There has been much erosion in church activity in the last generation, and this has hit small and medium sized churches especially hard. At Robinwood Church, here in California, we lost at least ¼ of our membership during the Great Recession as our families moved away, seeking less expensive places to live. We had to do something about that--and with very little money available with which to do it! Our rent was eating away half of our offering, and we couldn’t generate the typical programs that draw people in from the outside.

We had been running the Alpha Course since day one, but in small congregations it can be hard to keep it going; kinda like running out of firewood for a campfire. Thus was born The BlackberryBush Course. We designed the course to solve the following problems (some are all of which your church may well share):

1. We needed to do something to backfill the spaces of those leaving the church.
2. We needed to do it on a small budget. (Running BlackberryBush costs your church about $7 a week).
3. We needed to combine discipleship for our members and evangelism/catechism for our new people. I’m the senior pastor and only very part time. We don’t have enough resources to run a separate ministry for both.
4. We needed something fresh. Something where even the most seasoned church member wouldn’t know where the teaching was going to land.
5. We needed something that was sustainable in a small church. Most courses tend to lose attendance over time. We developed a compounding attendance model that ensures that if you start with one or two tables on your first BlackberryBush semester, you can easily have three after a year and a half.
6. We wanted a course that would actually provide adult conversions and baptisms. We are doing baptisms this Sunday for adults who have come to faith in recent months. We’ve done over 30 since starting the course a couple of years ago.
7. We wanted something more culturally, ethnically, and generationally flexible. Especially in California.
8. We chose for the highest level of streaming video technology. If you have a tablet and a flat screen, you can run the Course.
9. We departed from all pedagogical (teaching children) models and instead enlisted experts to ensure the highest level of andragogical (adult) learning. Adults like to affect the outcome of a session. In keeping with this, there are no “leading questions” that try to get you to land in a certain place. We trust your group dynamics and the Holy Spirit to take care of that.

We succeeded, by the grace of God, and now would like to offer what we’ve found to you! We took the basic outline of Luther’s Large Catechism (Three major segments on God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and added a dash of CS Lewis, a dash of Wimber, a pinch of Stott, a puree of Morris and Larry, and voila, the Course was born. The course comes in 8-week segments. Currently there are three (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). There will be more coming. Think of each 8-week series as an 8-week spiritual treasure hunt. It’s also flexible. Once you purchase a license, you can use the course anytime/anywhere in your ministry area at no extra cost. At any pace, for any purpose. Creative congregations are using the course as a library for:

• Home groups
• Small groups at church
• Youth discussions
• Evangelistic gatherings in restaurants and pubs
• Workplace evangelism

You can afford it ($7/week).

We will help you run it. This is nothing you have to figure out on your own. The Course is relational and so is the national movement. Let’s set aside some time to talk. Contact me at hbhous@gmail.com or call/text to 714 907 3835 to set up an appointment and we can help you get this running in your church in less that two weeks.

The benefits for your church will start right away!

• A place to which you can invite your new people and visitors.
• A fresh course for long time church members. Good for morale.
• Adult conversions and adult baptisms in increasing numbers.
• The Senior Pastor only has to bless it. Course can be run in a small church with about 1 and ½ volunteers.