Evangelism

The Un-Churched Next Door

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

It has been an encouraging trend.  After several months during which we observed a score of painful defections from our church, the past few months have seen a rebound.  We have been blessed to see a number of new folks join our fellowship. Among them are a handful of mature transplants, Christians new to our area, who bring with them a measure of much appreciated stability. But maybe even more exciting is the number of those who had been previously un-churched.  These folks add something refreshing.  They are a reminder of an important aspect of what we are about – or at least what we should be about as the church of Jesus Christ in our community.  I want us to be a church that sees growth primarily through conversion, and by assimilating the formerly un-churched and de-churched,  not growth by enticing the transient hoppers to come from whatever pews they are presently adorning.

I use the term “un-churched” intentionally.  I know it has been common in the past to refer to reaching the “lost” – something I agree is important.  I also realize that this shift to reach the “un-churched” has caused a bit of concern to some who fear that this is somehow a compromise of our evangelistic mandate. But this is no compromise.

Our forefathers in the Faith long asserted that “ordinarily there is no salvation apart from the church”.  The word “ordinarily” is important, because it admits that there are circumstances where men and women are legitimately regenerated and converted and yet, for whatever the reasons, are not a part of any visible expression of the Body of Christ.  But the word ordinarily also conveys that this situation ought to be highly unusual.  Implied in this expression is that whenever someone is not a part of a visible church, genuine Believer or not, there is reason to assume that they are not Christians. This is not judgment. It is simply a rational assumption based on evidence and what scripture declares to be the expected norm.

What I appreciate about this position is the simplicity.  Rather than attempting to discern which of the un-churched are Christians and which are among the “lost” – a task that is essentially near impossible, since I cannot see into each heart as God does –  instead assume all are in need of grace.  My role, and our role as the church, is simply to express the gospel to them through both Word & Deed, and encourage them to unite with some faithful congregation – hopefully many of them to ours.  In the region where we live (Appalachia), where most people make some profession of being a Christian, even if many have no idea of what that actually means, it certainly clarifies our mandate for outreach and evangelism.

But with the number of un-churched friends we are now making, I am reminded of an important detail: Not all the un-churched are the same, and thus they should not all be treated exactly the same.  In other words there are distinctions between the un-churched, categories or levels of their un-churchedness.

Thom Rainer, in his book The Unchurched Next Door, reveals the findings of research by the Rainer Group that is both important and helpful.  Rainer observes that there are five categories, or five degrees, of un-churched:

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Lessons from The Externally Focused Church

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

 

 Although everyone outside the Church is a potential ministry focus, the Externally Focused  Church moves intentionally toward two groups:

  1. Those on the margins
  2. The City

– from Externally Focused Church 

These are important points to remember when designing an outreach strategy for the local church.  The first, people on the margins of society, probably needs no explanation.  The second, while in some ways obvious, may be helpful to explain, at least a little. 

The focus on the city does not necessarily mean our focus must be on the mega metropolitan areas throughout the country and around the world.  While no doubt those places are important, when you think of “city” think simply of “places where people gather”.  Externally Focused Churches work to benefit the common good more than create places to which Christians withdraw from others.  (Jeremiah 29.7)

100 Ways to Love Your Neighbor

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

It seems as if it ought to be simple enough: “Love your neighbor.”  But experience tells me it is not as easy as it might seem.  And, if we take seriously the parables of Jesus, we learn it is not as easy as some tend to think.  When we read what Jesus holds up as the standard of neighborliness we realize that to love our neighbor is not the same as the absence of hostilities or even just the presence of genuine affections.  To love our neighbors we need to be involved in one anothers lives to some degree.  Even one insurance company gets that: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there…”

But this is easier said than done in our fast pace, busy, world.  And Frankly, even State Farm’s claim seems a little dubious to me.  When I think about it, they’re only there for me when I pay them to be. Try dropping your policy and see if they seem like such “Good Neighbors” then.  I have my doubts.

But who can blame them? Life is busy.  And my neighbors are as active as I am.  How are we supposed to engage them, even if we commit to carving out the time?

Josh Reeves offer us a few suggestions.  Here are Josh’s Top 25:

  1. Stay outside in the front yard longer while watering the yard
  2. Walk your dog regularly around the same time in your neighborhood
  3. Sit on the front porch and letting kids play in the front yard
  4. Pass out baked goods (fresh bread, cookies, brownies, etc.)
  5. Invite neighbors over for dinner
  6. Attend and participate in HOA functions
  7. Attend the parties invited to by neighbors
  8. Do a food drive or coat drive in winter and get neighbors involved
  9. Have a game night (yard games outside, or board games inside)
  10. Art swap night – bring out what you’re tired of and trade with neighbors
  11. Grow a garden and give out extra produce to neighbors
  12. Have an Easter egg hunt  on your block and invite neighbors use their front yards
  13. Start a weekly open meal night in your home
  14. Do a summer BBQ every Friday night and invite others to contribute
  15. Create a block/ street email and phone contact list for safety
  16. Host a sports game watching party
  17. Host a coffee and dessert night
  18. Organize and host a ladies artistic creation night
  19. Organize a tasting tour on your street (everyone sets up food and table on front porch)\
  20. Host a movie night and discussion afterwards
  21. Start a walking/running group in the neighborhood
  22. Start hosting a play date weekly for other stay at home parents
  23. Organize a carpool for your neighborhood to help save gas
  24. Volunteer to coach a local little league sports team
  25. Have a front yard ice cream party in the summer

To read the rest of Josh’s ideas click: 100Ways.  Josh has a link at the bottom of his Top 25 list.

H.T. to Jonathan Dodson @ Creation Project.

Out-stretching the Outreach Dilemma

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

I have been spending some time thinking about how to revamp and ignite the outreach ministry of our church.  One of the frequent dilemmas for a church that desires to become more externally focused, more missional, is the balancing of service and PR.  There is nothing inherently wrong with advertising, but sometimes a sincere outreach can be perceived as a mere marketing strategy.  When this happens it sends a distorted message to both those outside the church and those who go out from the church.

John Stott, in his book Christian Mission in the Modern World, offers the following insights about this dilemma:

To sum up, we are sent to the world, like Jesus, to serve. For this is the natural expression of our love for our neighbors. We love. We go. We serve. And in this we have (or we should have) no ulterior motive. True, the gospel lacks visibility if we merely preach it, and lacks credibility if we who preach it are interested only in souls and have no concern about the welfare of people’s bodies, situations and communities.  Yet the reason for our acceptance of social responsibility is not primarily in order to give the gospel either a visibility or a credibility it would otherwise lack, but rather simple uncomplicated compassion. Love has no need to justify itself.  It merely expresses itself in service wherever it sees need.

Different Worlds

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

While I’ve long known it, recently I’ve finding the following quote to be painfully all too true:

Following Jesus today requires you to practice the same single-minded non-conformity. And it will produce the same effect in your life that it did with Jesus.  If you truly follow Jesus, in addition to enjoying a most excellent adventure, you will likely end up seeming too Christian for many of your pagan friends and too pagan for many of your Christian friends.  When you truly follow Jesus, you’ll spend considerable time in the world like he did, and as a result, many of your religious friends will think you’re too irreligious. On the other hand, many of your irreligious friends will find it odd that you are so focused on the spiritual.  Thus, you end up seeming both too Christian AND too pagan.

~ Dick Staub, Too Christian, Too Pagan

Distinct, Not Separated

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

John Stott offers a reminder of the task and the tension we, as Christians, must continually navigate when he uses the phrase:

“spiritually distinct, but NOT socially segregated.”

And here is a quote expanding this perspective:

Your business and mine as Christian people is to be in the midst of this world and its affairs, and still remain true and loyal to God, and be kept from evil.  …The task of the Christian is to be right in the midst of this world and its affairs in order that he may do the work of evangelism, spreading the gospel and the Kingdom of God, while the whole time, keeping himself un-spotted from the world.

~Martyn Lloyd-Jones, from Safe in the World

Cutting-Edge Way to Reach the Un-churched

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

Now the probing question for you and me:

“When was the last time you invited an un-churched person to church?”

We in the church are searcning and agonizing over ways to reach the lost… yet research indicates a simple invitation may be the most cutting-edge approach we can employ.

– Thom Rainer, The Unchurched Next Door

Gospel Discipling: Gospel & Evangelism

/ Dennis Griffith / Leave a comment

Another area of major concern within the evangelical church today is the ineffectiveness of much evangelistic effort – when it is undertaken at all.

I think one key element in this ineffectiveness is the mindset evangelicals have established that concludes that the unbeliever needs an entirely different message from the believer. When there is a recognition that, in fact, we both need to hear the same message, an important change takes place both in the attitude of the Christian and in the atmosphere of the church. Instead of thinking we need to preach the gospel to them, the environment becomes one of mutual seeking to know the gospel, and the recognition that we are at different stages of understanding.  Furthermore, the proclamation of the gospel means more than evangelistic appeals.

Pastors and teachers who understand grace personally, and know how to distinguish Law and Gospel in their proclamation, will teach the gospel from anywhere in Scripture.

For all of the cultural changes we are experiencing, I still believe the church is a place where conversions can take place. But this requires that we have a setting in which all who come, come to hear and believe the gospel. This is happening today, and there are wonderful examples of churches where there are numerous conversions both in the services of the church and through the joyful overflow of the gospel in the daily lives of members.

***

This is Part 5 of a 5-part series titled Gospel Discipling. This series is taken from an essay by Stephen Smallman, author of Spiritual Birthline and past Executive Director of World Harvest Mission. Some of the content has been edited. 

Thanks also to New City Fellowship of St. Louis, who posted Smallman’s essay on their web page.

To read Parts 1-4 click: Introduction; Romans as Model; Gospel & Adoption; Gospel & Renewal

6 Words Toward Open Hearts

/ Dennis Griffith / 2 Comments

From Donald Whitney:

Over and over I’ve seen one simple question open people’s hearts to hear the gospel. Until I asked this question, they showed no interest in spiritual matters. But then after six words—only seventeen letters in English—I’ve seen people suddenly begin to weep and their resistance fall. The question is, “How can I pray for you?” …

This question is similar to one that Jesus Himself sometimes asked: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32). For what we are really asking is, “What do you want me to ask Jesus to do for you?” And by means of this question, we can show the love of Christ to people and open hearts previously closed to the gospel.

I had tried to talk about the things of God many times to a business-hardened, retired executive who lived next door. He was a pro at hiding his feelings and keeping conversations at a superficial level. But the day we stood between our homes and I asked, “How can I pray for you?” his eyes filled with tears as his façade of self-sufficiency melted. For the first time in seven years he let me speak with him about Jesus.

It’s a short, easily remembered question. You can use it with longtime friends or with people you’ve just met. It doesn’t seem too personal or pushy for those who’d rather give you a shallow answer just now, and yet it often leads to a full hearing of the gospel. You can ask it of people nearly every time you speak with them and it doesn’t get old. Just simply and sincerely ask, “How can I pray for you?” You’ll be surprised at the results.

Unchurched Next Door

/ Dennis Griffith / 1 Comment

According to Thom Rainer, your unchurched neighbors are not all alike. At least that is what the research from Rainer Group indicates.

In his book, The Unchurched Next Door, Rainer puts the unchurched in our lives into five distinct categories:

U1 – Highly receptive to the Gospel. In fact this group includes some who may well be Christians who, for one reason or another, are not presently part of any expression of the Visible Body of Christ. These folks are the very essence of the word Seekers.

U2 – Receptive to the Gospel and to the Church. They may even see the church as a value, and admit that they “ought to go to church”.  However, they probably have not been to church,  nor taken any initiative in finding a church, and finding a church is not on thier immediate agenda whatsoever.

U3 – Neutral about church and spiritual things. They show neither signs of interest nor opposition. They may be open to some conversations about spiritual things but they do not feel their lives are lacking without Jesus being in their lives or their lack of involvement in the life of a local church.

U4 – Resistant to the Gospel, but show no antagonistic attitudes about those who profess faith and/or who go to church.

U5 – Highly antagonistic about church and the Gospel.

At first thought one might assume this is a matter of common sense, if not common knowledge. What difference does it make to consider these categories?

Those were some of my initial musings.

But then I began to think about how I, and how others I know, relate to unchurched friends and neighbors. Am I conscious of where they are on their spiritual pilgrimmage, of do I functionally lump them all into the category of “THEM” as opposed to “US”? Do I wish they would come to church, or do I understand where they are coming from? Am I willing to converse with them at their interest level, or do I use a half-hearted one-size-fits-all approach when spiritual matters come up? Like most Christians I know, I have often been guilty of the all the wrong things.

While being careful not to judge people, I have found that applying Rainers insights has made interacting and relating with unchurched neighbors and friends has become more enjoyable. Probably for them too. I listen more attentively to what they are saying. I converse more freely. I say fewer dumb things that lead to alienation. In short, I think Rainers categories are not only on-target but practically helpful.

Interestingly, The Rainer Group study has shown that 75-80% of our unchurched neighbors and friends would be open to an invitation to go to church if invited by a Christian friend.  This does not mean that all of them would be equally excited about the invitation. And this does not mean that if you ask four people to come to church this week that you will see three of them there on Sunday.  It means that if genuinely and sensitvely invited most would at some time or another be willing to go with you to your church.

So now here is the probing question for you & me: When was the last time you invited an un-churched person to church?

We in the churches are agonizing over ways to reach the un-churched, yet research indicates a simple invitation may be the most “cutting edge” approach we can employ.