Randy Chestnut pastors an established church in Dayton, Ohio. While he's pleased that North Dayton Baptist Church averages 200 in weekly worship attendance, he's not satisfied.
"There's so much more to be done," Chestnut said. "We still live in an unchurched community. We can't afford to get comfortable with our outreach, because there will always be people we need to reach out to."
Chestnut and more than 40 other church leaders attended a recent conference by church consultants Thom Rainer and Chuck Lawless. The conference, "9 Habits of Churches that Reach and Keep the Unchurched," was held Aug. 8 at Lakota Hills Baptist Church outside Cincinnati.
Rainer is president of Church Central Associates, ChurchCentral.com's publisher, which sponsored the conference. He also serves as dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., where Lawless is associate dean. Both have authored a number of books on the church and are well known as speakers, conference leaders and church consultants.
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Reaching the Unchurched Church health experts Thom Rainer and Chuck Lawless will share "9 Habits of Churches that Reach and Keep the Unchurched" in the following conferences: The one-day conference costs $99 a person. For those who bring a group, second registrants pay $89 and each additional attendee pays $79. |
Just 4 percent of American churches meet such criteria, Rainer said.
"One of the most frustrating, agonizing issues church leaders face is how they can reach the unchurched," Rainer said. "Many churches aren't even trying it for fear of failure. Try it. Sometimes God honors the efforts, the obedience."
Eager to hear the gospel
People are highly receptive to visiting church, Rainer said. According to a 1999 Barna Research Group study, 12 percent of atheists and agnostics -- nearly 1 million adults -- attended an Easter Sunday service.
"There is not the pervasive anti-church mentality that the media says exists," Rainer said. "The anti-church mentality is in the media, not in America."
According to Barna's research, 92 percent of unchurched Americans said they will attend church if they are invited. Only 16 percent of those had ever been invited, Rainer said.
"It's radical, but here's an idea: Invite people to church," he said.
Keith Ellison is doing just that. Since moving to Dayton from Texas a few months ago, Ellison has been going door to door in the city's urban areas to tell them about his church start-up. Ellison attended the conference with Chestnut, whose congregation is sponsoring the church plant.
"Just as Dr. Rainer said, these people are dispelling the myth that the unchurched aren't interested in God or coming to church," Ellison said. "They're interested, they're receptive. When I follow up with them on second visits, they're even inviting me in, wanting to know more."
Ellison has been taking prayer requests from those with whom he visits. The requests were general at first, Ellison said, but people are opening up during follow-up visits.
"I can come back two weeks later and their prayer requests are much more specific as are their questions about God and church," he said. "They're hungry for information and an invitation."
Forming habits
The churches successfully reaching and keeping the unchurched are not only inviting people to church, but following nine habits:
The Habit of Intentionality. More than 83 percent of those churches surveyed had an intentional plan for outreach. The research also found a direct relationship between outreach, effectiveness and the quality of the churches' facilities. Restrooms and nursery/preschool areas topped the list of concerns for first-time visitors.
Parents want to know their children will be in a safe, clean environment with appropriate supervision, Rainer said.
"If your church nursery or preschool is not ready (for outreach), your church is not ready," he said. "If you're having problems getting preschool volunteers, it's a spiritual problem, not a program problem."
The Habit of Cultural Awareness. The unchurched are looking for Bible preaching and teaching that will challenge them, Rainer said. Ninety-one percent of those surveyed said doctrine was "extremely important."
Culturally aware church leaders also intentionally reached out to the bridger generation, those born between 1977 and 1994. There are more than 72 million bridgers in the United States, Rainer said, 4 percent of whom are Christians.
Bridgers go to churches that have strong doctrinal convictions, which is one of the reasons they're easily attracted to cults, Rainer said.
The Habit of High Expectations. Churches that were able to keep new members for a lengthy period had opportunities for them to immediately become involved in ministry. A greeter's ministry is a great place to involve new members, Rainer said. New members' classes also are essential to explaining a church's theory and practices while setting high expectations for the laypeople.
The Habit of Clear Doctrine. A church's doctrine was critically important to the unchurched, according to the research. The unchurched said they wanted to understand the churches' doctrine at the front end, delivered through new members' classes, Sunday school and preaching.
"They told us ‘We looked for a church that stood for something and taught something,'" Lawless said.
The Habit of Risk Taking. Nearly 83 percent of the senior pastors who are leading successful churches have taken major risks with their ministries, Lawless said, including building, relocating or making a change in staff or mission.
The leaders were task-oriented and goal-oriented, Lawless said.
The Habit of Dynamic Small Groups. Contrary to reports that claim Sunday school is on the decline, Rainer's survey shows 68 percent of the formerly unchurched attend.
Sunday school is still vital, Lawless said, and should be content- and relationship-oriented.
"Sunday school is where ministry takes place," he said. "Successful classes focused on outreach and accountability."
The Habit of Effective Leadership. The pastor and preaching were the most important factors in the formerly unchurched returning for a second visit, according to the research. The pastors tend to have a passion for personal evangelism and manage their time well in prayer, preaching and personal family time, Lawless said.
The Habit of Effective Preaching. Pastors of effective churches spent an average of 20 hours a week preparing for their sermons. Pastors of ineffective churches spent an average of four hours a week in sermon preparation.
The Habit of Prayer. Eighty-three percent of the churches that were effective in reaching the unchurched emphasized corporate prayer ministries, Lawless said.
Lawless told pastors to encourage their congregations to pray for opportunity, boldness and clarity in reaching out to new people.
"We will preach and pastor better if the churches are praying for us," he said.
