By David Kennedy
The most exciting thing any church can celebrate is the radical transformation of a person who “once was lost but now is found.” What is better than to see someone who was recently far from God embrace the power of the gospel, to hear their testimony of how Jesus turned their life upside down, to see them come out of the waters of baptism full of joy and ready for a new life? It doesn’t get any better than that!
But as anyone who has been part of the church for any length of time knows, reaching people far from God is not an easy thing to do. How do we reach people in our communities? This is a question every church has to answer, not only so we can celebrate, but also so we can be faithful to our calling.
At Newday Christian Seventh-day Adventist Church in Parker, Colorado, we have created an “environment” for out- reach. I say “environment” because outreach isn’t an event at Newday. Rather, it’s a continual ongoing process. It isn’t perfect. We make lots of mistakes, and we have a lot of room to grow. But it has helped people in our community who were previously unaffiliated with a church come to faith in Christ.
I’ve briefly outlined a few of the things that are important in creating an environment where the “once lost” can be “found.”
Prayer. When we got serious about reaching people, we knew we would need to also get serious about praying if there were going to be changed lives. Through our Prayer Partners ministry and our Monday morning prayer conference calls, we regularly ask God to give our members boldness in the community, for invitations to be made, and for those who are seeking Christ to be led to our church. We also pray for spiritual seekers who are already attending to continue to grow in their faith to the point that they will make a decision to trust Jesus.
Create a “safe” environment. The best way to reach people far from God is through personal invitations by church members. As members develop relationships at work or school, in their places of service, and in their communities, opportunities will come to offer invitations to attend church.
However, members need to know that their church is a safe place to invite their friends. Anyone who has ever brought a guest to church knows that when you have a friend sitting next to you, you begin to see the worship service very differently. Suddenly things that you’ve never paid attention to before are making you cringe! The soloist can’t sing on key. The speaker tells jokes only an Adventist would understand. The pastor criticizes other churches in town. In order for people to be willing to invite their friends to church, they have to know it’s safe.
Trust and consistency in the worship service are key. Members need to know that the worship service will consistently be as excellent as possible, and they need to be able to trust that things said in the worship service will be inclusive and helpful. This leads to the next point . . .
Don’t only expect guests. What do you do if you’re expecting guests in your home? You get things ready! You clean up. You prepare things for them. You do all you can to make them feel welcome. The same is true at church.
If we expect people to come, we need to be ready for them. Do we have a neat and welcoming environment? Do our hosts know how to welcome people without assuming they are already Adventist? Do we have a gift or informational material ready to present to first time attendees? We love to let seekers know we know that they are there in our worship services.
During a sermon we’ll regularly say things like, “If you’re here today and you’re not a follower of Jesus, here is how you might apply this passage,” or “here is a question you might have about this verse.” Don’t only expect guests. Let them know you know they are there!
Develop creative “invite events.” As you consider the community in which you live, ask the question, “What topics would interest those far from God enough to actually bring them to church?” Plan to have two to four events or sermon series around those topics each year.
A few years ago, we had a series called “Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives,” in which we invited ordinary people who had done extraordinary things to speak. The first woman who ever walked around the world, a senior in high school who started a ministry in an Ugandan refugee camp, and a husband and wife who left their careers to start a healthy restaurant for the homeless all came and told their stories. We then followed each story with a 15-minute presentation from the Bible. Several seekers who attended that series were baptized, and now those people are inviting their friends to other invite events.
Create next steps for seeking people to take. Getting people to church isn’t the end but only the beginning of the journey. We need to have next steps for spiritual seekers to take to lead them farther along on the path of faith. At Newday, each January we begin a ten week small group called “Starting Point.” Seekers can ask questions about God and explore issues of faith in a small group environment. One week after that group ends, we begin our “What We Believe” class. This is a twelve week doctrinal study on the core beliefs of Adventism.
Our expectation is that seekers will move from “Starting Point” right into “What We Believe.” At the end of each of these sessions, participants are asked to take an appropriate next step, whether that be further study, involvement in a small group, or baptism. In last year’s “Starting Point” group, we had six unchurched people attending who transitioned directly into our “What We Believe” class. All six of them were baptized last summer! While things don’t always work that smoothly, it is important to have next steps for spiritual seekers to take.
These are a few of the dynamics that have helped us create an environment of outreach. This isn’t rocket science, but it does take hard work and intentionality. And it’s so well worth the effort! Last week, I was having lunch with a man who had been attending Newday with his wife for years. While he considered himself to be agnostic (believing we can’t know whether God exists or not), after our recent invite event, “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist,” he told me that enough of his questions had been answered and he was ready to become a Christian. As we wept tears of joy together and said a prayer of thanksgiving, both of us knew that a big celebration was just around the corner!
–David Kennedy is lead pastor at Newday Christian Seventh-day Adventist Church in Parker, Colorado.