Check-out this AWESOME new advertising service! I wonder if it works for churches?

"Christvertising is a network of communication specialists and advertising professionals that helps you navigate through the maze that is the world of competitive brands. If you like your product, so do we, but more importantly, so does God."

courtesy of Collide Magazine

Daren Wendell is planning a hiking trip...around the EARTH! He's gathering sponsors and supporters for a 7 year (year!) foot-journey across the US, through Europe, Asia, across the Bering Strait and back home. He's calling it The Earth Expedition

Why? To raise awareness for Blood:Water Mission.org - a Christian organization providing clean water and blood to people in Africa.

So what are you doing to raise awareness?

A recent post from ThinkChristian.net has stirred-up some discussion about whether sermons are an effective means of maturing a congregation.

On one hand, the point is made that many Christians sit through hundreds of sermons yet continue to live with little life change. In response, some are saying that the life change is a slow process. There are many interesting points on both sides.

See the post | Read the article

We want to spur innovation in the Church to more effectively reach our culture. Can we learn anything from this article? How would you respond to his arguments?

from ChurchRelevance.com:

One complaint against Christians is that we're not like Jesus, we don't do anything to help people. Often we give money to a church and pass-off, to the church staff, the responsibility of advancing the kingdom with our resources. We have this idea in our churches that it's the responsibility of church staff to do all the work of The Church. Incidentally, this may be a cause of the perception problem we are experiencing in America.

Watermark Community Church (Dallas, TX), broke the mold in 2005. Instead of taking an offering, congregants were given envelopes, each containing between $5 and $1000, and were directed to use the money "to further the fame of who Jesus Christ is." ... Read the story

Similar to the parable of the talents, attendees we're admonished to be a good steward with what they we're given. Imagine the impact we could have on our culture if all of us (not just church staff), every week, used our own resources and physically met people's needs around us--instead of paying someone else to do it.

What do you think? Do attendees need a bigger role in advancing the kingdom, or is it simply more practical/efficient to have churches do it?