Outreach & Evangelism
Hello,
We hope that you are learning helpful information about the Consultation Process on the Consultant Blog Page. This week Tom Bandy discusses Outreach and Evangelism in this six-minute video. If you would like to read his information, it is posted below or you can watch his video that was published on December 6, 2020.
Video 4 - Outreach and Relational Evangelism
My name is Tom Bandy, and I am consulting with leaders of the Presbyterian Church of Hamilton in strategic planning. I encourage your prayers and reflections as the church thinks strategically about the future.
In the days ahead, you might reflect on the lifestyle diversity of the city of Hamilton and the challenge to reduce the median age of the church.
The last time we were virtually together I asked the question: Why do you come to worship? Today I want to ask another question: What gives you hope for the future?
Church growth for older generations largely depends on your answer to the first question. Why do you come to worship? But church growth among younger generations largely depends on your answer to the second question. What gives you hope for the future? You see, there is a “generation gap” when it comes to church growth.
Older generations (including many of you Baby Boomers like me) connect with a church because we are looking for what many describe as “love and lessons”. The results from our church survey reveals that the “buzz” in the coffee hour before, in-between, and following worship is mainly about friendships and family, or about the points in the sermon. And worship generally motivates people into fellowship groups, Sunday schools, and Bible studies.
Younger generations (much in the minority of our church) connect with a church because they are looking for what many describe as “hope and heroes”. This is why they rarely go “church shopping” on Sunday morning, and worship is not the primary entry point into the life of the church. They connect through social service and mentoring relationships. Our church survey reveals that the coffee-time “buzz” they seek is not about family and sermons, but about mission and role models.
Older generations go to the coffee hour. Younger generations go to the coffee shop. It is at the coffee shop that the conversation is more likely about social change and social service. It is at the coffee shop that they are more likely to meet role models for purposeful living. The coffee shop conversations motivate them to volunteer for community service and bond with lifelong mentors.
Do you see the difference? “Love and Lessons” … “Hope and Heroes”. Worship, hospitality, and education … social service, intimacy, and mentoring. The one grows the church among older generations. The other grows the church among younger generations.
Of course, you and I know that these are huge generalizations; and life and society are much more complicated than that.
Nevertheless, let us not get overly obsessed with worship styles, post-worship refreshments, fellowship dinners, and study groups. The more we get obsessed about those things, the older our congregation will become. Instead, let us concentrate more on outreach, service, small groups, and relational evangelism. The more we concentrate on those areas the younger our congregation will become.
Let’s go a little deeper to explore this generational difference.
I grew up in the church, was called into professional ministry, and eventually went to seminary. (Princeton Seminary, in fact). There I was taught the essential connection between grace and gratitude. First, we experience God’s grace for acceptance, forgiveness, healing, guidance, and so on. Then, in response to grace, we show our gratitude through financial giving and community service. Traditional worship is designed with just that flow in mind.
Today there is a different vital connection to be made for all those people who never grew up in a church or who have been alienated by the church. We do not start with grace and move to gratitude. Instead, we start with service and move to spirituality. The spiritual journey today starts in the community rather than the sanctuary. And it ends with a pilgrim walk with Jesus Christ and not just church membership.
God’s Realm expands in both ways – from grace to gratitude, but also from service to spirituality. And today’s church must learn how to empower both ways.
In the days ahead you might reflect on this. We are pretty good at “love and lessons”. Our church has grown, but it has also aged. We are not as good at “hope and heroes”.
How can we refocus outreach away from mere fundraising and sharing space with outside agencies, and toward daily hands-on volunteerism by the majority of members? How can we refocus evangelism away from office holding and committees, in order to multiply heroes of faith and equip individual laity to mentor the next generation?
What gives you hope for the future? The future of the church depends on how you answer that question – and how you share your answer.