Pastor Mike's Weblog

A new study from Lifeway Research confirms what evangelistic pastors and churches have known all along - evangelism must begin beyond the sanctuary. Imagine that! In a culture that is unchurched and uncaring, and flatly denies absolute truth (verified in this study) we must get out of the church walls and take the gospel to the streets. There are some who think this archaic methodology belongs to the era of the Apostle Paul. And it does! It surely worked for him. And it will work for us as well.







Here is an excerpt from the study:

Stetzer continued, "For several decades we have focused on come and see, invest and invite, bring your friends to church by attracting them with a great program. We call that attractional ministry. Now we are facing the reality that fewer unchurched people are willing to visit a Christian church.

"This will compel us to embrace a go and tell – or incarnational – approach," he said. "Should we invite our friends to church? Sure. But should we be, do, and tell the Gospel to people in culture? You bet. It is not only biblical, but it is even more essential today as our culture grows increasingly resistant to the church."

Scott McConnell, associate director of LifeWay Research, said many churches use visitation effectively, "but all churches must learn to equip individuals to reach those who have never had contact with the church."

Perhaps this is the most telling factor of all:

The situation is compounded by the fact that more than half the 1,402 respondents in a 2007 study of unchurched adults said they never wonder whether they would go to heaven if they died, McConnell said.

"Our evangelistic efforts must acknowledge that we no longer live in a culture in which people are simply putting off coming to the church to find truth," McConnell explained. "Many people today either don’t believe truth exists or that the church is the place to find it."

Here is a great place to extoll the virtues of Vacation Bible School. VBS is the most evangelistic outreach event most churches conduct over the course of each year. Roughly one third of all baptisms in the SBC can be traced back to VBS. Evangelism training to prepare VBS workers to share the gospel, and effective follow-up after VBS to connect unchurched prospects with the Sunday School WORKS to bring people to Christ and His church. For more information about VBS go here: Outrigger Island - Living God's Unshakeable Truth.

For the entire study and links to associated media go here: Evangelism Must Go Beyond the Sanctuary