by Dr. Thom Rainer 15 Aug 2003

I recently shared the first five of 10 surprises about the unchurched. As a reminder, our research team has been involved in extensive interaction with the unchurched. We have interviewed hundreds of unchurched people over a two-year period.

Our team has covered all 50 states and Canada listening to the unchurched. We have been among numerous ethnic groups and socioeconomic groups. We have listened to the unchurched with modest education, and we have listened to the unchurched with doctoral degrees.

Our research team of 17 men and women has produced a wealth of information about the unchurched. in the next few issues.

For review, the first five surprises were:

1. Most of the unchurched prefer to attend church on Sunday morning if they attend.
2. Most of the unchurched feel guilty about not attending church.
3. Almost all of the unchurched will attend church if they are invited.
4. Very few of the unchurched had someone share with them how to become a Christian.
5. Most of the unchurched have a positive view of ministers and the church.

Many of the unchurched have a church background. From the most

What's Important The unchurched are interested in sincere overtures from those who witness to them about Christ.

recalcitrant unchurched person we encountered to the most receptive, many have some type of church background.

Some had previously been members of churches and left for various reasons. Others visited one or more churches for a season. Still others were taken to church as children.

The point is simple. Do not assume that all unchurched persons are clueless about the church. A majority can recall many years of church in their past.

The reasons they left the church are numerous. Some had negative experiences. Others who went as children dropped out when their parents dropped out. And a number of unchurched tried church but left unimpressed and inspired.

Conventional wisdom about the unchurched suggests that these men and women are total strangers to the church. Such is not the case with the majority of the unchurched.

Some types of "cold calls" are effective; many are not. A debate persists in the Christian

I really don't mind talking to people from churches. But please don't show up at my home without an invitation. It reminds me of telephone solicitation, only worse!" -- Roger S., Wisconsin

community about the effectiveness of cold-call evangelism. The definition of "cold call" is simply "uninvited." The type of cold-call evangelism most often resisted by the unchurched is an uninvited visit to their homes.

"I really don’t mind talking to people from churches," Roger S. of Wisconsin told us. "But please don’t show up at my home without an invitation. It reminds me of a telephone solicitation, only worse!"

The formerly unchurched agreed. These new Christians said that unexpected visitors in the home were rarely welcomed.

Sarah F. of a small town in Alabama noted, "I was most positively impacted by Christians who asked for permission to meet me or talk with me. The cold-call visitor to my home was a pain. I ended up accepting Christ through the witness of a church member who took me to lunch on three different occasions. I knew what her agenda was, but at least she invited me to lunch."

But not all cold calls are ineffective, the unchurched told us. We heard numerous stories about Christians who always seemed to be able to share their faith in casual conversations. They were not invited by the unchurched to talk to them, but these churchgoers often seemed to find a way to move a conversation to eternal issues.

"Eric is a trip," Peter W. of San Diego told us. Peter is an unchurched man who works with Eric. "We will be talking about the Chargers or the Padres and, before I know it, he’s telling me something about his church or God. I really respect him, you know. He doesn’t beat me over the head with his beliefs, but he sure isn’t shy to talk to me about it. Most of the church people I know act like they are ashamed of what they believe."

The bottom line of cold-call evangelism seems to be to make the most of every opportunity God gives you. Pray for such opportunities. But showing up at someone’s home without an invitation was one of the biggest turnoffs articulated by the unchurched.

"I would be glad for church people to come talk to me in my home," said Millie B. of Odessa, Texas. "I just want to know when they’re coming."

The unchurched would like to develop a real and sincere relationship with a Christian. Our study of the unchurched continued during 2001 and 2002 with a noticeable intermediate point

Most of the unchurched can easily tell the difference between 'drive by' evangelism and a person who really cares. -- Twyla Fagan, research team leader

of Sept. 11, 2001. The attack on our nation that day engendered many questions from American citizens, and many of the questions were about God. Though the door was open for Christians to develop relationships with non-believers before Sept. 11, the opportunities increased after that infamous day.

The leader of our research team, Twyla Fagan, stated this issue clearly to me in a memo she wrote about the progress of our research project: "Most of the unchurched that the team is interviewing would respond positively to a ‘genuine’ Christian who would spend time with them in a gentle, non-judgmental relationship."

Twyla continues, "Most of the unchurched can easily tell the difference between ‘drive-by’ evangelism and a person who rally cares."

I learned how to share my faith by reading "Evangelism Explosion" by D. James Kennedy. The manner in which Dr. Kennedy taught me how to start a conversation with a non-believer, and the way he taught me how to share a biblical plan of salvation are infinitely invaluable to me.

Kennedy’s book is one of the more popular training tools in personal witnessing. It belongs to a category of tools sometimes called "canned evangelism." The label "canned evangelism" is unfortunate because it implies an uncaring, notch-belt approach to evangelism.

But the book originated from the heart of a man who is passionate about the

I had some people come to see me from the Baptist Church just three blocks from here. I felt like they were meeting a soul quota with me. They just wanted to spill their presentation and move on. But I would've been happy to talk with them for a long time if I thought they really cared. -- Monte G., Baltimore

lost and deeply concerned for the unchurched. When Christians used a canned evangelism tool to witness to the unchurched with no obvious concern for the person, the unchurched immediately detected this impersonal approach.

"I had some people come to see me from the Baptist church just three blocks from here," Monte G. of Baltimore told us. "I felt like they were meeting a soul quota with me. They just wanted to spill their presentation and move on. But I would’ve been happy to talk with them for a long time if I thought they really cared."

The "soul quota" use of canned evangelism tools is neither the intent nor the desire of those who created these programs. But many of the unchurched quickly recognized the abuse of these good tools.

If we who call ourselves Christians really believe that a person is lost outside of salvation through Christ, we would make the lost and the unchurched one of our highest priorities. And if we really had broken hearts for these unchurched persons, we would take whatever time is necessary to get to know them and to share the love of Christ in word and deed.

Winning the lost and reaching the unchurched is really no big mystery. There are millions of these men and women waiting for one of us Christians to spend time with them and to show them we really care. Jesus desired that none would perish. In this midst of his packed schedule, He took time to show His love to sinners. Are we willing to do likewise?

The attitudes of the unchurched are not correlated to where they live, their ethnic or racial background, or their gender. The unchurched are not a monolithic group. That reality came through with the wide variety or responses we received.

One cannot therefore expect a certain attitude from an unchurched person from Georgia just because he or she lives in a Bible Belt state. And we could not describe to you the common characteristics of an Asian-American unchurched person. The variety of responses within each ethnic group was significant.

The only pattern where we saw any correlation was related to income. The higher an individual’s income level, the more resistant to the gospel he or she is likely to be. Jesus Himself warned us of the power of money to be like a god to us: "Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Matthew 18:24)

Many of the unchurched are far more concerned about the spiritual well-being of their children than themselves. A few years ago my research team and I studied the Bridger generation, those born between the years 1977 and 1994. We discovered a large unchurched population among these young people, but we also discovered a generation highly receptive to the gospel.

In my consultation ministry with the Rainer Group, I have found that churches that are highly intentional about reaching youth and children tend to be among the most evangelistic churches in America.

And now, in this research project, we found that the unchurched with children at home are deeply concerned about the spiritual welfare of their children, even if they articulate little concern for themselves.

Perhaps in our encounters with these unchurched persons, we need to mention their children. Perhaps churches in America need to be more intentional in reaching children and youth. And perhaps we need to heed more closely the words of the Savior, who exhorted us to let the children come to Him.

Thom S. Rainer is dean of the Billy Graham School at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. The author of 14 books, he also serves as president of the Rainer Group and Church Central Associates.