How Outward-Focused Is Your Church?
“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment…” —Romans 12:3
We all share a similar conundrum. Our self-awareness skills can be pretty, well, unaware.
I grew up in churches that wanted to bring people to Jesus, and truly believed they were structured to do so. But few people ever got in the game! James Clear (Atomic Habits) identified the problem as simply as anyone.
“We don’t rise to the level of our goals. We fall to the level of our structures.”
If only we had known that sooner.
The late great Dave Browning (Hybrid Church) added his own simple analysis.
“There are two tensions in a church, nurture and outreach. Without intentionality, nurture always wins.”
So, this is what I’ve noticed.
CAT-1: There are churches who have a nurture-focused vision and a nurture-focused structure.
CAT-2: Then, there are churches who have an outreach-focused vision, but a nurture-focused structure.
CAT-3: And there are churches who have an outreach-focused vision and an outreach-focused structure.
But which of those three are most likely to reach the most people for Jesus? The answer is also simple. The one who’s structured for it, the CAT-3 outward-focused church whose structure aligns with their vision.
By the way, nurture is always an important, mission-critical priority for the CAT-3 church, even though their vision and structure are both outward-focused! Nurture and outreach both feed each other. It’s was never either/or. It’s always been both/and. But being intentional about pursuing the lost must always begin any conversation about reaching the lost.
Anyway, choosing from one of those same three options, how would you best describe the church you are part of right now? Is it as outward-focused as you think? Or, are even you as intentional about the Gospel as you want to be? Inasmuch as our self-awareness ability lacks a pretty significant level of proficiency, maybe the Oikometer can help.
No seriously, Oikometer is a thing! It’s not the final word on how our church vision and structure can align with the Great Commission, but it might be a start. I hope it helps! Click on!