A Different Viewpoint

By Ryan Borowicz

I just finished reading a book called “So You Don’t Want To Go To Church Anymore” by Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman.  The book is basically a conversation between two Christians, one who works at a church and one that has a totally different viewpoint on what “Church” can be.  I really enjoyed reading it as it caused me to open my eyes about how we do church and what “The Church” really is.

I also thought about it in the context of my interactions with people in our sports ministry that do not attend church, for whatever reason.  They may still be believers, but have soured to the way God is presented in America’s churches.  They may not be believers and would then have no reason to attend a church.  Or they may be somewhere in between in their faith or have just not found a church they like.  Whatever the reason, I think we need to understand their mindset as best we can so we can reach out to them effectively.  I’m constantly reminding myself that my goal is not to get someone participating in our activities to attend our church.  My goal is to move them one step closer to God, no matter where they are at on that journey.  Though I think we have a great church here at Appleton Alliance, I’m sure there are tons of people in our community who have come and not liked it for one reason or another.   If we focus too much on just getting them to come through our church doors at some point, we will be disappointed much of the time because there are so many other factors at work in someone’s decision on which church to attend, or to attend church at all, and probably all of those factors have nothing to do with us!

So I encourage you to think about who you are reaching out to in your ministry and consider the many different opinions they may have about church in general.  Maybe even ask them what they think about churches.  And keep an open mind that their perspective will probably be different than yours and the people you know well, but it’s still a perspective to be valued and understood as you further your relationship with that person.