Reggie McNeal: Be the Church

Be the Church

The church game change/focus for me. The shock of moving from a comfortable, lily-white neighborhood to a multi-racial, multi-national apartment complex. Then moving into a multi-congregational setting. One night it hit me - nobody in this apartment complex would walk across the street to attend the church I had spent 10 years of my life building and leading. A magnificent church. A wonderful place. Only 4% of apartment people nation-wide attend church. No matter how good we are at doing church, there are huge parts of our population that are not going to come. Realized we got to address and answer a different question: How can we be church where people already are? A different trajectory of a different set of questions and a different set of issues if we are going to be salt, light, and fulfill the great commission. Being church where people already are, not just doing church for people in the church consuming business. It’s not an either/or approach. We are still going to reach lots of people that want to go to church on Sunday. We’d better turn our attention to the vast swaths of populations that are never going to come to church no matter what we do. I’m giving my life to and helping churches and leaders think through these days. It’s the subject of all my research and writing. How can we BE the church better so that people can learn about Jesus and have access to Him, hear the gospel and enjoy the gospel in their lives.

Discussion Questions:
1. What would church look like if we were being the church where people already are?
2. What will you do to reach the 96% of apartment dwellers who don’t attend church?