The Externally Focused Church

The Externally Focused Church
by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson
Group Publishing Loveland, Colorado 2004

Externally focused churches are internally strong, but they are oriented externally. Their external focus is reflected in those things for which they staff and budget. Because they engage their communities with the good works and good news of Jesus Christ, their communities are better places in which to live. These churches look for ways to be useful to their communities, to be a part of their hopes and dreams. They build bridges to their communities instead of walls around themselves. They don't shout at the dirty stream; they get in the water and begin cleaning it up.

John Perkins, the recognized founder of the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA), a national organization of urban ministers, says, "Not everyone is called to move to the inner-city to minister there, but everyone is called to have a heart for hurting people."

This stuff is not rocket science. Any church of any size can be a blessing.

Do you remember Jesus' first miracle? He didn't raise someone from the dead. He didn't feed the multitudes or heal someone of a debilitating illness. He turned the water in six stone jars into fine wine at a wedding--simply because the host had run out of wine. Jesus "revealed his glory" by seeking the welfare of the host and guests of the wedding in Cana. His presence was a blessing to the wedding. Everyone was glad that Jesus showed up, but his act also led to spiritual transformation, as "his disciples put their faith in him" (John 2:11)

Engaging the community with good news and good deeds is not just a tactic or even a foundational strategy of externally focused churches; it is at their very core; it is who they are. These churches have concluded that it's really not "church" if it's not engaged in the life of the community through ministry and service to others. Ministry and service are not programs reserved for a few extraordinarily dedicated individuals but are woven into every aspect of church life. This is certainly not the only thing these churches do, but to stop ministering to and serving in the community would be to end their very existence. An external focus is embedded in their DNA.

In joining in the life and rhythm of the city, externally focused churches seek to serve and bless the city, not to control it. After all, salt, light, and leaven are agents of influence, not of control. Thus these churches build bridges instead of walls. They bless their cities and pray for them. They are one of the defined assets of their communities, not one of the liabilities.

In our evangelistic zeal, we often think people just need more or better information in order to believe. But what they really long for is authenticity. Fewer are asking, "What must I do to be saved?" Instead their question is "What can I do to make my life work?" When the people who talk about a loving God demonstrate love, the gap between doubt and faith is narrowed, and the people around them often find themselves wanting to believe.

1. We decided to broaden our outreach focus.
2. We decided not to create something that already exists.
3. We decided to open our doors to other community organizations.
4. We decided that, to love and serve our community, we must know our community.
5. We decided to invite everyone to jump into the stream!
6. We decided to be open to innovative ideas and partnerships.

For two years, LifeBridge members helped clean toilets and paint hallways at local elementary schools during Christmas break. Recently we were invited into kindergarten classrooms to help the kids make crafts. At the same school in which we had cleaned toilets for two years, we are now able to have a direct impact on the students and the teachers. Last year when a local high school student took his life, the school principal called LifeBridge. He asked if we could send over some staff and volunteer youth coaches for three days to be with the students on campus. How did LifeBridge gain such access to a public high school? We simply sent the same people who had been setting up chairs at assemblies, chaperoning the dances, and raking the long-jump pit all year.

Increasingly we have found that in areas of ministry we never could have forced our way into, we are now being invited to serve, and that service has become a bridge to salvation. It is "God's kindness" that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). not the threat of God's judgment. Barriers to the gospel melt away when people are served and blessed. It's been said, "There is only one way to God and that is through Jesus. But there are a thousand ways to Jesus." By creating a thousand entry points into the community, we create a thousand opportunities to show the love and share the good news with the city.

Good deeds form a great bridge over which the good news can travel! The doors to salvation have opened through service.

Servants get invited to places into which the mighty can't force their way.
Mosaic pastor Erwin McManus writes, "there is something mystical about servanthood because God is a servant. When we serve others, we more fully reflect the image of God, and our hearts begin to resonate with the heart of God. We may never be more like God than when we're serving from a purely selfless motivation.

So much good can be done apart from money. Vicki Baird, director of MercyWorks of Cincinnati's Vineyard Community Church says that "the poor need relationships more than they need money. In the inner city, there's a lot of free stuff to be had. What the poor need is people who care."

Partnering means to share in the efforts and outcomes of a venture. For a church to partner with other churches, organizations, or agencies means that it recognizes one of two things: (1) The job is way bigger than any one church can handle, or (2) God is already at work through other people of goodwill who care about what the church cares about. As we've shown throughout this book, it's often easier to form partnerships with existing groups than to spend the resources to start, staff, and fund something new. There's no reason to form a duplicate service or ministry if there's one already accomplishing its mission. Chances are that people from your congregation are already serving in it!

Partnering with churches or even secular organizations does not mean we must water down our beliefs or distinctives. We don't form our partnerships around our statements of faith or doctrine but rather our common love and commitment to our community. In Chapter 5 you may recall Rick's remark: "We may not always agree with other community service groups on the cause or the cure, but we do agree there is a problem." Even this minimum level of commonality can bring groups of people into partnerships.

Some suburban churches develop partnerships with urban churches and ministries. The great challenge of urban ministry in the U.S. is that the churches that are most in touch with the needs of people often have the least ability and capacity to meet those needs. Most urban churches are stretched to the limit. Urban pastors are often bi-vocational, fulfilling their calling by working two or more jobs. Churches in more affluent suburban areas often are resource rich (comparatively speaking) but out of touch with the needs of the under-resourced and disenfranchised. Urban-suburban partnerships can help close this gap.

How many times does it take to create a church tradition? Only once...if it is successful. The methodologies that we currently use are the answers to the tough questions a previous generation (or two...or three) asked. The toughest programs to kill are those that are working. Remember that we organize around purpose, not around program or tactic. Every program that is effective today, no matter how good it is, has a life span. It eventually will lose momentum. We've got to be so in tune with God's purpose that our purpose isn't interrupted when a program runs out of steam.

The best way to engage the hearts of high-capacity people is by engaging their minds around big challenges and ideas. Daniel H. Burnham, the architect who rebuilt Chicago after the Chicago fire and came up with the first comprehensive plan for an American city, said, "Make no little plans' they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die."

Change the Conversation
Put two pastors in a room together, and you can bet that within the first five minutes someone will ask, "What are you runnin' these days?" That's pastor talk for "How large is your attendance?" or "What size is your church?" Maybe the conversation needs to change to "Tell me about the difference your church is making in your community." If the other pastor starts mentioning numbers of people attending Sunday school or worship services, respond by saying something such as "Oh, I'm sure people love listening to your teaching, but what's happening in the community because of your church?"

It's not about size; it's about impact. Can you imagine the difference it would make if the more than 340,000 churches in North America all measured their effectiveness by external measures (impact on communities) rather than internal measures (attendance)? Can you imagine the difference it would make if every church around the world did the same?

To create a different future is going to take leaders with the vision to see, the passion to feel, and the courage to do. These leaders must keep pressing forward despite inevitable squalls, adjusting the rudder and the sail as they go. "The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks," according to Emerson. Sometimes it may seem that you are not making progress, but you are. You are learning: you are growing. You are becoming more useful for the kingdom. After all, you are simply the helmsman, not the Captain, of this ship. You may not have a map, but you do have a compass. This is really about the kingdom, not programs. It's about relationships, not numbers. It's about changed lives, not endless activity. And you have your mates--those kindred spirits whose hearts beat with yours. Your provisions for the journey may be sparse, but real leaders have the ability to create something that doesn't exist...with resources they don't have. If that describes what you are trying to do, then you are in the right position. ...go forward, knowing that God meets us when we step out in faith. He reveals solutions as we go; we mustn't wait to act until we have all the answers.