Last time we looked at the first to walls
to our building process. They were people need answers, and
people need community. Consider the following statistics
about who or what was responsible in bringing a person to
Christ.
|
A special need drew them |
1-2% |
|
They just walked in |
2-3% |
|
A Pastor |
5-6% |
|
Church visitation |
1-2% |
|
Sunday School |
4-5% |
|
Evangelistic crusade or TV program |
0.5 % |
|
A church program |
2-3% |
|
A friend or relative |
75-90% |
Wall # 3 – People
need cultural relevance
Ask someone why they
don’t go to church and there are a few answers you’ll
probably hear. Some went previously and were hurt and didn’t
come back. Others are too busy. Still others just don’t
believe in any of it. The core to all of these problems is
that people don’t see church as being relevant to their
lives.
Most churches are
composed of a broad range of ages and encompasses more of
less four generations of people. Each generation has
different values and needs. If a person does not see the
church as addressing their needs they are unlikely to waste
their time. If the church is relevant, they’ll get over
their past hurts, find time in their busy schedules, or
otherwise just show up for church because they realize it is
important. The problem the church has is that it is often
only relevant to one generation (most often the generation
that most of the church leaders are in.)
What is relevant to
each of the generations in the church? (Golden Age, Baby
Boomers, Generation X, kids & teens.)
Wall # 4 – People
need time
As nice as it would
be to wave a magic wand and see people come to Christ, we
need to realize that this can be a slow process. Unless you
are planting magic beans, you don’t plant the seed one day
and go outside to harvest the fruit the next. Just as with
planting, a lot of preparation and hard work is needed to
see a plant bear fruit.
In farming, we know
approximately how long a plant will take to grow. In
evangelism, we have no idea how long or how much effort it
will take to see results. We need to concentrate more on the
work and less on the harvest. God will provide the harvest
according to His time and His will. It is God who gets the
increase, we are only responsible for planting and watering.
Studies have shown
that on average a person needs to hear the gospel seven
times before they accept it. It is human nature to get
frustrated after rejection the first or second time. We need
to understand that God’s timetable is not ours however.
