There was a story in USA Today Yesterday (wow that’s an odd combination of words) about people who don’t go to church. You can read it here. (link)
Since connecting with “unchurched” people is why actionchurch exists, I was really interested in the the survey in the article. Here’s a couple of statistics that really jumped off the page…
44% of “unchurched” people agree with the statement “Christians get on my nerves.”
79% say “Christianity today is more about organized religion than loving God and loving people.”
The “message” of the church is not what the preacher says on Sunday Morning! The real “message” of the church is how we treat people the other six days a week. If we are loving, generous and kind…that will be what the church is “about” to them. If we are preachy, judgemental, annoying jerks…they will definitely pick up on the fact that “Christianity today is more about organized religion than loving God and loving people.”
I’m really happy to say that the majority of what people “know” us for now is for things we have DONE…not things I have said. My biggest goal now as a leader is to motivate people to actually put the life changing principles of the Bible into action… so that people who don’t yet attend will “get the message”.