These materials are very easy to implement in your churches, and are designed to help build each of your churches in their preparation for Open House Month, in planning events which will reach out to the community, and in training your congregation to be inviting, welcoming and discipling.

To Download these materials, using IE, right click over the desired file, and select "Save Target As" and let the computer do the rest. I've provided the downloads in either the Adobe Reader version (*.pdf) or the Microsoft Publisher 2002 version (*.pub). The pdf version can be read by basically everyone, and if you need the free Adobe reader, it can be downloaded for free at www.adobe.com.

Files:

    In *.pdf: Events and Planning Sheet; Guideline #: 1-Questionnaire; 2-Invitation; 3-Welcome; 4-Discipling

    In *.pub: Events and Planning Sheet; Guideline #: 1-Questionnaire; 2-Invitation; 3-Welcome; 4-Discipling

How to use these materials:

1. Read over the Events and Planning sheet first, to get some ideas for ways to do some new things for Open House Month. This sheet can be used in planning committees, by key laity, or by the pastor, etc.

2. In the weeks either prior to or during Open House Month, use the 4-part Open House Preparation guides - as bulletin inserts, discussion starters, sermon guides- in your churches. Be sure to get them into as many hands as possible, as they are not just for any particular committee, but for the whole church. They might be used in more than one place at once (like the Worship Committee for in-depth study and congregational response coordination, and in general worship).

3. The 4-part guides are numbered, to correspond to the process of:

1. Questionnaire: Planting the seeds of thinking for the rest of this study, to get the people thinking about the issues your congregation faces in being better in the crucial areas studied in the following segments.

2. Invitation: Practical ways to invite people better (conversation starters, FRAN Plan, etc.)

3. Welcoming: How to welcome the visitor: roles of greeters, ushers, the congregation, the pastor, etc. & helpful "rules of thumb" of the "Rule of 10 (the 10 foot rule)" and the "Circle of 3".

4. Discipling: Helps to Identify ways to plug people into the spiritual connections the church has to offer- and challenges people not currently plugged in well to these areas themselves to be more involved in the spiritual formation ministries of the church.

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