Relentlessly Outbound
Churches that want to be obedient to the Great Commission outlined in Matthew 28:18-20 must be marked by this term: Relentlessly Outbound. If they pull back from this, they will have forfeited a large part of their ministry effectiveness and will find themselves focusing on the "found" rather than reaching the lost.
There, I said it. I know it's harsh, but it's true.
Most Canadian churches are not relentlessly outbound. Most church budgets are focused on staff salaries and building costs. Most pastors and staff spend the majority of their time with Christians. Most church gatherings are primarily for church attendees. We've turned into "Christian Training Centres" or "Clubs for Christians" rather than a Missional Movement, a force of Christ-followers on a mission to reach a lost world.
If you go by the Engels scale of Evangelism, 80% of Canadians are -10 to -6. This means that they are not interested in Christianity, have some awareness of the supernatural, and now have knowledge of Christianity but do not see the Gospel as something that could be for them or impact them. These are the people in your neighbourhood. How are you building relationships with them? How are you talking to them? How is your church capturing their attention as a possible solution to helping them make life work? How are you moving people from -10 to -9 and so on?
The only way to do that is to minister to people NOT in your church. This means you'll have to get outside the walls and build bridges of connection and relationships with non-believers.
This needs to happen every month. This is what it means to be relentless.
Pray and Go
One of the simplest yet most powerful ways to be outbound is to pray for lost people all the time. Do prayer walks, host prayer meetings in public places, and get names of actual people the church is praying for and pray for them every week in your services. Remind people weekly about lost people and ask God to break our hearts for them. Every. Single. Week. And this is not just about praying; listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as you pray and ask your congregation, what is God asking us to do right now? And whatever it is, RESPOND. Pray and Go. Ask God what He's saying, and then do what He says. Doing this will ignite your church to become more about the lost than the found.
Build Community Partnerships
If you see yourself as a fellow Community Builder, you will reach out to other community builders to strengthen and improve the quality of life in your community. Every month you can build a new connection with someone who has a vested interest in the success of your community regardless of their spiritual views.
Pop-Up Blessings
The easiest thing you can do to be outbound is to bless the community. You only need $50.00 and a few people to let people know "we are here, and we care." Pop Up Blessings are a great way to improve your church's reputation and be a force for good in your community.
Meet Felt Needs
Every person you meet has a felt need. Some want significance. Others want to be good parents or partners. Some want freedom from their past or support with mental health. Everyone in your community has a felt need. Your church can start meeting felt needs by offering courses, programs, and sermon topics that address the things non-believers are feeling.
Be Hospitable
Go through every ministry in your church and ask, "is this hospitable towards non-believers in our community?" And if the answer is "no," then change the ministry to become more hospitable to those who are not yet a part of your church. Think about the invitation, promotion, initial impressions, language, and follow-up. Practice the Golden Rule and put yourself in a non-believer's shoes and walk through the entire process of that ministry. It's simple hospitality that will win the day.
Serve Families with Young Children
The largest demographic in Canada is families with young children. It's time to mobilize the things we do to serve those families. Host day camps. Host a parents' night out. Host a block party. Host weekly moms and toddlers drop-in. Host parenting seminars. Host marriage workshops. Host mid-week kids' skills' building activities. Remember when you were a parent of young kids? What would have helped you? Do that!! Invest in reaching children. Create a children's program so exciting that kids go to school and brag about it to their friends.
I look at the state of our nation and our churches, and I can't help but wonder, why aren't we more outbound than we currently are? If all we needed was some great music and a good sermon, wouldn't we be seeing better results? I think that as long as we treat the church as something for Christians rather than a mobilizing force to reach non-Christians, we'll keep seeing the decline of the church.
But, if we decide to be relentless in our outbound activity by investing in and inviting non-believers to discover the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will see a change in the direction of the spiritual trajectory of this nation.
Jeremiah works as an Effectiveness Coach with the ABNWT District of the PAOC. He is a passionate and creative leader who believes that the church is the hope of the world. He uses collaboration, innovation, and inspiration to challenge churches and their leadership to engage in the only mission Jesus ever sent his church on: making disciples.