If you’re still reading, here are a few options to consider:
1. Application should be a focus of your preaching, but there are many other ways to refocus on application over information.
2. Share stories of life change whenever you can. Personal stories highlight the value found by others, making value (and a better life) seem achievable and applicable for everyone.
3. Keep it short. If you only need an hour to execute a great service, don’t take two hours. Remember, we are talking about unchurched people here. Your church people will stay all day, but I would bet your unchurched friends will give you an hour. For them, the service loses value as the clock ticks by. And your sermon should be no longer than a sitcom (30 minutes).
2. Make Church Entertaining.
If your church service is the equivalent of a sleeping pill, unchurched people might as well stay in their bed. Don’t be afraid of making your church fun. You can make your church fun without watering down the Scripture or becoming an entertainment-only experience. I wrote a post about the entertaining church HERE. Just remember—fun is a value and is valuable. Most people don’t have much fun, so let’s make their church experience fun.
That probably means they can’t leave feeling guilty without hope, either. That’s NEVER fun.
3. Be Helpful Outside of Sunday Morning.
Your church has a wealth of content, but most churches only offer it on Sunday morning. Find new and innovative ways to help people in your community (or the world) beyond a Sunday service. Stream your content. Make your messages available via podcast or the web. And do it with a level of excellence. Speak at business leadership gatherings (about leadership, not Jesus). Serve the people in your community THROUGH community organizations (not your church).
Last thought: People want to try before they buy. Nobody believes your church is any different than what they experienced previously. Make sure you provide a way for people to see and experience your church BEFORE they attend your church. That’s a great way to help the unchurched in your community overcome an obstacle to attending your church. At Watermarke, we leverage North Point Online and In Case You Missed It for this exact purpose.
Church Attender:
As a church attender, you can impact the unchurched directly and even more personally than most church leaders.
1. Build a Relationship Before You Make an Invitation.
Nobody wants to be a project—especially a religious project. Jesus works more through relationships than church invitations. So build a real and committed relationship with unchurched people that MIGHT lead to faith conversations in time (God’s time, not your time). And know going in it might be the most difficult friendship you have ever experienced.
2. Be a Christian Before You Make a Christian.
Christians have a perception problem—and for good reason. The best thing we can do is to BE the kind of Christian we are hoping to help others become. Our behavior and life say more about our belief than anything we will ever say. If people get you know you and desire to be like you, eventually they will be willing to go where you go (i.e., CHURCH).
Let’s stop saying “people just aren’t as committed anymore” and start looking at our churches and life in the mirror. I bet, if we take an honest look, we will all find something that is working against our desire to reach those far from God in our community.
I’ll be back leading a church on Sunday. And I hope to do everything I can to reach the unchurched in the process. How about you?
