I'm currently attending the Innovate '08 Conference... which is hosted by Granger Community Church. Here are some key take-aways from this morning's keynote session by Rob Wegner:- God's plan to help the world is you. There is no other plan.
- We've miscommunicated the Gospel. We've talked about it as the minimum requirements to get into Heaven.
- The Gospel of Jesus is this: The Kingdom of God is near.
- For most Christians, the Gospel is either about: 1) life after death, or 2) Jesus making my life better.
- The Gospel is life in Heaven, yes, but it is more than that. It is God's Will here on earth. It is up there down here.
- We need to change our definition of the Gospel from saved "souls" to saved "wholes."
- Granger Community Church decided to move from "flashlight" to "laser" focus.
- In each area of focus, Granger decided to narrow theirr focus rather than broaden it.
- When first approached by Granger, the South Bend Housing Authority indicated they had been burned by churches before. Churches come in, tell a Bible story, ask kids to come forward, then church leaves and never comes back. The Housing Authority's Director said, "Our kids have enough issues with abandonment without the church adding to it."
- Narrowing your focus will dramatically increase your impact.
