Connecticut Church Uses A Variety Of Approaches To Reach Out

by Stafford North

The October/November 2011 Northeast Newsletter, published by David and Paula Tarbet, tells of the good combination of efforts the New Milford Connecticut Church of Christ is using to reach out to the people of their area.  David Tarbet and his son Timothy are the ministers for the church.  Many churches could profit from their example in this combination of activities.

1. On October 9, the New Milford church hosted a “Friend’s Day” to introduce people of the community to their congregation.  Their theme for the day was “Have You Discovered the Church?”  Visitors from a number of different churches attended along with a brother who had not been faithful.  After the morning worship, the congregation held a “potluck” dinner so guests could stay and visit, which several did.  They have a careful follow-up plan for continuing the contact through visits and Bible studies.
2. The New Milford church also sends out Christ for Today,” a direct mail publication sent to 20,000 homes in the northeast.  Published every-other month, the newsletter carries the following tag line:  “An undenominational publication devoted to the teachings of Jesus and his apostles, and dedicated to those who seek the truth.”  This publication is producing results with people requesting Bible correspondence courses, tracts, and Bibles.  Others are visiting a congregation or seeking Bible studies.  This publication is available at www.christfortoday.org. 
3. A third leg of local outreach is weekly newspaper ads in The New Milford Spectrum.  This paper reaches the homes of thousands of readers and people in the community are commenting on the articles on such topics as “The Bible Only Makes Christians Only,” “Bible Baptism,” and “Discovering the Church.”  The articles, about three inches square, have the address, phone number, and web address for the local congregation.

Every church that wants an effective local evangelism program needs to utilize a variety of approaches.  Certainly things like a good web site, local newspaper articles, mail outs, and Friend Day are among the approaches to consider.  Other methods we have earlier reported on include contact with local sports teams and other community youth activities, caring for children after school, newsletter evangelism, effective plans for gathering information on visitors and careful follow-up, Monday Night for the Master, special studies on topics of interest such as “last things” or family topics, Celebrate Recovery groups, inner city work, medical clinics, allowing groups to use the building, ladies Bible classes which reach out, benevolence work with an twist toward outreach, and serving special groups through caring for those in hospitals, homes for the elderly, or other special needs groups.  And, of course, there are more.

Each congregation should think carefully about putting together the special combination of efforts that will work best in its special circumstances.  And don’t forget the payoff that comes only with teaching the Bible to those contacted in various ways and the effort to bring them to Christ.

For more information about the New Milford congregation, contact David Tarbet at dtarbet@swbell.net.  He is sponsored by the Bridgewood Church of Christ in Ft. Worth, Texas.  If you are interested in helping this work, you may contact David or the Bridgewood church.