The discipline of studying the local church often feels like a divine train wreck. God’s people are, well, people. We aren’t perfect and regularly confess it. We Christians are like babies with messy diapers. And—all too often—long-term, “grown-up” Christ-followers fill their spiritual pants as well.
I mean, think about it: God uses a weird group of people, including those like you and me. And this unusual approach is not just in our recent history. The dirty laundry is even aired in the Holy Scriptures. It might cause you to say, “What was God thinking?”
Consider how God used a variety of people: Abraham was old, Jacob was insecure, Leah was unattractive, Joseph was abused, Moses stuttered, Gideon was poor, Samson was codependent, Rachel was immoral, David had an affair, Elijah was suicidal, Jeremiah was depressed, Jonah was reluctant, Naomi was a widow, John the Baptist was eccentric, Martha worried a lot, the Samaritan woman had several failed marriages, Zacchaeus was unpopular, Thomas had doubts, Paul had poor health, Timothy was timid, and Peter denied knowing Jesus three times.
The Bible has quite a variety of misfits. Yet, God used each one of them in His service. What is the point? He can—and will—use you and me as well. The “church” is referenced in a variety of ways in Scripture, including, “the body of Christ.” Christ is the head of His body. He gives the signals, the direction, the Holy Spirit power, and the manual—Scripture. From the neck on down, God uses people to reach people. Jesus gives the body—called “the priesthood of all believers”—the direction to reach their own communities with the Good News, which has eternal impact. Do we blame God that the Christian movement may be losing ground in declining and aging congregations?
The Missing Link: Mission Training
If your church is declining—like many—I wouldn’t recommend blaming God. Christianity in your corner of the world is represented by your struggling congregation, and most of the members are aging—it is likely not your pastor’s fault. The challenge, for most troubled churches, is greater than the people and the present staff
The missing piece of the Jesus movement for many Christ-followers is the absence of mission training. I experienced this personally—and perhaps you have heard my story before. Here is the short version: God called me to be a pastor in my senior year of high school. I grew up with great, active Christian parents, and we attended a good church with dedicated and talented pastors. So, my spiritual background—perhaps like yours—was well-rounded for my personal faith in Jesus as my Savior.
My journey of training to become a pastor was long and rigorous: four years of college, three years of seminary, and one year as an intern in a church. I learned a lot about the Bible and church history and a little bit about how churches function.
However, I didn’t learn about how to reach those who are not yet believers—even though they represent the majority of people in our world. Even though the Scripture says that Christ-followers are supposed to “go, make disciples,” in eight years of training to be a pastor, I knew almost nothing about how to do it! Along with my seminary classmates, I was not taught how to make disciples who make disciples. What I did learn was how to pastor those who are already followers of Jesus. (Maintenance of ministry is good. Maintenance plus outreach is what Scripture models.)
Thinking I must have missed some essential teaching, I chose to enter the seminary graduate program. For three more years, I was able to take great classes. I learned a lot, but almost nothing about how to reach lost people. Technically, the discipline is called missiology—the study of missions.
As a new pastor, I inherited a congregation that was quite large, but aging and declining. I didn’t help my people reach out. You can’t train others in what you’ve never learned. My church continued to decline. Each year I performed many more funerals than baptisms. There were very few in my new member classes.
It took a while for me to conclude that, for most American pastors, there is no training in missions. Somehow, most Christians—and their denominations—believe the lie that America is a Christian nation. The only pastors that get mission training are those who become missionaries—which means they are sent to the mission field, which includes many countries around the globe. Yet, it excludes reaching those far from God in their own country!
Most pastors in America are not trained to equip their church members to be missionaries to their unchurched friends and neighbors. Those who are trained equip church members to be “missionaries” to those in their social network who are not yet believers. These are the congregations that are growing in our world today. Lack of training is the missing link in all the others.
Church Decline: Don’t Blame Your Pastor
Is your church declining? Are there more funerals than baptisms? Are the majority of church members those who have been at your church for 10 years or more? Are there fewer families with young children? These are signs that your congregation may be declining—even dying, one funeral at a time.
It’s difficult, being a pastor of a declining church. Yet, in most cases, it is not your pastor’s fault. Most pastors—especially in mainline denominations—have never been trained in missiology—the biblical teaching of effective mission work. Ironically, the training is not difficult. Early in my career as a pastor, I was frustrated by my declining church. My PhD training in the graduate school for my denomination was great. Yet, after taking almost all the courses my seminary had to offer, I still didn’t get missiology.
After a year and a half of frustration in my early ministry, I received some literature about a seminary that taught American pastors to be “missionaries” in their own nation. For three years, I attended classes—two weeks at a time, three times a year. It changed my life, and God used it to change my church. Today, decades later, that urban church is filled with young families. When I attended worship there recently, the church was filled. In that urban setting, I was the only Anglo in that vibrant, African American worship service. I was thrilled!
Mission Training for Your Church
If you sense God is calling you to help your church become a mission-driven congregation, it can happen. At Church Doctor Ministries, we have developed several teaching approaches for those who are open to learning missiology. One delivery system that we use is an on-site workshop at your church. (You can even invite neighboring churches to encourage some of their members to attend.)
Another option is to use the video teaching courses from Church Doctor Ministries. It’s less expensive, but it doesn’t provide the interaction and questions answered by a live presenter.
There are a couple of issues you should understand clearly: (1) Not everyone in your church will be excited about mission training. (2) However, in just about every church, there are a few key influencers who would be eager to learn and become “missionaries” to those in your community. (3) Mission training is not an evangelism program. It does not require those who are “mission-trained” to knock on doors and talk to strangers. Instead, those with mission training will become a catalyst to help your congregation, staff, and leaders develop ministry strategies that reach those who are unchurched. Missiology will “flavor” everything you do at your church. Mission training will also help you consider new ministry strategies that fit the uniqueness of your church.
Pray for Change
Join us at Church Doctor Ministries in praying for those in our country to know and follow Jesus Christ. Your church is an outpost for the Good News that changes a nation, one person at a time. You likely know of some churches in your area that are effectively impacting people for Jesus Christ. Sometimes—even with a hint of jealousy—we Christians can wonder what “gimmick” or “super preacher” or “fantastic program” are part of these growing churches. While it’s not always the case, most churches that sustain growth by reaching those who are unbelievers are mission-driven congregations that have a core group of influencers with mission training.
Consider forming a prayer group focused on asking God to bless your congregation with those who have the gifts, passion, and interest for the growth of God’s Kingdom through your ministry. Ask God to identify those who have the potential for training to become “missionaries” without leaving home. Pray that among them, there will be those who are called to learn the biblical elements of missiology. They will become missionaries to those in their social networks who are not yet followers of Christ. Pray for those who are willing to be trained to become “resident missionaries.”
Continually communicate: We live on a mission field. From the perspective of Jesus, we are all missionaries to those in our social networks. If you are not called to do mission work from your church, you are called to pray regularly for those who are called.
One more thing: Move the movement. Forward this material to every Christian you know. Multiply the mission Jesus has given to every believer and every church.
Dr. Kent R. Hunter is the founder of Church Doctor Ministries, now led by Dr. Tracee J. Swank. The Church Doctor team is committed to help Christians and their churches become more effective to reach their communities for Jesus Christ. Kent is the author of several books, including The Amazing Power of God Stories: Share What God Has Done in Your Life.