Communicating with the unchurched is important for all ministry leaders. Although this article is written with the teaching pastor in mind, its lessons will also help youth leaders reach unchurched kids who visit youth group.
Have you ever gone to watch a movie and arrived late? My wife and I always seem to arrive late to the theater. So I always have tons of questions about the plot. I feel lost, while everyone who’s been there since the beginning knows exactly what’s happening.
I’m afraid that unchurched people feel this way when they attend our churches. The reason many churches struggle to attract the unchurched is because so many pastors deliver talks that engage only church people. They say things for the insiders, not the outsiders.
So when outsiders attend, they feel disengaged and lost. As a result, they don’t plan to return. How can we focus on communicating with the unchurched while crafting sermons and youth talks?
5 Tips for Communicating With the Unchurched
Here are 5 ways speakers can engage unchurched people:
1. Consider unchurched people during your prep time.
First assume that unchurched people are in the pews each weekend. If you don’t speak as if they’re present, they never will be.
Unchurched people are different today than they were 50 years ago. They won’t attend something where they feel lost, uncomfortable, or disengaged. We must engage them, and you must consider them when you prepare every talk.
Consider unchurched people who might be at worship. One mentor suggested that I speak my message to an unchurched person to get their perspective before I deliver it to the congregation. Address them directly. If you prepare a talk for insiders only and don’t ever address outsiders, don’t expect unchurched people to return to your church.
2. Craft your talk around a single point.
Next know this… If you’re expecting people to remember 10 things, they likely won’t remember anything. When people leave your church on Sunday, they should be able to state your big idea in one tweetable statement. If they can’t do this, I suggest that maybe you didn’t deliver the message effectively.
Speakers who theme a talk around one big idea create messages that people remember. Isn’t that the goal? If you want an unchurched person to remember your sermon, craft it around one simple big idea.
3. Create a strong introduction.
This is the point in the talk where you need to grab the attention of unchurched listeners. Andy Stanley does this well. His introductions provide some form of tension in the heart.
Make your introduction light and engaging. If it consists of reading 15 Old Testament verses, you’ll likely lose the unchurched. That type of delivery connects only with insiders.
Talks that connect with unchurched people usually start with a story or something they can relate to. Then you’ll have their attention when you get to the gospel content (the meat of the message).
