Outreach Lessons I Learned Here in Kentucky

God has really used Kentucky to un-learn me of a lot of the "hot" early-1990s church growth / outreach myths I was taught back at seminary. These are good to remember wherever we think to start or grow a church:

Choice is a factor. Lexington KY has at least six mega-churches that I can think of, and of course hundreds of less-than-mega, and they are all only a half- hour Sunday drive away. Now, kingdom-minded pastors don't have a competitive spirit toward their brothers. But it makes a difference if you are the first Bible-preaching church versus being the 101st. 

This is not a cause for discouragement -- God wanting a church to be there is what really matters. The Lord Jesus supports His churches! But how many churches exist in a 30-minute drive radius is something church planters should think about. I don't remember this practical factor in outreach and development ever coming up in seminary.

Tribal spirit is a factor. Naturally, if the community is consciously anti-Christian (like Orthodox Jews, or Muslims), that matters to outreach. But historic (nominal) Christian habits matter, too. Serving the Lord in a religiously-developed community is different from someone who is breaking open new ground. 

Some church-growth material I absorbed in the 90's wrote as if community people were blank slates. The reality is that community people already have preferences, wishes, fears, hopes, and opinions! More if they're older, less if they're younger. The good news is that the Spirit of God is able to change hearts and minds.

Lastly, values matter.  The Lord wants us to build our ministries of outreach, fellowship, worship, and service around Biblical values, not just aim at crowd psychology. A lot of people can't tell the difference between adrenaline and the Holy Spirit, so they call a meeting "Spirit-filled" because everyone was dancing and shouting. Sometimes the music ought to be loud, and sometimes we ought to shout! But it should be the result of following the Word of God and applying Scriptural values. 

I don't want to ignore the practical. I think it's true that times come where we do need fresh blood and some pumping-up. I'm sure there are all sorts of practical things that we EFCA churches can do to improve ourselves. But I'd like us to be where we are because  we're seeking to "do church" in a Biblical way.