We are a very relational society. We
have telephones so that we can communicate when we are
apart. Now we have instant messengers and cell phones to aid
us in this. What this all comes down to is the fact that
people are not going to come to any church and stay if they
feel unaccepted, unloved, or unwanted.
The man who doesn’t own a suit and tie
is not going to attend a church where everyone wears a suit
and tie every Sunday because that man will not feel like he
belongs where he is at. I’m not saying that there is
necessarily anything wrong with wearing your best on Sunday,
but understand that your best may not be someone else’s
best. I personally think that neckties were invented by
someone who didn’t like people. Even as a pastor, I try not
to wear one more than once a month. If I’m uncomfortable
wearing it, why should I expect everyone else to be just as
uncomfortable?
So how does community help us to
prepare the soil to plant the gospel? I have become
absolutely sold on relational evangelism. This means that
evangelizing is not a one time, hand out some tracts, “come
to our service” type of thing. If we are to win people to
Christ, we need to establish relationships with them. They
must become comfortable with us before they are going to
become comfortable with and feel accepted by a whole
community of people like us.
That is what a church is – a whole group of alike people.
The universal church is made up of many different types of
people worshipping the same God, but we do so in many
different ways. Individual churches are going to be full of
similar people, worshipping similarly, but not necessarily
like another believing church.
I’m of heavy German ancestry and live
in an area settled by Germans. In my area, we worship much
differently than a church I’ve been to in New Jersey
composed of men and women who fled Sierra Leone. I wouldn’t
feel comfortable worshipping with them every week, nor vice
versa. Do either of us worship incorrectly? Certainly not,
we are simply two different cultures. So instead I prefer to
worship with people who are most like me.
When relationships are established, we
realize that very often there isn’t nearly as much
difference between us and the other person as we thought. If
I spent a few weeks with my African brethren, I would
certainly gain an understanding of how they worship and why
they do what they do. In the end, I might not even feel
uncomfortable with their style of worship at all. But it
would take an established relationship to reach this point.
So it is the same with someone who is outside of the church
altogether.
Relationships need to be established
because it is by far most effective in bringing people to
Christ. When a church isn’t growing, the pastor usually gets
blamed for not bringing people in. However, statistics tell
us that the vast majority of Christians were lead to Christ
by a friend or family member. The pastor accounts for very
few actual conversions. The actual numbers as to whom or
what drew 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%
Why are friends and relatives so successful in bringing a
person to Christ? It is the need for community. A group of
friends or a family is a small community and in that
community people are going to be more trusting of one
another.
This doesn’t mean that suddenly our
friends and family should become “targets” for evangelism.
Rather, we should be willing to discuss Christianity with
them in an open and natural way. Don’t press the issue but
when opportunities arise, express how you feel about certain
things because you are a Christian.
Even more importantly, live your life
the way you should be living it. Your actions speak much
louder than your words. If your life does not reflect how
much you love God, telling a person how much they need God
and how they should love God isn’t going to get you
anywhere.
We need to establish relationships because people need
community.
Next Section - Wall
# 3 - People Need Cultural Relevance
