Steps for Church Strategy - City Vision University

We recommend using the following strategy to address the issue of online safety and media sobriety churchwide.

Step 1: Staff and Leadership Team Meeting

We recommend that you start by meeting with the church staff and leadership team. Your meeting(s) should accomplish the following objectives.

Establish Accountability
– Establish accountable relationships
(25-80% of pastors have no close friends).

– Get accountability/monitoring software (listed under “Software Tools for the Home”).

Share with them the significance of the issues

– Use suggested resources.

Develop a strategy for your church
– One size doesn’t fit all.

Step 2: Men’s Group Meeting

Next, we suggest the following strategy for addressing the issue of online safety and media sobriety in men’s groups.

· Make copies of manual for men.

· Show The Call to Freedom video (available to order soon).

Discuss Media Sobriety Covenant (found in this manual under “Steps for Helping Someone in Addiction”).
Provide CD’s or web links for accountability and filtering software (listed under “Software Tools for the Home”).
Review other steps church will take.

Step 3: Church-based Accountability Groups

The ability to be honest, open, and accountable with a group of brothers and sisters is invaluable. We suggest that accountability groups:

· Meet for 6-12 weeks, 2 hours/week.

· Read through suggested books or work through recovery kit (see below)

Suggested Kits for Accountability Groups

Strength in Numbers Groups from Blazing Grace
Blazing Grace is a Biblically-based website and ministry addressing the epidemic of pornography use; providing help for those who struggle and support for those affected by pornography users. (blazinggrace.org)

Celebrate Recovery Kit
Celebrate Recovery is a ministry of Saddleback Church. Celebrate Recovery’s purpose is to fellowship and celebrate God’s healing power in our lives through the "8 Recovery Principles", promoting freedom from our addictive, compulsive, and dysfunctional behaviors. (www.celebraterecovery.com)

Suggested Books for Reading in Accountability Groups

Every Man’s Battle
by Stephen Arterburn, Fred Stoeker, Mike Yorkey
For the challenge every man faces…the fight every man can win, this book shares the stories of dozens who have escaped the trap of sexual immorality and presents a practical, detailed plan for any man who desires sexual purity.

Men’s Secret Wars
by Patrick A. Means
This book helps readers recognize the "at-risk" factors that precede the development of a secret life which can include workaholism, sexual addiction, substance abuse, pornography, and extramarital affairs. The author provides tested strategies for defeating the habits and secrets that threaten men’s private lives.

At the Altar of Sexual Idolatry
by Steve Gallagher
Sexual temptation is undeniably the greatest struggle Christian men face. Here’s a book that digs deep and has the answers men are looking for—the kind that actually work.

Step 4: Churchwide Online Safety Initiative

Start a churchwide initiative to focus on online safety throughout various ministries.

Sunday School: Address online safety in Sunday School.

· Youth Group: Talk about online safety with the youth.

· Women’s Group: Address online safety and media sobriety as it relates to women’s experiences.

· Info Tables and Posters: Promote awareness of the issues and provide information and other resources.

· Software Distribution to all members

§ Order CD’s from Safe Families for $1 each (coming soon)

§ Give web links to download software at safefamilies.techmission.org

§ Make your own copies of CD for free

Step 5: Sermons and Special Events

Below we’ve listed several resources and ideas for sermons or special events addressing online safety and media sobriety at your church.

We recommend the “Just Lust” toolkit; by Creative Pastors (see the “Resources” section of this manual). This is a source for tools to help churches creatively communicate Biblical truths with today’s culture in a relevant and compelling manner. The toolkit has sermons (video, audio, and text with outlines), worship service plans, media files, and a dramatic presentation (video and script) all dealing with the issue of lust. One message is specifically about pornography.

· Use Focus on the Family’s sermon outline. (See “Battle Plan against Pornography” in this manual.)

· Adapt SafeFamilies “Overcoming Temptation” Talk
safefamilies.techmission.org/webcasts/temptation

o 44% of churchgoers want to hear more scriptural teaching from their pastors on the subject of sex (March 2005 Christianity Today "Christians and Sex" study)

· Have a special service to show “The Call to Freedom” (available to order from safefamilies.techmission.org soon).

· Invite special speaker(s) to share.

· Show “Beating the Bunny” to your youth group. (beatingthebunny.com)

· For more suggested multimedia resources, see the [[http://www.urbanministry.org/wiki/multimedia-resources-online-safety-pornography-and-recovery|Resources]] section of this manual.