The Outward Purpose of Outreach

One of the most quoted passages of scripture is Matthew 28:16-20, which for those who don’t know is the “Great Commission.” If you have been going to church for any period time, you have probably heard or read this passage before. It is very action-oriented, with the pivotal actions being “go” and “make.” It sounds simple and straight forward, but why to churches find it difficult to reach their community.

Many of my experiences with outreach ministries are very “church” oriented. They often are designed to bring people to the church for an activity, talk to those who come about the church, and hope they come back. The ultimate results are often underwhelming and most likely fall short of expectations. But why? Gone are the days when churches were center of a community and with an increasingly agnostic population, those days are probably never coming back.

Outreach needs to be outward focused to be successful. Experience has taught me that if you go and make connections with people away from your church, they are more willing to engage and, more importantly, listen. When you meet people where they are, because they are there, and expressing the desire to see them thrive, they are much more likely to tear down walls, engage, and listen. It works with teens, children, adults, and really anyone.

Look at the example of the apostles, the ones who Christ personally directed, they didn’t sit in their little Jesus huddle and wait for people to come to them. They travelled to where the people were, from the synagogue in town to a city thousands of miles away. They knew what they were certain was true and shared that truth. The apostles understood the more important understanding that they were on the clock, with Christ’s returning at any moment. Their response was to go as far as they could, with the purpose of exposing people to the truth that is the Gospel.

We hold the same position today, with 2 Corinthians 5:20 saying as much. The context of the passage is very clear that as we have a broader perspective of God, the spiritual aspect of reality, and the ultimate outcome of everything, we be sharing that knowledge as God’s representatives and plead with this hostile world towards reconciliation back to him. Outreach should bring people back to Christ and not to any particular church, because when someone is reconciled to Christ, they are now in the Church and on that side of the ledger. We are the ambassadors and God has strategically placed each person exactly where he needs them to do the work of an ambassador, reaching the overall community in which they were present.