A couple of days ago in this blog I stressed the fact that the church's one job is to reach people for Christ. This isn't about growing the church' it's about growing the Kingdom of God. It's about helping people find the forgiveness and the relationship with God through Jesus Christ that we all need. Outreach is everyone's responsibility in the church, but I've become convinced that someone must lead that effort. If someone does not have the responsibility to keep the importance of outreach before the congregation it becomes too easy for it to fall through the cracks of church life.
As I've thought about this I'm convinced if I returned to pastoral ministry the first staff person I would add would be an outreach leader in the church. In a bigger church that might be a paid position. In a smaller church it would likely be a volunteer. I would look for someone who has the gifts and the passion for outreach, someone who is a more mature Christian, and someone who is respected in the community. This individual would be a key person on the church leadership team. Together, he or she and I would develop strategies to effectively reach out to our community to help people discover the transforming impact a relationship with Jesus Christ would make on their lives, and then that person would lead the congregation in implementing those strategies.
For several decades most churches have focused on adding other staff people to the leadership team, and we have seen church attendance, baptisms, and salvation decisions continue to decline over the years. It's time to admit that what we have been doing is not working and new strategies need to be developed. There is nothing wrong with having music ministers, youth ministers, and other staff persons, but if the church's one job is evangelism it seems reasonable to think that area of ministry should be the first one staffed and funded in the budget.
I have read that every county in the US is at least 80 percent unchurched, and some are even higher than that. We have a huge mission field right in our back yards that too many churches are ignoring. As a result, our nation is becoming more secular and more hostile towards religion and the church. Since the 1960s we have moved further and further away from biblical standards of conduct. We can blame whomever we want, but the real issue is that the church has failed its mandate to take the gospel to all people.
Even more important than the impact on our nation is the impact on the lives of individuals who have never heard the gospel. Many of us reading this post would claim that we believe the Bible from cover to cover. Well... the Bible teaches that all who die without a personal relationship with God will be eternally separated from God. Men, women and young people are dying without God every moment because the church failed to reach out to them with the gospel message of hope and forgiveness. If we truly believe what the Bible says about lost people then we must make outreach the highest priority of our churches.
I want to encourage you to pray about who might be a good outreach leader in your church and ask them to consider fulfilling that role. Explain to them the impact they can have on your church, but more importantly, on the lives of those who are reached because of their ministry.
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