fix on

church for dudes

Sorry ladies...but maybe you already figured this out. We lean towards dudes at The Journey. We don’t target a certain age group or social-economic segment, but we do try to keep things more male than female. Why? Because there is a problem. You can see it all over the world, read about it in books, or google it online - men don’t like church. Many churches have a male pastor, but are run by women on most levels. Women fill the positions, serve, and attend regularly. Thank God for women. So, while we don’t necessarily target men, we try to stay more masculine. MENTAL BREAK - Masculine is not a manly word - Anyways, the thing is, if you hook the husband/father, you get the whole family. I can’t tell you how many times a women has come to The Journey and says that she can’t get her husband to come to church. Then he comes one time and he’s hooked. If you go to the Journey, think about it...what guys stuff do you see? Here are a few things...

-Less songs about love and emotions, more songs about purpose or God (ie Solid Rock)

-lots of dumb guy humor

-illustrations about sports and stuff

-paint the church in guy friendly colors

-put lots of tv’s up to get the sport bar feel

-logos that are not fufu (even like at the coffee bar)

-show clips from guy movies, not chick flicks

-throw cantaloupes off a roof

-be practical, keep things simple, and give vision

This doesn’t mean that we ignore women or don’t address or respect their needs, thoughts, and ideas. It just means that there are a lot of things that already attached women to church and we want them to participate at The Journey with the husbands, fathers, and other dudes.

Agency Recap: May 09

This was a special meeting with Vince Antonucci. We grilled out (thanks to Mike & Dan). Paul gave a quick financial update after our mission vegas video (it included Go Fish). Then Vince shared with us a little of his story and his heartbeat for the Church. He shared how he was in his 20's when we decided to follow God. His question was...HOW CAN I GO 20+ YEARS IN AMERICA AND NOT HEAR ABOUT JESUS OR EVEN KNOW A CHRISTIAN? There are people all around us in the same situation. We need to be the light. JESUS ALWAYS FOUND THE DARKEST PERSON IN TOWN AND BROUGHT THE LIGHT TO THEM. Vince shared a story about a time he lost his son at a water park. It was emotional just hearing him share it - that is how God feels about his children - many are out there and God is calling for them to just please come back. Will we be the light? Vince shared about a time when he was in BK and even though he didn't really want to, he help a guy fill out an application, then he bought his lunch, then he had to eat lunch with this man. This man believed in many god's - he said that god feeds us, god cares for us - today you are god to me. While his theology was wrong, in many ways he was right. Will we share God's love with people and His light shine through us? God gives us the same mission that Jesus was on - to be the light. Vince shared some appreciation to The Journey for who we are and who we are reaching. He challenged us as we grow to not be inward focused and not lose sight of all the people who need to hear about Jesus. He said it is hard because we pay for stuff with our giving at church, we are committed and everyone is selfish by nature. But we can't lose focus of the mission and God's calling for our lives.

If you missed, you really missed this time. Vince was hilarious and challenging. We broke up into groups to discuss what Vince talked about...please leave your comments with any insights from your groups.