The Unchurched Next Door are Receptive

Ed Stetzer and team recently released one of the largest surveys on Americans’ receptivity to different methods of church invitations. Conducted last December, the study included a survey of over 15,000 adults.

It should not come as a surprise, but the best way to reach people is through friends, family, and neighbors:

Personal invitations are generally well received. It is yet another example of statistics screaming for us to be bold in sharing our faith and inviting others to church. This level of receptivity should encourage the church – our unchurched neighbors are not as adamant against attending church as we might think.

USA Today reported on the story from the perspective of the Southern Baptist Convention (with which my church cooperates). The survey was commissioned by the North American Mission Board and conducted by LifeWay, two agencies of the SBC. This from Cathy Lynn Grossman at USA Today:

The Southern Baptist Convention, which is launching a new national campaign to bring unbelievers to Jesus, is up against a major obstacle: motivating its own members to evangelize.

But it may be the only effective way to reach people, according to a survey of 15,173 people by LifeWay Research, a Christian research firm.

The survey found only two ways most people said they were somewhat or very willing to “receive information” about Jesus: 63% would hear it in a “personal conversation with a family member,” or with a friend or neighbor from the church (56%).

“Baptists like to talk more about evangelism than to actually do it,” says LifeWay director Ed Stetzer. Personal evangelizing is “a great concept that’s hard for people to get motivated to do.”

I’m all for a Great Commission Resurgence in my denomination and others. And it begins with me.

Faith and Family

Scott McConnell from the LifeWay Research team co-authored the recently published book, The Parent Adventure. It reveals how the church can help moms and dads break the cycle of destructive parenting practices by focusing on the authority of God’s Word.

The book includes a national survey of 1,200 adults with children under 18 living at home. This data blurb from the research caught my attention:

The most common definitions of successful parenting include children having good values (25 percent), being happy adults (25 percent), finding success in life (22 percent), being a good person (19 percent), graduating from college (17 percent), and living independently (15 percent). Being godly or having faith in God is mentioned by 9 percent of respondents.

Parents who attend religious services weekly are particularly likely to emphasize faith in God, but only 24 percent of them identify that as a mark of parenting success.

McConnell commented on the research findings:

We are seeing an ever-widening gulf in American believers between the private faith and a faith that is passed on. Instead, we too often see an emphasis on guiding children to a social morality and toward an as-yet undefined ‘happy’ life.

Barna Group released some equally troubling research last week that supported McConnell’s comments:

Less than one-half of one percent of adults ages 18 to 23 have a biblical worldview, compared to about one out of every nine older adults.

McConnell’s work reveals that parents have a desire for their children to grow up and lead good lives, but faith in God is not necessarily part of the equation, much less a belief that the Bible is the authority on parenting. Barna demonstrates that a biblical worldview is almost non-existent among the younger generation. Coupled together, the stats do not bode well for the passing of faith to successive generations.

The current state of faith and family is unsettling, but the solution is not complicated. My research on church dropouts reveals how parents kept their children in church and passed on their faith successfully. They not only do church but also talk about their faith. They regularly discuss spiritual matters and personal struggles. These families serve together in the church. And they also regularly pray at home together. The solution is not complex – it just takes time, discipline, and a passion for God’s Word.

Baptism as an Evangelistic Opportunity

The latest update from LifeWay Research contains one of the more encouraging stats I’ve seen this year. The heading of the release reads “Nearly all Americans would attend a friend’s baptism…if invited.”

The report included this statistic:

87 percent of Americans agree with the statement, “If invited, I would attend the baptism of a friend or a friend’s child (even if I didn’t attend that particular church).”

The key words in this phrase are “if invited.” One of the great tragedies in churches is that we do not celebrate baptisms with big enough parties – and we don’t invite friends, neighbors, family, and co-workers to join us.

The report did not differentiate between those who baptize infants or those who baptize new believers, but the overwhelming positive responses in the survey should prompt us to consider baptism as an evangelistic opportunity. It makes sense: inviting those who do not know Christ to come to hear a new believer professing faith in Jesus. The Great Commission is not reserved for mature believers. Begin the training process with baptism. Encourage the person being baptized to invite everyone they know to hear the public profession of faith.

This research corroborates an article I wrote for Outreach Magazine a couple of months ago. Below is an excerpt from this article:

We began to notice a trend in one of our recent studies. The purpose of the study was to uncover what makes an evangelistic church stand out, and several of the interviewees were using word like “exciting,” “warm,” “upbeat,” “energetic,” and “positive” to describe the church they recently joined. We knew from the numbers that their churches were reaching people for Christ, but the tone of their comments led us to believe that these churches had another intangible factor that was helping them connect with their communities.

Then we met Shirley. When we asked her how she came to Christ, she told us, “I came to the party.” This answer surprised us. Shirley was a polite and proper lady in her early 70s. She did not seem the party type.

We asked her to explain what she meant. “I received a card in the mail from the church inviting me to attend my twelve year-old grandson’s baptism and party afterwards. I had little desire to attend worship, but of course, I couldn’t refuse my grandson.”

She continued, “The service was good and the baptism was quick, but what I experienced at the party changed me.”

We listened to her talk about how the entire church celebrated with her grandson after the service. “It was when they brought out the birthday cake to signify his new birth that I began to cry. The church began to sing. I had never experienced such joy, and I knew that I wanted to have this joy.”

A simple invitation, a joyous celebration, and obedient believers are all it takes to see God do something amazing.

The Rise of the Non-Religious

The release of the American Religious Identification Survey has caused a flood of media and blog activity. Researchers at the Trinity College in Hartford, CT surveyed more than 54,461 people between February and November 2008. They found that the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has dropped from 86 percent in 1990 to 76 percent today.

The report expounded upon this sharp decline:

Ninety percent of the decline comes from the non-Catholic segment of the Christian population, largely from the mainline denominations, including Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians/Anglicans, and the United Church of Christ.

One of the key findings in the study referred to those who claim no religion: The percentage of Americans claiming no religion has increased from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 14.2 percent in 2001 to 15 percent presently. This rise of the non-religious has occurred in every state of the Union.

This study is yet another that demonstrates the decline of denominationalism. Most every major denomination has declined, but the rise of “non-denominational” ties is increasing:

Most of the growth in the Christian population occurred among those who would identify only as “Christian,” “Evangelical/Born Again,” or “non-denominational Christian.” The last of these, associated with the growth of megachurches, has increased from less than 200,000 in 1990 to 2.5 million in 2001 to over 8 million today. These groups grew from 5 percent of the population in 1990 to 8.5 percent in 2001 to 11.8 percent in 2008.

You can join some great conversations about this study here, here, and here. Feel free to leave a comment on this blog as well.

The Tragic Death of Pastor Fred Winters

As many of you may know, Pastor Fred Winters of First Baptist Church Maryville, IL, was shot to death during the 8:15AM service while he was preaching. My father, Thom S. Rainer, president and CEO of LifeWay, has asked to utilize my blog to release a statement he wrote earlier today about his friend and former student. Our prayers are with the family and church during this tragic time.

A few moments ago I received the tragic news that Fred Winters, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Maryville, Illinois, was shot and killed while preaching in the church’s 8:15 service. Fred was my former student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was also a friend and co-laborer in ministry.  I am grateful that I got to spend time with Fred on February 24, where I was speaking at a meeting in Naples, Florida for large church pastors. We spoke one-on-one for several minutes, and I could tell that he was rejoicing in his ministry and life. My heart breaks for Fred’s family, and I am already praying for them in this time of shock and grief. We also pray for First Baptist Church of Maryville. They have lost a great pastor and a dear friend.

The Power of Multiplying Groups

My good friend and partner in ministry, Chad Keck, has put together a video of our campus that demonstrates how one small group within a church can create a culture multiplication. As you will see, I’m blessed to serve at the Ranch (what we call our campus).

Small groups go by many different names (Sunday School, community group, etc), but it’s important that they are more than the teaching arm of your church – they are one of the best ways to multiply. Check out Chad’s video and then stop by his blog.

Killing Sermon Cockroaches

Tony Morgan (NewSpring Church Chief Strategic Officer) has given us a great new collection of leadership insights in his new book Killing Cockroaches. It took me forever to read it – not because of his writing style, but rather because of the page flip animation of scurrying cockroaches in the bottom corner of the book. It’s spellbinding.

Once the mesmerizing effects wore off, I found myself underlining and circling several portions of the book. The book is a collection of short insights on how to kill cockroaches, figuratively of course. But it is heavy enough to squash even the largest of Palmetto bugs. What are these cockroaches that pester leaders? They are little fires that consume daily activities, the crisis-of-the-moment-stuff that gets you off focus.

I’ll summarize one section about sermon preparation that struck me:

Prepare your messages weeks in advance. You’ll be amazed at what the Spirit will reveal in a month compared to a week. You’d also be amazed at what your team can create to support your message with more time to brainstorm and execute.

Speak the Truth. The story is intriguing, but the message is dangerous. People want to be challenged. Deep down, we all crave Truth.

Keep it simple. Teach on just one subject or text a week. Be deep, not wide. Have no more than a couple/three takeaways. The less you teach, the more your audience will retain.

Sweat the outline and not the manuscript. When you sweat the outline, you pay more attention to focusing the content, providing supporting illustrations and creating good flow. Speaking from an outline better positions you to engage your audience.

Tell stories. Jesus taught this way. And people will tune you out unless you engage their emotions. Take time to rehearse your stories. How you deliver a story is just as important as the story itself.

Invite others into the process. It’s amazing what a team can contribute by way of additional biblical content, illustrations, stories, art elements, visuals, etc. when a sermon is prepared with the input of a team.

There are tons of pithy leadership snippets in the book (and Tony courageously inserted a hideous picture of his 80s band Burning Heart – coupled with the cockroach page flip animation, it’s worth the price of the book). So give it a read to reveal a few of the bugs in your ministry.