What if our contention in the last blog post, Reaching the Seemingly Unreachable, is wrong?  What if the growing ranks of Nones (no religion) and Dones (with church) were willing to accept invitations to church next Sunday?  That would certainly make our (evangelistic) jobs easier and make pastors happy since most encourage invitations.  However, would pews full of non-believers be biblical or beneficial for them, those churches, or the Kingdom?

Church Isn’t “Who” We Think It Is

The word used for “church” in the New Testament is “ekklesia”, comprised of the Greek words kaleo (to call) with the prefix ek (out).  The English word “church” is kuriakon, which means “dedicated (or belonging) to the Lord”.  In other words, the etymological root of the term “church” does not refer to a place but to people who know and love Jesus.

Church should be comprised of believers who are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.  Paul begins his first letter to the Corinthians by addressing the church as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours.”  Universally, the Church (big “C”) is all Christ-followers, domestic and abroad.  Locally, it’s believers who meet anywhere for prayer, worship, and discipleship.  Church is not about a campus, pastor, staff, or event on the weekends. The Bible defines church as:

• Disciples – Paul considers any gathering of Christians, even in a house, to be “church” (not the house itself) if its purpose is to edify and glorify (God)
• Spiritual House – Peter defines “church” as a spiritual house where Jesus is the Cornerstone and believers are the “living stones” of a “holy priesthood”
• Body of Christ – Many verses describe “church” as Christ’s body, consisting of those united with Jesus, His physical manifestation on earth after His ascension
• Holy and Undefiled – As His body and bride, Jesus expects His Church to be pure

Jesus intended for His followers to BE the church, not passive participants in something called “church”.  His followers are His hands and feet that He uses to build His Church by taking His Gospel message of love and compassion out to the world.

Then How Do We Reach Non-Believers?

Since “church” is a gathering of believers, those who don’t worship the Lord were not meant to be invited into a holy worship service.  If a non-Christian walks in, the Bible says nothing about escorting them out.  In fact, 1 Corinthians 14 discusses circumstances where “inquirers or unbelievers come in” but doesn’t suggest extending invitations.  All those in attendance should be praying along with the prayer, singing along with the songs, reading along with Scripture believing it’s the inspired word of God, and listening intently to the message.  God is not honored by half-hearted prayer, worship, readings, or attention in His sanctuary among His people.

So God’s Word instructs churches to equip and deploy disciples to “go and make disciples” in their neighborhoods and workplaces, and then bring new believers into church settings to worship sincerely during worship services.  Yet “invite” (to church) is the first step most Christians take when trying to lead someone to Christ.  It’s far more convenient and comfortable to leave evangelism to the “professionals”.  However, invitations to church should be the last step in our evangelistic sequence:

1. Seek the Lord – to understand who to reach and prepare their hearts to hear
2. Build friendships – no one cares what you know until they know you care
3. Speak openly – confess your sins because if they don’t see your need for Jesus, they won’t see theirs
4. Serve generously – show kindness and sacrifice selflessly as opportunities arise
5. Engage intentionally – conduct local outreach and compassion projects as a church to show God’s love in action
6. Introduce socially – include in social events to get to know Christian friends
7. Share boldly – learn how to convey the Gospel in ways that resonate
8. Recommend wisely – point “seekers” to Bible verses, articles, and books that will educate and encourage them in their search for truth
9. Inquire lovingly – ask if they are ready to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior
10. Disciple personally – take time to meet, discuss, and answer questions
11. Invite, finally – bring new believers to a small group meeting or worship service

Imagine the impact on our nation’s spiritual and moral foundation if every Christian implemented Steps 1-10 rather than skipping directly to Step 11.  Yet that would flip America’s contemporary church growth model on its head, which leans heavily on invitations.  Attracting through referrals, advertising, and amenities “works”, except it grows one church at the expense of less “attractive” ones.  Catering to “consumers” rather than challenging disciples (to serve as Kingdom “employees”) keeps the machine running.  The effort and cost to feed the machine – salaries, facilities, and programs – makes churches dependent on strategies rather than God in Prayer, leaves little budget for Care, and a limited appetite for training how to Share.  Yet no amount of inviting, advertising, or amenities could be as attractional to non-believers as churches and Christians who look nothing like the divisive, judgmental, and intolerant world in which we live.  Envision a body of Christ distinctly countercultural but not counter-culture – living Prayer, Care, and Share lifestyles within their circles of influence.

It is Too Late to Return to Biblical “Church”?

That vision is only achievable if churches revert to the biblical definition of “church” and its target “customer”.  In cases where advertising budgets exceed compassion expenses, the institution (not members) is positioned as the definition of “church”.  When more resources are devoted to engaging members in church activities than training them to personify church, members are being treated as “customers”.  That makes the church’s intended, biblical “customers” (those who don’t know Jesus in the community) feel like any other customer who’s receiving poor “customer” service from a business.  Adding to their sense of abandonment, there’s a lower likelihood of meeting a disciple outside of church because growth-oriented churches don’t make many.

Convincing churches to revert to the biblical definitions of those terms won’t be easy.  Imagine the impact on church attendance of pushing “consumers” to endure the commitment and discomfort required to reclaim their rightful ownership of the Great Commission.  Churches have reduced or eliminated personal discipleship and evangelism training.  Few Christians today feel qualified or remain willing to present and defend their faith.  They’ve been conditioned to (pay for the right to) abdicate that role, at best sharing their personal testimony before the invitation to come to “church” next weekend.  Asking them to do more is particularly daunting considering today’s increasingly challenging environment for Gospel-sharing and disciple-making, as well as the growing resistance and resentment toward churches.  America’s hearts have been hardened by decades of poor “customer” service.  Those best equipped to lead people to Christ and closer to Him are on staff at churches, but there aren’t enough church leaders to go around.

Only the Holy Spirit could spark the dramatic revival and humble repentance necessary for Christ-followers to resume their role on the “front lines”.  It must begin with one convicted, inspired, courageous congregation.  As Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!’”

In theory, many pastors and church members agree with those arguments but would counter that the ship has sailed.  They fear that if we stop inviting and attracting non-believers into churches, they may never hear the Gospel and turn to Christ.  In other words, if we don’t continue with the current (unbiblical) model, many lost people will never be found.  Although church leaders may understand the biblical definition of “church”, few are unwilling to revert to that definition.  They know “seekers” shouldn’t have to step into a building to find Jesus but feel powerless to convince “consumers” to disrupt their busy schedules and risk their social status in a culture hostile to Christianity.

Pastors’ motives may be well-intentioned, knowing that given the current circumstances people are more likely to come to faith in a church (because not enough Christians are equipped to be effective in bringing the Gospel to them).  However, if that’s the case then it’s an indictment – a confession that while pastors may be concerned about the “lost”, their members are less so.  Admittedly, it would be a difficult, slow process to turn this ship around, but if we’re going to reach everyone who doesn’t know Jesus or has drifted from Him, we need all hands on deck.

It’s Your Turn…

Does your church teach members to lead people to Christ themselves before inviting them to church?  Do you know people willing to have a conversation about faith but unwilling to come with you to church?