Beyond the First Visit

I just returned from the Post Office. I actually went there to mail out letters to the guests we had with us in worship on Sunday. The Lord has really been blessing us to see several new families in attendance for the last consecutive five to six weeks. I have had an opportunity to speak with each of the families and they all seem to really like our congregation and the experience they've had thus far.

For me as Pastor, this presents a heightened sense of "urgency." My chief prayer has been that God would send new family units our way. Now that He has been faithful in answering that plea, I feel as if maybe we have not quite done everything we should in order to increase the possibility of these families staying and joining with us in ministry. This has caused me to go back to my bookshelf and pull down a little book I bought several months ago. I'll admit... I gave it a look over and never really read it in depth. Man... I can actually say that McIntosh really scores big in the area of providing practical suggestions for helping your guests make a transition into a permanent place in your ministry.

Yes, like many other church "how to" books, there are some things that wax a bit "cheesy" or unrealistic to be applied to our context. However, I thought I would suggest this book to those who have often asked (as have I) "what can I do above sending the usual 'it was a blessing to have you with us on this past Lord's day.'?" This book has been a refreshing read and is not too "lofty." It is concise enough for me to have read it since yesterday and still have time to get to the "weightier" reads that will be necessary for the weekend. Wow... Sunday's coming.