I am about to share a quote from another author/leader/pastor. Before I do, I want to make sure you know a little about LINC and LINC Bay Area. LINC is an acronym which stands for Lutheran Inter-city Network Coalition. I was introduced to LINC in Houston by some dear friends who helped support and grow the LINC ministry. Many years ago, Pastor Tom and I wanted to start LINC Bay Area, made some progress, but could not get the support needed from other churches. A few years later, LINC Bay Area was started and Pastor Aaron Putnam was called to serve as the leader. The general premise is that LINC branches support, encourage and walk with missionary leaders (pastors and non-pastors) who are working to share the message of Jesus with other people. What follows below is a quote from the LINC International leader, Ben Griffin:

Does this statistic hit you the way that it hits me – only 1% of churches are growing through conversion growth.

The driving factor in church growth today is not new believers, it is transfers from other churches.

Why do you think this is?

Somewhere along the way the primary strategy for outreach became the Sunday worship event. But is that the strategy that Jesus modeled for us? Is that the strategy through which Christianity went from a handful of followers to billions of people?

It is not.

Worship services are great at reaching Christians who are looking for places to worship.

Worship services are not God’s given strategy for reaching new people.

While I would agree that worship is not the PRIMARY vehicle for evangelism, I have known people who came to faith in worship. At the same time, the purpose of this article is NOT to argue with the author quoted, but to raise a few additional thoughts and questions.

During my 30+ years of ministry, I have learned that different people have different gifts God has given and God uses in God’s Kingdom. There are preachers, teachers, scholars, people with incredible hospitality, people who pray, people who listen, people with skills in administration, finance, and construction. There are people with medical and legal skills. I am sure there are many skills I have missed. Yet, I have come to understand better what St. Paul says about the body being many members, but one body. We all have different functions in the Kingdom.

While it is the calling of all Christians to share the faith, different people have different gifts from God to do the Kingdom work. Intentionally sharing the message of Jesus

through our relationships with others does not come naturally to all people. At the same time, I think we can all agree that sharing the message of salvation is important because Jesus tells us to go, teach, and proclaim. The Holy Spirit does the work of conversion, in the church service, outside of the church service, and in other ways. Yet, God has also told us that God wants us to spread the seed of God’s Word.

We are about to start some programs of outreach. In August, we are planning a “backyard movie night” where we will invite people with young children to watch a movie outdoors. This will be our way of inviting people to a new kind of gathering that some Lutheran congregations are calling “Wiggle Church” We may come up with a new title, but the concept will be to connect families with the church in a place where their children can be children within the family.

I am excited about this next idea and in the next few weeks, there will be opportunities provided to help with this project. We will be asking for donations to help with the night. We will be asking for volunteers to greet people, help with food, and invite people to Bethany. Please watch for announcements of these opportunities as we look to find new ways to bring people to Jesus.

God’s Peace,
Pastor Jon