Evangelism

A Friendly Reminder: “Come To Jesus” Is More Important Than “Come To Our Church”

/ 1 minute of reading

Here’s a sincere question for my fellow pastors and other church leaders.

What if the members of our churches started sharing their faith, but it wasn’t in a way that brought more people to our specific church? Could we be okay with that?

If not, we may not be as much about kingdom growth as we think we are.

As people use social media to make new relationships and keep in touch with friends who have moved away, more aspects of our lives are happening without regard to geography. From crying with a friend going through a divorce, to celebrating the joy of childbirth, many of our most intimate moments are being lived through Facebook Live, Skype and FaceTime.

More people who share their faith are doing it online, too. Which means that the friends and family members they’re sharing it with are becoming less likely to be able to attend church together.

This has great potential for our church’s participation in kingdom growth, even if it doesn’t always result in the numerical growth of our local congregation.

A Friendly Reminder: “Come To Jesus” Is More Important Than “Come To Our Church” Read More »

A Friendly Reminder: “Come To Jesus” Is More Important Than “Come To Our Church”

/ 1 minute of reading

Here’s a sincere question for my fellow pastors and other church leaders.

What if the members of our churches started sharing their faith, but it wasn’t in a way that brought more people to our specific church? Could we be okay with that?

If not, we may not be as much about kingdom growth as we think we are.

As people use social media to make new relationships and keep in touch with friends who have moved away, more aspects of our lives are happening without regard to geography. From crying with a friend going through a divorce, to celebrating the joy of childbirth, many of our most intimate moments are being lived through Facebook Live, Skype and FaceTime.

More people who share their faith are doing it online, too. Which means that the friends and family members they’re sharing it with are becoming less likely to be able to attend church together.

This has great potential for our church’s participation in kingdom growth, even if it doesn’t always result in the numerical growth of our local congregation.

A Friendly Reminder: “Come To Jesus” Is More Important Than “Come To Our Church” Read More »

No. I Don’t Want To “Shut Down An Atheist In 15 Seconds Flat!”

/ 1 minute of reading

Ah, social media. You beautiful, hideous beast.

One of my least favorite current trends is the growing number of my Christian friends posting memes, blog posts and videos with headlines like these:

“Young Student Humiliates Atheist Professor Who Tried To Tell Him God Isn’t Real!”
“This Will Shut Down An Atheist In 15 Seconds Flat!”
“A Simple Illustration That Destroys (insert counter-argument here)!”
“On-the-Street Interviews That Prove Liberals (or Conservatives, or Millennials, or Calvinists, or…) Are Idiots!”
“Mormons get schooled by Christian man!”
Count me out.

I don’t want to shut down, humiliate or destroy anyone. Or their argument.

Jesus gave us a better way.

No. I Don’t Want To “Shut Down An Atheist In 15 Seconds Flat!” Read More »

Want To Reach Unchurched People? Don’t Create A Sense Of Urgency, Fight Against It

/ 1 minute of reading

People have enough stress in their lives. They’ve had goods and services sold to them through a false sense of urgency so often that there’s a built-in distrust of it.

In western culture, the resistance to the church and the message of Jesus (not necessarily the same thing) is not primarily based on ignorance, anger or even stubbornness.

It’s apathy.

They’re not upset or worried, they just don’t care.

The uncommitted person isn’t waiting for a cue that “this is the weekend to get the deal of a lifetime at your local church!” They’re not thinking about it at all.

Not only is urgency not the antidote to apathy, it’s the enemy of importance. Of joy. Of community. And of curiosity.

Urgency doesn’t pull new people in, it reminds them of why they’re staying away.

Want To Reach Unchurched People? Don’t Create A Sense Of Urgency, Fight Against It Read More »

Pastor, Don’t Neglect Your Current Members To Reach New Ones

/ 1 minute of reading

One of the best indicators of whether-or-not a church is healthy is how much they’re reaching people who aren’t already in the congregation. The more outward-looking, the more likely it is to be healthy. The more insular, the less healthy.

But, while outreach is a good indicator of health, it can’t stand alone.

In addition to reaching new people, a healthy church also pays attention to nurturing, discipling and challenging its current members into a deeper walk with Jesus. Doing one at the expense of the other creates imbalance and ill-health.

Not to mention, it’s much harder to bring new people into the church than it is to keep the people you already have. We must do both.

Pastor, Don’t Neglect Your Current Members To Reach New Ones Read More »

Backyard BBQ Evangelism: A New, True Parable Of Outside-The-Church-Walls Ministry

/ 1 minute of reading

We have to start letting go of some of our long-held ideas about church and ministry. Especially when it comes to evangelism and outreach.

But it’s not always easy.

There are far too many pastors and churches that don’t consider ministry valid unless it happens within the walls of their church building.

But Jesus never called us to bring people into a church building. He told us to go to them. On the streets, in the marketplaces and at backyard BBQs.

If we’re going to reach the next generation, we’ll need to get much better at doing ministry from the church, not just in the church.

Keep your eyes and ears open to what’s already happening in your community through the members of your church. Then step up to help.

Backyard BBQ Evangelism: A New, True Parable Of Outside-The-Church-Walls Ministry Read More »

Why Some Great Churches Never Impact Their Community

/ 1 minute of reading

Several years ago I had the privilege of being in a great church service on a trip away from home.

The worship was dynamic, the people were friendly, the message was biblical and engaging, the sense of the presence of God was genuine.

As I drove away, I thought, “What a great church! I feel filled-up and ready to take on the week! It’s a shame they won’t have any impact on their community – not if they keep doing things the way they’re currently doing them.”

Why would I think that if the church was as great as I described?

Because everything the church did was inward-looking not outward-reaching.

Why Some Great Churches Never Impact Their Community Read More »

No, Our Church Doesn’t Sing New Music to Appeal to Nonbelievers

/ 1 minute of reading

Our church uses a lot of different tools to reach unchurched people, from personal invitations to community service events and more. But our church’s song list is not an evangelism tool. It’s meant to glorify God and involve the saints in worship.

So, if you and your church like singing the great old hymns of the church, go for it! Prefer new songs? Sing them with all your heart. But there’s no reason to keep knocking those who sing a different set of songs than your church does.

No, Our Church Doesn’t Sing New Music to Appeal to Nonbelievers Read More »

A Better Way to Invite People to Church – And to Jesus

/ 1 minute of reading

Why do we put ‘inviting people to church’ so high on our evangelism priorities list? Because it’s easy. Inviting someone to a church event is easier than inviting them to see Christ in me.

When church attendance is our first (or only) step in evangelism, we end up putting on a show for them. But people don’t want a show. And it’s not what the church is supposed to be.

I’m hugely in favor of making the on-ramp easy for first-time church attenders. But never at the expense of doing what we’re supposed to do when we gather as the church – worshiping, discipling, having fellowship and preparing people for ministry.

(This post is an extension of my previous post, Are We More Invested In Bringing People to Church? Or to Jesus?)

A Better Way to Invite People to Church – And to Jesus Read More »

The Day My Church Lost Hundreds of Converts – And I Learned to Be OK With It

/ 5 minutes of reading

People can behave in ugly ways when we try to take the credit that should be God’s alone. This is a story of one of those times. It’s a story that might upset some people, because it airs some of our dirty laundry. (If the title hasn’t ticked you off already, that is.) But it’s also

The Day My Church Lost Hundreds of Converts – And I Learned to Be OK With It Read More »