An Outreach Strategy You Cannot Ignore
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I often hear from church leaders about the creative strategies they are using to reach their neighbors or the children in their neighborhood. We church leaders seem to think that if we just find the right new program or event, our budget problems and concerns about the future of our church will disappear.
When I see the many VBS signs in the front lawns of my neighbors, I am reminded of the grand VBS events in which I participated in earlier years. In one of those communities the creativity of our church people was so effective that 400 to 500 kids attended VBS. Several of the other evangelical churches in the city shut down their VBS and became a part of the large staff of 80 or more that were needed at our church.
Those numbers may sound impressive, but as an effective lasting outreach strategy those VBS events were really not very effective. Even though we had a long list of new families to follow-up on, we had almost no positive and lasting outcomes. We put a lot of creative planning and preparations into those two-week events, but we failed to plan the most essential outreach strategy we needed – to begin LASTING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS with those families from our city.
You may have also discovered that even though we produce the most dynamic and attractive event in town new lasting personal relationships don’t just automatically happen. Lasting personal relationships always require intentional persistent strategies that are planned, encouraged, and modeled by the leadership in the church. I know that I tend to prefer to spend my relational time with others who I know will love me and accept me. However, new lasting personal relationships require me to choose to love and accept someone who may be very difficult to love and it may take a long time before I see evidence of spiritual transformation in his/her life.
There are strategies for making new lasting personal relationships from a VBS event or any other event that a church uses to serve their neighbors. Here are two ideas:
You might intentionally create a church culture that encourages new lasting personal relationships that lead to life transformation. Here is an idea:
Remember, lasting life transformation almost always occurs through a lasting personal relationship with someone who Is already walking with Jesus.
We can be “the light of the world” through our attractive grand events, but we can only be “the salt of the earth” through close personal relationships.
You can impress people from a distance, but you can only impact their lives when you are up close.
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Great post! For further reading, this post from 2011 has additional ideas: Vacation Bible School as Missions.
Just last week, we held our Community Wide VBS at the local public elementary school. It was Group's "Maker Fun Factory" and to pull it off, RedArrow again partnered with other churches in town including Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, & Roman Catholic. Out of over 200 kids who attended throughout the week, when parents registered their kids, more than 50% said they have no Church family. As the week ended, Crew Leaders and other volunteers confirmed that many of their students were hearing the Gospel of Jesus and other Bible stories for the very first time. While I agree that investing in those new relationships is absolutely essential, we should NEVER underestimate how the Lord can use outreach events like these to plant the seeds of Faith.
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