The congregation I serve is working at reaching into our community. We are doing several things to minister in our community with the aim of reaching people for Christ, and we are constantly evaluating what we do and discussing new ideas for reaching people. In fact, our leaders just completed a discussion about how we can make one of our outreach programs more effective.
The truth is, though, that we are not doing a very effective job of reaching unbelievers. We think we have laid the right foundation for doing so, but we are still working at becoming more effective. So I paid attention recently when I read an article on the subject by Kent Hunter who leads a team of consultants at Church Doctor Ministries.
Hunter suggests that to be effective you begin by recognizing the different types of people you want to reach and establish a strategy for each. There are four types of people to reach:
· The De-churched consider themselves Christians, but do not attend church. They have been away from the church six to eight years or longer. They include those who have had a traumatic experience in the church or in their family.
· The Under-churched also may feel they are Christians. Their occasional attendance usually is triggered by a stressful event in their lives.
· The Semi-churched are frequently known as holiday attendees, they most often attend at Easter, but may also attend on Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or Thanksgiving.
· The Unchurched, identified by their own perception, respond to questions about religious affiliation by saying, “I have no church (temple, mosque, synagogue).” Research shows most of them would say they are “spiritually interested,” and they may subscribe allegiance to a “higher power.”
The latter category represent 50 to 60 percent of the U.S. population. Another 10 to 20 percent would say they have a church, but could not tell you the name of their pastor or priest. They are “functionally unchurched.” The unchurched and the functionally unchurched represent between 60 and 80 percent of the people you know.
If Jesus has called your church to be a community of outreach, the unchurched is a primary population group on which to focus your ministry. But, Hunter says, “During a time in U.S. history when the population of unchurched people has grown significantly, the church has become increasingly ineffective at reaching them.”
So, how do become more effective in reaching the unchurched? Hunter offers at least ten strategies they have identified. Here is a sampling:
1. Add a “go” strategy to your church’s efforts to invite people to your events. Take the congregation I serve as an example. We are working to invite people to events, including the use of mailings, and to utilize our building for services such as a Food Pantry and as a meeting place for groups. We still need to find ways to meet unchurched people where they are.
2. Teach church members to see themselves as missionaries of the church. Consider training people through programs such as Becoming a Contagious Christian, so that they see themselves as missionaries to America.
3. Encourage members to spontaneously share their story of faith. A person’s story of faith is best shared when it is relevant to a conversation initiated by an unchurched person with whom you have an established relationship. You may also inject discussion about your involvement in various areas of ministry and church life into conversations with unchurched friends, just as you would discuss work or family or school.
4. Train members to see that their primary sphere of ministry is their workplace, neighborhood, school, sports club—wherever they develop relationships. We need to move people from seeing their primary ministry not as the church group they serve with, but as sharing Christ with people.
I hope your church is interested in becoming more effective in reaching unbelievers. These are just some starter ideas. If you are interested in reading further, you can find Kent Hunter’s article at http://www.christianstandard.com/articledisplay.asp?id=1396. Let’s once again realize the importance of the church reaching into the world with the Gospel.
No comments:
Post a Comment