The Power of Alignment: Preparing for an Unforgettable Lent

November 16, 2016

This blog series explores the impact and long-term growth your church can experience through an intentionally aligned, church-wide small group study. Today's post focuses on the impact of aligning every part of a church's Lenten programming to engage a congregation in every way. This is the first post from the series: The Power of Alignment in Your Church. The goal of alignment is simple: engage a flock of growing parishioners to do more than just attend services, instead energizing the church through their deepening spiritual passion and unity. By aligning your congregation with Individual, Group, and Service participation, you encourage different levels of connection that lead your church closer to the throne of Grace. But what, exactly, does that alignment look like? Here's a sample of a Day in the Life of an aligned church:

Daily Devotion: If each member is reading The Crucified Life as a personal daily devotional, they're already engaging on a personal level with the idea of picking up their Cross and following Christ.

Small Groups: Each weekly meeting of a Small Group will act as a hub for discussion and engagement regarding the daily devotions. As the small groups are meeting, God will be doing amazing work in the lives of the members of your congregation; that work must find expression and manifest corporately in word and sacrament, in spirit and truth. Ultimately, this campaign is about transitioning people--getting them connected to God through connection with each other. This transition is accomplished through the use of small groups following the model of Acts 2:46-47:

"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

Youth Engagement: This plan is one that engages every member of your congregation, including young people. With The Cross Walk, the youth of your church can connect with their family members and friends as they, too, learn to walk in the way of the Cross with lessons that mirror the adult ministry.

Weekend Services: The worship services during the campaign are powerful times that can harmonize the many elements of the campaign and underscore the curriculum in a memorable manner. Through the use of several tools designed specifically for The Crucified Life campaign, your services will become the time when the power of alignment is on full display, synthesizing the entire campaign for your congregation.