There are so many great churches in the Bowling Green area. You don’t have to go far to find a community of believers who love God, love people, and want to make the world a better place. I serve as the lead pastor at Victory Hill Church which sits ten minutes from Bowling Green and ten minutes from Scottsville. In addition to leading Victory Hill Church, I serve churches by consulting with an organization called The Unstuck Group. We help churches get unstuck. I have served over one hundred churches in the last decade through strategic planning and absolutely love seeing churches move forward.
When I was asked to write an article, I thought, “What could I write that would best serve our local churches?” So, I decided to write to local pastors who may feel a little stuck. At Victory Hill, like every other church, we’re working hard to be successful in our mission to reach people. Here are four key thoughts and questions I believe help churches optimize their ministries in helping people find faith.
- Don’t Force People to Behave Before they Believe: Jesus was clear in scripture that churches exist to help those who are [spiritually] sick, not those who are [spiritually] healthy (Luke 5:31). Churches should be a place anyone can attend, regardless of their spiritual condition or beliefs. The church should always be a place where people can find hope and love. This means we should be appealing to people who haven’t yet believed. Depending on where people are in their spiritual journey, some take more time to turn to Christ while others immediately trust him. Either way, it’s always a journey. That’s why Jesus began building the first church with the words, “Follow Me.” How can you make your church welcoming to people who have yet to believe? What needs to change?
- Strive for Relationship, Not Religion: Churches should value people over our policy or traditions. In the Bible, Pharisees and other church leaders had a major problem with this. As a result, the religious leaders rarely “liked” Jesus; it would be religious leaders that would eventually put Him to death. Christianity isn’t about following statutes; it’s about following a Savior. In Acts 15, we read about non-Jewish people who wanted to follow Jesus. The problem was, they didn’t know about all the religious rules and traditions. The church leaders weren’t sure what to do with them. In Acts 15:19, after much deliberation, they finally made a decision. They said, “Therefore it is my judgment we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles who turn to God…” “What traditions and practices are we following that make it difficult for people to follow Jesus?” Another good question is, “What are we willing to stop doing as a church that may help unbelievers attend and potentially meet Jesus?
- Children are the Church of Today: While it’s true, our churches will be led by the next generation, they have an active role today. The right investments will bring a great return. If you win the kids, you’ll win the city. This means we must ensure kids have an experience to hear the gospel on their level (while having lots of fun). Students should be encouraged to participate in small groups and to serve. There is nothing more refreshing than watching teenagers serve throughout the church, making a difference in the lives of people. What needs to change in your kids’ ministry to make kids want to return? How can you empower students to become lay leaders in your church?
- Be a Church that Makes Sense: Nearly 90% of churches in our country have less than 70 people in attendance. That’s a scary stat. One of the greatest challenges for many churches is simply being relevant. When the vibe is dated and smells like yester-year, our environments become sterile and stagnant. While our message should never change, our methodology should be ever-changing. Attempting to reach new people with old practices will always result in churches growing older by a generation and attendance decline. There is nothing as disturbing as an absence of a crying baby in the congregation. Jesus was always relevant. He used relevant language in relevant ways, to share an ancient message from an eternal God who loves the world. This means our teaching styles, our worship genre and our engagement with guests must make sense to the next generation. What feels dated or no longer relevant in your church?
If these thoughts challenged you, I get it. They still challenge me as I lead our church. My hopes are that together, we will continue to build a community of faith that will make Bowling Green and surrounding areas a better place to live.
-by Chad Hunt, Pastor, Victory Hill Church
