You may be reading this because you would like to see more people being reached outside of the church. First off, of course I do not mean stop inviting all people in every situation, but if you want to reach more people, instead of inviting every single person to church as your main method of evangelism, my advice would be to take church to people. What do I mean by that? It means to connect with some people outside of the church (most of us all have many friends outside of church), gather some of them together, and simply give them a place where they can learn about Jesus in their own environment where they feel comfortable.
I have been a part of several churches and I desperately tried to get more people to come to church. There were some success stories I could tell you about, but it usually ended up with the one’s and two’s showing up and the church numbers would usually even out by the end of the year. The reality is that most people are not interested or ready to come to our churches because of where they are in their life, and of course most churches are typically geared towards Christians, not non-Christians. We also have to account for language, culture, and economic differences. Of course there are some exceptions, but if you look around in your church body, most people look the same as you because you fit that church culture. It is okay if people don’t fit in your church culture, but everyone needs an opportunity to learn about Jesus that fits within their own culture or comfort.
Think about this: Let’s say you have 200 people in your church, and you get just 20 people in that church who are willing to reach people outside of the church. Have each of those people start one small learning group (we call them Discovery Groups) with some of their friends. Let’s say each of those groups consists of 10 people. Now you have 200 new people learning about Jesus, which is the same number of people in your church. And it doesn’t need to stop there. From day one get those 20 leaders to teach people in their groups to share what they are learning with their friends to encourage more discovery groups to start. If each group just started one other group, you would have 400 new people you have reached outside of the church! Sound simple? Well it is. It is not simple for one person or church to reach hundreds or thousands of people, but it is simple for each one of us to reach a small group of people. We are all capable of leading one group if we simplify the process. I can’t reach all people and neither can your church, but imagine if we all started one group on our own?
NOTE: Why start groups as opposed to just reaching individuals? Groups are more sustainable, make great learning environments, reach more people, and can be easily replicated.
We are looking for people who have a heart to reach people outside of the church. If you are interested in starting a group, learning more, or just have questions, please contact us:
2145078828
