When The Church Refuses To Reach Out To The Community

Years ago, I talked with a church that was a thriving church about a decade ago. They were running 400 to 500 every Sunday. At the time I talked with this church, they were running close to 200. What happened? The pastor told me, it was because the leadership of the church refused to embrace the changing community around it. Now the church was surrounded by an entire neighborhood yet they could not accept the changes that was talking place in its own community.

Another church was running 800 nearly 10 years ago and they are lucky, to say the least, to have 150 on any given Sunday. Same thing as the other church but they have one thing in common, they refuse to reach out to the community. Not every church is surrounded by a neighborhood but it makes you wonder why the churches in a neighborhood is not growing.

Here is another church that is surrounded by 10,000 people in it community and next door to a school yet they are dying because they want nothing to do with the school kids or the overwhelming number of young adults surrounding them. Jesus told us to make disciples yet I think some churches will only make disciples of those who are like them. When their kids are well-behaved or they like the same things the church does.

When a church refuses to reach out they are disobeying Jesus in fulfilling the Great Commission as well as the second greatest commandment which is "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). When a church refuses to reach out, we are saying you are no good to join us. This country club mentality takes over. We are telling the surrounding community, you want to join, it is on our terms, meaning dress in your Sunday's best, like piano and organ music, and love the KJV (not dogging the KJV). You get the idea.

When a church refuses to reach out they are telling Jesus we are smarter than you. Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations not who we thought are acceptable in our click. We are also saying what the first century church did, as recorded in the book of Acts, is not acceptable.

When a church refuses to reach out, it could mean the death of that church unless it repents. That church will become nothing more than a museum of what could be. Maybe Mark Dever is right, when he said for the gospel to advance some churches will have to close. I have a feeling that will happen in a lot of cities both big and small.

Church let us not refuse to reach out to our community. Jesus told us to make disciples. The church is the gospel made visible and good news needs to be proclaimed.