Ten Touches of Togetherness for Guests Remaining a HighTouch Congregation in a HighTech World

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Ten Touches of Togetherness for GuestsRemaining
a High-Touch Congregation in a High-Tech World
A Sponsoring Church Resource

• By
• Tom Cheyney

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Ten Touches of Togetherness for GuestsAn
Assimilation Strategy

• By
• Tom Cheyney

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Innovative Ways of Welcoming Guests

• You have worked hard to draw new people to your
  church by visiting and sharing Christ. They
  finally come to see this exciting place you have
  described. How do you welcome them to your
  special place? How do you strike a balance
  between allowing them space to experience worship
  and letting them know they are important? What is
  the most effective way to welcome guests to your
  worship service?

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The Ten Touches

• Bringing Them in and Keeping Them There (Chief
  Goal)
• The goal of any and every high-touch church is
  to enable guests to feel not only welcomed, but
  that you cant live without getting to know them
  better! We want our guests to know that one of
  the main reasons God is blessing this fellowship
  is because our people really do care about
  others.

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The Ten Touches

• Here are the significant touches we seek to share
  with each and every guest each time they worship
  on our campus
• Touch 1 Parking Attendants
• I learned this while attending Hickory Grove
  Baptist Church for an evangelism event. More
  cars can be adequately and efficiently parked if
  you have parking attendants. Those who welcome
  guests as they roll down their windows for
  directions have the chance to make a great first
  impression.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 2 Greeters in the Parking Lot
• These individuals are the cheerleaders for
  your church! Like parking attendants, they often
  are the first formal spoken word to our visiting
  guests. It is critical that you use people who
  are positive and focused on the greeters
  ministry, not someone talking to another in the
  parking lot about yesterdays ball game. Instant
  impressions are being made, so dont blow your
  chance to make a good first impression.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 3 Minister of Coats
• I lived in the North for most of my life and
  it gets cold so everyone wears overcoats or
  jackets for a large part of the year. Dont miss
  a chance to minister to guests while you assist
  them with putting their coats in the coat rooms
  or welcome center. Much information has been
  shared while friendly, good-natured believers
  assisted in helping Mom and Dad get the coats off
  of the children and everyone headed towards
  either worship or life groups. But the real
  ministry that is taking place at this station is
  the answering of key questions to draw guests
  into the fellowship and get them where they need
  to be.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 4 Water Fountain Greeters and Coffee
  Station Hosts
• We are a relational society today and much can
  be achieved through gathering around coffee
  stations or water fountains and just getting to
  know one another. Building relationship is a key
  today as the church seeks to minister to its
  community.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 5 Welcome Center Hosts
• This is our place for Life Development Group
  information, care groups, worship celebration
  guides, and the various ministries of the church
  to be displayed. It is also a place for runners
  to assist guests in getting to various areas of
  the church.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 6 LDG Teachers in Opening Assembly
• All of our teachers in the opening assembly
  participate as greeters and introduce guests to
  other LDG members.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 7 Sit With Me in Life Group Please
• The members of Calvary Church ask visitors to
  sit with them in LDG right on the spot. This
  takes away from the fear of being an unknown
  sitting alone in a group of people who know each
  other.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 8 Sit With Me in Church Please
• At the close of our LDG hour, a member will
  ask the visitor to please sit with their family
  in worship. This alleviates the stress of
  worshipping in an unknown way and in an unknown
  church.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 9 Ushers
• On the way into our sanctuary, our ushers
  greet our guests, give them the church worship
  map, and help them find a place to be seated near
  the front! It takes less effort to commit oneself
  from the third or fourth row than it does from
  the back row!

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 10 Greetings in His Name
• As our worship service begins, we have a time
  of Greetings. This is just another way to say,
  Welcome and we are glad that you are here
  today!

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The Ten Touches

• It is so important that you train your active
  members in the gathering strategy that enables
  them to participate in touching visitors and
  guests while they are worshipping with you. The
  impression you make as a lay person will say
  whether or not you want them to become part of
  your church family. Never rush out of the
  service or to your seat without taking the time
  to encourage guests and visitors.

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Let's look at it as your guests leave your
services!
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The Ten Touches

• On the Way Out, Take any Doubt
• As guests gather for the first time in your
  facility, welcomed as they enter, and that they
  feel genuinely appreciated and people display an
  interest on the way out. Often guest linger, not
  sure what to do, so a friendly face goes along
  way in helping assimilate visitors.

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The Ten Touches

• On the Way Out, Take any Doubt
• Touch 1 Those Around You
• Those around other guests, thank them for
  worshipping with us and then invite them back to
  worship with us. In doing that they share what
  time they arrive for Sunday school and suggest
  they join them again sitting together next week.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 2 The Pastors Wife
• The pastors wife greets visitors as they leave
  and tries to get to know something about them.
• Touch 3 The Pastor
• The pastor does the same, but also seeks an
  invitation to come by and visit with them to
  share about Calvary Church. We plan to visit them
  the next night, but an invitation is always
  better than an apology later.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 4 Chairman of Deacons
• He gets their names if they havent done it
  already.
• Touch 5 Youth Ministers and Preschool
  Directors Hall
• These staff members position themselves
  downstairs in youth and preschool hallways so
  they can also say hello and tell visitors more
  about our church.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 6 Deacons Station
• Those deacons that are not covering one of our
  exit doors, assist in the sanctuary or front
  sidewalk greeting visitors. They have the
  ministry of mingling.
• Touch 7 Minister of Coats
• This person or couple helps everyone get their
  coats back on and thanks them for worshiping with
  us!

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 8 Parking Lot Greeters
• These are the last spoken words to these guests.
  Only extremely positive individuals fill these
  places.
• Touch 9 This is a little card that is placed on
  the windshield which reads, We Want Everyone Who
  Worships at Calvary to Have a Sweet Experience.
• A small piece of hard candy is attached to the
  card.

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The Ten Touches

• Touch 10 Encouragers Discipleship Follow-Up
  Ministry
• I. The Need
• When a person accepts Christ Jesus, he faces a
  challenge that can overwhelm even the most
  enthusiastic new believer. By becoming a
  Christian he

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The Ten Touches

• Risks loss of present non-believer-type
  friendships
• May encounter misunderstandings from family
  members who are not Christians
• Has to form new relationships with an unfamiliar
  group called the church
• Often misinterprets much of what he reads in
  Scripture.

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The Ten Touches

• Such challenges can soon cause discouragement in
  a new believer. What they need most in this
  formative stage is a friend --- one who has
  walked the path before---one who knows where the
  ruts in the road are and realizes what it takes
  to stay on the narrow road that leads to eternal
  life. Unfortunately, the practice for the local
  church is to dunk them and hope they make it.
  Then the church wonders why a year later they
  drop out of the church altogether. Therefore, if
  we are to assimilate our new Christians into the
  flock, there must be a concentrated effort to
  shepherd those we reach.

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The Ten Touches

• It takes more than a name on a Sunday School
  roll, attendance at a few class socials, or a
  yearly deacon visit to disciple a new believer.
  He must be trained in the Word of God, equipped
  through the Word of God, and taught by the Word
  of God to become a mature servant in the body of
  Christ and His church. All of that takes T-I-M-E!

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The Ten Touches

• II. The Goal
• To proclaim Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and
  to persuade people to become His disciples and
  responsible members of His church.
• Our touch teams, block pastors, outreach
  committee, deacons, youth minister, and pastor
  are engaged in accomplishing the first portion of
  this goal. The latter portion, To be a
  responsible member of His church involves

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The Ten Touches

• Being a friend that can be called upon when
  needed for prayer, encouragement, and spiritual
  support.
• Teaching new converts how to study Scripture and
  have a daily time alone with God.
• Teaching new converts how to discover their area
  of ministry in the church.
• Instructing new converts on how to build strong
  Christian character.

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The Ten Touches

• Encouraging new converts in times of temptation,
  grief, disappointment, and frustration.
• To teach new converts how to apply Scripture
  principles to daily living.

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The Ten Touches

• III. The Resources
• The coordinator---This person will
• 1. Order and supply all curriculum materials.
• 2. Assign Encouragers to the new believer the
  week of his/her decision to accept Christ Jesus.
• 3. Train (with the help of the Pastor) new
  Encouragers.
• 4. Meet with his/her team of encouragers at
  least quarterly to check on program/problems, etc.

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The Ten Touches

• III. The Resources (Continued)
• Encouragers---These persons will
• 1. Meet for thirteen sessions with his/her
  disciple.
• 2. Be intensely concerned for his/her
  disciples spiritual welfare (i.e. whether he is
  consistent in church, daily quiet time, etc.).
• 3. Attend Encouragers meetings as held.
• 4. Report any problems to the coordinator of
  assistance.
• 5. Maintain a godly example to his/her
  disciples in order to display Christ Jesus
  effectively.

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The Ten Touches

• III. The Resources
• Curriculum
• 1. Design for Discipleship is a multi-book
  course that has been developed by the Navigators
  and which I feel is one of the easiest to use and
  most doctrinally sound follow-up courses
  available today. It requires little study on the
  part of the leader and includes question and
  answer sheets on each area of the spiritual life
  that is concerned.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• Church organizations, deacons, and staff refine
  or rework and present to church in may business
  meeting.
• Coordinator is selected and approved by church in
  May business meeting.
• Sign-ups in bulletin for those interested in
  being Encouragers, run for three or four weeks.
  Those interested will be approved by church in
  June business meeting.
• Encourager Training (three weeks) begins in
  July/August.
• Encourager program begins September 1.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• Acts 246, NASB Day by day continuing with one
  mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house
  to house, they were taking their meals together
  with gladness and sincerity of heart
• We must shepherd the sheep we have been given.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. A few pastors and a few deacons cannot
  properly shepherd all the sheep and meet every
  need of a church with our size and vision of
  reaching our community for Christ Jesus.
• 2. Small groups led by trained shepherds must
  become the primary shepherding tool we use to
  effectively watch over our growing congregation
  and ensure strong bonds of fellowship and
  ministry we developed within the body are
  maintained.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. Called care groups, these weekly home
  bible study/prayer/fellowship groups are a place
  where one another ministry can take place. It
  will be a place where we can learn who our flock
  members are. It will be a place where we can
  practice interdependency and build the strong
  ties of intimacy necessary in an often cold,
  impersonal world.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. Care groups are the foundational way in
  which each member both receives and gives
  shepherding ministry to the church body. As we
  learn to accept one another, trust will grow,
  love will blossom, and spiritual, physical, and
  emotional needs will be met.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. In care groups, needs can be shared,
  absentees delegated to be contacted, hurts
  healed, and non-group church members, who are not
  able to attend the group will be ministered to
  during the week by the care group, through phone
  ministry, personal visits, and letters of
  encouragement.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. Each week the individual are groups will
  take a group inventory of those Calvary members
  living in their zone of ministry responsibility.
  And each week a Family Needs List will be
  developed, distributed, and delegated to members
  to ensure each person receives shepherding.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. The Family Needs List will include
• Who needs prayer?
• Who needs to be contacted?
• Who needs ministry?
• 2. The goal is to impress upon the group that
  we are responsible for each other that it is a
  tragedy in the body for any member to fall
  through the cracks and not be missed until its
  too late. Scripture admonishes us to build up,
  encourage, strengthen and love one another.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1.It is in the Care Group where genuine one
  another ministry can effectively take place
• 2. Prayer for each others needs.
• 3. Encouragement that you can make it.
• 4. Intimacy built.
• 5. Trust developed.
• 6. Concerns expressed.
• 7. Needs met.
• 8. Perspectives adjusted.
• 9. Joy created.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. The goal will be that no member of our
  fellowship ever feels he is not being provided
  for or protected spiritually.
• 2. Yet we are not out to simply become an
  introspective, navel-gazing closed group that
  merely feeds on itself. Care groups will assume
  the Ezekiel 33 role of watchmen over their
  Deacon Family Zone.
• 3. Each care group will be responsible for
  witnessing to their geographic zone about Jesus
  Christ.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. Every six to twelve weeks, outreach events
  will be held by their group in order to acquaint
  others living in their zone about Christ and the
  church. A few examples could be Bring a Friend
  Night, neighborhood cookouts, ect.
• 2. For those Calvary members who either cannot
  come to their care group or do not wish to be in
  a care group, two commitments are asked for
• A.) we will shepherd you through the care
  group in your geographic/deacon family zone
• B) you will both be ministered to by the group
  and accountable to the group for ministry.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. We ask you to be as involved as you possibly
  can with your family deacon. Your group is your
  most important tie to Calvary.
• 2. If you can attend your care group on a
  regular basis, it is vitally important you do so.
  It is the main way by which we can ensure your
  needs will be met. Shepherds cannot meet needs
  they are not aware of and small groups are one
  way of getting to know the flocks needs.

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The Ten Touches

• IV The Implementation
• The Care Group Touch Strategy
• 1. Please pray now as to your involvement in
  the care group in your area. We are committed to
  shepherding you. But sheep need to be in the
  fold if they are to receive the shepherds care.
  Help us help you by getting in a care group
  today!

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The Ten Touches

• Questions Being Asked
• 1. What is a Deacon Family Zone?
• Our pastor/deacons have divided our church
  families into six distinct geographic zones. They
  are, (To be arranged by deacon chairman). Each
  deacon is responsible for one zone in terms of
• New members assimilation
• Care group oversight of groups meeting
• in his zone.
• Block pastors who minister Welcome Packets
  to new residents moving into his zone.
• Shepherding existing Calvary members.

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The Ten Touches

• Questions Being Asked
• 2. What if the group meets a night I cannot
  attend due to work or personal commitments?
• It is recognized that not every member will fit
  into his/her zones meeting schedule. We hope to
  eventually solve this by having two to three care
  groups in every zone meeting various nights of
  the week. For now, stay tied to your group as
  much as you can and pray for God to rise up
  leaders to shepherd new groups. We will do our
  best to start new groups as leadership is
  developed.

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The Ten Touches

• Questions Being Asked
• 3. What about our children?
• Each group will be responsible for providing
• nursery/child care.
• 4. Can I bring non-members to the group?
• Sure! What better way to expose others to what
  God is doing among us.

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The Ten Touches

• Questions Being Asked
• 5. When will groups meet?
• Each week the bulletin will list on the back page
  all current care groups, their leaders,
  time/place of meeting, etc.
• Note While most groups should meet weekly,
  a few may choose to meet every two weeks.

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The Ten Touches

• Questions Being Asked
• 6. Who will teach the care groups?
• A leadership team composed of a teacher-leader,
  outreach leader, host home leader, prayer leader
  and deacon will lead the care group. The teacher
  may or may not be your family deacon. But each
  deacon will be involved in helping to oversee the
  care groups in your deacon family zone.

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The Ten Touches

• Questions Being Asked
• 7. Who will come to the Care Group?
• Of primary importance is your fellow deacon
  family members. These are Calvary members who are
  shepherded by a Calvary deacon. Secondly,
  prospects/visitors will be invited to your group
  to get exposed to the need for relations in the
  body of Christ. Finally, new residents and
  unchurched people in your geographic zone should
  be invited. What better way for them to see
  Christ Jesus than you!

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The Ten Touches

• Questions Being Asked
• 8. What will take place at each group meeting?
• While each group will take on individual
  characteristics, every group will reserve time
  for in-depth Bible teaching, group prayer,
  sharing, encouragement, and development of each
  weeks Family Needs List. Some groups will add
  a time of singing, a relationship-building game
  from time to time as well as host occasional
  group events like outdoor cookouts, Family Fun
  Nights, etc.

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The Ten Touches

• Sample Letter For Church Family
• Dear Church Family Member,
• In recent days the Lord God has confirmed a
  tremendous truth in my heart. That promise says
  that He is ready to bring many families into our
  fellowship if we are ready to love, accept and
  shepherd them with His heart. In a community
  where 74.580 of the residents are unchurched and
  90 of the churches have reached a plateau or are
  declining, I believe without hesitation that the
  Lord God has raised up Calvary Baptist to become
  a center for receiving the broken, the needy, the
  hurting, the rejected and the searchers, all of
  whom are desperately seeking a warm, caring
  fellowship of people who are real. I have a
  burning desire for us to be that place where
  people can come and grow in the radiant joy and
  abiding love of Jesus.
• I have prepared our leadership for this influx of
  new people by creating three areas of shepherding
  ministry so that
• We do not neglect the needs of our existing
  members.
• We properly assimilate new members into the
  structure/fellowship of Calvary Church.
• My deepest burden or wish is that no one falls
  away through the cracks in the floor as we
  continue to grow. Please read the attached
  material carefully and feel free to call me if
  you have any questions. My love and prayers are
  with you.
• Pastor

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The Ten Touches

• Geographical Zones
• Our church is divided into seven major
  geographical zones. Each zone has one or more
  care groups. Each care group has one or more care
  givers. Each zone has touch teams and block
  pastors operating as outreach agents to
  unchurched people in their community.
• Each deacon serves as a geographical zone leader.
  He coordinates ministry to a geographical zone.
  (Deacons and pastors need to decide on zones.

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The Ten Touches

• Geographical Zones
• He serves that zone through
• 1. New Member Assimilation. It is the deacons
  task to make sure each new member living in his
  zone receives a new member follow-up visit within
  two weeks of their joining the church. A deacon
  also works to insure that each new member is in a
  ministry within three to four months after
  joining the church.

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The Ten Touches

• Geographical Zones
• He serves that zone through
• 2. Care group oversight. The deacon provides
  loving leadership, encouragement and motivation
  to the care group leaders operating in his zone.
  The deacon will work with the care group leaders
  to ensure each Calvary member is receiving proper
  shepherding care. This could be done in various
  ways such as attendance, accountability to
  membership and ministry, benevolence needs, or
  Christian family life development.

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The Ten Touches

• Geographical Zones
• He serves that zone through
• 3. Existing membership ministry. The deacon
  provides continuing care for members through
  phone contacts, prayer, encouragement,
  benevolence, hospital ministry, etc.
• Our deacons are alerted to existing members
  going into the hospital, members who are in
  danger of becoming inactive, or members who need
  encouragement. Our monthly deacons meeting is
  geared to providing shepherding ministry to our
  people.

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The Ten Touches

• Geographical Zones
• He serves that zone through
• Therefore all ministry to the church body is
  coordinated through the individual deacon over
  your zone as he works with and through care group
  leaders, care givers, encouragers, touch teams,
  and block pastors.
• This will ensure a total program of ministry to
  our existing members, assimilation of new members
  and the reaching of unchurched prospects living
  in each geographical zone.

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The Ten Touches

• Results of this shepherding structure
• 1. No member of Calvary Baptist falls through
  the gaps unministered. Everyone is open to
  receiving shepherding receives shepherding.
• 2. We know the needs of our people and can meet
  those needs.
• 3. The burden of trying to oversee an
  enlarging, growing church does not fall on a few
  but is dispersed throughout the fellowship.

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The Ten Touches

• Results of this shepherding structure
• 4. New leaders can be seen and called out.
  As they work with a few members faithfully, they
  can go on to more responsibility.
• Care groups are the vehicle designed to help
  oversee a smaller unit of Calvary Members. They
  provide a place where relationships can be built
  and ministry toward one another given in the
  context of a small group structure. Care groups
  help keep a growing church still have that
  small feeling.

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The Ten Touches

• Each care group leader works to
• 1. Assimilate and minister to existing and new
  Calvary Church members living in his care group
  garget area through
• A. Regular care group meetings
• B. Assigning and working with care group givers
  operating in his care group.
• C. Seeing that each new Calvary member and
  prospective member receives contact to invite
  them to his care group.

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The Ten Touches

• Each care group leader works to
• D. Encouraging in-group relationships to
  develop in order to promote group feelings of
  love, acceptance, and encouragement. Ask your
  group to phone one another during the week.
• E. Minister to the needs of the whole man.
  Examples would be in at least these areas
  physical, benevolence, counsel, spiritual, or
  financial.

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The Ten Touches

• Each care group leader works to
• The care group leader may not personally meet
  every need, but he will oversee that every need
  is met.
• Leads his care group leadership team which
  consists of a prayer leader, outreach leader,
  home host, and assistant leader in order to
  develop a strong caring group of believers.

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The Ten Touches

• Each care group leader works to
• Care givers help break down shepherding ministry
  even further. A care giver ministers to one or
  more Calvary members on a scale that ranges from
  occasional phone calls to in-depth discipleship.
  How deep the care givers relationship goes
  depends upon the care givers desire and the need
  of the one he/she is caring for. Care givers work
  with the care group leader in his area to enure
  proper shepherding of those to whome he is
  ministering.

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The Ten Touches

• What Does Your Leadership Need From You?
• Members
• 1. Should be involved in a care group to
  receive the best shepherding possible by our
  leadership. We cannot meet needs we are not aware
  of. Please help us pastor you by being in a
  care group.
• 2. Should seek out new members and invite them
  into their home for fellowship and building of
  relationships. This helps everyone feel accepted,
  received, and loved even when the church is
  growing.

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The Ten Touches

• What Does Your Leadership Need From You?
• Members
• 3. Should see themselves as Gods agents
  (Ezekiel 33) to reaching the unsaved and
  unchurched people living in their community. This
  is done through
• A. The inviting of neighbors to local care
  group and to sunday bible study and worship.
• B. Serving as block pastor to new residents
  moving into your neighborhood.

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The Ten Touches

• What Does Your Leadership Need From You?
• Members
• 3. Should see themselves as Gods agents
  (Ezekiel 33) to reaching the unsaved and
  unchurched people living in their community. This
  is done through
• C. Looking for opportunities to share Jesus
  Christ with lost neighbors. (We will train you
  for this.)

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The Ten Touches

• What Does Your Leadership Need From You?
• Members
• 4. Should be as involved as possible in our
  Sunday School and morning/evening worship
  services. Sunday School is designed to provide
  you with in-depth instruction in the Word of God
  Sunday morning preaching is geared to exhorting
  you in the application of the Word and Sunday
  evenings focus on verse-by verse equipping you
  for ministry with the Word. If at all possible,
  be at each one of those weekly times in Gods
  Word.

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The Ten Touches

• What Does Your Leadership Need From You?
• Calvary Members
• As always, please remember that your leadership
  is here to work with you in building a strong,
  caring, Bible-based fellowship of believers. Feel
  free to call on you deacon or care group leader
  as these men are here for you!

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Thank you!