Pepsi, Smoking & Church Growth

(Or how to grow your church through being missional)

(From www.presbyterianglobalfellowship.org) Will Mancini, author of Church Unique, helps leaders to recognize that a relevant model of ministry is not through internal focus. Rather, it is through participation in their community and surrounding culture. Informed by missional thinking, he helps church leaders to engage the nonaffiliated in a way that is unique to their context and culture. Will says in his book, “ Your mandate must counteract the “gravity inward ” of Christian fellowship. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that the church is only the church when it exists for others. What keeps your church focused externally? Who do you think the most important person is to the Coca Cola company? The consumer? Which one? The Coke drinker? Nope —It’s actually the Pepsi drinker. Missional leaders need to polarize this same reality for their people. It should be clear that the most important people are those outside the church. Neil Cole sums it up well when he reminds believers, “If you want to reach people for Jesus, you’re going to have to sit in the smoking section (pp122).”