Top 5 forms of evangelism

Southern Baptist churches use a greater variety of evangelistic activities than the average Protestant church, according to a recent survey by LifeWay's Facts & Trends. Here are the top five:

80%  Vacation Bible School
78%  Evangelistic literature
65%  Door-to-door visitation
61%  Musical events/concerts
58%  Revivals/crusades

Source: Facts & Trends, January/February 2007

Young adults will leave church if overlooked

More young adults are falling away from church and many are finding church irrelevant to their lives because their needs are not being met, according to statistics released by LifeWay Christian Resources. In 1980, more than 100,000 people age 18 to 34 were baptized in Southern Baptist churches. But in 2005, that number fell to 60,000. What's the problem? Why are young adults not finding church relevant for their lives? Churchgoers or not, the study indicates young adults are longing for community and fellowship with peers, looking for ways to reach people in need and circling the church but not always finding a home in it. Seventy-three percent of church members and 47 percent of non-affiliated young adults indicated that community with other young adults is extremely important in their lives. The lack of opportunity for connection within the church proves to be a frustration point for young adults. One study participant said, "After graduation they give you a pat on the back and say, 'When you start a family, we'll be here for you.'"

"I truly believe [this generation] wants to embrace Jesus Christ and His plan for their life," says Jim Johnston, director of young adult ministry at LifeWay Christian Resources. "They want to embrace church, but only the genuine, earth-shaking, Christ-powered New Testament church. For some churches, that's going to mean changing methodology but not the message of the Bible."

Johnston says the solution is simple: Give this generation the unbridled truth of the gospel, without apology, and they will actively embrace it.

An Inside LifeWay podcast with Jim Johnston is available at www.lifeway.com/insidelifeway. For more information on young adult ministry, visit www.threadsmedia.com.

Source: Baptist Press, December 18, 2006

Church clones

by Ed Stetzer, missiologist and senior director of the Center for Missional Research, NAMB

Clones. Lots of people seem to be against them, but I've never known a clone to hurt anyone-except in Star Wars or when churches try to do it. Church clones preach the same sermons, sing the same songs, and even wear the same clothes and glasses. Unfortunately, they can do a lot of damage. They teach Christians that the key to growth and effective ministry is to copy someone else, not to find God's unique vision for their church.

Hawaiian shirts and fast music
I can't say that I haven't been there myself. When I planted Millcreek Community Church in Erie, Pennsylvania, in the mid-1990s, I thought the key to church planting was contemporary music, Hawaiian shirts and shoes without socks. I wanted to be just like those other successful pastors-until that first Pennsylvania winter settled in.
Since then, I've learned that churches should look different from each other, because they serve different people in different places. The "how" of ministry is in many ways determined by the "who," "when," and "where" of culture. In the kingdom of God, cultural uniformity is not a value. Instead, Scripture speaks of, and celebrates, every tongue, tribe and nation. The kingdom is not a monolithic kingdom of clones. Rather, it affirms both the individual and his or her tongue and tribe. God is honored when His churches reflect the diversity of heaven. Because of this diversity, every church, to be effective and faithful, must find its unique call and clarify its own vision.
Churches are not called to reach the same people, sing the same songs, use the same music or appreciate the same cultural values. For most churches, these factors develop accidentally. The church takes on the character of its Christian people, and in the process, it often distances itself from its community. But churches that break the cultural code seek, through a God-given vision, to connect their communities to the gospel and to the local church.

Adjust your Vision
I recently consulted with a large, successful church in a Midwestern city. It had been planted in the early '90s and had grown to mega-church size. By all outward indications, it was a strong and vibrant church. Yet, they were having little success reaching younger generations. They felt that they were stuck and unable to make progress.
Sadly, their situation is not uncommon. Many churches come to the point where the community's values and needs have changed while the church has stayed the same. This creates a cultural and contextual disconnect. Many think that if a church spends all its time trying to keep up with "the times," it cannot stay with the Scripture. But however appealing that argument might be on the surface, it quickly breaks down upon further, more mature, examination. We should not ignore the fact that Scripture is always relevant in every culture, and it's always lived out in a particular context. For example, scriptural commands regarding modesty in Amman, Jordan, look different from Atlanta, Georgia.

Keep an outward focus
Any time a church sees the broader culture as a problem or a threat, it tends to develop an inward focus, trying to preserve its own internal culture-protecting its preferences and promoting its concept of what church "should" be. Of course, this contradicts the outward, missional focus our Lord expects of His church.
A church that does not regularly examine its internal and external culture ends up as a culture unto itself. Instead of allowing this, the church needs to ask itself regularly, "Are we faithfully proclaiming the gospel where we find ourselves today?" It needs to recognize that a church is only faithful when it's faithful to God, Scripture, and its mission in the world.

Finding God's unique vision for your church is not easy, but it is essential. A commitment to the integrity and authority of Scripture, combined with a passion for the people you are called to reach and diligent, disciplined prayer are necessary in finding your own God-inspired vision. God will guide you to a plan and a strategy to reach your community. However, it may require a new way of thinking. Simply cloning other successful models is unlikely to work. What will work is to equip yourself and your people with God's Word and a heart for the mission. Then evaluate your cultural context and engage your community for Him.

Who does the church reach?

A survey by Leadership magazine asked pastors to share who their churches are reaching. A majority of pastors (70%) say one group they are reaching very well is married couples with children. While keeping a family focus is a goal of many churches, the definition of "family" in the U.S. is changing-half of all family units are non-traditional, non-nuclear-and the church is straining to adjust. While larger churches are able to provide ministries targeted to specific groups, smaller churches are also finding they can reach non-traditional families and singles just by including them in the conversation.

7 ways to reach Muslims in North America

By Aslam Masih, National Missionary, Church Planting, NAMB

A church planter among Muslim background peoples recently told me that the Saudi Arabian government has provided an additional $50 million to its scholarship program for students who want to study in the United States. Because of this funding, one university in his area expected an increase of 350 new Saudi students. That's in addition to the more than 100 Saudi students already enrolled at the university. Universities across North America are receiving numerous applications from Saudi students as well as Muslim background students from other countries.

What is God doing? Christians are not allowed to evangelize and plant churches in Saudi Arabia. Nor are Christians allowed to proclaim the gospel openly in most Muslim countries of the world. Yet God is bringing them to us in order for them to hear the gospel. Let us join God in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with them. We can then send newly-discipled converts back to the countries of their birth as temples of God. Churches are not buildings. The Church is the body of Christ, a living organism.

Muslim Population Areas
The ten states with the largest Muslim populations are California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Ohio and Maryland. Cities with a Muslim population of 100,000 or more include Toronto, Canada; Sterling Heights, Michigan; Jersey City, New Jersey; Warren, Michigan; Allentown, Pennsylvania; Burbank, California; Livonia, Michigan; Paterson, New Jersey; Glendale, California; Daly, California; and Arlington, Virginia. This list doesn't begin to show how widespread the Muslim population is in North America. But it does show where some of the greatest opportunities are for impacting large numbers of Muslims in North America with the gospel. But any community with any size Muslim population offers a strategic opportunity for local churches to reach Muslims with the gospel.

Consider the following suggestions for churches, associations or state conventions to consider as they seek to plant the gospel among Muslims.

1. Pray for hearts of compassion toward Muslims. Ask God for a supernatural love for Muslims, and trust Him to give church members that same kind of compassionate love. Such compassion is essential, because sharing the gospel with Muslims is slow and challenging. Ask God to give your churches the vision and determination to obey the Great Commission among the Muslims in your midst.

2. Make Muslims a regular focus for prayer. Local churches, association gatherings and state conventions can pray Matthew 9:38 for the Muslims in your communities. Trust God to raise up laborers for specific Muslim people groups.

3. Conduct Muslim awareness seminars. Such seminars will provide an environment for learning about Muslims and their spiritual needs. They also help identify those who want to be involved in Muslim evangelism and church planting.

4. Challenge God-called members to develop relationships with local Muslim students or participate in outreach ministries to Muslim immigrants. Discover models that are evangelistically effective and apply them in your context. Train your members on how to share the gospel with Muslims. For information about resources for reaching Muslim peoples with the gospel email peoplegroups@namb.net. Resources include materials on understanding Islam and Islamic culture, building relationships with Muslims, witnessing to Muslims and planting churches among Muslims.

5. Plan a weekend missions conference with the theme of church planting among Muslims. Bring in speakers who can help impart vision and understanding for starting new churches.

6. Find opportunities to cast the vision of sponsoring a new church start among Muslims. We are praying the Lord may raise up many sponsoring churches to reach Muslims. Visit www.churchplantingvillage.net for more information.

7. Send a mission team (perhaps as a joint venture with two or three sister churches) to a city with a large Muslim population. Contact state conventions and associations for assistance in connecting mission teams to unengaged Muslim population centers.
 
Friends, the mission field is right here. What an opportunity for Christians, especially local churches, to make a difference ?by planting new churches among the various cultures in the cities of North America. Churches that capture the vision of reaching Muslim people groups are vital for fulfilling the Great Commission in North America.