A few weeks ago I went to the County Show with my husband and daughter. It was a massive event. Although we were there over six hours we really didn’t get to see everything.
One stand we visited was the ‘Churches Together‘ area. It was a wonderful haven in a sea of very expensive attractions. There were free refreshments, a band playing, a ‘mini-ring’ set of bells to try, children’s activities area and a bouncy castle. After having a quick look at the stalls (all Christian organisations) I found a place to sit in the large, cool barn area. I looked around. On the wall was a screen with a rolling set of Christian images. Banners adorned the walls.
It felt a bit like being at a church coffee morning.
As I sat, I wondered. What was the target audience for this area? Was it aimed at Christians, or at anyone who would benefit from hospitality? It was well thought through, and certainly it was an excellent attraction for families with young children. But I wondered how attractive it would be to those unfamiliar with church culture.
The genuine difficulty for Christians attempting to reach non-Christians is that we find it very difficult to put ourselves in the shoes of somebody who isn’t one; and because we are so used to being comfortable in our Christian subculture, we forget that non-Christians may well respond very differently.
As an Emerging Church Pioneer my remit has intentionally been to step outside the institution of the church, journeying alongside those who would never engage with the churches where I live. Part of that journey has included learning to live in a culture which, for me, was very foreign – one where people don’t do church, think church, or speak church.
To do evangelistic mission successfully in today’s context requires first, recognising the state that the church is in, then (perhaps after spending some time in mourning) committing to do something about it. A major aspect is learning how to speak about Jesus without using Christian jargon. It’s not always easy, and may well require sacrifice.
But it is also important to remember that it is not without precedent. Christianity is a faith which should, in human terms, have died on Good Friday. But ours is a story of fall and redemption, death and resurrection, despair and hope. It is a story of a God who loves all of creation, who became incarnated in Jesus, and who passionately wants the faith, hope and love of those who follow him to play their part in redeeming the world.
And following Jesus never was meant to be comfortable…
To read more about communicating Christianity in a strange new world click here
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