Talk to me: Desired and qualified

As we enter February, we continue our focus on growth by looking at communication.  When I moved to a new city with my family six months ago, I was eager to learn what was going on in town. What are the good restaurants?  The fun activities for kids?  The best parks and walking paths?  With the help of a local parents' magazine, moms' group e-newsletters, and a great county parks website and city app, I quickly found what I needed to know to begin shaping a life here.  The local parents' magazine led me to a consignment sale by a MOPS group, which in turn led us to the church we joined a month later.  The city app and local signage led our family to some fun Food Truck Friday outings in our new downtown, and the parks website helped me find which parks had playground equipment (and shade!) nearby for my son to play on hot summer days.

All this was relatively easy not just because of the internet, but because these groups were talking to me.  They made themselves and their information easy to find, and
they worked hard to get the message to me via multiple formats, like emails, websites, road signs, and magazine ads.  They told me Who, What, When, Where, How, and Cost.  I knew I was welcome to participate because all these details were clear signs that I was desired and qualified.

The Bible is a great example of God showing us that we are desired and qualified to participate in salvation:

• John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." God loves us (we are desired) and His Son, Jesus, was given for believers to have eternal life (we are qualified).
• Galatians 2:15-16 -"We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified."  We are qualified for salvation through our faith in Christ Jesus.
• Galatians 2:17-21 - “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” We are desired by the Son of God, and this is demonstrated through his sacrifice.
• Ephesians 2:4-9 - "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast."  God has great love for us (we are desired) and by His grace through faith we are saved (qualified for eternal life).

When making a communications plan for your Sunday School class or Life Group, keep these two points in mind.  You want people to know that for every class, every event, every Bible Study, and every service project that they are desired (Please come!  We want to see you!) and qualified (It's affordable!  It's easy to find the location!  No matter your skills, we will find a place for you to serve or we will train you!).

Here are some tips on making your group's communications express desire and qualification:

• Use multiple media formats.  Facebook, e-newsletters, paper announcements, chalkboard announcements, signs, bulletins, etc. are just a few of the ways to get the message across.  Don't hoard information or details-- multiple media let people know they are really desired to attend.  An event with only a casual verbal mention in class or a quick line at the bottom of a lengthy email can leave out a lot of people.
• Announce everything well in advance, multiple times.  People are busy.  This means two things: First, that they have a lot of other announcements, advertisements, etc. competing for their attention. Second, they have a lot of other events and life in general competing for their time.  Announcing things well in advance, multiple times, will let people know you really desire them to come and helps them be qualified to come (by giving them the opportunity to make room in their schedules and/or budgets).
• Give the 4WHC details.  4WHC stands for Who, What, When, Where, How, and Cost.  If you desire people to participate, you must give them the details so they will know if they are qualified.  Some people may opt-out (or disqualify) themselves as attendees based on the location, the cost, or the intended audience.  Depending on your event, that might be ok (for example, no men at the Mother-Daughter Brunch!).  However, at least some of your events should aim to accommodate as many people as possible (see my previous post for ideas).

In my next post, I will offer some resources to help with your communications plan.  In the meantime, share your ideas in the comments section below!