Being Seeker-Sensitive
When talking about reaching the neXt generation, one should be aware of the fact that there is no proven method with guaranteed result! Why? Because everyone is created uniquely and each comes to know Christ through various means. The followings are just some suggestions.
Bridging the Cultural Gap
The first thing Christians need to breakthrough is our church subculture! How would a teen feel after attending our so called "outreach" event? He might consider himself totally out of place! Why? Imagine the first time you visit a strange place like a Muslim temple or a tribal village, everything seems so weird. This is exactly how teens feel when they come to our meetings. They hear Christians speaking words like "hallelujah", "fellowship", "redeemed" without knowing what these terms mean; singing songs with unfamiliar tune, following rituals without knowing what to do next! Moreover, when the meeting was over, these Christians surround you and ask questions that you don't want to answer, which makes you feel rather uncomfortable! Instead of drawing people closer, our subculture actually create a sense of "us-versus- them" mentality which irritates many unchurched youth.
To reach today's teens we have to be seeker-sensitive, meaning that whatever we do and say we need to consider it from a seeker's perspective. We need to make people feel comfortable physically and psychologically. One thing we could do is to allow people enjoy a certain degree of anonymity. When teens come to church they don't want to be put on the spot. As Christians our goal is to practice hospitality but not to turn people away. Take for instance introducing newcomers among our midst. Instead of asking them to stand up and tell their names while the rest of us all stare at him or her, we could consider the following ways which might be less threatening.
Introduce them only after they have attended our group for a couple of times. This is helpful because the seekers may start to develop a sense of belonging and feel less embarrassing, since they may consider themselves as part of the group by that time! If you want to introduce them the very first time, ask the chairperson to read our their names and shake hands with them. Remember, don't ask them to stand up while their names are being read. This will give a personal touch in introducing seekers. Remember, we are to welcome, but not to embarrass people!
Also, we need to use words that people understand to communicate! Stop using spiritual jargons, this is not only for the sake of our seeker friends but for ourselves as well! Sometimes, we so get used to jargons to the point that we ourselves have even forgotten what these terms mean originally! Instead of using the word "incarnation," why not try the phrase "God became man"? Instead of saying "worship," why not use the sentence "let's give God credit for what He has done"? It not only helps to get our message across more easily, but at the same time helps ourselves to understand what these jargon really means! If inevitably you have to use a certain term like prayer or offering, gives a brief description of what the term means! For instance, when inviting the whole group to pray, you might add a brief explanation like "prayer is like making a phone call or sending e-mail to your friend, we are the callers and God is the receiver." Such description will help our friends to make more sense of what we are doing. One of the reasons why people don't accept Christ is simply because they don't understand what we are talking about! Moreover, we should drop terms like non-Christians, new friends, unbelievers from our list of vocabulary, because these terms will easily lead to an "us-versus-them" mentality. So instead of saying we have two newcomers or non-Christians Peter and Fannie among us, just say, "we welcome you Peter and Fannie for being with us today!" Isn't that more seeker-sensitive and straight forward? Remember the church is a place for people to meet God, let's help the seekers to enjoy it more!
[ Newsletter ] [ Book House ] [ Vancouver Ministry ]
[ Chinese Christian Fellowship ] [ E-mail Directory ] [ Other Links ]
Copyright © 1998 Ambassadors for Christ in Canada.
All rights reserved.