From the "And" Conference

I have been given the great opportunity to attend this challenging
conference in Indiana. The entire conference is to wrestle with the
philosophies of being an "Attractional" church and a "Missional"
church. It's going to take a lot of blogs to share what God is saying but hang with me :)

First of all..let me define what Attractional & Missional means?

Missional means to Be the love of Jesus right where you live, being the church in your everyday life. Being Missional is being outward focused and taking the love and grace of Jesus out of the church into the community. Being missional is understanding that we don't go to church but we are the church. Everywhere we go, we take the power and love of God with us.

Attractional means to use creativity, arts, technology and other resources to attract the community to come to church. It's more inward focused trying to compel others to come to you. Attempting to be relevant and connect with the culture in how one designs one gatherings.

Over the past 5-7 years there has been debate on which one we should be. This conference is about how we can become both!

BUT HERE IS THE PROBLEM...

The Shrinking 40% --This percentages used to be higher but is ever shrinking. Many Americans who currently don't go to church will possibly come to the “box” The way we do church is working for fewer and fewer people everyday. The way we do church isn’t style, traditional, denomination doesn’t matter—it's usually come to us.

60% and growing—60% of those who don't go to church, will never come to the “box”. Many of them believe there is a higher power yet don’t consider the church as a resource to take steps to know God better or find answers. Young adults today are less connected to church than previous decades but just as spiritual. If this trend continues churches will close as fast at GM dealerships

We feel this tension because many of us say..."But I love inviting people to church because that is how I came to know Jesus. That is how my life has changed. Yet we all have friends who we have invited to the "box" for years but they won't come. So, this leaves us with two choices.

Two Choices:
#1—Continue to pour our lives and resources trying to reach the 40% (28,565 unchurched people in Wyandotte, Riverview & Southgate who may come)
#2—Leave the institutional church behind. Go out and spend the resources and time going after the masses 60% (42,828 unchurch people who most likely will never come to the box)

IS IT POSSIBLE TO DO BOTH? IS IT POSSIBLE TO REACH OUR COMMUNITIES AND FRIENDS? YES.

MORE TO COME and comments encouraged...