Can we still invite people to worship as an outreach strategy?

[James Nored]

I received an email newsletter today from Church Leader Insights. I had signed up to receive this a few months back and had forgotten about. This publication is put out by Nelson Searcy, author of Launch, who had a "large" new church launch in New York that soon grew to thousands of members. The church is "The Journey Church."
I am intrigued with church plants that still have launched large very recently. This strategy, based primarily upon a worship gathering, has been the traditional one since the 1980s. However, in recent years, I hear from Christian church planters that this strategy is not as effective as it once was. There has also been criticism that these launches mainly attracted other Christians or the "de-churched," not the totally unchurched.

The culture in the US has changed, and fewer people are interested in "going to church." They are less likely therefore to have the worship assembly as the primary entry point to faith.

I am missional by theological understanding and in practice. However, I do wonder if many in the missional movement are so reactive against "attractional approaches" that they miss opportunities to reach lost people. The fact is, reaching the dechurched is a noble goal, and there are millions of this group around. To criticize a church that reaches the dechurched, when most churches are not reaching anyone, simply does not make sense (and may be a sign of sour grapes).

And even if one thinks that most people need to be served and interacted with on a personal level first, at some point, non-Christians will need to be invited to the worship assembly. Why not check out events such as Nelson Searcy's Evangelism Seminar and see if there is something we might learn from this? Whether it is the dechurched, the unchurched with whom we have developed relationships, or those who are simply open and curious, we need to have good ways to invite these groups to our worship assemblies and have a good experience for them when they get there.

Being missional should not mean that we are against inviting people to worship. By all means, we should encourage our members to do this. We simply want to emphasize that people need to serve others, develop relationships, and seek to invite as many unchurched friends as they can, in addition to strangers or those they only nominally know. And we do not want to make inviting people to worship a substitue for "going out" as Christ has commanded us. Not only is this essential in today's culture--which increasingly, it is true, is not interested in worship assemblies--it is essential for our own spriitual shaping and discipleship. But invting people to worship, it seems, is still some part of North American culture and a good thing to do.

What role does the worship assembly have in a person coming to faith? Is the missional movement so reacting against the "church growth" movement that it is missing opportunities to reach lost people?

[David Duncan]

Realizing I work with people who are in traditional mainstream Churches of Christ, I try to get them to invite their friends to Bible class. Traditionally, if we have invited, we have invited to the worship hour.. I encurage people not even to mention the worship time. They just need to say "church" starts at a certain time. That way, they can introduce their guest to the smaller Bible class group in a more informal setting. This will help the guest and members build relationships with each other.

[James Nored]

David, thanks for your thoughts on this. Interestingly, many Southern Baptist churches use their Bible classes - which they often refer to as "small groups," though they meet in the building - as their primary entry point. Small groups of various sorts can be a good entry point for many, whether in a Bible class, in a home, or in a coffee shop.

[Hobby Chapin]

I think that regardless of church style, the biggest issue is what type of relationship you have with the person you want to invite. Do they trust you enough to walk with you into a foreign environment? My thought is, if you find the worship gathering a rich place that positions you toward transformation, they can share in that with you. A person who is not being transformed who is trying to take a person to a place that is not transforming and engaging does not seem like it would be helpful. I think this has been evidenced strongly in our church culture and that's why we have to raise this issue in the first place. For me, in the invitation language, I would try and use a language that steered from church as a "time" and "place". Sunday morning is not our only expression of church and Christian identity. I doubt that the Sunday morning gathering would be the preferred place of invested energy for most people. But, I am biased.

[Steve Cunningham]

Inviting people to worship is a good thing to do, but it seems that if all we do is invite people to worship and they don't see evidence of Christ in our lives there won't be ANY incentive for them to come with us. If people see Christ in our lives and we meet these people where they are in life, serving their needs and helping them, they will more likely want to find out WHY we are living our lives the way we are which might lead them to investigate how we got there. That is a much more likely way of getting them interested in Christ and then into how to get into a relationship with Christ.

[Bill Bowman]

James:

I guess I am old fashioned but if I consider Eph. 4-6 and apply that to your very challenging question, I would come with this:

1. Eph. 4:18-30 They have no understanding, separated from God...why? They had hardened hearts that kept them ignorant.

2. How did they come to know Christ? 4:20 They heard and were taught.vs. 21

3. Grace to all who love Christ. 6:24 (Grace is given to the sinner who believes and has an obedient faith.)

That gives us a background as to what kind of people were at Ephesus. Go to Acts 19 and see what he did. He went to the unbelievers in the synagogue...not to a Christian gathering. There he taught about God's kingdom. After he was driven out, he took his disciples and went to another place, a lecture hall, a public place, not a Christian hangout.
That was a place where all types of people came.

My conclusion is that the answer lies with the circumstances. This Sunday I have invited some guests to worship because the subject is on marriage and these people are involved in a future wedding. They now have a date with us to attend.

We have examples of teaching people wherever they will listen. God bless you as you go to "who knows where!"

[Gailyn Van Rheenen]

About a year ago Charles Kiser wrote the book review section of the Christian Chronicle. In the review he contrast Neil Coles's Organic Church to Nelson Searcy's Launch. Contrasting these two books is interesting. Both focus on structure as the beginning point. Organic Church assumes a house-church structure and Launch that the church is a fellowship meeting on Sunday morning. Cole like "organic churches" because these are the simplist units for spiritual formation; Searcy assumes that the church is a unit that meets at a certain "time" and "place" as contrasted to a more missional definition, that is, church is "a community of God on a pilgrimage through life helping each other become Christ's disciples and call others to join them on the journey through life to heaven" (Note the definitions of "church" at http://www.missiology.org/missionsdictionary.htm#C).

I have learned much from both Organic Church and Launch. I am more on the side of Organic Church because spiritual formation takes place more effectiveness in the smallness of church rather than the bigness of church. The strategy of Lunch is basically attractional. Searches are attracted to come to a centalized place at a prescribed time rather than coming into community. Launch can be quickly done because it does not call the participant to a high level of commitment. Missional churches grow slower but develop within themselves pathways of spiritual formation.

I think that generally we should not begin with a discussion of structure. We begin theologically, that is, we ask, "God, what do you want us to be and become?" This theological reflection leads us to certain practices which eventually develops into structure.

The first qurestion to ask it: "What is church?" This theological question will hopefully guide us to practices that are Christ-formed, Kingdom-guided, and Spirit-led, which in tern helps us develop the structure of the church planting.

Wow, have I rubbled in these early morning hours of the day.