As a large, vibrant church with a long history, Lifebridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colo., had a tradition of hosting outreach events to attract the community.

"We were doing a pretty good job of saying, if you need us, here we are," senior minister Rick Rusaw told a standing-room-only crowd of several hundred church leaders who gathered recently during the North American Christian Convention (NACC) in Louisville, Ky. But over time, Rusaw saw that open-house ministry mentality falter. 

"The truth was we still weren't having a significant impact in the community and we didn't have much of a voice," Rusaw said. There was a lot of talk about reaching lost people and serving the community. However, as with most churches, he said the lion's share of the budget, time and resources was spent inside the four walls.

That has changed. Lifebridge shifted into serious neighborhood involvement.

Q&A with Rick Rusaw Rick Rusaw is co-author of "The Externally Focused Church" and "Living a Life on Loan." The senior minister of Lifebridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colo., fielded questions from the audience during the North American Christian Convention presentation. Q. Where should we begin? A. I would suggest starting small. Also, encourage people to work in the community as individuals. We are now approaching 60 percent of our congregation volunteering either inside the church or outside. We survey the church once a quarter to figure out who's involved where. Q. What do you do when the community says no? A. Begin to work through community volunteer organizations. Find out who's already doing ministries to meet needs. Work directly with schools rather than at the administrative level. You have to adopt a long haul view and make relational bridges with the community. And you have to be willing to get your hands dirty. After I was called by city leaders to help address the gang problem in our community, other ministers asked me how that happened. I told them we've been raking a lot of leaves. Q. How much of your budget is dedicated to external ministry? A. In some sense you could say all of our budget. We did not create a ministry department but insisted that every ministry be involved in external work. Although we now receive 15 to 30 requests a week, we no longer take on projects unless they are connected to a ministry department. We want the idea of serving outside of our four walls to be a part of the DNA of LifeBridge ministry. Each of our ministry areas includes an external focus in their budgets and strategies. Q. How do you motivate volunteers? A. The "Life on Loan" sermon series (now compiled into a new book, "Living a Life on Loan: How to Make Your Moments Matter Forever" releasing from Standard Publishing in  September 2006) helped us engage our own congregation. We encourage church members to spend three hours a week in each of three areas: worship, growth, and service. Some of the staff were scared that volunteers for external ministry would be taken from those already serving within the church, but that didn't happen. There was some turnover, but we were amazed at God's multiplication as more volunteers became active in each area of ministry.

Today, Lifebridge works with law enforcement, social services, other churches and para-church organizations. It is also active in public schools—painting classrooms and selecting curriculum. Lifebridge is successfully blending social action and evangelism—something Rusaw says requires balance.

"It isn't service for service's sake," he said. "It's good deeds and good news together." 

An increasing number of churches are combining the two.

According to Robert Lewis, pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, Ark., and author of "The Church of Irresistible Influence," many evangelicals are open to the idea of community activism.

"After a long slumber, the evangelical church is reawakening to its other side," Lewis wrote in the foreword to "The Externally Focused Church," a book Rusaw co-authored with Eric Swanson. "The real gospel is two-sided," Lewis said. "It's truth and proof!"

According to Rusaw, one characteristic of an externally focused church is that it believes Christians don't grow until they serve. Another involving partnering with other entities. Somehow, through partnering and serving, theological differences begin to fade.

Another externally focused church advocate, Dave Stone, the new senior minister for Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., spoke to the NACC's main session about combining service and unity.

Stone said that while doctrines may differ, Christians who serve together are all playing on the same team in showing the way to Christ. "The only name that matters is the name on the front of the jersey and that is the name of Jesus Christ," he said.

He broadened the idea of unity to include many other denominations and groups.

"Something every Bible-believing church can do without compromising belief or heritage," Stone said, "is to start serving others so lost people will follow you and me to church and start serving Jesus."