REACHING THE UNCHURCHED
Colossians 4:2-6
Colossians 4:5 “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Purpose:  To urge us to pursue unchurched people.
Introduction:
	# Tom Nees observed, “Church people labor under guilt about witnessing.”
	1.	I want to create a desire and excitement about reaching out to unchurched 			people.
	2.	Now the Bible knows nothing about the unchurched (Neither does “spell-check” 		on your computer).
		a. The Bible speaks of lost people, sinners, unbelievers or outsiders.
		b. The idea of being a member or non-member was not an issue.
		c. Baptized or not baptized were probably accepted categories.
	3.	Let’s clear up confusion about three words:
		a. Evangelism means to explain Jesus to people in such winsome ways they want 		  to belong to Him.
		b. Witness means to tell others what you have seen, heard and experienced 			  about God.
		# I talked with Bob, a pharmacist, about how students at Nazarene Theological 			Seminary came forward to the altar. I explained how they sensed God’s 				presence to be close and want to respond to the Lord.  The altar was novel to 			him, but not the desire to be close to God. 
		c. Inviting people to church is a form of witnessing.
I.	People are more open than what we think.
	# George Gallup Jr. sold his polling company to tell churches, “Americans want to be 	asked.”
	A.	Let’s look at some statistical facts.
		# (Use PowerPoint if possible)
		In _________ County, one out of _____ are unreached (Consult Nazarene 			Research for Denomination by County; www.nazarene.org/research.)
		In the United States of America, one out of two unchurched expect to return to 			church (52%).
		# Gallup discovered the 52% would come back to church if someone would:
			17% - talk to them about spiritual things
			15% - invite them to church
			13% - talk about personal, spiritual needs
			13% - provide good Christian education
			58%  Total
		# In your town _________ do not attend church.
			But _________are open to coming to church
			And ________will attend the church that provides the four criteria 				(above).
			How many of those are we responsible for?
II.	The Scripture directs us as to our task.
	A.	“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders” (5).
	B.	“Make the most of every opportunity” (5.)
	C.	“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt” (6).
	D.	“Know how to answer everyone” (6).
	E.	“Devote yourselves to prayer” (2).
	F.	“Pray for us” (3).
	G.	Pray. . . “That God may open a door for our message” (3).
	H.	Pray. . .”That we may proclaim the mystery of Christ” (3).
III.	If we invite the unchurched to church, we must:
	A.	Develop ministries that touch people.
		# Consider a support group for men who want to quit using pornography.
		# Children’s ministries
		# Music ministries
		# A recovery program/ministry
	B.	Assure people experience God in worship.
	C.	Connect with unchurched people.
	D.	Keep a spirit of joy and unity.

Conclusion:
	What will you do?