Are you frustrated with church growth? Finish Line Planner, created by Bro. Hugh Plappert, has a goal to help every church increase its attendance with a program known as the 7×7 Journey. It is one of the many pre-built church growth plans designed to help pastors intentionally engage their members in everyday evangelism.
“Finish Line Planner is a project management tool in the iCloud that specializes in managing church growth projects and volunteer teams,” explained Bro. Plappert. “We help plan and track the who, what and when of each task or step in a project. If your goal is to have the right person doing the right thing at the right time, we are here to help you.”
There are four main components that contribute to the success of the 7×7 program. “Central to the program is a postcard you distribute during a consecration service,” said Bro. Plappert. “On one side of the postcard is a place to list seven names that God has laid on your heart to reach in the coming year. On the back side are seven steps designed to build a stronger relationship with those seven names. The seventh step is to share your testimony and invite them to church, a home fellowship group, or a Bible study. The fourth and most important component is prayer. The testimonies coming back have prayer weaved into how they met their friend and how God prepared their hearts.”
The 7×7 Journey is seeing amazing results and is having a major impact on the people that are putting it into action. “In one beta test site where they average about 70 in Sunday school, they saw over 25 visitors in the first two months,” said Bro. Plappert. “If you take that as a flat rate in 12 months, there is the potential to see 150 visitors. For a church only running 70 that is statically a 300-plus percent increase.
“The bigger story is how the program has impacted the members. One saint who was not ‘too active’ in the church brought in the first visitor who received the Holy Ghost on the first visit. She was so amazed how God worked through her that she went out on her own and invited everyone who lived within two blocks of her home. The following Sunday she brought two new families to church.
“The youth group of 13 were amazed when 25 new visitors showed up at one of its programs and started their own 7×7 program where they committed to reaching 100 of their friends.”
Bro. Plappert said the goal of the 7×7 Journey is to be an available resource for busy bi-vocational pastors whose burdens for their community are bigger than the time available on their calendar.
For more information on the 7×7 Journey or to subscribe to our Church Growth Project Management tool visit FinishLinePlanner.com