Outreach & Evangelism Report to the Plenary July 6, 2010

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA The Outreach & Evangelism Advisory Board comprised of representatives from each Metropolis and the Archdiocesan District was formed in 2002 to share best practices from parishes throughout the country and to support Archdiocesan efforts to provide guidance and practical resources to the parishes.

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA In March 2009, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios announced the formation of the Department of Stewardship, Outreach & Evangelism. The Director works together with the Stewardship Commission and the Outreach & Evangelism Advisory Board of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese to continue to provide guidance and practical resources to the parishes.

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA Outreach ministry goes hand-in- hand with Stewardship Ministry’s focus on the whole person, going out to our people wherever they are in their walk with Christ, helping them to realize their importance as members of the Body of Christ, and encouraging them to offer their gifts in His service.

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA The parish provides ongoing opportunities to offer our faith to active members, inactive members and inquirers. This includes those who have fallen away, non-Orthodox spouses of our faithful, those who come to our churches for weddings, baptisms, funerals, memorials, festivals and more. People come through our doors for many different reasons. Our goal is to see that they come back.

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA “Every temple of the Lord is a house of divine Presence and a house of prayer. Every temple is also a house of peace. May the soul of all those who enter into this holy temple to take part in the assembly of God, become itself a house of peace.” from Serve the Lord With Gladness by A Monk of the Eastern Church

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA

“The most basic task of the Church leader is to discern the spiritual gifts of all those under his authority, and to encourage those gifts to be used to the full for the benefit of all.”

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA

Eight Quality Characteristics Empowering Leadership Gift Based Ministry Fervent/Passionate Spirituality Effective Structures Inspiring Worship Services Holistic Small Groups Need Oriented Evangelism Loving Relationships

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA

Between June and September of last year, we held a serious of focus groups The purpose of these groups was to answer one question: Why? The answer to this question would allow us to increase that score The groups were held at peoples homes and at church About 75 members of our community participated

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA Following the focus groups, we held a series of coaching sessions with Fr. Jonathan We reviewed the leading causes identified by the focus groups After hours of collating results on a whiteboard and a few hundred post-it notes, we came to focus on two general areas: Prayer and Scripture

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA Now that we had answered the question “Why”, we needed to proceed to “How” How do we make Prayer a more regular part of our lives? How do we may reading the Bible a more meaningful, accessible and enjoyable part of our lives? Round two of the focus groups were held on a single day, using our annual Parish Leadership Conference: A keynote address by Fr. John Four breakout sessions

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA We devoted a full Saturday conference to raise awareness and engage parishioners Educated parishioners through bulletin, newsletter, announcements following Liturgy “Food for Thought” bulletin board outside the Fellowship Hall, which focuses on spiritual topics Fr. John’s sermons available on CD’s, web site and podcast We shall soon be starting a series of home bible study sessions

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA

Other faiths are represented on local Cable programming ….why not us? Practical Steps to begin a local cable TV ministry -at no cost: Visit and connect with local station Prepare a 20 – 30 minute program Keep it simple Create a program name (“Orthodox Life Today”) Rehearse Script Create a backdrop Clergy and Non- clergy guests Upload segment to your Website “Why not us?”

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA Who is our market – who are we trying to reach? All the world (Matthew 28:18-20) No survey needed! Christ satisfies all our wants and needs… Evangelize – do not proselytize – “He who has ears to hear…” Welcome them to visit - “Come and See” A message of hope, encouragement to the unknown person Cosmic Outreach beyond our parish walls SAMPLE CLIP “Why not us?”

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA BACKGROUND: Many of our Greek Orthodox parishes in America were established in the original neighborhoods of the first Greek immigrants. As those first immigrants and their children improved their standard of living, they tended to move out of those original neighborhoods, but often the church remained. Orthodox faithful continued to attend church in the old neighborhood but related less and less to those who lived there.

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA PURPOSE: Welcome, Worship & Fellowship To invite neighbors and friends from the surrounding area, as well as relatives and friends who might not be Orthodox, to worship and fellowship, welcoming all to share in our Orthodox Christian faith and tradition.

July 4-8, 2010 Marriott Atlanta Marquis Atlanta, GA Outreach & Evangelism Report to the Plenary  July 7, 2010