How to reach people?
I have been talking to people all over the United States about what are things that they have done to reach people when it comes to the church. I have heard about how mass mailings work and don’t work, I have heard about how door hangers work and don’t work, I have even heard about what banners you are suppose to use and what they are suppose to look like. But one thing that I have not anyone say is “The people in our church they are the best way, to reach our community.” Now maybe that was already implied maybe it wasn’t but for whatever reason I believe that we are not leading the people in our churches to reach the people around them. Why is that? Maybe it starts out that we as the leader are not doing it yourself. Maybe it is because we are not showing people the life change that happens when someone encounters Jesus. Maybe it’s because we are not giving people that are coming a chance to respond to the Gospel.
In a recent study commissioned by the North American Mission Board and done by Lifeway there were given statistics about the top five ways most people are willing to receive information about a local church:
“Baptists like to talk more about evangelism than to actually do it,” says LifeWay director Ed Stetzer. Personal evangelizing is “a great concept that’s hard for people to get motivated to do.” Quote from article by Cathy Lynn Grossman at USA Today.
I don’t believe it is just a baptist thing. I believe it is a Christian thing. I also believe it is because we have become so afraid to say anything because we are worried about hurting someone’s feelings or that we will get turned down. I would rather honestly to get turned down then to know that I made a choice to not say anything at all. The Great Commission was “Go and Tell them” then after that the rest is up to the power of the Holy Spirit.
Now for church leaders, pastors, directors, whatever the title might be. What if you actually gave people the opportunity to respond? What if the people in the church that you have challenged to share or to go and tell actually were able to see people that they have contacted respond to the Gospel. Don’t you think for a second that seeing that happen might change their thoughts about going and connecting with people?
Just a thought.
What are you doing in your life or in your church to share with people about your church? About Jesus?
Working for it!
I was really taking this last week to watch, read, and digest what is going on through out the country in several states. I have had the privilege to talk to some of these leaders of the churches, I have read some of their thoughts about what is going on, and I have been reading the books that they put out. It is really exciting how God is growing and using these men to do amazing things in this world.
What unfortunately most people forget about what God is doing with these churches is that these leaders are also working hard at what they do. They are men and women that have followed the call of God and taken steps of faith to follow the call and do the things that were needed to build a church. To many people though are looking for the short cut. To many people thought think that oh that is happening in their church because of the building or the music. The thing is that everything had to start somewhere. I believe that just like Nehemiah he received the call followed Christ but he got to work. He got his hands dirty – he got sweaty – he got in the mix of building a wall.
Roger Staubach “”Spectacular achievements come from unspectacular preparation”
Many of us have gotten to the point where we have become so comfortable that we don’t see the need to WORK. Jesus was a carpenter, you can’t tell me He did not know about work. Think about the walk that Jesus made to where they hung him on the cross on the hill. Work! Why is it that we have put everything into a processes, into a book, into an idea. I believe that many people today have forgotten the principle of HARD WORK. Thank you to those leaders that are making the decisions and changes that you are to the church at large. Thank you for showing what God will do through a man that seeks after Him but also is not afraid of hard work. I pray that we will not forget that with people around us dying and going to Hell that it is not the time to sit back and not get to work.
Tell me how you have seen the work that you have put in comeback with God sized spectacular achievement?
