In my column I wrote towards the end of 2021, I discussed three categories of churchgoers: those who were fully engaged symbolized by the “front rows,” the moderately engaged people represented by the “middle rows,” and the gradually disengaging embodied by the “back rows.”
In the years since, I’ve observed that those in the front rows have become even more involved. The back rows, unfortunately, seem to have become increasingly disconnected. Many churches have noted a decrease in the number of low-commitment attendees in their pews. Many who previously warmed those back rows have disengaged altogether.
But what about my so-called middle rows? What about those whose engagement has remained relatively the same––neither more or less? In one of the most tumultuous seasons in recent history, these individuals have maintained a consistent, albeit moderate, level of attendance, financial investment, and involvement. What do we make of this group?
Over the last few years, the front rows of the church stood up and the back third rows stepped out. My hypothesis is that the middle rows represent a “movable middle” which offers a great opportunity. We need to move that middle toward the front rows, into more involvement and impact.
We often speak of the emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic as a “return to normal.” But my sincere hope is that, as it pertains to church, we return to anything but normal. Don’t get me wrong, I am in favor of in-person gatherings. I don’t think any amount of virtual church can fully replace the fullness of what it means to gather together as God’s people in physical places. But if we truly want to move the middle rows to the front, we can’t go back to the more consumeristic approaches to church ministry that were so prevalent in the years leading up to and through 2019. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ve so often focused on building crowds that we have missed building congregations––we’ve emphasized decisions for Jesus at the expense of disciples of Jesus.
This season affords us with the opportunity to create a new normal––one that will call for a greater degree of commitment––not simply to programs and events at the local church, but a commitment to what it means to be a follower of Jesus sent on mission. We have to set aside the desire to engage the back rows and instead normalize the front rows––making that the focus of our ministry and helping more people in the middle become more engaged in the community and passionate about God’s mission.
So, how do we help disciple moderately-involved people from consumer to co-laborer? How do we move the middle to the front? Here are two ideas.
- Equip and send everyday ministers into the mission field.
The Scriptures are clear when Peter writes, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). Each one is gifted to minister to others. Unfortunately, we don’t function like “each one” is essential for the ministry. We function like only a select few are gifted for ministry and the rest are called to support the gifted few in their work.
To move the middle rows toward higher engagement, we need to reawaken the biblical idea that all of God’s people are called to ministry and are sent on mission, and that their mission field starts where God placed them in their everyday lives. That’s not a disavowal of ordained ministry, but a restoral of the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers––a belief that forms the foundation of Protestantism, yet is too often underemphasized, even ignored. Instead, we need to recover an orientation of ordained ministry existing for the purpose of equipping congregations for ministry.
Earlier this year, I spoke at the binational regional leaders meeting of the Vineyard Churches U.K. and Ireland in England. One of the most remarkable characteristics about the meeting was that most of the attendees were not pastors. They were laypeople who yearned to be encouraged, empowered, equipped.
Moving everyday believers into God’s design for ministry and mission should be normal, but unfortunately, it’s not. It’s interesting that one of the more helpful features of social media and our digital world is giving more people a platform to pursue their gifts, talents, and interests without the level of gatekeeping found elsewhere. Granted, this means a lot of voices in the digital space claim expertise they don’t have, though the interaction there also has a way of lending some accountability. It would be a shame to see Christians eager to use their gifts have less access to fulfilling their God-given assignment to be on mission in their world than people with an Instagram account and a smartphone. Our congregations are the resource we need to be a force of change for Christ in our world, and it’s time to lead them to do just that.
We must teach and preach that God has provided apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/teachers to equip God’s people to do the work of ministry (Eph. 4:11–13). The pastors and staff are the equippers, helping each member to understand their calling and giftedness and to launch into ministry.
- Confront consumerism.
Over the past century, “the new economic gospel of consumption,” a phrase the economist Edward Cowdrick coined in 1927, has successfully paired progress and growth with consumer desire. To understand what this means, just pay attention to how commercials and ads try to make you dissatisfied with life unless you own the product being promoted.
Today, it is common for churchgoers, especially in the middle rows, to view the church as a distributor of religious goods and services, and many churches are happy to take on that role. The result is a more passive church attendee, focused on what they can receive for their benefit, rather than serving God and giving themselves to his mission. In other words, a consumer mindset prevails. In this mindset, church is an activity––one among many that gives shape to a family’s life as they raise their kids. It aids in the social development of children and the stability of the hope similar to sports or family trips.
The best way to challenge mentality is to call the congregation to live for something greater than themselves. Biblically speaking, church is not an activity to attend, but it’s a community that gives shape to our very lives. While it’s often en vogue for churches and businesses alike to refer to themselves as “family” while being shaped by a very corporate ethos, the local church is very much supposed to be a sort of “chosen family”––spiritual sisters and brothers, mothers and fathers, who support, encourage, and abide with us through the rhythms of life.
Communicating a vision for all believers to be co-laborers in ministry can awaken believers marked by a middle-row, passive consumer attitude to become active contributors to ministry. This means regularly championing stories of those who discover the joy of using their time and gifts to show and share Jesus in everyday life. It means showcasing and safeguarding the beauty and the health of the family life that calls middle-row folks out of consumerism and into community participation.
From Attendance to Engagement
Moving believers from passive church attendees to pursuing God’s call on their lives––from the middle row to the front row––can become a reality for your church. In fact, it must. As Charles Spurgeon reminds us, “Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor.” I would phrase it a little differently, because I believe the term “missionary” means something a bit different to different people. But Spurgeon’s point calls to mind the words of Jesus in John 20:21, “As the father has sent me, even so I send you.” The very shape of the Christian life is one shaped by missional living.
All of God’s people are sent on mission and all God’s people are called to the ministry. However, to achieve this, a cultural and theological shift must happen in churches of all sizes. We can help the people who are attending move toward greater ministry engagement and now is strategically, the best time to do so.
Of course, how to accomplish this depends on the size of your church. For instance, if your church has 35 people, you could have a conversation with each person and ask, “What does it look like for us to be faithful, fruitful and on mission in these times?” But once a church grows beyond 75 people, it gets more challenging to talk to each person, and at 125, it’s almost impossible to do one-on-one. At 200 people or more, a church is completely reliant on systems to carry out this change.
As churches get larger, we start thinking in terms of systems which offer processes and pipelines. If you have not yet created such systems, now is the time. Systems focus on developing the processes that help believers focus on the kind of habits and practices that ultimately lead to a culture more attuned to mission than maintenance. The middle rows probably won’t suddenly rush to the front rows, but as they see how, in small, everyday ways, they can start making a difference in their world, you will see more inching forward toward the front. And as more begin to move from the middle to the front rows, more reluctant folks will follow.
We also need to have a pipeline in the church to move people from sitting in rows to sitting in circles. By this, I mean that the one-way direction of formation that is the pattern of many churches––from pulpit to parishioner––has limited effectiveness. There is tremendous formational power that happens when people dialogue with their peers. We need those in circles, learning from one another, to then look outward to the fields (John 4:35). Too many believers understand church only in terms of gathering together. It’s time to help them see their church as God’s people who both gather to learn and worship, and who are scattered to love people and be witnesses. We must provoke one another to love and good deeds as the writer of Hebrew says, with the result that they’re engaged in ministry and mission.
Find the pipeline that works for you. Most likely, you can already discover examples or resources online. Carey Nieuwhof has a good description of what most processes look like in his article on ChurchLeaders.com, “7 Ways to Grow Church Attendance by Increasing Engagement.” All seven ways are attainable for any church, but doing these will push most churches to a change of focus and mindset.
As Nieuwhof points out, there are resources available, but it’s cultural change that takes the greater work. The pipeline only flows when the culture is right, calling people to a higher level of engagement and involvement.
In a church where being a spectator is the norm, and where communication is mostly one-to-many (as in preaching and small group teaching), pastors can preach, teach and lead the church toward a better, more biblical way that leads to higher engagement and greater mission. Instead of church consumers, we can raise up a body of co-laborers.
Whereas in the past we have relied on a small number of people to do the work of the ministry and a larger portion of low-engagement congregants to receive the work of the ministry, those days really need to be behind us. Engagement is the operative word for churches in the years to come. We need to innovate creative ways to inspire people toward greater engagement, moving them from the middle rows to the front rows of ministry in our churches.