On Friday, I was out of the office, ill with a cold. I've not had a cold so bad in a few years. But God healed me quickly, and just in time to be able to lead singing at Main Street Church of God in Anderson on Sunday. In fact, my voice was stronger than usual during the service! I'm happy to be back at Church of God Ministries today.

Last Thursday, I spent much of my day on the phone conducting interviews with people across the country who have good information to provide for several of the articles that I'm currently writing or have just submitted today. I really enjoyed talking with Pastor Mark Krenz, from the ONE Community Church (emphasis on "one") in Arizona. His start-up church has been incredibly successful and I wanted to know why--not just to publish for the world to see, but for my personal minstry. He emphasized community invovlement and making church comfortable for those who are not used to it. He intentionally advertises ONE as "a church for people who don't like church." The amazing thing is that this kind of marketing your church can be done without compromising the message of the Gospel. The illustration that has stuck in my mind is how a Christian might feel walking into a Islamic mosque for the first time. Wow! I think I would try to avoid it at all costs! That's how unchurched people probably feel.

What strategies can we adopt to reach the unchurched where they are, without compromising message? That's the question, and I think it's one that the church can answer in a variety of healthy ways!

Stay tuned, this article about Krenz and ONE Community Church will be published at http://www.chog.org/ in the next few weeks!

The above pictures shows Pastor Mark Krenz and the church--when they were meeting at a sports bar!