BEGIN WHERE THE UNCHURCHED ARE
The church has a responsibility to proclaim the Good News in the
context of the world view of the unchurched individual so that it
becomes the central component of the unchurched's religiosity.
You have to speak to them where they are at the moment.
How to relate the Gospel to the Unchurched:
- Take a stand. Churches need to take a stand for Jesus Christ.
The unchurched have turned off churches because they perceive
churches have relativized Jesus, watered down the Gospel, and
is wishy-washy about truth and conviction. Churches must
return to preaching, teaching, and living biblical truths.
- Give a personal witness. The most effective means of
evangelism is personal relationship witnessing. It is more
effective than revivals, visitation, advertising, or
television. The church needs to train its members in telling
their story to people in their sphere of influence.
- Realize that the unchurched is not uninformed. Most
unchurched people are not heathens with no awareness of God
whatsoever. Instead, most have an elementary understanding of
God and sin, and need help moving to the point of accepting
Christ as Savior. Most want to grow spiritually, but lack the
guidance and means.
- Offer classes that deal with the basics of the Christian
faith and biblical knowledge. The teacher of this study
should be trained in determining where people are in their
religious development, and sensitive to presenting the
information at the appropriate levels.
- Provide a prescribed discipleship program. This should be for
new members, especially new Christians, that will assist them
in moving along in their religious development.
- Simplify everything. Be prepared to explain even the most
accepted terms of the Christian faith in simple worldly
terms.
- Offer video and audio tapes. They can be viewed by
nonchurchgoers at home so they can progress at their own
pace.
- Instill the importance of religious practice. Offer seminars
on prayer, scripture reading, and personal devotions,
teaching them the how-to's as well as the importance of the
discipline to one's religious life.
- Remember the world is your competition. Develop a "market
attitude" in order to compete against the world. Don't look
at other denominations as your competitors.
- Develop a needs-based ministry. Seek to meet the needs of the
individual in their own community.
- Be flexible in your organizational structure. Many churches
become entrenched in the way they perform the work of the
church and idolize the system rather than the Message. The
church must be able to adapt in order to remain proactive and
up-to-date in its presentation of the Gospel.
- Offer quality child care. The majority of nonchurchgoers will
try to reconnect to the church during time when they have
young children. They are looking for help in trying to
establish in their children a set of values and morals and
look to the church for help. Churches must make taking care
of children a priority.
- Strive for quality. Churches must begin quality improvement
strategies at once. Promotional materials should be of the
finest quality, programs should be well thought out, and only
qualified staff and volunteers should be used.
- Use time wisely. Churches must be concerned about the lives
of the unchurched and of their own church members. Scheduling
of church events must fit into their lives. The church does
have a right to expect its members to be committed and to
participate in church events, but the church also must
schedule events in a more economical manner. If an event can
take 30 minutes, why make it an hour? And above all, hold
meetings only if they are necessary, and make sure that they
are well-run.
Ron D. Dempsey is assistant dean of Academic Affairs
and assistant professor of Sociology at Presbyterian
College in Clinton, S.C. He works with the South
Carolina Baptist Convention as a strategic church
consultant.
From: Faith Outside the Walls by Ron D. Dempsey.
Copyright (c) 1997 by Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.,
Macon, Ga., 1-800-747-3016. http://www.helwys.com