Going Out > Reaching Out

I have been thinking a lot about how churches tend to go about outreach lately.  Most of the time churches plan some sort of event located at their church building and their idea of outreach is to invite people from the community to come into the church for this event and then the gospel is presented as well. Outreach like this is perfectly described by the name: it’s a reaching out from the church. The church is staying at their location, and while being planted there, they are reaching outward from that central location trying to reach people and pull them in. This works very effectively for some churches. I have seen God work through outreach such as this. I am not going to say that I am against outreach like this because I believe there is a place for it and it is still useful for the church. But what I am going to say is that if your church is only reaching out and not going out, you have a major problem and you are not fulfilling the Great Commission as Jesus intended you to.

That’s a big statement I know… but hear me out. When Jesus and the disciples were reaching the world with their gospel, they didn’t find one central location, call it a church, and tell sinners and unbelievers to come to them for special events so they could then hear about Jesus. Jesus and the disciples went out into their communities and found the sinners and unbelievers and brought the gospel to them! Paul didn’t hold Sunday school once a week that he hoped unbelievers would come to. He went preaching in the populated parts of the community where people would hear his message! They weren’t just reaching out from a location they wanted people to go to. They were going out and bringing a message that people needed to hear!

One of the modern church’s biggest mistakes is that we think the best way to reach unbelievers is to invite them into church. And that does work sometimes, I’m not saying it’s wrong to do. But the fact of the matter is that many unbelievers are either too turned off by churches or too ashamed of their sinful lifestyle to be bold enough to go to the church. And because they were only given an invitation to come into the church, when they don’t do so for whatever reason, they end up not hearing a gospel message that could have transformed their life. The church should be going out with the gospel instead of just reaching out and pulling people in so they can then hear the gospel.

This can be done through door to door or street evangelism. But this can also be done through centers or after school programs or neighborhood outreaches (like Good News Club or 5-Day Clubs with Child Evangelism Fellowship) in areas or places that unreached people will be more willing to go to. Sometimes it’s done by meeting a need like feeding a hungry person and then sharing the gospel with them as well. There’s many different ways to take the gospel out from the church building rather than just inviting people in to hear it. It is unfair to expect unbelievers, who don’t know what they’re missing and have no reason to want to find out, to come to the church to find the gospel. Instead we need to take the gospel out of the church and show them what they’re missing. Having a church that’s reaching the community doesn’t mean your church is sending out fliers inviting the community to church events. Having a church that’s reaching the community means your church is involved in the community, meeting needs and going out with the gospel.

Once again, I’m not saying planning events and inviting the community to them is bad. But if that is all your church is doing, you’re missing the point. The church should be focusing less on reaching and more on going out. Because going out is just as important if not more important than reaching out. Don’t just try to pull the community in for the gospel. Take the gospel out to the community as well.