How to Reach the Unchurched: A Simple Church Growth Strategy

Steve Forrester knows from experience how a church can lose sight of what’s important. He was a youth pastor for over 13 years at a church where, for example, the congregation fought over a woman wearing a denim dress, to some “the devil’s fabric.” As a result of this spirit of squabbling, only one or two people came to faith in Christ in all of those years.

He knew things could be done better. “I was like, God, we’ve got to reach people. This is not going to reach people,” he remembers.

So he made that an emphasis when, in 2011, he co-founded Life Church Calvert with Pastor David Mohler in Huntingtown, Maryland. And it’s working. Today, vehicles park alongside the grass and roadways in a maxed-out parking situation illustrating that the church’s three services are almost over capacity.

A New Approach

And unlike at his previous church, Forrester is seeing people accept Jesus as their Savior. On one Sunday last year, 16 people were baptized, and the number of people—62 in total—coming to faith in Christ in about a five-month period equaled roughly a dozen per month. One recent convert was an 82-year-old woman.

According to Forrester, the church growth has been organic. “People invite people.”

So, why have they grown so much?

“We’d ask that question of ourselves,” Forrester says with a chuckle, referencing fellow leaders Family Pastor Aaron Everhart and Teaching Pastor Greg Keyton. “We just sit there and shake our heads. Lord, you’re so good.”

The church started with the specific mission to reach the unchurched, those who had fallen away, and those who were not sure what they believed. In Maryland, Forrester says, a lot of people have a Catholic background and may attend church only at Christmas and Easter. Others who attend have never professed faith in Jesus, and some have been in church but Christianity never made sense to them.

“We tried to intentionally take down barriers [preventing them from coming],” Forrester adds. Church leaders decided within its first year of meeting in an elementary school that money and dress would not stop people from being at Life Church Calvert. “We weren’t going to make this an issue.”

Meeting Needs

The church did away with passing an offering plate and doesn’t talk about the offering from the pulpit.

“They didn’t even mention it,” explains Robin Read, a church volunteer, recalling her first visit. “I was like, This is different.”

Forgoing taking up an offering during the service can appeal to the unchurched, she believes. “[Asking for money] can be a turnoff.”

The importance of tithing isn’t lost on the congregation, however. Read and others give through the church app, and Life Church Calvert offers a discipleship class about honoring God with one’s time, talent and treasure.

“People here understand there are needs,” Forrester explains. “When they see needs, they meet them.”

The church paid the mortgage of a family facing legal trouble. They also gave a car to someone in need, and have helped with yard work and other situations, says Forrester, adding that the work is done without phone calls to pastors.

“It’s amazing to watch. It’s a beautiful thing,” he reflects.

Read agrees. “When needs arise, somebody’s on it.”

The church also did away with fancy “Sunday” clothes. Forrester wears a T-shirt and jeans most services. And the response to the very come-as-you-are church, according to Forrester, is one where attendees realize the church cares about them and isn’t after their money.

Life Church Calvert’s simplicity sets it apart, says Read, who likes the down-to-earth style. First drawn to the church by the live, in-person praise and worship after COVID-19, she returned for the biblical messages.

“They really stick to the Word,” she says. Unlike sermons she had heard at other churches, talk of politics or of the number of congregants doesn’t steal the stage.

“That’s not the focus here,” she says, noting the teaching is topical. Leaders rotate preaching in an expository style, skillfully giving the history of a passage, she says.

“We try to teach the Word in a relatable way,” Forrester explains.

“They speak about some tough stuff,” Read says, noting one talk on gender. She adds that the pastors don’t put themselves on a pedestal, but talk about what they’re struggling with.

In addition, Read—who volunteers with kids and youth and serves as a greeter—regularly fields happy comments after services as people are leaving.

“I just love this place,” they tell her.

She understands, and credits the church for her spending more time in prayer and feeling more connected to God. “I definitely feel my relationship with the Lord has been strengthened.”

LIFE CHURCH CALVERT
Huntingtown, Maryland
Lead Pastor: Steve Forrester
Website: LifeChurchCalvert.com
Denomination: Nondenominational
Founded: 2011
Fastest-Growing: 81

A New Approach

Meeting Needs

Leslie Moses