What is more telling is that baptisms in the SBA have been declining almost every year since the early 1990s even though Bedford County is one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Virginia, and west of Richmond no county equals the rate of growth and development that we have been blessed with.

Do these numbers surprise you? Do they get your attention? County residency increases by 1,000 or more a year while church membership and baptisms drop.

Our churches minister to their regular attenders by providing various organizations and classes. We have Sunday School, WMU, children’s music and missions programs, some teen activities, and the regular worship hours. Overall, our churches have good facilities with comfortable amenities, but most of our churches have no organized and consistent method of reaching out to the unchurched, of meeting the 1,000 or so new residents that move into our county every year.

Every church would say it is friendly and wants new growth, but unless we are meeting our neighbors and understanding what their needs are and unless we invest the time to know where they are hurting and until we provide ministries specifically targeted to their wounded and troubled lives, then we have missed the biblical purpose of our existence.

The primary task of the church is to make disciples of the lost as we share and teach the Good News of Jesus Christ. No matter how many good things a church might do, if it fails to be the salt and light of the Gospel to the community, then it has missed the mark. We have got to begin to see our county as Jesus Christ sees it—tens of thousands of needy people separated from an abundant life in Christ. They are hurting because of dysfunctional relationships. They are hurting because of addictions, and divorce, and broken homes, and loneliness, and immorality, and financial disaster. They are hurting because sin has defeated them, and they don’t understand that Jesus is their solution, He is their Deliverer.

Is your church user friendly to this hurting group of people? What are you doing to let them know you love them? How are you planning and working so they can see the light and taste the salt? What preparations are you about in your local church to become involved with the unchurched, and how are you going to care for them when they arrive at your door?

We must have a plan that demonstrates our obedience to Christ’s command to the church. That plan will include a method that takes believers into the world so we can introduce the unchurched to our world. It means we will provide whatever ministry God equips us for that touches the untouchable and heals the broken. It means that when a stranger enters our buildings we will take the time to find out who he is, where he lives, and how we can get to know him in a personal way. It means we will offer ministry and training opportunities that speak to where he is at in life. We must communicate how God loves him by showing him that God cares for his hurt and has a plan to move him beyond the pain to hope.

This will involve change. Outreach teams of some sort will be a necessity. There must be an investment and sacrifice on the part of the local congregation if we genuinely want to fulfil the Great Commission. If the attitude is such that every gathering, activity, or program takes the place of face to face visitation with the unchurched, then do not expect New Testament growth in your church. Without personal contact with lost people, lost people will not be interested in anything you have to offer.

New classes or support groups that deal with the hard realities of life will need to be formed. If you are targeting struggling young families facing financial difficulties and having trouble raising their children, then you should consider small groups that focus on finances and family relationships from a biblical perspective. If hungry people know where to get bread, they will go to get bread. Newcomers will get very little out of a class on the book of Exodus or Revelation. They need teaching to minister to them where they are right now. This might mean the beginning of a newcomers’ class or some other study that targets new babes in Christ or non-believers, whatever the case may be.

The way people are greeted when they come to our churches is critical. If a visitor or new member has not cultivated a number of friendships within the first few months of arriving at the church, he will stop coming and it will be very difficult to get him back again. Pay close attention that newcomers or strangers are truly made to feel welcome. Show them where to go when they arrive. Sit with them. Make a note of their names and faces, and get as much information as possible about them.

Above all, be sincerely interested. Don’t just be polite until they are out the door. See to it that someone visits them within 48 hours of their first visit to your church. Oh, and by the way, don’t let the “someone” be the pastor. He already has a very full schedule, and there is no way he will have time to visit within 48 hours every visitor who happens to the church. We must establish “Go to Teams,” whether it is through the Sunday School or a separate church outreach ministry. Unless the body of believers takes an active part in reaching out there will be no growth, period. The church that leaves all ministry in the hands of its “paid professionals” shouldn’t be surprised when the professionals pack their bags and move on or when attendance drops off. The pastor and staff cannot do the work of the body. They are but individual members with limited spiritual gifts.

“Seek God and His Kingdom first and all these things will be added to you.” If we get our priorities where they should be we will marvel at the great things God has done. God already wants to reach the lost, and He already has a plan for your life as part of the local church to accomplish this. Will you take the time to hear Him speak? Will you agree to become one of the key ingredients of making your church user friendly?