5. Transitions provide the window of opportunity.
All unchurched people in your community are not similarly inclined to become Christians and members of your church. Some are quite responsive, others not at all.
It’s a simple, but powerful, insight:
Openness to following Christ
Receptive
Resistant
Jesus spoke of this principle in telling us to turn our eyes to the fields that are “white unto harvest” (John 4:35 )… to plant the seed of the Gospel in good [receptive] soil (Mt. 13:1-9) … to preach in the towns that are receptive (Luke 9:1-6).
So, how do you identify the receptive people in your community?
One way is through life-transition events. Significant changes in people’s lifestyles move them toward spiritual receptivity. These may be controlled events (i.e., marriage, divorce, relocation, retirement) or uncontrolled events (i.e., death of a spouse, medical crisis, fired from work, etc.). People experiencing change in other aspects of their lives are more open to change their spiritual lives.
Several application ideas for this principle: Encourage your members to be aware of transition events of those in their social network (Principle #2), and respond with genuine Christian love. Develop specialized ministries that focus on transition events, and then develop a plan to share God’s unconditional love with these people whom the Holy Spirit may have prepared.
These outreach principles work. They should be applied not in order to grow a big church, but in order to reach God’s dearly loved children, and bring them into the caring fellowship of the body of Christ.
