A couple of years ago, I took a vacation, and went to Woodfield Mall on a Sunday morning. Some of you might say “What?!” Yes, I did not go to church that Sunday and, instead, went to a shopping mall. (Of course I did go to the Saturday worship that weekend.) Anyway, it was a strange feeling to be at mall on Sunday morning. I did that because of learning that one of the greatest barriers to evangelism is that most believers spend all their time with other Christians. That was a painful learning experience. Without spending any time with unbelievers, how can I say that I understand what they are thinking? And then I realized that there was no guidance how to approach them. So, I’d like to share what Saddleback Church has used to “Reach out”.
Here are five questions that Rick Warren has used at Saddleback:
1. What do you think is the greatest need in this area? This question simply got people talking to me.
2. Are you actively attending any church? If they said yes, I thanked them and moved on to the next home. I didn’t bother asking the other three questions because I didn’t want to color the survey with the opinions of believers. Notice that I didn’t ask, “Are you a member?” Many people who haven’t been inside a church for 20 years still claim membership in some church.
3. Why do you think most people don’t attend church? This seemed to be a less threatening and offensive wording than: “Why don’t YOU attend church?” Today many people would answer that question with “It’s none of your business why I don’t go!” but when I asked why they thought other people didn’t attend, they usually gave me their personal reasons anyway.
4. If you were to look for a church to attend, what kind of things would you look for? This single question taught me more about “thinking like a unbeliever” than my entire seminary training. I discovered that most churches are offering programs that the unchurched are uninterested in.
5. What could I do for you? What advice can you give to a minister that really wants to be helpful to people? This is the most basic question the church must ask its community. Study the Gospels and notice how many times Jesus asked someone, “What do you want me to do for you?” He’d begin with a person’s needs.
I think these five questions are really practical. Now, my prayer is help me to find the person to share this with. I feel so great when I learn that I can be used by God as a tool or hand to “reach out” to someone. I hope you do too!