Church Strategy (2) - Attractional

Modern church strategies are effective within the Christian Memory group.

They church has developed good techniques for drawing people from within narrow sphere of influence. All efforts are focused on getting people with a Christian Memory to become Serious Christians.

• Church growth strategies are based on study of this group.

• The first Billy Graham crusades in 1958 had a huge impact.

• The Charismatic renewal really touched this group.

• Seeker-friendly services are still effective with them.

• These strategies are centred on church meetings. If we can get a person with a Christian Memory to come to a meeting, the professionals can swing them into serious faith.

This is an attractional model. Our task it to get people from the Christian Memory into church meetings of some kind.

• Attractional strategies have been effective with people within this narrow sphere of influence.

• House Churches might just be the last legs of the attactional strategy. Attracting people to a church is getting really difficult. Attracting people who are losing their Christian Memory into a home is easier than attracting them to a church building. They might be more comfortable sitting in a lounge of a friend’s home sipping coffee in front of a warm fire.

• The House Church model still focuses on getting people to attend meetings. Hopefully they are better meetings, where the Holy Spirit is freer to move.

• When a person from the Modern World is reached by the gospel, they have to be socialised into life within our cultural orbit. The new believer is expected to change to be like us. A new language has to be learnt. They have to learn to be comfortable in our church meetings. They have to learn a new way of thinking.

• House Churches can make this social, cultural and philosophical transformation easier.