7 desires of people

     Yesterday I mentioned that 4 out of 5 people do not think the church is important for spiritual growth.  These numbers are alarming and should cause the church and church leaders to stand up and take notice.  We cannot continue to do church as usual if we are going to meet the expectations of the people around us. 

     Scott Appleby provides a good assessment of what people expect from a local church. Though much of these insights were about the role of the pastor, they are applicable to the local church as well.  After all no church is comprised of just a pastor.  Every church works together as a the body of Christ to minister to people in the community.  These seven insights are a tremendous help to the local church as they try to meet the rising needs of the community around them.

     First people desire a sense of belonging. People want to be more than a group that meets together or a collection of strangers, they want to be a family or a community of friends that share one another’s hurts and joys. The church needs to create this environment if it wants to meet this desire of the people.

     Second, people desires meaningful worship. This is the battleground that has been forged in many churches today. More than anything else, it is not a battle for doctrinal purity, but for worship in spirit and truth. The church should be able to provide authentic worship understanding the diversity that exists in the group.

     Third, people desire practical preaching or relevant preaching. This particular aspect has more to do with the pastor than the church body, but it could be applied to teachers as well. People want the word of God applied to their particular situation in life. The people expect the Word to speak to the issues of the day and help them to live a godly life in an ungodly world.

     Fourth, people desire relevant discipleship.  People desire discipleship that addresses particular areas of concern. They do not want programs for the sake of programs, but they desire something that is meaningful and practical for their lives.  In this day and age when time is so precious, people need to know that the ministry is going to be beneficial to their particular area of concern, whether that is parenting classes, financial planning, or how to take care of aging parents.  They want programs that minister to them where they are in their life stage.

     Fifth, people want to be involved in ministering to those in need.  This desire goes beyond giving to help the needy, this means personal involvement in meeting needs.  Appleby stated, “the sense of personal ownership of the charities of the church has declined.”  Perhaps the reason for this decline is because people want to put a face on ministry.

     Sixth, people desire consistent leadership especially in the realm of spiritual decisions.  Again much of this desire relates to the pastor it can be applied to all church leadership.  The pastor must be careful not to be an authoritarian while at the same time not giving too much leadership to others.  A pastor must learn to balance his leadership between these two extremes.

     Finally, the people desire a pastor that is accessible to them.  They do not want a pastor that is cooped up in the office and never available to the people.  What is true of the pastor is also true of the body of believers.  The church members need to be accessible to others.  This truth means that they are not Sunday only members, but are available to others. It means that we must be willing to get involved in their lives. 

    I will try to flesh these out in the next few days and demonstrate how these needs are not new.  Jesus confronted each one of these needs in his ministry and we can learn from his example.  Remember our desire is to reach out to the 4 out of 5 who no longer think the church is important for spiritual growth.  I hope you will tag along as we examine what Jesus did to minister to people.  He was relevant then and He is still relevant today.