Back to Church Sunday - Missional or Not?

[James Nored]

Looking for a fall outreach idea? Outreach is promoting a "Back to Church Sunday." Read the story here. Outreach says that churches that participated in this Sunday last year averaged a 20% higher attendance on this day. I'm considering this for our church (though not this particular flyer--I'll probably design our own). While we do not want to substitute direct mail for personal invitations, we must also remember that the Spirit has already been sent out into the world ahead of us, and he has already touched many people's hearts.

While it is probable that the "dechurched" and lapsed Christians are more likely to respond to this invitation than the totally unchurched, this group would be great to help them re-connect with God. This too is missional. What would not be missional would be just relying upon this approach, targeting Christians from other churches, failing to be involved in the community, failing to serve or help heal areas of brokenness, or failing to share the gospel. And the primary way that we invite is still by personal invitation. Direct mail can reach some, but personal connections are always the most effective.

So--what do you think about the "Back to Church" concept? Is it missional or not?

[Zonda Bodiford]

James: I wish we could put up a billboard saying:

"Do You Hear Me Now?" ( God)

Maybe people (whether they were dechurched, unchurched, anti-church, no church, or whatever) would get to considering the state of things as in the Earthquakes, Floods, Pandemics, Epidemics, Murders, Parents killing Kids, Kids killing Parents, People letting Cats Die in Walls, etc etc., and it could get them to understand that God is trying once again to get our attention and tell us that where we're going and what we're doing is not in our own best interest and that getting Back to Church would be a good start!

[James Nored]

Thank you, Zonda, for these thoughts. Yes, God does try to get our attention in many different ways. And the world also has a way of beating up on us all on its own.

I'm thinking that we will probably have a "Back to Church Sunday" in September. Thanks for the feedback.

[Zonda Bodiford]

Back to church, back to God, back to Life!

James Nored said:

Thank you, Zonda, for these thoughts. Yes, God does try to get our attention in many different ways. And the world also has a way of beating up on us all on its own.

I'm thinking that we will probably have a "Back to Church Sunday" in September. Thanks for the feedback.

[Jeremy Turner]

Hey James, I think it's a clever concept!

Would you do any other events to continue the 'back to church' theme? You're probably more familiar with back-to-school nights than I am, but I remember it was a chance for parents and teachers to meet and connect, see the lay of the land, etc. Would you see it as an 'Open House' of sorts where elders/deacons/ministry staff/teachers/small group leaders could be available to meet and connect with people coming back or new people altogether?

Jeremy

[Sarah]

James is right when he says the spirit is already moving ahead of us. Have you ever been in the situation when you hear of a new restaurant, and then on another day, someone else mentions it....and then yet another day, you see an ad somewhere? And you think "Huh...maybe I should check it out." just because you keep hearing about it randomly? (How's that for a run on sentence?)

A flyer may be impersonal, but who's to say it's not just another step in the process described above? As for Wayne's response, getting them to come ONCE may be the impetus to getting them to keep coming. And I think God would take one day of worship over none.

[James Nored]

Great example of God being at work, Sarah. Why pray, if we do not believe that God is at work in the world? To me, it is a great comfort to know that the Spirit has been sent out ahead of us, working on people's hearts. This means that when I talk with someone about my faith, invite them to study or worship, that he may have already prepared this soil. It helps take away some of the fear. And if they do not respond--well, God still has more work to do on their hearts. It takes away the burden from us in reaching out, while still using us in significant ways for God's work.

Sarah said:

James is right when he says the spirit is already moving ahead of us. Have you ever been in the situation when you hear of a new restaurant, and then on another day, someone else mentions it....and then yet another day, you see an ad somewhere? And you think "Huh...maybe I should check it out." just because you keep hearing about it randomly? (How's that for a run on sentence?)

A flyer may be impersonal, but who's to say it's not just another step in the process described above? As for Wayne's response, getting them to come ONCE may be the impetus to getting them to keep coming. And I think God would take one day of worship over none.