every member a missionary

If the church as we know it is to survive into the next century, there must be a shift from consumerism to missional, from an inwardly focused needs based ministry model to an outwardly focused every member a missionary mentality. We will need to begin to define the church not by numbers in seats, but by our influence on the streets.

As Cromwell famously said, "it is time to put the saints in circulation".

Consider the following from the latest edition of SBC Life:

• SBC baptisms are at their lowest levels in twelve years;
• Seventy-three percent of SBC churches are plateaued or declining;
• There were 11,740 SBC churches that reported zero or one baptism in 2005;
• Fifty-five percent of SBC churches baptized no youth between the ages of 12-17 in 2004;
• From 1991-2004 the number of unchurched adults in America increased from 39 million to 79 million.
• Every county in North America is at least 50 percent unchurched (statistics available from NAMB).

Combine these alarming numbers with the dramatic shift that is taking place in a flattening world. With new innovations in fiber optic communications and satellite and computer technology, the world will be a much different place than what it is now in just 10 years. The future is here and it is pacing faster than ever before.

As the world draws closer together, perceptions are impacted as much by global values as by traditional influences. The result is that outreach methodology that assumes a biblical worldview is no longer effective. People do not assume a Judeo-Christian God or a biblical vision of heaven. This is why old methods are no longer effective as witnessed by the above statistics.

My contention is that the church must get back to her roots. The early church spread rapidly in a similar world. The Greco-Roman culture was influenced by shifts in globalization, polytheism and the detrimental results of hedonistic humanism. In this environment, the church thrived as it lived out the gospel and practiced a radical love for others. Their compassionate outreach and moral lifestyle (written about by non-biblical sources such as Pliny the Younger, Trajan and Josephus as well as biblical accounts) is well documented with the result being a rapid spread of the church throughout the Roman world. Despite persecution, corrupt dictatorships and competing worldviews, Christianity was the dominant religion in the Roman world in just 300 years.

I believe that as with the first century church, the current challenges provide a tremendous opportunity for the church to be what the church was always intended to be.

One of the clearest voices making this point today is Ed Stetzer. He will be with us here in Oklahoma City next Thursday and Friday at the Compelling Church conference sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. It is a rare opportunity to spend time with someone of Ed's knowledge and insight. I would encourage especially our leadership to attend this conference. Click here to register for the event.