Reaching the Unchurched and De-churched

One of the members of CRBC sent me a message yesterday. She had talked with a person who had once attended our church but has not in quite a while. Not sure how long she's been away. I've been here five years and haven't seen her. We have no guest or membership records of her. I've learned that this person has been in three churches over the past five years.

All of that to say that we can apply some simple concepts to reach those who are not in church. This will work for the person who is lost and for someone who has become frustrated or uninterested in church.

First, pray for them. A person who is not actively involved in a church family cannot have a close walk with the Lord. The person may not be a Christian so praying is a great idea. At best the person is a Christian who is living away from the Lord. Prayer is the answer for this problem, too.

Second, we have to invest our time in their lives. Stay in touch with them. Be a friend. Share life with them. This may be the hardest step because it takes more commitment. But if you are serious about reaching them you will make the investment.

Third, invite them to everything. Let them know what's going on at the church. You must be consistent - don't invite them only to a worship service; invite them to Bible study, class parties, special events. And you must be persistent. Invite, invite, invite. You'll have to invite them several times before they'll give real consideration to attend. So if you just invite them a few times you aren't really doing much.

Remember that the goal is not just to get them into your church. Really that's not even the first thing we want. If we bypass the importance of reaching people for Christ (and his church, not MY church) we lose sight of the significant while trying to build our kingdom instead of his. Stay kingdom-focused and you'll reach more people for the kingdom.