that we can cover this with ease. These are my annual projected income figures from paper sales. Remember though that these are conservative estimates.
£11,250 - Currant Street Stand income
£ 3,750 - Extra Grimsby Street Stand
£ 3,225 - Pub round income
£18,225 - Total projected annual income
The key figure in these projections though are the ones for the extra street stand and the pub round. Based on these rather conservative estimates, we can cover the full cost of the extra papers, the full £2,140 for the other papers/leaflets and tracts, and still put at LEAST £3,385 per year into Corps funds (about 15% of our deficit). This of course does not include the boost we get leading up to Christmas.
Open Air Evangelism
This is what Booth used to call 'Our special sphere'. These days we get out onto the streets barely a handful of times a year. Easter Sunday morning and a handful of times leading up to Christmas. Whilst accepting that such factors as numbers and age restrict our options here, it is still entirely faesable for us to do much more in this area. In terms of 'traditional' open air meetings, we could and (IMHO) should be aiming to be out at least once, but preferably twice, a month. Not, as is the norm, before the morning meeting, but either afterwards or during the afternoon, and targetting just one area rather than trying to spread ourselves too thinly. My suggestion would be to use one of the open airs each month to back up the Cleethorpes work, so an open air, followed by the meeting.
I also suggest we do these from Easter till the end of October and then take a break through the winter months (don't want to actually kill anyone after all)
This way we can establish contacts with local residents, backed up by leafletting and door to door visits. Even allowing for limited numbers and age related issues, one hour twice a month is a committment we can and should undertake. Half a dozen band members, a couple of leaders and half a dozen door knockers would be very effective. If done in an afternoon we could tie this in with a Corps 'faith tea' and thus make progress in the blue area of our Trinitarian Compass. Sharing together in this way would be good for us and bring us closer together.
So far, none of what I have discussed here is 'new' so to speak. War Cry evengelism is as old as the Army almost. Tracts are a tried and tested method as well (I just want to use than as effectively as possible). Cafe Church, while new to us, is proven and working elsewhere. Everything else is just using what we already have to maximum effect and value.
There is an area though that is brand new to us in Grimsby, though it's effectiveness has been proven in other regions of the country. That is whats known as street art (or Sketch board) evengelism. It would require a team of around half a dozen people and that team would need to be trained. Such training is available although it would probabaly cost money (a question there for our DDE perhaps?).
However, if we are to have a significant impact and see any real growth then we have to start taking things much more seriously than we are now, both in terms of finances and time. This project could be one for the future, but it has proven to be a very successful area of street evangelism elsewhere.
Prayer.
Of course the thing that must underpin anything and everything we do is prayer. Lots of prayer. Otherwise we are doomed to fail before we begin. Of course, back in the day, Prayer meeting were a regular and integral part of prayer life. I am not suggesting that we try and return to that once more, as it would be impractical to do so. However, a Corps prayer meeting, say monthly, is entirely feasable and (IMHO) to be desired. However, prayer for the work the church is doing can become and integral part of the house group meetings, with each group being asked to focus on one or two particular areas.
The other area of our Corps prayer life that must continue and develop are the prayer walks. I believe that these are essential if we are to be effective and make a difference in our community.
Conclusions
Overall my feeling is that we are already doing lots of very good things. We just need to do thewm better and more effectively. Yes, there are new thing to work towards, but I believe that we have a basis here to move forward significantly and to become a healthy, thriving and growing church. God is going to do something big, both in our Corps and in our town and we have a major role to play in that. As NCD progresses I am very confident that we will see significant rises in our scores, and our congregation.
Whats more I believe that we cuold be a catylyst for other churches in this area. if we can show that NCD works, and that people are finding the Lord as a result, then they too may well want to go down a similer road.
This could be big...really big.
