Dreaming of Reaching (some! of) the 90%

A couple of pastors we know - one in England and one in Canada - have in the last few years mentioned an interesting fact. According to these guys, the way church is currently being done will only reach 10% of any given area. No matter how many cool programs, how many interesting sermons, big name preachers or big-scale building projects we put on. There are 90% of the population who will remain completely unreached through the concept and place of church.

So how do we reach the 90%? Presumably whatever the answer is, it will take place outside of the remit, scope, building and practice of the church. I don't think it will be enough to simply create a "house church" or have a Saturday evening service. I suspect that might catch a few percentage points, but what about the rest? Because if the intention is to "go and make disciples", then surely it doesn't matter whether we create church-attenders or not, or whether these people ever learn the words to such sterling classics as "We Wanna See Jesus Lifted High" and "Shine, Jesus, Shine", does it? Presumably we will need to increasingly be creative, seeking to stretch the boundaries, building relationships outside of our comfort zones, inviting people in to our own homes, to live alongside our lives.

I have this feeling that we are personally being called to the 90%, not to the 10%. As such, I think we may well be being called to develop a Christian Community in Barrie. We have talked about whether that means being "church planters". And although we are moving into an area with not one church within walking distance (the closest is about 5 miles away - and its a little country church that has just been swallowed by a new housing development), I am very reticent to use the word "church planters" to describe what I want to be involved in. I would be absolutely thrilled if, over the years, a steady stream of people met Jesus within the walls of our home, were discipled in a sailboat or outtrip in Muskoka, and watched their lives change through the power of the Holy Spirit infiltrating their hearts, minds and relationships. I don't, however, necessarily expect that work to have a noticeable impact on the number of people attending local churches in Barrie. This is a hard one to explain to pastors! :) It doesn't fit neatly into denominational titles or national evangelism objectives. But I don't think we can introduce the 90% to the gospel without thinking completely outside the box.