Bishop’s Briefing A Newsletter for Michigan Church of God Ministry Leaders

Happy Thanksgiving! MAY THE BLESSEDNESS OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS BE YOURS!

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Your state office staff members would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our ministers and laity of the Church of God in Michigan a very blessed and joyous Thanksgiving.

As we pause to reflect upon the goodness of God, we humbly and graciously give Him thanks for His many blessings that have come to us through you our partners in ministry. Of all the things for which we are thankful, our ministry partners are at the top of our list!

Petoskey Church Plant A photo overview of the blessings of God upon the ministry of John and Susan Anthony.

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Prayer Conference Former Michigan pastor and wife return as keynote speakers for 2012 Prayer Conference.

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Quest for Trust Information and order form for General Overseer Raymond F. Culpepper’s “Third Initiative,” the Quest for Trust.

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November 2011

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Aliquam

Petoskey Church Plant Baptizes Converts – Starts Youth Ministry

Petoskey Church of God

Photos (Clockwise from top Left)

Water baptism in Lake Michigan; A young lady just baptized; Pastor John and Susan Anthony; the YMCA where the congregation meets; the youth group; Pastor John teaching the Word.

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In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Sed et tellus at quam sagittis pharetra. Donec faucibus sagittis justo.

MICHIGAN 2012 PRAYER CONFERENCE March 1-2, 2012

Church of God Ministry Center ~ Fenton

Mitch and Sharon Maloney, Guest Speakers

Since 1992, Mitch Maloney has served as pastor of the historic North Cleveland Church of God (Tennessee), the oldest continuing Pentecostal church in America. He is the longest tenured pastor in the 105-year history of the congregation. His wife, Sharon, is First Lady of North Cleveland, and a gifted Bible teacher and counselor. Under their leadership, North Cleveland has grown exponentially, and built a massive new facility on the site of the revival that birthed the very first Church of God in Cleveland. More than 1,300 worship each Sunday at North Cleveland Church of God.

Prior to North Cleveland, Pastor Maloney was the founding pastor of Lawndale Church of God in Detroit, which he relocated as Harvest Ministries Church of God in Farmington Hills.

Pastor Mitch will speak in the evening services of March 1 and 2, and Sharon will minister in the morning service on Friday, March 2, 2012. Mark the dates!

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Six Tips From Small Churches of Any Size Bishop’s Briefing November 2011

Christ’s Birthday World Missions Offering

Suggested Date: Sunday, December 4 or 11, 2011

For many years, each local congregation in the Church of God has been asked to receive a special love offering in December designated as a “Christ’s Birthday Offering.”

This offering is designated to assist with tragedies and disasters around the world as they arise. Please encourage each family to give $20.11 and forward it with the December treasurer’s report.

By Elmer Towns A Resource to use next time someone says, “I’d rather go to the big megachurch!”

My 35-plus years of research and experience with small church ministry has uncovered six specific and transferable principles churches of all sizes can adapt to their own unique context.

1) That’s “my” church. In small churches, people tend to think in terms of “my church.” Small church members are much more likely to be involved with the total life of the congregation. And because they are and feel involved, both adults and children are usually more willing to be used in ministry, to give more sacrificially, and to pray more consistently than megachurch attendees.

2) People should know they’re necessary. In congregations of 75 or fewer, people feel necessary when they’re serving and missed when they’re not around. They realize that it takes everyone to carry the load, so they tend to show up for “Cleaning Saturday” or give to a designated project. In megachurches, people don’t feel that sense of necessity.

3) Relationships are key. Members of healthy small churches remain extremely loyal to their church home, primarily because they have relationships there. In a small church, it isn’t difficult to meet and get to know others, to learn names and find a basis to form relationships. Research shows the average small church is made up of five family groups, and usually someone from each family group is involved in the leadership or governing of that local church. The nature of small churches encourages members to depend on other people and build relationships—and that dependency often cultivates loyalty and authentic community.

4) Accountability breeds spiritual maturity. Small churches understand that accountability to both God and others is essential to developing mature Christians. A small church allows people to live life with each other, as members frequently see one another—each weekend in worship, during the week in a small group, and often in a Bible study or ministry team meeting.

5) Pastor proximity nurtures discipleship. A small church often affords its members an actual friendship with the pastor and pastoral staff. It’s not difficult to meet and know the leaders—and come to them for counsel. That kind of pastoral proximity—not found in a megachurch—often nurtures church loyalty and the desire for fellowship.

6) The church doesn’t revolve around the pastor. Because people in a small church know their pastors personally—their strengths and weaknesses, their assets and flaws—they’re also less likely to create a pastorcentric church and instead build a church that’s about people—not the leader. Most megachurches are magnets for dynamic communicators that create a large following. When people can honestly say they’re part of a church because they find true community and they’re growing spiritually there—not just for the great teaching on the weekends—you know your church is not pastorcentric.

Megachurches have made certain contributions, and we should praise God for their influence in our modern world, but never overlook the contribution of the small church as a protective womb where individuals are nurtured as they live for Jesus Christ. Condensed from an article by Elmer Towns. Read the entire article online at www.churchleaders.com.