Phone Books-Outreach-The Church
When it comes to reaching the contemporary heart of those that attend our churches our approach probably should be more like YouTube and less like a phonebook. Kem Meyer posted the Indexed card below which made me think of how phonebooks can help us learn about and reach our culture. Here’s what Kem said about her phonebooks: “I got three new phone books, each weighing 7-10 pounds, dropped at my doorstep this week. I picked each one up and promptly deposited them right in the trash.” I have done the same thing, and I bet many of you have as well.
Heavy printed phone books represent more than telephone numbers and ads. They represent the past, communication forms that used to work the best, and a dog-eared determination to hang on to the past no matter what.
I can’t help but draw a few comparisons to the way today’s church does outreach and communicates the world’s most important message from the 7 pound phone book:
- Media vs. Lecture – As the way our culture communicates changes in drastic ways (2 ‘billion’ YouTube video views a month in the U.S.), the way we communicate in church has remained pretty much the same. Most church services still use lecture based sermons that average 30+ minutes in length. As a pastor who has preached many of these types of sermons, I totally get all of the reasons they are used. But here’s the deal (and what keeps me up at night). There is a reason why 80% of people believe in God and yet 70% of the people in our community choose every week not to attend a church. Can you say “communication gap?” People will not go to the trouble to attend a church if they cannot relate to how we communicate at that church. If I was honest enough to say to my unchurched neighbor, “Would you like to come to a lecture with me Sunday?” their answer would be pretty predictable.
- Past vs. Present – The whole world knows-pretty much at the same time-what is happening in the world, and so it’s not hard to figure out what the people that attend our church services are thinking about on any given week. As someone wisely said about preaching, “Figure out what people are already thinking about and preach on that.” Example: Michael Jackson died on a Thursday, but how many churches spoke about that on Sunday? That global event, much like 9/11, softened hearts all over the world like few things have, and may have represented the church’s best shot at reaching the not yet reached in a long time. News and life happens fast, and the church must adapt the way it communicates in order to reach today’s culture.
- Acquaintance vs. Good Friend (Visitor vs. Regular Attendee) – Creating a drop in casual experience is more important than ever in today’s culture. Consumers (which we all are) want to check things out before they commit. When it comes to reaching the70% it’s important that we create a casual starting point that leads to Christ.
I know some will argue that phonebooks still have a use in today’s contemporary society. I agree. Two are holding down a stack of papers in my home right now.
QUESTION: What do YOU think? What ideas do you have on how the church could better communicate and reach today’s contemporary culture?











