The Key to Sharing Your Faith in a Post-Christian Culture

But seeing people who try to love but struggle, who face real setbacks and need encouragement, who get tempted but ask for prayer and support, and who are learning to stay connected to God’s Spirit alongside a loving spiritual community—that’s what the whole world longs for, and that relational momentum draws people to Jesus. But how does a fledgling core group of Christians build relational momentum?

Build Relationships Where You Live

Jesus’ Great Commission tells us to “make disciples” (learners and followers of Jesus) by first helping them identify with the Father, Son, and Spirit through faith and baptism, then helping them “observe” (not just know) all Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19–20 NLT). But the context is “as you go.” God has you where you are for a reason. Maybe you hate your job, or struggle with the city you’re in, but maybe that would change if you started to ask, “Who are you drawing to faith around me, and how can I love and serve them as I go?”

Most of us have at least four, some as many as ten, people we interact with regularly who are either not following Christ or are disconnected from his church. Start noticing as you go. As a co-missioned core group, make a list of the people God has already put in your life, and simply begin to pray for them. Steve said, “Joanne and I live with an ‘adopt our block’ mindset. Our goal is to actually get to know our neighbors, pray for them, care for them, live life with them, and then when the opportunity comes up, share Jesus with them.”

Matt in San Diego read about an important sociological principle in a book called Refrigerator Rights. All people long for the kind of friendships and belonging where you feel so comfortable that you could go over to a neighbor’s house, open the refrigerator and get a drink, and never feel weird about it, and they could do the same at your house. Interestingly, if you never invite your neighbors into your kitchen, or go into theirs, the relationship will stay at a friendly surface level for years. So inviting neighbors into your kitchen opens the door for a kind of belonging that everyone longs to experience.

Jay and Jen, along with a Network of people from Matt’s church in San Diego, threw a “meet your neighbors” party at their condominium pool. There was a great turnout, and as a result of the party, the next week Jay ran into Emily and Mark, stopped and talked, and invited them over for dinner. Mark was agnostic and really hostile toward Christianity. Mark later reflects, “If you had invited me to anything ‘church,’ or if I had even known the party was church, we would have been gone.”

John Burke
John BurkeGatewaychurch.com

John Burke is the founding and lead pastor of Gateway Church in Austin, Texas; the president of the Emerging Leadership Initiative; and the author of multiple books, including “No Perfect People Allowed,” “Soul Revolution” and “Mud and the Masterpiece.”

Fit for the Kingdom

The Lord prompted Reardon to think about combining Christian fellowship with fitness in order to create a new small group for men.

4 Reminders for Discouraged Parents

Parenting can be hard, so let these truths encourage you.

Lessons From the Early Church

The early church can show us that through patience and careful cultural discernment, we can navigate the torrents of modern culture.