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Bringing People Back to God
The World today
Before we touch this topic, it
is important that we paint a background of our world today and know what we’re
facing against. It is an undeniable fact that the development of technologies
has made our lives so much easier. If we look back in history, almost everyone
didn’t have the commodities and special services that these advanced
technologies offer us today. Therefore, it is safe to assume that people back
then had less ‘earthly’ distractions compare to the people of today. Be it
flashy cars, big houses, nice watches, huge 1080p HDTV Flat Panel Televisions,
and simple little brand name clothes as well as, expensive collector’s item
shoes, people today are just so caught up with obtaining these earthly things that
they can easily put God to the side. Why? because we all have the mentality
that “God will not buy me these things, therefore, I need to achieve my
personal goals so I can afford them and buy them myself!”
Achieving
personal goals aren’t necessarily wrong. Of course not! But if it comes to a
point where establishing a relationship with God is not a necessity anymore,
then that’s when you should be concerned.
What’s the reason for BNP?
Most of us
know that the main reason God has created BNP is for us to reintroduce Him to
the people. It is not to say that the church
of God (be it any Christian
denominations) is becoming obsolete and ineffective in doing so. It is just
that BNP is another movement that reminds us constantly of Christ’s message of
love. And to effectively do so, we put these messages into modern context.
Group Evaluation
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In BNP, we’ve seen a lot of people come in and
go for many reasons. Some it’s personal, some because of the people in the
group, some feels out of place and uncomfortable, some lost the fervor in
serving God.
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Before we want to consider bringing people back
into our group, we need to evaluate our group first.
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Therefore, we must ask ourselves these questions
and reflect on it.
Does
it appeal to everyone? (Considering that it has to since our goal is to bring
everybody back to God) – Also need to consider that we’re all from different
walks of life
Is
the purpose of the group being met? Our purpose is to grow in faith and
maintain relationship with God
Is
it very inviting? When someone new comes in, does the group make an effort to
include the newcomer?
Will
the newcomer see any benefits in wanting to be part of this group?
Do
the group members maintain a consistent communication or relationship with each
other?
How do we make it appealing to everyone?
·
The group must tolerate and accept ALL
characters.
·
Old members must establish a friendship with
newcomer
·
Create fun activities in and out of the group
·
Give them a reason to keep coming back for more
(examples are: gain more graces, learn more about God, establish a stronger
relationship with the group)
How do we keep them from straying
away?
·
We must acknowledge that serving God is a
personal choice. Yes, we do want to convince them to stick around and give it a
try, but in the end, it’s their own choice.
·
Don’t create too big of a conflict with anyone
of them, especially if they’re still new or just came back.
·
Keep the harmony in the group.
·
Create strong relationship with at least 1
member so that person can confide with you for anything.
Discussion Answers:
Does it appeal to everyone? (considering that it has to
since our goal is to bring anybody back) –also need to consider that we’re all
from different walks of life
A: - need to be more outgoing,
need to extend hand to other races, there’s a little clique, consider other
cultures and norms.
Is the purpose of the group being met? Our purpose is to
grow in faith and maintain relationship with God
A:
- need to do more but we choose not to, we don’t talk about God enough during
events like Fatima,
-
We’re more socially connected than spiritually
-
Should use our time in events to fulfill the purpose,
We’re not upholding the true purpose because we get too personal to a point
where we tend to not share…rather talk about other things than God.
Is it very inviting? When someone new comes in, does the
group make an effort to include the newcomer?
A: - Not really, need to take initiative to
include someone who’s not sociable, At Fatima, we eat their food but we don’t
talk to the sponsors...rude?
- Match up shy and outgoing people
together to help break out of the shell, Shy group tend to be perceived as
snob, and stuck up as suppose to outgoing group. We’re too comfortable with the
“quality over quantity” ideals that we’re content with who we have rather than
who we should have…need both instead of just one.
Will the newcomer see any benefits in wanting to be part of this
group?
They
will see this in our action. Therefore, if we show them that this group is worth
joining and that everyone is very welcoming, then they will definitely be
appealed to join.
Does the group maintain a consistent communication or relationship
with the members of the group?
Not
as much as desired. We need to get out of our comfort zone and establish a
relationship with everyone!!! Need to set our differences aside and learn more
about each other personally.
-Anthony Fortin
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