Our staff has been busy thinking, studying, and praying about how to reach the unchurched.  As part of that study, we read the book, “The Rise of the Nones,” by James Emory White, which stimulated my thinking and contributed to these thoughts, as did a conference by Lifeway Researcher Ed Stetzer.  

Reaching people with the love and gospel of Jesus Christ is different–and tougher–than it was 50 years ago.  A big part of the reason is that people are significantly different today.  There are huge numbers of people in America with no religious background whatsoever, (the “Nones” or “None of the Aboves” referenced in White’s book), and they think differently.  In order to reach people, we are going to have to do our best to understand them.

How different are people?  Let’s consider the differences between a typical unchurched 25-year-old in 1964 and compare him to a typical unchurched “none” of the same age in 2014.

“Joe 1964” wasn’t a personal believer in Jesus, but he believed that there is one God, and he would describe him in mostly traditional Judeo-Christian terms.  “Joe 2014” believes that there probably is a God, but when it comes to describing him, he says “he doesn’t know and he doesn’t care.”

Joe 1964 believed that the 10 commandments were a great summary of public and personal morality. Joe 2014 can’t name more than a few of the ten commandments, but when he hears them, he states that 7-8 of the commandments are outdated and no longer apply.

Joe 1964 hasn’t really read much of the Bible, but he believes that it is a sacred book. Joe 2014 hasn’t read any of the Bible, because he thinks that it is just another book and that it no longer applies.

Joe 1964 doesn’t go to church, but he respects the church. In the back of his mind, he knows he should probably go to a church; he just hasn’t done so. Joe 2014 thinks the church is hypocritical, overly political, judgmental, and irrelevant.  He has never even considered attending.

Joe 1964 knew that he was a sinner, and when he did something wrong, he was likely to admit it. Joe 2014 doesn’t think in terms of sin.  He believes that he is flawed and that he makes mistakes, but he blames it on circumstances beyond his control.

Joe 1964 respected Jesus as a great man and considered that he was at least a prophet if not more. He knew many of the Biblical stories about Jesus. Joe 2014 considers that “Jesus was just a man, if he existed at all.”  He knows few of the stories of Jesus and is only vaguely aware of the Cross and The Resurrection accounts.

Joe 1964 would respond politely to an invitation to church from a stranger at his door or on a street corner, and he might even consider it. Joe 2014 will simply be annoyed that he was interrupted.

I could go on, but you can see the tremendous differences between 1964 and 2014. Joe now has different values and thinks differently about God, Jesus, the Bible, and the church.  If you could get Joe 1964 to church, he would agree with much of what he heard.  He would have the cultural context to understand it.  He would already believe in God, respect the church, admire Jesus, admit that he was a sinner, and be ready for an invitation to put his faith and trust in Jesus.

Joe 2014 is, of course, highly unlikely to come to church, but if he does, he is coming from a different world.  He doesn’t accept the Bible, so the preacher’s thunderous “The Bible Says” doesn’t impact him at all.  He doesn’t see himself as a sinner in need of a Savior, so an invitation to be forgiven of his sins may not connect and will probably offend.  A call to follow Jesus doesn’t make sense to Him because he doesn’t know who Jesus is and isn’t even sure that Jesus ever existed.  Much of what happens in a traditional church wouldn’t make sense to him.

So how do we reach Joe 2014 if traditional church ministries like revivals and door-to-door evangelism are relatively ineffective today?  I offer these tentative suggestions:

1.  Make friends–with the unchurched.  Invitations from strangers are usually ineffective.  Invitations from friends are much more likely to work.  (Many of our ministries, including our Basketball League, our New Life Pregnancy Center, and our Mission of Mercy medical ministry, are designed to help people and to befriend people.)

2.  Dialogue rather than lecture.  People have questions and want them answered in non-judgmental ways.  If they feel condemnation, they back-off rapidly.  If they don’t understand and don’t have a forum for asking questions, they refuse to return. Small groups and classes can be very effective.

3. Explain thoroughly.  We can’t assume that people have the same background that we do, so we need to give them the “full story.”  We can’t just call people to Jesus, we have to take the time to explain him thoroughly.  We can’t just talk about God, unless we define and introduce Him.  We can’t use traditional theological language without explaining terms.  We need to preach, talk, and converse in ways that unchurched people can understand.

4.  Live like Jesus.  The number one complaint against the church is that we are hypocrites.  Why do the unchurched believe this?  Because we have tolerated and acted like hypocrites for far too long.  Our hypocrisy is currently turning off more people than our preaching is reaching.

5.  Drop the political talk.  We have a much more important task than making converts to our political party.  We are called to make disciples of Jesus, and integrating politics-and-religion is a huge turnoff to people outside the church.

6.  Pray without ceasing.  Coming to faith in Jesus is not primarily a matter of the right church doing the right things and the right preacher saying the right things.  It is a spiritual matter.  For people to come to faith in Jesus regularly requires a preacher and a church that believes in and practices the discipline of prayer.  We need God to be at work, so we need to ask Him!

7.  Love deeply.  Strategy is needed.  Excellent ministries are helpful.  Well-designed classes and worship services are essential.  But if we don’t love God and love people, it’s a waste of time.

8.  Think like missionaries.  Church-life-as-usual (which is often designed to cater to the membership) won’t change the world.  Members need to think of themselves as missionaries, attempting to change their communities with the love and gospel of Jesus Christ.  It’s not primarily about meeting my needs.  It’s about offering my talents, gifts, resources, and time to reach the world.