I think one of the most powerful things about the ministry of Jesus and the early church was the way they so intentionally reached out to the least and the lost, the marginalized and ostracized, the forsaken and forgotten. I think about the demographics of our church. We have young and old, people from different backgrounds, social status, education levels and more. I love that we are a diverse community. But if I'm honest, there are still certain areas, certain people groups, that we are struggling to reach.
But one of the key tenets of Rock Church is that everyone needs Jesus. So that includes even those groups of people that are harder to reach. While I don't think there are easy answers, I think we should be asking the question “How could we be more effectively reaching the subsets of our communities that churches often struggle to connect to?”
Who do I mean by that? If we look around our church on a Sunday morning, and honestly ask who is missing, it would help us answer that question. What have you noticed? Who seems to be underrepresented? For example, one of the groups that seems to be increasingly hard to reach is youth and young adults. What could we be doing to better reach this age bracket? What might we have to add, or change, in order to connect meaningfully with people in their teens and twenties?
Another area we, and many churches, struggle to reach are those on the margins of society. People battling addiction, those who struggle with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, those wrestling with their identity, the poor and the homeless. I think if Jesus walked the Earth today, these are some of the people he would be most intentional in reaching out to.
I am well aware that it often takes extra effort, and sometimes specialized ministries, to effectively share the gospel in these harder to reach areas. It's hard, but it's not impossible. For example, one of the most challenging groups to reach is the deaf community. But as we have seen at our North Shore campus, it is possible. Another underserved demographic is families with special needs children and adults. But I think the “Night to Shine” event is going to help us begin to minister to families that are often overwhelmed and isolated, and rarely connect to the church.
I believe the family of God is meant to be inclusive of people from every walk of life. And the truth is that some will be harder to reach. But we must never give up trying, even when it's hard, because in the end, everyone needs Jesus.
Have a great week. Don't forget to bring your Bible to church this Sunday.
Love you all,
Pastor Steve