I was a church growth junkie.

john bailey — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:43:00 GMT

In the 1990’s, I was a church growth junkie and yes, a pragmatist. I hopped from one conference to another in search of the perfect solution, the perfect model, for reaching my community with the gospel. Within a few years, our church was purpose-driven, seeker-sensitive, creative, and contemporary. As long as I am being honest, I might as well admit that the majority of the adjustments we made fit my personal preferences. We moved out some of the furniture, added a video projector and screen, changed our worship style, and traded our suits for jeans and polo shirts! We canceled Sunday evenings and business meetings. We placed an emphasis upon children and youth (yes, I had four). We even moved our ministerial emphasis from within the church building into the harvest, among the unchurched.

Today, I can clearly see the errors of my ways as a young pastor. I understand that my context, and not some mega-church model or conference (and certainly not my personal preferences), should have determined our format and methodology. I now see we should have been biblically faithful while allowing our context to help shape our methods for reaching our community with the gospel. I now see the value of contextualization.

The world has moved in next door. We within the church planting community now speak of cultures instead of culture. Not only are we ethnically diverse, we find diversity within people groups themselves. People speak of living in a post-modern—post-Christian—society. We (the church) are accused of being irrelevant and intolerant. People are moving into urban centers and expressing their spirituality in a variety of ways. Some say they are rejecting the church and not Jesus. Technology is rapidly changing the world in which we live and how we connect with one another. The world as I—maybe even we—know it, no longer exists.

The challenge before church planters is this: How do we, people of God, effectively communicate the unchanging gospel in an ever-changing landscape? Too often, we have either been too late or have done too little in response to societal changes. On occasion, we have been reactive instead of being proactive. Some have accused many of our church planters of going too far, of watering down or even changing the gospel in an effort to be contextual. Many of our edgier leaders have accused the traditional church of becoming a fortress, rebuking the culture while seeking to maintain the status quo. I would contend that we must maintain a healthy balance between being missional while maintaining our biblical Christian faith (see Jude 3). We must be biblically faithful while being contextually appropriate—anchored to Christ, geared to the times.

Dean Flemming says, “Contextualization has to do with how the gospel revealed in Scripture authentically comes to life in each new cultural, social, religious and historical setting … Every church in every particular place and time must learn to do theology in a way that makes sense to its audience while challenging it at the deepest level.” Contextualization is more than a change in music, dress code, and furniture. Changes are not made because something works somewhere else, in another church, or in another city. A desire to be contextual is driven by a passion to make disciples among all peoples and, therefore, requires an understanding of the language, values, societal rhythms, and worldviews of the people you are seeking to reach.

As the people of God, we are commanded to make disciples of all nations—among all peoples. To do so, we should be guided by solid missiological principles, remain biblically faithful, and be culturally relevant. The following is a selection of principles to guide your effort to be contextual.

First, think mission, not church. We are commanded by God to gather people from every tribe and every tongue for God’s worship and glory. As a young pastor, I knew this, but to be honest, my intent may have been to build a great church. Deep inside me I may have wanted to be successful, to pastor a large church that affirmed my abilities. Today, my driving passion is to see all peoples come to Christ and live for God’s glory. I now see that because of the diversity in North America and in individual communities, no one church can be all things to all people. I see the importance of being driven by God’s mission and to have a heart for my city, not necessarily for the growth of a local church.

Second, continually seek to understand the context in which you serve. Build relationships, networking with the unchurched in order to understand their culture and share Christ. Learn to listen. Conduct demographic and psychographic research on your community, but understand that this alone is not adequate. Connect with business leaders in your community in an effort to identify trends. Read everything you can on culture and understanding your context. Finally, conduct intentional surveys with the unchurched in an effort to inform your strategies and direct your own culture. In all you do, continually ask the Father, “Where are You at work? What do You want to accomplish in this community? What barriers exist that hinder or stop people from hearing and understanding the gospel?”

Third, understand the culture of your church and your own personal preferences. Many church planters have moved into an area with their strategy prematurely in place without conducting on-site research or without determining if they personally were a fit for the area. People, like churches, have cultural preferences. And yes, there is a culture inside the church. The question is this, “Which culture do we prefer? Does it fit our community or the people group we are seeking to reach with the gospel?” We should be committed to developing a church culture and adapting personal preferences that serve the culture in which we are living without compromising biblical distinctives.

Fourth, send Christ-followers into the harvest to engage people. The radically unchurched are not seeking us out. Examine the apostle Paul’s use of teams and help your members focus their energy on networking for evangelism, starting small groups which might become churches, and raising up leaders from within the harvest. At the heart of this activity will be a commitment to making disciple-making disciples. Consider moving your evangelism equipping from a total emphasis upon harvesting to one that includes an increased understanding and practice of sowing the gospel. Help your people see that the process of sowing the gospel is slow, messy, and basically non-measurable. It requires that Christ-followers have a right relationship with God while building relationships with people in the harvest.

Finally, discern what the Holy Spirit is saying. God is working outside of the church building in some magnificent ways. He is gathering people from all over the world to live in your community. Some are very receptive to the gospel. What is God doing in your community? What trends are developing? What “surprises” have occurred in your mission field?

This urges us to ask, “What does God want to do in light of these changes? What new churches are needed? What new ministries need to be started? Does every person in your community have a church pursuing them in their heart language? As God reveals Himself in your community, what new thing is He showing you in His word? What new insights do you have? How are they impacting the work of your church?” The challenge to us, just like the apostle Paul, is to maintain a healthy strategy while being open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Being culturally appropriate while remaining biblically faithful is imperative in the mission of the Church. The diversity of our context and our commitment to making disciples demands we understand ourselves, and then the context in which we serve. A healthy tension exists between being biblically faithful and culturally relevant. Depend upon the Holy Spirit to guide your desire to remove barriers and build bridges to your community. See the tension as a gift from God, something to be celebrated, for with it comes a new and exciting opportunity to glorify God and fulfill His mission in our communities.

What practical ways has your church contextualized ministry, that has proven to increase effectiveness in making disciples in your community?

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