Jamie Mertens is on the pastoral staff and Director of Operations at Bloom Church in Denver, Colorado. He is also the Pastor in residence at MOPS international.
Key Questions for Jamie Mertens:
– Tell us about your church planting journey.
– Why did you target young families in your church plants?
– What are some practical steps a church can take to reach young moms?
Key Quotes from Jamie Mertens:
“If we were the first 100 Christians in Denver, what would we do? We’d probably keep it pretty simple. We’d probably have people over for dinner, pray and read the word together.”
“We want to keep everything lightweight, low maintenance and high quality. For the purpose of being able to respond to what God is doing in the community versus manufacturing something and then asking God to bless it.”
“We are seeing people first and then ‘what we’re trying to accomplish’ second.”
“Once a couple starts having children, they look around and realize they need some help…at that point in life they are looking to connect.”
“The most important thing we can give our congregants is each other.”
“Every week I get emails saying ‘we’re new in town and looking to connect’ so let’s connect you and not talk about salvation and all those things. Let’s let the relationship grow first.”
“When we connect a mom into a house setting we know we’ve connected the whole family.”
“The image I like to use (as a pastor) is one of a greenhouse keeper…we can create an environment around that plant (congregant) that’s conducive for growth.”
“I would often tell my house church leaders, unlock your front door, set a plate at your table and you are 99 percent of the way done.”
“Church staffs are very male heavy…..one way to counteract that is to talk to women leaders in the church.”
