Such fun!  I got to do two book signings during the Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis, and it was such a joy to chat with lots of women’s ministry leaders from across our nation.

Here’s a photo of the B&H Publishing display at the Southern Baptist Convention this week.

I was excited to see my new book, Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry, featured in their display!

…but look a little closer…

When you create displays for events at your church, small details grab attention. Here’s a great example.

The solid black background makes the books “pop.” 

The simple addition of tulips repeat the photo on the book and cause the viewer to look again. 

The lighting draws the eye to the book covers.

 I worked for years with the National Main Street program - part of the National Trust for Historical Preservation. It’s a program of revitalization for downtowns through historic preservation of buildings, addition of new businesses and event planning to bring people into the downtown area.  One interesting piece of the program involved window decor tips for downtown businesses.  Like this display, decor can feature color, repetition, simplicity, light, etc. 

As you plan displays or promotion for your church, allow those who are gifted with artistic ability to use that talent.  Go the extra “inch” and create visuals that will cause the viewer to pay attention.

You’re going to love this!  My daughter is a missionary in Sheffield, England. She is youth minister at a new church there, and is reaching out to gothic teens. It’s so exciting to see how God has used her to reach many for Him!

So here’s an idea she did last week.  They sewed together four queen-sized bedsheets and painted a gigantic Twister game on it. Then she took her teens to a place where teenagers hang out in a downtown skate park, and just began playing Twister.  They couldn’t believe how many joined in!  I can guarantee you those new kids will hear God’s plan of salvation.

Get creative. 

Get outside the church walls.

There are people, old and young, in your community

who are waiting

for someone to show love

and share Jesus.

Is your church building or renovating?  It’s a painful process, I know! But it’s worth all the effort to create new space to reach people for Christ. Two examples:

Last Sunday, I went with Steve to Keck Avenue Baptist Church, Evansville IN, where he was preaching. The church is totally renovating the entire church facade, the sanctuary and the fellowship hall. In order to have a place to meet during this major renovation, they took several adjacent Sunday School classrooms, burst out the walls, and created a large meeting space for temporary worship.  They moved in a keyboard and projector and sound equipment, and are gathering for worship each week in that temporary space. Very creative - and it works!

No, it’s not perfect. But yes, it’s exciting and worth all that effort.

When my daughter went to college, she was especially attracted to one church because the people in the rear of the sanctuary sat on lawn chairs. The church was paying for the seating as money was collected. It created a unique kind of challenge and enthusiasm. And people could worship from lawn chairs just fine.

When our church once did a major renovation, the sanctuary was closed for several months and we met in the gymnasium.  It was an exciting summer of evangelism, and we had many new people who had accepted Christ during worship or VBS or youth camp. Since there was no baptistry available, my pastor/husband went to the local feed store and borrowed a feeding trough. We had quite a few large baptismal services that summer–in a feeding trough! 

Don’t stop worshipping Him and sharing Him during renovations!  

What could be more enjoyable than a relaxing outdoor concert in this perfect weather?

We attended an outdoor concert at the Indiana History Center on the canal in downtown Indy one evening this week with our neighbors.  It was such a fun time.

Does your church have a great praise team? a gifted guitarist/singer? A youth band, a marimbist, an ensemble, a quartet?  Why not invite the community to your church lawn for a concert of Christian music by your most gifted musicians?

Set up a stage area and your best sound equipment. Invite guests to bring blankets and lawn chairs, or set up tables and chairs and let guests bring picnic foods. 

Advertise it well, so that everyone in town knows about the event.

And share Jesus via Christian music and fellowship.

I’m jumping up and down! (Can’t you just picture that?)

Really — I’m celebrating big-time…..Just finished and submitted the final manuscript for my next book!  It doesn’t have an official name, but it’s a book for deacon wives.

It will likely have a release date by B&H next spring. Pray for wisdom for editors and publication staff as they take it from here. 

Steve and I will get to lead the conferences for deacons and deacon wives in Ridgcrest Baptist Conference Center in N.C. this July, and we’ve enjoyed training deacons in many settings these past years.  We know from experience what a great difference deacons and their wives can make in a church’s growth, fellowship and ministry. 

Why the dog photo?  We passed this dog on the road in downtown.  Only in Indy!

The photo does have a purpose.  Did it make you smile?

It worked.

———–

Don’t forget to stop by the book signings at the Indy Convention Center/Southern Baptist Convention next week.  LifeWay Book store at 5pm Monday and New Hope WMU at 4 Sunday. 

It was an amazing trip!  We went to the “Super Shoot” bench rest shooting event near Wadsworth Ohio.

Steve’s Uncle Ferris and Aunt June Pindell were quite influential in his childhood. They practically raised him!  Uncle Ferris has been bench-rest shooting (precision) for 64 years, and this is his favorite shoot. 

He actually invented the PPC cartridge, used by precision shooters everywhere, and he held the World Record in bench rest shooting for a decade. 

Although Uncle Ferris is unable to compete because of his                                                                           age and health, he wanted to attend the shoot, so we were the “chauffers.” 

It was amazing! As we walked around with Ferris and June, it was like escorting royalty!  Shooters from dozens of countries around the world were ecstatic to see him, asking for his autograph, taking photos, and a shooter from India even bowed down in honor of him! 

We met shooters from Canada, France, Germany, Ukraine, Austria, Russia, Dominican Republic, New Zealand, England, Australia, and lots more! It was like traveling the world.

We met a plethora of important people in the shooting world. (See my photo below with Jim Carmichael, editor of Outdoor Sports magazine.)

The scenery, the weather, the people — it was a perfect trip. But the best part of the trip was the smile that was stuck on Uncle Ferris’ face the entire time. 

I received my pre-release copies, so Fresh Ideas for Women’s Ministry is a real book! B&H Publishing’s official release date for the book is June 1st!

Is your church committed to sharing Jesus with your community? Let me ask you a question.

Where are the people?

Think about your town. Where to people hang out? Where do they go on Saturdays or Friday nights or holidays?  Where would you find teens on Sunday afternoons? Senior adults on weekday mornings? singles? young couples? kids?

Now answer this question:  How can our church go to those people–where they are–with the purpose of sharing Jesus with them?

I admit it. As Steve and I walked through downtown Indianapolis Saturday, watching the thousands of people there who were watching the Indianapolis 500 Parade, I wondered how many of them know our Savior. I wondered how our churches could creatively have a presence there, with an evangelistic purpose.

Jesus did that, you know. He intentionally went to where the people were.  Are we willing to do that?

Whew! We just finished two long workdays, where we packed 1,800 huge gift bags for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ministers Wives Luncheon next month.  The bags each weighed over ten pounds, and they completely filled up the largest size budget u-haul truck–it’s hard to imagine the magnitude! 

I can hardly walk today, but I’m still smiling about all the fun fellowship that happened while we worked.  Dozens of pastor wives and friends from around the area came to help. Some came for an hour; others worked a whole day or two.  We put nametags on everyone to help with fellowship. We prayed together before we worked. We had nice snack food set up. We blew a whistle every hour for break-time. 

And you never heard such laughter and fun during such a hard job.  We all felt like we were accomplishing a large project to honor some of God’s finest servants from across the nation, and, in spite of the lifting and sweating, you’ve never heard such laughter and fun!  There’s nothing like Christian fellowship.

Some jobs at your church are overwhelming tasks, but when you include others in the task, it can become a great time of fellowship. 

(Still need ticket for the SBC Minister Wives Luncheon on June 10th? Go to www.olivebaptist.org. Pray for speaker, Gary Chapman!)