Fit for Mission? Equipping the Church
Non-Christians are asking many fundamental questions about meaning, purpose and identity. The problem that occurs is that the Christian narrative is not seen as relevant to a response. Of further concern is that, as our research among Christians highlights, many believers, despite professing faith, are asking exactly the same questions. Despite discovering a ‘fundamental’ meaning to life, they struggle to connect this with a lived reality that fuels purpose and identity in the everyday. In other words, it seems many Christians ‘still haven’t found what they’re looking for.’
Two key studies have been conducted by LICC: What the People Said (2003) surveying 800 people reflecting on their experience of faith, and Apprentice ’09 (2009) surveying 3,000 Spring Harvest guests’ perceptions of discipleship and the challenges they face in today’s world. These studies have been complemented by the Imagine Pilot Project (2007-10) working with 16 churches from a number of denominations. It is important to note that this research has focussed on those who would be considered the ‘most committed’ in church terms (i.e. regularly attending, regularly giving and regularly involved. Iit is these people who are struggling to live out a faith that makes a difference.
Three central points emerge from the research:
Firstly, the key underlying issue is the sacred-secular divide, whereby the teaching and emphasis of the church is abstracted from the context of daily living. There is a clear disconnect between the church and the ordinary places of life (the home, workplace, etc.) where members of the church spend the majority of their time. The central problem for evangelism is that these places are the primary mission contexts for the church at large. The inability to bridge the gap between the church and the ‘frontline’ means that Christians are not being equipped and resourced with a coherent vision for and sense of purpose in those contexts where they might make the greatest difference.
Secondly, Christians are more often struggling to survive in the contexts they share with non-Christians rather than working to connect. To note just one aspect of this, research highlights that in the workplace, believers and non-believers are facing similar levels of stress and problems of work-life balance. This leads to two questions: 1) Has evangelism been lost as a priority? 2) Is a coherent witness and credible alternative visible to non-Christians? At heart this is an issue of discipleship, can the church equip people with the means to discover distinctive ways of living that signal lives infused with the goodness of God?
Thirdly, there is the issue of the acute discomfort with evangelism and its perception as a burdensome task. Evangelism is seen by many as simply doing strange things to strange people in strange places. It is not perceived as a whole-life activity. Indeed, many Christians are uncomfortable with the idea of their life as a witness or reject the idea outright. Research suggests that Christians are unhappy with traditional notions and practices of evangelism, but new, creative ways of connecting with people have not been forthcoming. On a practical level, the majority of Christians lack the skills to share their faith with non-believers.
a) The Question of Testimony
47% of survey respondents say they don’t have a story to tell about how God has worked in their lives.
b) Purpose & Vision
Only 36% of respondents affirmed that they see themselves as a full-time Christian. When asked what are their most pressing questions: 28% named issues of purpose/direction and guidance, 15% focussed on church and 11% pointed to identity as an issue.
c) Challenge of Context
59% identify the workplace as the most challenging place to be a Christian. Followed by the neighbourhood (34%) and the home (24%).
d) Consumed by Life
Fatigue (55%) and time pressures (55%) are the key issues affecting people’s
personal-spiritual life. 32% identify the question of being a witness for God as an issue.
e) Disconnection of Church
43% of respondents feel that their church is equipping them to 64% say the church has helped them at most only a little with issues they face in the workplace. (Only 11% say it has helped a lot with that context.) 54% say the church has helped them at most only a little with the issues they face at home.
f) Enskilling
Only 41% of people claim to know how to lead someone to Christ. 36% know how to help a new believer start to grow in their faith and in living it out in the world. One of the most frequently highlighted areas is in the area of equipping with ways of sharing
the gospel in a ‘non-cringe worthy’ manner.
g) Challenge of Imagination
The drought of real-life stories of people with a vision for living ordinary life for Christ is a recurring challenge in working with churches. The church community is not perceived as equipping with imaginative possibilities of sharing the gospel in ways that can be related with.
h) Hunger for growth
55% of people say they pray about how they might be used in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment