Adventures of a Clueless Evangelist Vol 2: Where Are The Unchurched?

Hi fellow travelers, 

It's Your Boy Pastor Ant

    Greetings from the trail. It's your boy, Rev. Anthony M.A. Johnson, but you can call me Pastor  "Ant". I am continuing my residency with Evangelize Today. I am sorry I have not written in a while. Life has been busy on the trail. I left us with a few questions the last time I wrote y'all. They are as follows: 

Where do unchurched African Americans hangout in my community? 

Why don't I hang out with unchurched African Americans? 

What are the tattoos I am noticing on the African American canvas? 

What are the shoes that I am noticing in unchurched spaces? 

Photo by JD Mason on Unsplash

Today  I wanted to take a little time to share my findings in unchurched territory. So in this letter, I will share two principles I learned in answering our first question: "Where Do Unchurched African Americans Hangout in My Community?"

Photo by LT Ngema on Unsplash

Photo by Siviwe Kapteyn on Unsplash

 

The answer may seem obvious, but unchurched African American brothers and sisters are everywhere. Unchurched African Americans were always around me in any space I have occupied. This presence included my church office. It's amazing to me that I have never noticed this fact until I started to train my eyes to see them.  So a first principle for evangelizing in the African American community is this: unchurched African Americans surround me all the time and I need to see them.  

Photo by Kiana Bosman on Unsplash

Secondly, I learned that unchurched African Americans occupy spaces and participate in activities I love. For example, I love teaching sports and I love community centers. As a result, I recently started coaching baseball at a community center. That granted me entrance and trust in an unchurched space in my community.  God used my passion for teaching sports to give me an entrance into the lives of unchurched people.  Here was the wild thing about it. Coaching did not cost me a dime. It only cost me time in relationship investment. 

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash

We spend thousands of dollars to welcome unchurched people onto church territory to preach the gospel to them. I have found that if we invite unchurched people to come to our events or our services they usually attend out respect for the relationship. However, they usually only attend once. After that one visit, we typically never see them again on church grounds. Why not meet unchurched people in spaces we love and while doing activities we love? It seems cheaper than our current construct of getting unchurched people into our spaces for a single presentation.

Photo by Andrew Seaman on Unsplash

Side Note: A few questions to consider for us all in this construct: After the presentation are we done with them or Is God done with them? Do we stop relationships, if they do not respond to our presentation? Is God more committed to evangelizing people beyond a single presentation? 

I love teaching sports and community centers, which has led to building relationships in my community. These relationships with unchurched people at the community center did not cost me any money. This realization led me to an important second principle: Our passions and interests tend to be an inexpensive ticket into relationships with unchurched people.

Photo by Benjamin Sharpe on Unsplash

Fellow adventurers!!! God is so gracious to his children.  We can overcomplicate his commands. Jesus just tells us to go. I am just trying to "Go" by following the passions and interests God has given me.  As a result, Jesus opened up more opportunities for me to meet unchurched people than a planned church event or service. Might he do the same for all of us, if we just Go?

As I close let's review our first two principles of evangelizing in the African American community:

1. Unchurch African Americans are around us all the time: See Them!!!

2. Our passions and interests tend to be an inexpensive ticket into relationships with unchurched people.

Friends, I am excited about what I am discovering as I rethink evangelizing African Americans. There is so much more I am anxious to share with you, but I have to wait for next time.  

While you wait for Volume 3, please join the adventure team. You can join by continuing to notice tattoos and shoes on the black canvas just like me. Also, try putting the 1st two principles to work. You can tell me all about it by sending me an email to ajohnson@ncfstl.org. A second way to join the team is pray for the work. Lastly, please join the team by supporting my work financially as I head out on this adventure to become a faithful evangelist amongst African Americans by giving toward my  Evangelize Today residency. Follow the instructions on this link and remember in the additional info section for online giving please put "Gift Toward Anthony M.A. Johnson Residency 'Adventures of A Clueless Evangelist' "

 

Until Next Time See You On The Trail, 

    "Pastor Ant "

Next time in Vol 3 I "Why I Don't Hang Out With Unchurched African Americans?"