Chris Roberts blogs at “Seek the Holy.”
Whatever kind of Baptist you are, there is one thing I already know about you: you live in challenging days for the gospel. Not that there have ever been easy days for the gospel, but there have been periods in which people held a basic level of respect or basic degree of receptivity to the things of God. These days are not among them. Not only has society’s perception of Christianity change, society as a whole has undergone massive revolutions, changing every aspect of how we live and interact with one another.
One consequence of these changing factors is that old ways of sharing the faith may not receive the response once seen. In my own church, many of my people struggle to understand why festivals and tent revivals do not receive the same response as when they were young.
So here is the question for discussion: in our 21st century society, what do you and your church do for outreach? What sort of events are hosted by your church to draw people in? What do you or your church do to get out into the community and share the gospel (not just inviting people to church, but actually sharing the good news with them)?
Also, for those of you thoroughly enmeshed in church life, what do you do to reach out and build relationships with lost people? Random encounters? Join a book club? Etc. Also, what do you do to reach your neighbors?
How are you a witness in the 21st century?
(Anyone who tries to turn this into an argument over theology will be forced to work the church nursery alone for the next two months.)