Chad Furlong Response

Wow, is all I can say after sitting through class yesterday!  I felt like I connected with Chad in so many different ways while he was talking, I was so excited to hear about the things he was doing and how he was running his ministries and what was working for him. I really enjoyed listening to him and learning new things about my future ministry. Chad did such an amazing job at showing me and I'm sure the rest of us what it is we specifically need to value when it comes to discipleship. Everything he was saying was incredible and was something that inspired me so many different levels.

One of the things I loved that he talked about was how much we need to value love & intimacy with God & with others. I loved when Chad said “the greatest compliment anyone could ever give me is you always love people.” That was so amazing to me because that is probably the best compliment I could ever get as well, but I had never thought about anyone ever saying it. But, I think love is one of the key things in ministry that is sometimes overlooked on so many different levels. The reason I say that is because I think as Christians I think sometimes we think love is just common to us all because we are so used to God loving us. Which in most cases is true, but in other cases we have to dig down deep sometimes to really show love to someone. For instance someone who might have hurt us or done something to us in the past. If we can't show love to people then technically we can't show love to God because we are not able to willing sacrifice the love God has given us from him to pour out onto his people no matter what they've done to us. It's hard to show love to those people at times even as Christians, but if we keep love God and ask him to pour more of his love in us for other people, even loving those people who hurt us will become easier and will help you to make your ministry into one big loving family as long as it's all centered around loving God and what he's longing to do with your ministry.

The next thing that I really loved that he said was, make your ministry sexy! When you’re building your ministry up to start in years to come make it something that applies to the people around you, and make it look good. Make it look sharp not only on the outside, but on the inside, with the people who are working with you and the things that are being set up around the rooms. Make sure you are making your ministry connect to the crowd you are trying to connect with. But, another thing he said that really got to me was people aren’t interested in how your sign looks on the outside or how big the building is, they are only interested if they can find healing in it. Which is why I think your ministry can’t just be sharp on the inside and outside of the building, but also inside the hearts of the ministry team. I think that there has got to be a lot of prayer and love poured into each and every person who is on that team and they have to be prepared for each person who walks through the doors of their ministry that day.

God showed me so much during class yesterday and I’m still trying to process it all. I could go on and on with the notes I took, but I think I should probably quit while I’m ahead. This meant so much to me to learn so much about discipleship and all the key value points Chad taught us. I’m incredibly thankful for that class yesterday. I’m getting very excited for the future ministry God has in store for me whatever that may be, the wheels in my head have been turning since class ended yesterday. (:

10 Questions to Unchurched Friends

1. What's the reason why you don't attend church regularly?

2. Have you ever been involved in any church or beliefs in the past?

3. Do you notice anything different about Christians who go to church today? Why or why not?

4. Do you actually see going to church as something of value to you or other people?

5. Why do you think so many people don't go to church?

6. Did you ever feel unwelcomed or like you didn't fit in when you walked into a church?

7. If the church could do one thing for you, what would it be?

8.Would you ever consider trying to go to a different church than you were used to in the past? Why or why not?

9. If there was something you could change about a church today, what would it be?

10. If you could describe in your own words in a short sentence how would you describe God to me?

Jan Workman Response

"Yes kids can quote scripture, but they are pretty much clueless on how to apply those scriptures to their own life. The problem is, most adults are the same way "

When she said that something clicked in me that I didn't realize before, as leaders in a church in any type of ministry you have influence wherever you go and you will lead people down a path. Whether they are little kids or an elderly bible study you will have an influence as long as you have a process that works. Jan had a process that worked with her kids ministry and years later she even gets to see the fruits of her labor and the kids she once taught hours each week getting God's word in she now sees them doing what God's called them to do. I think it's amazing how she had such an influence on those kids and she was able to help them get it and let it stick with them all these years later. Another thing I liked about her was how amazing of a leader she seems to be, she knows what she wants and who she is she's very much straight forward, but in a good way. I love how God has given her this gift to reach out to people and know how to read people to help push them to help get them involved in some way.

"When you're doing something effective people are going to open their doors" When she said this I smiled because I’ve witnessed it in so many ways where when something good happens so many good people will open their doors and be willing help lend a hand. God has a plan even when you don't expect it. :)

 I think something that I could take out of what she was saying is that when I have a job in ministry I need to come up with a creative plan that works and that's different that helps stick into people's minds. Get to know the people I'm working with in deeper ways on a daily basis. Get them connected in areas that they work the best in and are most comfortable with. I think she did an amazing job and I could have taken a book of notes and I will most likely go back and watch the video over again that's how much I really did love everything she was saying. Really great stuff! :)