Last time I wrote about my definition of the term “mission” and why I make a differentiation between it and “outreach”. Now I write about my views on the term “outreach”.
When I use the term “outreach” I am referring to events or projects that are designed to help spread the gospel and bring the good news to those who need it. These programs may not necessarily help an individual or a family specifically, but are created to increase awareness of the church and let the community know that they are welcome.
An example of this would be Faith’s Annual Pumpkin Fest. This event takes place around Halloween and we give all children who attend the event a free pumpkin and other treats. While most, if not all, of the children attending the event can certainly afford to buy their own pumpkin, we host the event as a way to let our community know that we are hear and that we have something special to share. When children and their parents arrive for the event, they are warmly greeted by members of the congregation and our pastor. If they are interested in finding out more about Faith, we are certainly more than willing to discuss this with them. However, if they come strictly for the pumpkins and refreshments, we greet them just as warmly, thank them for coming and send them on their way. We believe that the most important thing, especially during their first encounter with the congregation, is that they leave the event knowing that we are a warm and loving congregation and that we will be there should they ever need us.
There is a temptation at these types of events to approach visitors and begin to encourage them to visit during worship or to begin talking to them about “joining”. Over the years, we have occasionally fallen victim to this temptation and we have found that it almost always has the exact opposite effect. We have found that people like to make important decisions on their own terms and according to their own timeframe. They may be very interested in attending your church, but if they feel they are being pushed or coersed, they will often pull back and hesitate to take any further action.
We also feel these events are important because of the lessons we have learned from studies of human nature done by marketing and advertising firms. At Faith we subscribe to the theory that it takes an average of seven “touches” before a person is comfortable enough with our congregation to actually consider attending a worship service. These “touches” can range from reading the name of the church in a newspaper article, to actually visiting the church for an event or gathering. At some point during those seven “touches”, people will begin to recognize the name of the church and their familiarity will only continue to grow.
We also believe these events are important because we have experienced failure in using the “if you build it, they will come” theory. This refers to the idea that if you create an attractive worship experience, train your congregation to be warm and welcoming and take other actions necessary to make your congregation a desirable destination, that eventually people will come and your congregation will grow. While these steps are certainly essential if your intent is to grow your congregation, none of it will matter if people don’t know you exist.
In conclusion, we have experienced solid growth at Faith in recent years and while there are many reasons for this, there is little doubt that our mission and outreach programs have been the foundation for this success and that one without the other makes for an incomplete ministry.
