“Relevance” Isn’t A Dirty Church Word

As we finish the year, our attention eventually turns to the upcoming year. We’ll make some version of New Year’s resolutions. Or, at a minimum, we’ll consider our hopes and dreams for next year.

I have some personal hopes for next year, too, but I also have hopes for you. If you’re a pastor or part of a church team, I hope this next year sees your church and pastoral leadership become the best it has ever been.

If you’re a leader in a church, this post, and my hope, is for you:

Some reality first: Churches close daily, leaving communities with one less faith community. 

More subtle than closing, churches by the thousands become irrelevant in their communities every day. 

I know. I know… Stop it with the “relevance!” 

The word “relevance” has been thrown around so much. Too much. This word has been used to justify terrible theology. Entire church models were created in the name of relevancy. The “seeker sensitive” movement was a move of relevance.

But the word is not the problem. We know this because no church is striving for irrelevance.

Jesus was relevant and attractive to the broader community. Just look at the enormous crowds that followed him. Yes, before you comment, Jesus called people out for following only to consume. But we can’t and shouldn’t ignore that Jesus was relevant to those who needed him the most. And by the way, lovingly leading people to a better way of life is one of the most “relevant” things we can do! 

Relevance isn’t a dirty church word. If anything, we should all make “irrelevance” the dirty word. The more relevant we are, the better we’ll reach our community, engage people on a faith journey, and create space for God to transform lives. 

I believe that’s why churches exist. 

How relevant is YOUR church? 

And I don’t mean “gut feel.” We can measure relevance.

For a church, relevance means we are connected and concerned with what our community is. Relevant means outsiders see us as a place and a people where hope and help can be found. Relevant means the unchurched in your community see your church as a place that speaks to their issues, offers solutions to their problems, and meets their felt and unfelt needs.

Basically, relevant churches meet people where they are and lovingly help them move to a better place.

We evaluate relevance by measuring the gap between where you are and where your community has moved.

Therefore relevance can be somewhat measured, not with a ruler, but in trends, steps, and stories. 

For example, relevant metrics may include:

• The percentage of guests attending each week.
• The percentage of nonbelievers or unchurched attending each week.
• The percentage of people stepping into faith-curiosity experiences (at North Point, we used Starting Point).
• The stories of people who felt comfortable engaging before they believed.
• The percentage of your people inviting their unchurched friends, neighbors, and coworkers.

   

This is a quick snapshot of options. If your church doesn’t experience guests, unchurch people, and initial steps, there’s clearly a relevance gap. 

The Point: If the non-church people in your community are not present in your church, there’s a strong possibility that your church is irrelevant to your broader community.

How do we become more relevant? 

Perhaps we should start with, “Do you even want to become more relevant?” I’m going to assume you do. 

So how? How do we become more relevant? 

I wish more churches would ask this question! It’s nearly impossible to accomplish the Great Commission and remain irrelevant to our community.

Let’s first consider what a relevant church looks like, then we’ll think about how to get there.

As I travel around the country consulting with churches, coaching pastors, and preaching, I’ve seen plenty of churches. From what I can tell, relevant churches:

• Are full of people from all faith (or lack of faith) backgrounds.
• See people progress from consuming to contributing by offering a clear and incremental pathway for discipleship progress.
• Prioritize faith progress at any pace.
• Are seeker-comprehensible but not seeker-sensitive.
• Pay attention to and engage with the surrounding community.
• Create sermon series and message content that speaks to all people, not just church people.
• Speak to the entire community in every communication medium, including the church service.
• Invite and embrace all people, all questions, and all skepticism.
• Refuse to arrogantly believe their church, pastor, or denomination has cornered the market on theology or interpretation.

   

Relevant churches design an intentional and strategic plan to continually close the gap between what you currently offer and what your community needs. Remember, relevance is measured in the gap between where you are and where your community is.

Here are 5 steps you can incorporate to close the irrelevant gap: 

Step 1: Find out what your broader community really thinks.

Too often, we ask our church people how they feel about their church. News flash: They like it. That’s why they attend it. It’s like a restaurant asking its raving fans if they love the restaurant. Of course they do!

You need to ask your surrounding community, not just your church community. How? Well, we are around people in our community all the time. What if you paid 20, 30, or 50 unchurched people from your community to attend your church and complete a survey about their experience? Basically, give them a $20 gift card to attend one time and provide you feedback. (FYI: Create a standard form for feedback. You’re not looking for, “It was good.” That’s unhelpful.) You may be surprised how many unchurched people will help when you ask them for their unfiltered feedback without any strings attached.

This information is invaluable! And you can use it to… 

Step 2: Design a church model for everyone in your community.

Too many of us have a church model designed by church people for church people. We need a ministry model designed with everyone in mind. This means we need to build a strategy that follows a holistic discipleship journey.

This was easier to accomplish 15 or 20 years ago. When Christianity was cultural, the “ought to” and “should” drove most people to, at a minimum, associate with a church. Many attended church out of some family or community expectation. There was a general feeling that the church benefited the community. When Christianity was cultural, even the nonbeliever and unchurched people in our community weren’t necessarily opposed to churches or Christians.

Those days are GONE. And you don’t need me to prove it. Today, nonbelievers and the unchurched in your community do not like or trust churches, pastors, or Christianity. They are indifferent to faith and often believe their community would be better off without Christianity.

The implications of this community evolution are massive. For one, our church models must evolve to where our community has arrived. If your church model assumes cultural Christianity, you have an irrelevant church model.

Specifically, we must offer environments and experiences for people all along the faith continuum. We must offer spaces for skeptics to be curious without feeling criticized. We must provide everyone with on-ramps to participation. We must offer incremental engagement steps that are practical, obvious, and helpful for this full spectrum of attendees. And most importantly, we must help outsiders like us and trust us before expecting them to engage with us.