New Cars and the Church.......?

Here is the problem. Churches are failing to reach the unchurched and that is really why we are in business right?  I have scoured the internet looking for statistics and I have found a few but I'm not sure of their validity so let me just go with my personal observation.

For the most part churches attract Christians, people who are already believers. And new churches like ours many times attract believers away from existing churches. That is not what church is supposed to be about. We are in the business of bringing the good news of Jesus to people who really don't know Him.  But how in the world can we do that when non believers aren't interested in church?

Here is what the common model is. "Build it and they will come!"  Build what?  Well a modern nice facility that has a stage, wonderful concert type lighting, great music, serve Starbucks coffee in the lobby, offer an array of children's programs, adult small group programs and give a message that is easy to understand that is more like a motivational seminar than a sermon by a guy or a gal dressed in casual clothes.  The problem is, even though "some" of these types of churches are growing. They are not attracting the unchurched. They are instead attracting people away from small more traditional churches that are declining in membership.

So what we have is a society of believers that are for the most part staying about the same in number, just moving from one facility to another.  If my observations and these surveys are true then the church is failing miserably at its mission of reaching the unchurched.  That is why I said in one of my posts a couple of days ago if we looked at our operations from a business analysis we are extremely inefficient and our business model is failing.

Now before some of you decide to throw me overboard let me also add that church does play a vital roll in Christian development. I get that and I am 100% for continuing to do that. But the problem of reaching the unchurched is real and so far it is not being solved as far as I can see.

So What about the title of this post "New Cars and the Church?"
Maybe this will shed some light on our situation.  For those of you that still get the newspapers let me ask you something, "How many of you look through all the car ads that are usually in the paper?"
Think about the answer. You only look at the ads "IF" you are interested in buying a car otherwise you probably never give it one second of your time.  All those papers, all those hundreds of cars available and you look right past them.

Now let me ask you another question.  "How many unchurched people do you think wake up each day and say to themselves,"Wow, I hope a new church with wonderful music, a cool pastor, and a great place to have coffee shows up in my neighborhood or sends me a mailer soon?"

Church is probably the furthest thing from the unchurched persons mind. So how in the world can we get the unchurched interested in what we offer?   The answer is found in the bible. In the book of Acts the Holy Spirit came into the believers and they "went out" and professed the good news all over town. They did so with power because they had the Good News inside of them.  It was real and it had changed their life. They had been changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. They went out into the market place and into their work place and told everyone about what Jesus had accomplished.  He had overcome death.  He was alive and was available to everyone who believed.   In other words they went out and "INVITED" people to find out more about the Good News that had changed their life.

As I see it, that is where Christianity is failing today. We aren't sure about the "Good News" ourselves because if we really had it and believed it, we would be out shouting it from the roof tops that there is a better way to live.  We would tell everyone we met that there is a solution to your heartaches, your disappointments, your sorrows, and your fears.  We have the answer to a whole new life and you don't have to pay $150 for a one day seminar to learn the "Secret"  we have it and it is free for the asking!

Do you have the Good News living inside of you?  If not then we need to talk. If not then you need to come to service this coming Sunday. If not then you need to go to God and ask Him to empower you with His Holy Spirit. If you do, and I hope that is the case, then reach out to someone who may need to hear the Good News and bring them to church with you this Sunday. Let us all have a chance to love some brand new people.  People who just don't get church....yet.  People who haven't developed a relationship with Jesus....yet.

The Good News is real!  He is waiting for you to commit to Him. He has an amazing plan for your life.
Love, Pastor Kent   See you Sunday!