NEW STAFF MEMBERS

We have two new staff members who have joined our ministry in this new year. Holly Baldwin is our new Administrative Assistant, and Randy Sherron is our new Interim Pastor. We are excited about the creativity, gifts, and energy they each bring to the life and mission of RRBC.

NEW COLLEGE CLASS

This year we have begun a new class for college students, and college-age young adults. Nathaniel Grubbs is leading this class. He is currently a graduate student and TA at NC State. Currently the class is going through the NOOMA DVD series produced by Rob Bell. This video series is thought provoking, and creatively invites viewers into conversation about matters of faith and practice. This class is meeting now in room 210 of our education building @ 9:40 AM.

NEW ADULT CLASS

Starting February 21, 2010 there will be a new class for couples/parents and young professionals. This class will be led by Zach Roberts. To get started, this class will spend 10 weeks studying the “Teachings of the Twelve.” Historically this document is called the “Didache”, and is one of the oldest confessions of faith & practice in the Christian tradition. This class will discuss these teachings in dialog with the Bible. By looking together at the ancient wisdom of our collective past, we can face the mystery of the Bible, and the vastness of today’s complexity with a measure of confidence and excitement. This class will meet in room 205 of the education building @ 9:40 AM. (The book in the link above is not required for this class, but is an additional resource for those interested.)

Come see what’s new at Ridge Road Baptist Church!

About a month ago I asked our Web developer to keep an eye on our stats for people visiting the website and engaging the content. For some folks, the idea that a website can be an effective form of outreach and ministry is a new one. After a month of  watching our stats I’ve got some good news to report to you.

First, some explanation of the data. Data is collected in two categories: “hits” and “visits.” A “hit” is counted any time a file is requested on the website. For example, if you have 10 files on a given page, one visitor to that page could net you 10 hits. A “visit” is counted each time a person comes to the site.

So, here are the stats for the last month: Total hits = 12,972     Total visits = 550

As I think of what this means for ministry, I like to use the term “connections.” Our website has allowed us to make a lot of connections. Keeping engaging content up on the site is a key ingredient. The podcasts have certainly added to the visit and hit count.

One disclaimer needs to be made here, however. The longstanding measure of success in ministry has always been the number of people in the pews on any given Sunday. Web-based outreach doesn’t necessarily translate into people in attendance on Sunday. It can, but its not a direct corollary. Web-based outreach is best understood as making wider connections in the larger conversation about faith and life with God. Its best seen as a way to increase relational and conversational possibilities exponentially. We’ve done that, and in a culture that is often more virtually connected than physically connected, we’ve entered a new arena of ministry with a healthy measure of success.

These days, practically no one will open their front door for you to share the good news with them. Countless many, however, will click a link and listen or read about it online.

The possibilities are endless and exciting!