Pick the Right Issues!
A Ministry Insight by Jack Blanch
Over lunch three of us began a conversation with the
waitress. Eternal issues came up, and Bill encouraged her to go to
church. She asked us if we were Christians. I spoke up and identified
myself as a follower of Jesus, and I said that I didn’t use the word
Christian anymore, that it’s too confusing.
She said Yes! and shared that her background was Jehovah’s Witness and that she doesn’t go to church now. If she had taken Bill’s advice, she would have returned to Jehovah’s Witnesses!
Telling someone to go to church is not a good approach. If you want to say, “Come to my church,” at least you know what you are inviting them to. There are two reasons why Bill’s approach was wrong.
First, for the waitress, what church would she go to? The non-churched don’t know how to tell the difference between biblical and heretical churches.
Second, going to church doesn’t get you into the Kingdom. Our pastor is concerned about the number of non-Christian churchgoers we have in our congregation. You can never go wrong focusing on Jesus. Preach Jesus, not an institution.
The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ. (Colossians 1:27b-28a, The Message)
In witnessing to my neighbor or an acquaintance, I am a resident witness to this person and I pray for their conviction and for continued contact. For a person like the waitress whom I never expect to see again, I am one person God has brought into her life, like a link in a long chain. I pray for Him to use this short witness and to bring the next link along. I did give her my card in case she was motivated to seek further contact.
Jack Blanch lives with his wife, Joann, in Northern California in Brentwood. They were missionaries with The Navigators in Spain and currently minister with the U.S. Hispanic Ministries.
She said Yes! and shared that her background was Jehovah’s Witness and that she doesn’t go to church now. If she had taken Bill’s advice, she would have returned to Jehovah’s Witnesses!
Telling someone to go to church is not a good approach. If you want to say, “Come to my church,” at least you know what you are inviting them to. There are two reasons why Bill’s approach was wrong.
First, for the waitress, what church would she go to? The non-churched don’t know how to tell the difference between biblical and heretical churches.
Second, going to church doesn’t get you into the Kingdom. Our pastor is concerned about the number of non-Christian churchgoers we have in our congregation. You can never go wrong focusing on Jesus. Preach Jesus, not an institution.
The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ. (Colossians 1:27b-28a, The Message)
In witnessing to my neighbor or an acquaintance, I am a resident witness to this person and I pray for their conviction and for continued contact. For a person like the waitress whom I never expect to see again, I am one person God has brought into her life, like a link in a long chain. I pray for Him to use this short witness and to bring the next link along. I did give her my card in case she was motivated to seek further contact.
Jack Blanch lives with his wife, Joann, in Northern California in Brentwood. They were missionaries with The Navigators in Spain and currently minister with the U.S. Hispanic Ministries.
