“Folks, we are in the fourth quarter, is losing the game, and time is running out,” said Bishop Bob Farr, at the March 15th Loving, Learning, Leading gathering, sponsored by the Indiana Conference Leadership Development and Church Development ministry areas. The answer? We need to re-fall in love with Jesus and to intentionally develop life-giving relationships with persons outside our churches.
Our biggest issue isn’t our theology (that has led to disaffiliations), but our death rate. Because our churches are primarily made up of older people, we’re going to lose churches because their members are simply going to age out (i.e. die). “We tried to give away the church to our children but our young people don’t want it. What they do want is an experience with Jesus.”
The key is that we must become 21st Century missionaries. We need to be intentionally building relationships with people we don’t know. Too often such interactions are transactional, we help people by doing a task (like feeding them), but that is not “missional.” “Missional” is about people, building relationships with them in non-weird ways, like through your hobbies.
Bishop Farr believes that everyone has a spiritual question, but not necessarily a safe place to ask it. We need to build margins into our busy lives to spend time connecting with those outside our churches. We need to create friendships that lead to connections that lead to community and eventually belonging and believing. Too often we get those reversed. Rather than ask a person to your church, ask them to join you at something you enjoy doing and develop a relationship. Be ready to respond to spiritual questions when they arise, and eventually invite them to your church.
So, what’s your next step in becoming a 21st Century missionary? For a helpful guide that can help your church better engage with its community, visit our Conference website.
— Ed Fenstermacher, Associate Director of Church Development
Making Disciples, Transforming Communities 