To understand more about HOW & WHY www.SeekOrServe.com actually works, let's examine its philosophy & 3 main Church growth components:

PHILOSOPHY OF CHURCH GROWTH

www.SeekOrServe.com was developed under the belief that the smartest and best thing to do at ANY time, in ANY place, and in ANY situation is to OBEY THE LORD GOD IN JESUS CHRIST.  This begs the question, "What does He command us to do?"  John 13:34-35 provides a glaringly evident answer: LOVE ONE ANOTHER, and by doing so show the world that we are His followers.

You might say, "But our Church is already loving."  Maybe so, but is it loving to the degree where people are able to help each other 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with things such as yardwork, medical aid, clothes, computers, housing, and even cars....all without any Church staff lifting a finger or contributing a single penny...while at the same time MASSIVELY advertising, marketing, and promoting your Church all over the world through Search Engine Optimization? 

Or you might be thinking the opposite, "But not many people in our Church are loving."  Well then they're sure to be interested in getting FREE items & services, right?  So SeekOrServe.com was designed to be a platform not only to give for free, but to RECEIVE for free.  =)

Of course there's the other objection: "But people are too busy & burdened...they already have a million other things to do."  Perhaps, but NOBODY is too busy to take just one MINUTE (60 seconds!) out of each MONTH...so SeekOrServe.com came up with The Minute-A-Month Challenge as the one specific, measurable, super-easy "thing-to-do" for people in your Church. =)

Now it doesn't take a genius to figure this out....if you actually create a place where people really, TRULY love one another - which means they meet each other's needs - in a real, practical, and tangible way that can happen NON-STOP 24 hours a day.....do you think that kind of an atmosphere would help Church growth?  OF COURSE IT WOULD!  It would DRASTICALLY help growth.  And if it doesn't, assuming you're not only concerned with "numbers," at the very LEAST you obey The Lord's command to love.

We often try so hard strategizing & planning "Church growth" it never occurs to us that Jesus already gave us the solution: Church growth is INHERENT in His command to love.  While He may not have specifically told us to "grow Church," He told us the very thing to do which will naturally result in a healthy, growing, thriving, and ever-expanding Church.  John 13:34-35 is a stroke of marketing genius...so powerful, so SIMPLE, so well-known, and so perfectly hidden in plain sight. 

Whether it's Christian or not, the fact of the matter is that the more a place is loving, the more it grows.  PERIOD.

And we're not just talking about growth in terms of "numbers."  We're talking about growth in terms of HEALTH.  A Jesus-loving, people-caring, fully thriving, community impacting, Gospel spreading, smoothly functioning, life-transforming Church which can only be achieved through, you guessed it...LOVING ONE ANOTHER.

Loving each other isn't just a command.  It's not just something good people do.  It's not just a goal.  It's actually the most genuine and exceedingly effective strategic method for achieving Church growth.  And it's so SIMPLE that we almost always miss it.  When we talk about Church growth, the command to love one another rarely ever crosses our minds, and then we wonder why so many people leave Churches to join NON-Christian groups which they see as "more loving."

Could you imagine how difficult it would be trying to grow apples without their trees?  You don't "grow" the apples themselves.  You put your efforts into taking care of the tree, which will then yield GREAT NUMBERS of fruit on its own.  In the same way, if you want Church growth, you don't put your efforts into "growing Church."  You instead put your efforts - your strategies, your planning, and so forth - into doing EVERYTHING you can to get people obeying Jesus Christ's command to love one another, which will then naturally yield the fruit of Church growth WITHOUT ANY LIMITS.

Church Growth Component #1: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION Establishing and developing an online presence so as to be more easily found while people actively use search engines (i.e. Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.) via their desktop, laptop, mobile, or other device(s)...can cost hundreds and thousands of dollars every month but comes FREE with www.SeekOrServe.com.  Addresses the question, "Are people able to easily find your Church?"

In a fast-growing information and digital age, where people can now in a matter of seconds find what they are looking for through search engines by "Googling," it is imperative that Churches create and maintain a powerful presence on the internet if they are to keep up with the times.  The arrival of search engines in recent decades has introduced an unprecedented form of marketing for any business or organization: an almost "magical" way for you to appear before a person just seconds after they typed in a few words to find you or something associated with you.  Sadly, however, many Churches never utilize search engine optimization because of its technical complexities & high cost.

Through www.SeekOrServe.com you can get your Church & ministries utilizing powerful search engine optimization with literally NO FUNDS WHATSOEVER.  Using www.SeekOrServe.com will UNLEASH your community of believers to become a 24/7 search engine optimization force that works around-the-clock establishing and building your presence on the world-wide-web (internet) so people can find your Church ANY TIME of the day or night, ANYWHERE in the world!

It is furthermore designed to get your Church showing up NOT ONLY when people search for things related to Church, God, Jesus Christ, and so forth, but for EVERYTHING that someone normally "Googles" for such as electronics, clothes, food, home projects, baby-sitting or yard-work services, and on and on.  Imagine YOUR Church appearing on a computer screen when someone "Googles" for a local moving service because someone in your Church posted that they can offer help with moving.  Or what if YOUR Church popped up on a computer screen or cell phone search when someone was looking for a laptop or TV because another person in your Church posted that they are giving away one of their laptops & old televisions.  The possibilities are ENDLESS!

www.SeekOrServe.com employs search engine optimization to promote your Church NOT ONLY to Church-goers, Jesus-lovers, and spiritual truth-seekers.  It is designed to advertise your ministries literally to EVERYONE no matter what they are searching for, because let's face it..... people don't usually go "Googling" for Church.  But if we can get your ministries popping up in Google searches involving digital devices, furniture, medical or legal aid, music lessons, & so forth, we can show people that Church DOES provide answers to what they're looking for!

As stated in the Instructions (for Church Leaders) section of www.SeekOrServe.com/go, all you need to do is ceaselessly urge people to take up the MAM (Minute-A-Month) challenge.  This simple challenge, which asks for only one minute a month from people, can EASILY get your Church and ministries literally THOUSANDS of dollars of advertising, marketing, & promotional services every month FOR FREE.  The more people in your Church give at least one minute of their time each month to post just one need or giveaway, the more your Church gets promoted on the internet and all over the world...& more people can obey Christ's command to love.

Church Growth Component #2: REPUTATION MANAGEMENT Establishing and developing a certain set of conditions within and in association with an organization (i.e. Church or ministry) which serves to create in the minds of people (who encounter or hear about the organization) favorable perceptions of the organization.  Addresses the questions, "How do people perceive your Church? What is its reputation? Does it even have one?"

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Be careful to separate "functions" from "perceptions" as these are two completely different things.  Do people describe your Church by its functions (i.e. uplifting sermons, inspiring worship, awesome Bible studies, life-changing missions trips, etc.) or by actual perceptions (i.e. generous, legalistic, caring, liberal, upper class, community, boring, loving, political, old, young, etc.)?  If you have trouble clearly identifying the general perception people have of your Church, this could mean that your Church & ministries are "forgettable" or "unnoticed."

There is a disturbing amount of evidence from leading research organizations such as The Barna Group indicating that a growing number of people both in and out of the Christian community view it mostly in a negative light.  Specifically, more and more people are perceiving Church as largely hypocritical, judgmental, anti-homosexual, too political, & non-relevant, among other things.  It is vital to take strong action so as to protect against and rectify this poor image... an image that, to put it lightly, drastically hinders Church growth.

If we create an atmosphere in Church where it becomes seen as a real connecting point for meeting both perceived and actual needs - ceaselessly, 24/7, practically, & tangibly - then people will have a much more difficult time negatively criticizing Church.  Unfortunately, the groups which have a reputation of being the most amicable & loving are often NOT Churches & Christians.

This is appalling & unacceptable.  Regardless of the "good reputation" a Church may (or may not) have, any serious Church growth strategy must face and properly deal with this sobering reality...

Christians & Churches must relentlessly strive to be known above all by their love for one another.  According to the words of Jesus Christ, this is the defining mark of true Christians (John 13:34-35).

www.SeekOrServe.com has been designed to help Churches accomplish the phenomenal task of loving one another 24/7 with little to no effort or investment whatsoever.  As stated in the Instructions (for Church Leaders) section of www.SeekOrServe.com/go, all you need to do is ceaselessly urge people to take up the MAM (Minute-A-Month) challenge.  This simple challenge, which asks for only one minute a month from people, can EASILY get your Church and ministries known for being a place where people love one another in an unprecedented manner, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, NON-STOP.  The more people in your Church give at least one minute of their time each month to post just one need or giveaway, the more your Church gets noticed as a true connecting point for boundless Christian love...

Church Growth Component #3: ORGANIC RELATIONAL CULTIVATION Establishing, building, & strengthening personal (individual) as well as organizational (collective/group) relationships which naturally result from the process of ceaselessly meeting needs within and in connection with the (Christian) community.  Addresses the question, "Does your Church draw people to connect, stay, and grow with you?"

To grow Church (and thus draw & attract people to connect, stay, and "grow" with it), you must build relationships.  To build relationships, you must meet needs (minister).  And while traditional "relational ministry" focuses on relationships and is indeed a biblical model (which should be continued), it becomes exponentially much more effective through the application of organic relational cultivation...

"Relational ministry" is generally speaking limited by pre-determined social and cultural boundaries such as age, gender, economy, language, interests, lifestyles, cliques, and so forth.  It assumes that people must first "relate" to one another before "real ministry" can occur.  "Organic relational cultivation" on the other hand does not require people to have anything "in common" before they help each other and connect.  By putting the main focus on meeting needs rather than finding common points of reference, you actually create and build relationships even MORE.  People who normally would not "connect" because they do not necessarily "relate" with one another end up easily building relationships simply by meeting each other's needs.

"Relational ministry" typically USES RELATIONSHIPS as a tool to accomplish ministry.  "Organic relational cultivation" on the other hand USES MINISTRY (meeting needs) as a tool to build relationships and thus result in Church growth.  Is the goal to be "ministry" or "relationship"?  Ultimately, isn't the goal a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ?  It's all about "relationship"..."ministry" is merely a means to a much greater end....

"Organic" stresses the importance of allowing relationships to happen NATURALLY.  Traditionally, "relational ministry" creates scenarios in which there is an EXPECTANCY for relational development through Church activities such as fellowship gatherings, meet-n-greets, ice-breakers, camp retreats, and so forth.  While there is nothing inherently wrong with these settings, there is often an unstated pressure to reach out and connect with people through events and "hanging out."  This can often create "forced" or "unnatural" relationships.  Organic relational cultivation, on the other hand, focuses on facilitating the process of connecting people through meeting one another's needs, consistently every day of every week, creating and "cultivating" an environment that allows relationships to happen NATURALLY (organically) as a result of people helping people.  There is never any pressure to create a relationship...there is only "pressure" to meet a need.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.

Organic relational cultivation focuses on John 13:34-35, the one place in the entire Bible where Jesus Christ Himself EMPHATICALLY states BOTH His great command for us to love one another and also how we as Christians are to be identified.  He did NOT say we are to be known by our preaching, by our knowledge of the Bible or theology, by our Churches, or by our worship.  He said we are to be known by our LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER...by meeting each other's needs.

It must be said that relational ministry is NOT bad.  It is NOT wrong.  And it is NOT unbiblical.  On the contrary, it should be promoted in all Churches.  Likewise, preaching, teaching, camps, Bible study, theology, worship, fellowship, retreats, & so forth, are all GOOD and should continue.

But Churches often try so hard to "relate" with and "be attractive" to people they often forget to just be loving.  People already have things to relate with and attract them (TV, games, cell phones, concerts, friends, parties, movies, books, laptops, computers, internet, sports, etc.).  If Church were a connecting point to meet needs - 24/7, every week, every year - it would relate with and attract more people than anybody ever thought possible.  Jesus had this figured out (John 13:34-35).

www.SeekOrServe.com has consolidated this powerful concept for Church growth into one easy step...as stated in the Instructions (for Church Leaders) section of www.SeekOrServe.com/go, all you need to do is ceaselessly urge people to take up the MAM (Minute-A-Month) challenge.  This simple challenge, which asks for only one minute a month from people, can EASILY turn your Church and ministries into a place where people build relationships and connect with your ministries as they meet one another's needs.  

Just one minute a month, to post just one need or giveaway, from as many people as possible....to simply obey The Lord and love one another.  =)

WHAT EVERYONE ALWAYS ASKS:  Sounds too good to be true...what's the catch? How can you do this with NO funding, NO staffing, NO planning, NO recruiting, NO organizing, NO Church space, and NO time commitments?

ANSWER:

There is no catch and there are no strings attached.  Everything given is absolutely free.  No “credits” or “trades” or “things to do” (like signing up for something or subscribing to this thing or that thing).  It really IS that good because www.SeekOrServe.com depends on the greatness, goodness, and unsurpassed power of the love of Jesus Christ, as He compels people to act in sincere kindness and goodness toward one another. 

And how do you get around funding, staffing, planning, etc.?  Let’s look at a couple examples...

Or what if your church (or other organization) needs to raise funds for a building project, so one of your representatives posts on www.SeekOrServe.com/go that you are in need of financial support.  Then people browse the site for listings in your Church or geographic location, see this post, & contact you to contribute funds for your church (or other organization) project.  And just like that...AGAIN, TA-DA!  Church need met!  

One of the many yards people fixed up via SeekOrServe.com - "before" picture below...