Read : How Can the Church Recover the Resurrection Story?

“The world has changed. I see it in the water. I feel it in the Earth. I smell it in the air.”  Not only has my cultural world changed since I grew up in the 1940’s and 1950’s, but the religious world has also.  No longer is sharing the gospel message at the forefront of my Restoration heritage, nor is it at the cutting edge of Christianity at large.   No longer are “home bible studies” and  gospel meetings, at the forefront of the church mission.  Even the more recent “seeker sensitive” models are diminishing influence.  What can be done?

To answer this question, I suggest one must know both the culture of the congregation and the culture in which it exists.  As I visit congregations of the Restoration heritage, what I see is a lot of grey heads.  This confirms my research that though they say are evangelistic, they are really pastorally focused on the existing membership.   Mainline and even evangelistic churches are now primarily pastorally focused.

My congregation exists in the DFW culture.  A recent  Pew research survey summarized the culture as follows: “Live your life, let me live mine, and do not force one moral system on everyone.”

It seems clear our faith group is pastorally focused.  In an attempt to combat this our larger congregations, turn to planting a church. Many times, this is because outlying  members of the existing congregation need a nearer place to worship.  In this case, initial resources are dedicated to finding  a place to rent and then building a place for the group to meet.   The mindset almost automatically becomes pastoral oriented due to financial and staff pressures.  My personal opinion is this focus on attracting people to “the building” since Constantine allowed use of basilicas  in 315 C.E. is a major hindrance to evangelism.

In our brotherhood the other form of church planting is more missional oriented. A small, trained church plant group  starts with a missional mindset and grows from a small group relationship setting. The small groups are trained to be self-replicating and avoids the pure pastoral mindset.

The first step to changing to a gospel message of the resurrection, is to recognize the problem.  Denial is usual.  “Look at what will happen when we get this great facility and staffed properly. Then we use it for outreach.”  Timing for acquiring land and building a building  that focus  on existing members is set in stone.   Notice that outreach in the 1940’s and 1950’s were attractional focused.  That is not an effective strategy today. Because the old attractional assumptions no longer work, deliberate cultural change is required.

Drawing on my experience in Strategic Planning and Group Dynamics, I would suggest the following things must take place:

1. Recognize the problem and clearly communicate it

This MUST be done by the Eldership.  They must communicate that taking care of themselves  is not the same as reaching new people. 

2. Clearly define what the mission of the congregation is in concrete terms.

Churches often say “evangelism” without ever defining what it looks like in actual congregational life. The Eldership must make that definition clear:   Who are we trying to reach?  And how are we going to do it? How do we make first contact, move to trust, to belonging, to sharing the gospel, to actual discipleship?

3. Form a leader-ship team to guide the process.

A core representative  leadership group from the congregation must be formed.  It should be empowered to make decisions and guide the evangelistic process.  All elders, staff, deacons, ministry leaders, and leaders must reinforce the evangelistic mission.  Leaving it to the minister and a deacon for local evangelism will not do.

4. Audit, Reward, and Celebrate What Directly Advances the Mission.
   This is vital and often ignored. If it is not measured, it usually does not happen. If it is not communicated and celebrated, it will not be valued. My training in Total Quality Management reinforces this idea.

First, audit and reward new-contact work.
Are we rewarding community presence, hospitality, and real points of contact with people outside the congregation? Are invitations that actually bring guests into contact with the church noticed and valued? If not, the congregation is not yet serious about outreach.

Second, audit and reward member preparation.
Are members being encouraged and recognized for learning how to share their spiritual lives naturally, how to invite others, and how to use their spiritual gifts in outreach? Are leaders rewarding the training of members, or simply assuming evangelism will somehow happen on its own?

Third, audit and reward follow-through.
Are we measuring and celebrating the work of welcoming newcomers, helping them return, connecting them to relationships, and moving them toward teaching and discipleship? If these things are not noticed, reported, and praised, they will not become part of the culture of the congregation.

If the calendar, announcements, staff time, praise, and attention remain centered mainly on internal programs and member care, then that is the real mission, whatever the stated mission may be.

5. Build and Resource Clear Pathways for Outreach.
   Once the mission is made clear, the congregation must create practical ways for that mission to happen. This means both time and money must be directed toward outreach.

First, resources must go toward new-contact work.
This includes community presence, hospitality, and new ways to reach newcomers. If a congregation is serious about evangelism, it must create real points of contact with people outside itself.

Second, resources must go toward member preparation.
This includes personal evangelism training, identifying and using members’ spiritual gifts, and training members in how to talk naturally about their spiritual lives, how to invite others, and how to build relationships of trust. Training is a vital part of the process.

Third, resources must go toward follow-through.
It is not enough simply to make contact. There must be clear pathways for welcoming people, receiving them, helping them move from first contact to relationship, and then from relationship to actual teaching and discipleship.

6. Train People for Relational Outreach With Defined Pathways for Teaching.

Since attractional methods no longer work, member need specific methods to use today,               

All members need to be trained in how to notice, welcome, invite host, converse with, and follow through with those who are receptive.  Not everyone has the gift of teaching, or hospitality, or other spiritual gifts. There must be clearly defined and communicated pathways for “handing off” from one phase of relationships to actual teaching a bible study to mentoring for discipleship.

7. Build Real Assimilation Paths for Newcomers

If newcomers are not incorporated in congregation life, churn is inevitable. You CANNOT wait until someone becomes a member but must start with initial contact. Trust comes before conversion.  There must be clear next steps that newcomers can be assimilated into. Members must know them and be trained to use them.   For example, guests should immediately be invited to share a meal, attend a small group, attend classes, or participate in service activities or other actions.

Cultural change is hard, and in any organization it must be led and reinforced by leadership. In the church, leadership is therefore essential if the work of sharing the gospel is to be renewed at the congregational level. Yet in the end, the resurrection story is still carried person to person—through relationships, through trust, and through believers who know how to use their spiritual gifts to share the hope found in the risen Christ.