"We have a darn good product (Jesus)--but our delivery system (the Church) is broken"
(Tim Stevens, Grainger Methodist Church).
One of the many things we work on at a contemporary church is designing a worship service that is attractive to our target audience: the "un-churched" and "de-churched". We use similar tactics found in the business world such as quality programming, good customer service, professional development and smart advertising. Our worship services can be great tools for attracting people immersed in secular society to a spiritual power that meets them where they are. I have seen countless people come to church for the first time, or return after a long absence, just because of the music, the relaxed atmosphere or even the promise of something different. They stay because they have found a place that speaks to them - a place that is relevant to their lives. However, when we start thinking that we are working to attract people to the church, we fall off the tracks. We forget, at times, that Jesus is the product... not the church. All too often we start gauging our success by attendance, rather than by how many people have given their lives to Christ for the first time or by the depth of each attendee's personal relationship with Christ. Is it wrong for us to feel good about church growth, financial strength and improved worship services? Absolutely not, these are measurable values to the overall success of a church. Unfortunately we cannot measure the most important value: a personal relationship with Christ. We cannot know with certainty how someone is truly living for God, so we tend to fall back on those things we can measure. But we must remember the immeasurable aspect of the church's success. The mistake is when we forget... the greater mistake is when we take credit for any of it.
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