Church Mobilization

What do “non-church people” find valuable in a church?

  • by 6stones

Last fall several from our team here at 6 Stones had the opportunity to go Movement Day in New York City.  Movement Day is a city-transformation conference put on by the New York City Leadership Center, and much of last year’s discussion was rooted in how the gospel grows in our cities.  As you might imagine there were so many deeply rooted nuggets of thought that I’m still trying to process them all 6 months later.

One of those thoughts centers around a survey done in regards to starting new churches in which non-church-going-people were asked, if they were to do the church thing, what would they find valuable in that community?  They answered in three ways:

  1. God would be important every day of the week, not just one.
  2. The people would look after one another in holistic life care.
  3. The people would look after their greater community or neighborhood, adding value where possible.

Of course, this is not aimed at merely getting people to attend a weekly meeting, whom previously did not.  Much more than that, it’s about helping people see the relevance that Jesus and his kingdom has in their lives and the world around them.  Even non-church people know that mere religion doesn’t work, yet most of us still grind through the discipling of people who call themselves christians, but don’t really look all that much like it, except for on Sunday.  More than moral living, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to transform our congregations into raving fans of the gospel and fervent disciple-makers.  If God were important every day of the week, would we wake up each morning with a fresh objective to see the Great Commission realized event just incrementally more in the lives of those around us?  Would every relationship and opportunity be leveraged for God’s glory, and would every church member see themselves as a commissioned missionary, sent by Jesus and the church just as Jesus was sent by the Father (John 17:18)?

What this survey of non-church-going-people tells us is the very same thing, in fact, that our Lord Jesus says, is it not?  That we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind and soul, and that we should love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-38), and that we will be known as belonging to Jesus by our love for one another (John 13:35).

How is your church helping people make Jesus the Lord of their lives every day of the week?

How is your church facilitating strong intra-congregational care?

How are your equipping and sending your church to care for their neighbors, both physically, relationally and spiritually?

I’d love to hear from you on what’s working in your congregation, and partner with you to seek the Lord’s leading where things are not.  Email me at [email protected] if you’d like to continue the conversation.  Let’s seek the Lord in prayer together, and see where He’s working!