This is a picture of the first church we pastored in Twin Valley, Minnesota. The photo is from about 1984.

By Tom Shanklin

Let me ask you a question. Does your city or your area need God? Do the people around you need to see and feel a manifestation of His glory in their midst? Do they need to experience the presence of the Lord in a real and tangible way? Well, I have news for you. You and your local church are God’s method to touch those people. You are the WAY He plans to reveal Himself in your neighborhood. If Jesus is to reveal Himself to the world, it will be through you!

The greatest soul winning team on the face of the earth is the local church. But in order for your church to be effective in reaching others for Christ, every member must be involved and committed to cooperating with God’s plans and purposes. Jesus said, “I will build My church…” But never did He say that He would build it alone. Every believer has a part in building up the church, both locally and universally.

It is normal that every living thing should grow. The Church is no exception. The Bible speaks to us about growing spiritually, growing in love, growing in grace, and growing in numbers. Some people say God is not into numbers, but I see in the book of Acts that 3,000 people were saved and baptized through Peter’s preaching. God is into numbers, because God is into people. And reaching people is why we are here on the earth!

We have the greatest thing going. We have the greatest news ever announced (the Gospel). We have the only Savior (Jesus) and we have the greatest power in the universe (the Holy Spirit). The only thing we need to do is to unite and “get-‘er-done.” Today is not a day to hold back. It’s time to get involved in God’s number one job. He’s looking for some cooperation! Here’s some practical ways that you can help your local church to grow:

Create an Environment of Love

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly…” Proverbs 18:24, KJV.

One of the most important characteristics of a local church is friendliness. In fact, you really cannot build a strong biblical local church without friendliness, because the church is built on relationships. The church that shows itself friendly will have plenty of people.

The Bible says, “Greet the friends by name.” 3 John 1:14, KJV. I know one church where a visitor can not make it to their seat without four or five people shaking their hands and greeting them. That church is on the right track!

Everything in our churches should speak loudly to the visitor…“WE ARE GLAD YOU ARE HERE!” A survey indicated that most people who visit a church make a decision within seven minutes as to whether or not they will come again. I’ve visited some churches that felt like the air conditioner was on in the middle of the winter, spiritually speaking. The love thermometer was a zero degrees fahrenheit.

The local church should be a place where love prevails. Every member should be making it their great quest to walk in love, both inside and outside the church. Jesus said that the commandments can be summed up like this, “Love God. Love people.” That’s simple, isn’t it? Our local church should be an oasis of love in the midst of a troubled world. Strife, division, animosity, and jealousy should be banished from our midst.

But we need to be sure that the love in the church is not only for the people who are already there, but also for every visitor who comes in the door. There are some churches which have plenty of love between the members, but when the visitor comes in, he or she immediately feels like an outsider. Everyone is busy with their own little group and they have no time for the new person.

The main thing that the visitors to your church want to know when they walk in the door is that they are welcome there. They want to feel comfortable, at ease, and wanted. If this means we need to adapt ourselves and change our habits to meet their need, then so be it. We are not called to please ourselves. We can talk to all our friends later. Let’s make sure that the visitor knows that we are glad that they are there. After all, what’s more important than people in your city coming to Christ. And you and I are the ones who are called to do that task. The Elks Club or the Rotary Club aren’t going to get the job done. People need to feel like they are wanted. Walk up to them, shake their hand and say, “I’m glad you’re here!”

Make Outreach a Priority

“The Lord is … not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9, KJV.

We need evangelists in the Church! And one of the main roles of the evangelist is to train and encourage the people in the Church to reach their friends and neighbors. Statistics indicate that 80 to 90 percent of the people that do come to Christ come as a result of either the influence or the invitation of a friend or family member. Radio ministry, television, evangelistic outreaches are all important, but YOU are the real key to reaching this world for Jesus Christ.

The local church should seek God for ways to break down walls in the community, such as inviting people from the community to special events or getting involved in other activities out in the community. Serve your community and bless them. Show the love of Christ in practical ways and let them know it’s because of the love of Jesus in your heart. Help the hurting, the hungry, the homeless, the needy. Help the rich! They need help too. Show love. You are witnesses for Christ, but most people cannot comprehend the love of God until they see it in action.

Each individual in the church has a powerful role in reaching others. I have shared about the man I worked with at a sawmill before I came to the Lord who repeatedly invited me to His church. One day, he and his wife invited Susan and me to their home for dinner and shared Christ with us. After that, we accepted their invitation and visited their church. God began to touch our lives in a powerful way. Within about three months, Susan and I both had surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ.

Surveys indicate that one of every four people who do not attend church say that they would visit a church if someone invited them. If our church is a Bible-believing, Gospel preaching, Great Commission church, there is no better place for people to be. Reach out and invite them to come!

Jesus said the good shepherd left the 99 sheep and went after the one. We should have a primary focus on reaching out to the lost sheep around us! You may say, “I’m too busy.” Well, you need to change. Your actions demonstrate that you care more about other things than what is important to the Lord. You need to pray, “Lord, give me your heart for the lost.” Then reach out to people and tell them what Jesus has done in your life.

Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” The reason many church people are not effective in reaching out is that they are not following Jesus. They are following their own personal desires. Align your heart with God by surrendering yourself to Him in prayer. Begin to open your eyes to the souls all around you who desperately need Jesus Christ.

Help People Find a Place in the Body

“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” 1 Corinthians 12:18, KJV.

People need to become integrated parts of the Body of Christ in the local church. They may have been made a part of the body by God spiritually through the New Birth. They may even have a membership card to a local church or a denomination, but they need to feel accepted into the local church socially by the other believers. They need to be welcomed into the fold. They need relationships!

People will sometimes come to a church for a short time because they like the pastor and his messages, but they usually won’t stay unless they have relationships with others in the church. As members of the Body of Christ, we need to make people feel at home in our local churches.

I was preaching this message in one particular local church, and this was a friendly church from my perspective. But a man came up to me afterwards and said, “Keep preaching this! It is much needed!” He said that he and his wife had been attending that particular church for five years and still had no friendships in the church. They continued to come, because they felt that was where God was directing them to belong, but needless to say, something was missing.

When we first started going to that fellowship of ex-hippies in southern Minnesota back in the ‘70s, the women of the church would come and visit my wife and have a Bible study with her.  They’d say, “Let’s open to the book of Ephesians,” and she would search and search. She didn’t know a lot about the Bible, but she could tell when people cared about her. They invested their time to encourage her in the Word of God. People need love and acceptance. They want to feel a part of something. If you reach them with love, then you can give them the Word of God that will transform their lives forever.

When people visit your church, make it a point to get their contact information and to give them a call or drop them a note afterwards. Someone should be in charge of this. If they visit again a second time, give them something to do. You don’t have to make them the treasurer, but find some way to get them involved. Make them a part of the gang. Make them feel a part and keep ministering the pure Word of God to them. If they feel the love and encounter the truth, they will keep coming and become disciples of Jesus Christ. That’s why we are here. And that is how God builds his church.

The local church is a like a family inviting people over for dinner. We need to give our guests good directions on how to get to the house. We need to vacuum the carpet, pick up our socks, prepare a good meal, and make sure our guests are comfortable and know that they are welcome. Once they come, we need to cultivate their friendship, seek to be a blessing to them, and invite them to come again. This is how we can build the household of God, according to our Father’s will.