Is Your Church a Landmark or a Lighthouse?

10 Responses

  1. Dean says:

    “Every community inside can cease to reach the community outside.” That’s a great conversation piece right there. How does the inside community reconnect to the outside community? Ironically we have a dead church in town called Landmark Baptist!

    • Danny says:

      Dean, thanks for the comment! In our context, our church (Summit Church, Durham, NC) went through a period of severe inward focus in the late 90s. A missions-minded interim pastor began leading us to focus on the nations (not just by prayer and giving, but by going and sending). While I didn’t start attending until a few years later, I found it ironic that when the church started looking to the nations, they couldn’t help but focus on our neighbors as well.

      A couple of books may help here: The Externally Focused Church by Rusaw and Swanson, and Comeback Churches by Stetzer.

      • Billy Mitchell says:

        Speaking of “outward focused”…I’ve hoped for years we’d end the “church as a lighthouse” metaphor. Lighthouses are fixed and immovable. How about a group of lanterns instead? Lanterns give off light and can travel easily. Something for your consideration.

  2. Steven Kopp says:

    Not long ago our church was definitely a “commuter”, where most of the people drove around 15 minutes to come (including me). Once we started intentionally reaching into our neighborhood, most of the new people that joined lived within a 2-mile radius. Since I’m a pastor, this also provided incentive for me to move closer as well. I am grateful, though, for the commuters who continued to have a missionary mindset and who drove our church from the “landmark” to the “lighthouse” mentality.

  3. Kris Chandler says:

    Danny, I would love to use this post at out Leadership Retreat this Saturday as a point of focus. May I get a copy of it? Of course I will credit you and the include the picture credit. This point really hits home for us.

  1. February 21, 2015

    […] Is Your Church a Landmark or a Lighthouse? — Danny Franks […]

  2. February 27, 2015

    […] Is Your Church A Landmark Or A Lighthouse? – Danny Franks […]

  3. February 23, 2018

    […] Read the entire original post here. […]

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