It's not new news, but it's news to me! Going back to 2016, LifeWay Research released a study: Unchurched will talk about faith, not interested in going to church.
Interesting results, though. People don't want to come to your church service. The days of Church Services being the evangelical event where lives are changed? Those days are waning. Instead, research like LifeWay here points to relational evangelism.
According to the study, 66% of unchurched people are unlikely to attend a church service... with almost half of that group saying they are "extremely unlikely." I don't know that this part is surprising. Unchurched people don't want to come to church. That's not rocket science. What did surprise me is that 79% of people say "If a friend of mine really values their faith, I don't mind them talking about it."
Let's unpack this. 80% of people interviewed are willing to talk about faith with their friend, if their friend shows that faith is important to them... In other words, if you walk the walk your unchurched friend will let you talk the talk.
This is not a bait and switch for Church Online. I'm taking technology out of this equation. An app, a website, a strategy is not the way to solve this problem. "Evangelism in the future does not happen in our temples or cathedrals, but in our living rooms and houses." - Francis Chan.
Church, it's time to get back to making disciples who make disciples. If we want to be effective in the future, it means our ability to reach people is not in our buildings or our staff, but in our ability to empower our attenders with the Gospel. Evangelism isn't on Sunday. It's Monday-Sunday.
If we can equip our attenders with the Gospel, and empower them to live it in their lives, I think we will be surprised what God can do.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
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