5 Strategies For Passionately Reaching People Who Are Far From God

In today's world, where religion and faith can be seen as outdated or irrelevant, it is more crucial than ever for churches to engage in evangelism and outreach. As pastors or church leaders, we must continually cast a vision for our people to reach out to those who have yet to experience the life-changing power of Jesus. 

To passionately reach people far from God, pastors and church leaders must be intentional in their outreach efforts. There are various ways to integrate evangelism into our church and ministry, which fit with different gifts and personalities. It is not one size fits all. Instead, evangelism is an excellent way to build a valuable community without the stress that we often think comes with it. 

Here are five strategies that can help your church effectively engage with those far away from the faith: deciding where you can be most effective, connecting with the right people, focusing on industry peers, making evangelism a matter of prayer, and investing in relationships regularly. 

With these strategies in place, churches can impact their communities and beyond by reaching out to those who need Jesus the most. So let's look at these strategies and how we can help our churches and individuals passionately reach people far from God. 

1. Decide Where You Can Be Most Effective as a Church

The most crucial part of building a successful evangelism mindset into our hearts and the heart of our church is seeing where we can be most effective as a church and as individuals. This becomes a part of a prayerful strategy to seek opportunities to build relationships and ultimately share faith with those far from God. 

When deciding where to be most effective as a church, pastors and church leaders need to look at the needs of their community. First, look at the demographics of your community, who is present, and what needs they have. From there, you can determine where to direct your efforts and how best to serve them. 

It is also essential to consider the different types of people in your community that may be far from God. Some may be more receptive to hearing about Jesus than others, and it is vital to recognize this and tailor your outreach accordingly. Consider who will be most receptive and where they are located to maximize your impact. 

Beyond looking at demographics and different people, it is also crucial for churches to examine the resources available within their communities. Are there other organizations that you can partner with in providing services? Are there ministries or support groups already in place? It is often beneficial for churches to collaborate on outreach initiatives as this allows everyone involved to receive mutual benefit while helping reach those far from God. 

Churches should evaluate their resources when determining where they can most effectively reach people far from God. For example, consider which team members are willing and able to do evangelism work, what areas need more support or attention, and what methods have been successful. By evaluating current resources, churches can create a targeted plan of action that will help them reach those not walking in a faith relationship. 

By analyzing your own community's needs, looking at different types of people in your immediate area, and examining existing resources both inside and outside of the church walls, you can better decide where your church and your people can be most effective in passionate outreach efforts for those far from God.

2. Connect with the Right People 

It's easy to think that "everybody" is the right person. And ultimately, that is true. However, I will reach some people that others simply will not, and vice versa. 

Being willing to be evangelistic in any situation is essential. That's part of having a servant's heart, a passionate heart for those far from God. But the reality is that we all run in different circles of influence. For instance, outside of being a pastor, my heart is to reach other artists. Most of the people in our church are not artists, so for the people in my church to want to focus on reaching artists is not a natural fit, but it is for me, because I am also an artist. It would be a miss for me to send my church people out to artist workshops where artists gather or be in art shows. Outside of the people I pastor, artists are my people. 

As pastors, we need to seek connections outside of church people to be evangelistic. My channels of effective evangelism have changed with each season of my life. My kids were on the sidelines of sporting or school events when they were younger. Now that my kids have grown, I can focus more on painting. So now I have found gatherings of artists to be one of my places to be effective. It could be the golf course, work, neighborhood gatherings, and the list goes on and on with as much variety as our lives are lived out in areas of different interest.

God has created a beautiful and diverse world with many people from all walks of life - each with different interests, hobbies, and gifts. As a result, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to spreading the gospel. Instead, other churches and Christians must pursue unique strategies to effectively reach those far from God. 

Some churches in neighborhoods greatly need practical support and resources, such as food pantries or free health clinics. Such acts of kindness can open the door to deeper spiritual conversations while demonstrating the unconditional love of Christ. Additionally, some churches may host events that attract specific demographics, such as sporting events or concerts, to engage with their local community. 

Other churches may use more traditional methods such as Bible studies, house meetings, and regular worship services to connect people and God. These activities cultivate an environment for spiritual growth and allow for meaningful conversations about faith and life's struggles.  

No matter what type of church you attend or lead, it is important to remember that each church has its style of reaching people far from God. By investing time into understanding your congregation's strengths and weaknesses, God will lead you to reach different demographics in your area. He has put you there for this very purpose. 

3. Focus on Industry Peers

As pastors, we have to continually cast vision for our people to connect with and minister to the people they work with. They need to hear and see that God has them where they are in their work at this moment in time to be light and share the love of Jesus. These are the people they already have something in common with, work. And that is a solid start to building relationships for evangelism. The common link of being in the same business or industry or simply working side by side daily is a common head start. 

Make it a part of your sermons and teaching. Help your people to keep an open mind about relationships with everyone they encounter through their work environment. Teach them to see themselves as people God has put in their life for a reason. Teach them to pray for them continually. Ask Him to give them a passionate heart to reach them with the good news of Jesus.

God wants to use all of us to make an eternal difference. The potential reach of your church is found in all of the connections and relationships that your people have through all of the people they connect with in their business life. Get them to pray about those connections from an evangelistic point of view first and foremost.

4. Make Evangelism (A passion for reaching people who are far from Jesus) a Regular Matter of Prayer

When starting in anything, you spend time focusing on and developing skills. If you are going to be good at anything, you schedule a time to learn about it and all that is happening in that area. You begin to consume content, look for it on social media, join forums, and participate in conversations. The most important conversation you can train your people to have about having a passion for reaching people far from Jesus is with Jesus. 

It is so easy to get busy interacting with people without prayerfully considering how God wants to use us to change their eternal lives. It's easy to think about this as a church without considering the fact that the church as a whole is made up of us as individuals. 

The more you make evangelism a matter of prayer, individually and as a church, the more likely God will open the door for you to connect with those ready to hear the good news of Jesus and want to strike up a conversation. I don't want to forcefully have awkward conversations with friends that I am investing in. But, I have found that the more I pray for them and for God to allow me to point them to Him, the more He opens doors through their needs and questions. 

I recently took a friend to lunch, specifically to talk to them about faith. I've been talking with our church about the importance of all of us reaching at least "one" person during this season of the year. He is the "one" I have been praying for and investing in. I could tell throughout our lunch that he was nervous, so I never broached the subject of his faith. As we left, he said, "I've been thinking about faith, and next time I'd like to talk to you about it." That explained his nervousness. God was leading me to talk with him, and he was already feeling the tug of the Holy Spirit to have that conversation. We immediately set another time to talk specifically about faith in Jesus.

As pastors or church leaders, we have to lead the way. We have to show and tell our people about our passion for reaching people who are far from God.

5. Invest In Relationships Regularly

Suppose you're going to grow in a relationship with those far from Jesus and allow God to open doors for you to share your faith. It would be best if you worked to connect with them through genuine friendship. You can't expect to have the opportunity to talk about life’s transformational issues without genuinely investing in the relationship first. People shouldn’t feel like they are a project. I want to invest in relationships out of a heart of love. And I need to constantly talk to my congregation about doing the same. I often tell them the worst that can happen is that you get a good friend out of investing relationally. The best is you may lead them to Jesus and have a good friend!

The more you invest in relationships, the more you'll learn that people want to connect with you as you care about them. So look for opportunities to be helpful to those you are investing in a relationship with. The key word here is "invest." We are investing in others for the sake of eternity. 

Keep Working on It

Reaching those far from God is one of the most important ways to invest in the future of the church, but it can also be challenging. Evangelism is a significant part of the mission that Jesus left us with. Therefore, not only do you have to keep the passion of evangelism stoked within your heart continually as an individual, but we also need to train and compel those we lead to living out the mission of Jesus.

God wants us to passionately reach people who are far from Jesus. We don't have to pray about whether that is true. He gives us this as His plan throughout Scripture. I'm so grateful for those passionate about reaching me when I was far from Jesus. God plans that we continue to do the same. Of course, you won't always be an instant success or see the outcome you want. But this is, after all, about our hearts and our obedience. Only God, through His Spirit, can transform lives. My part is to keep the passion burning, the passion that sent Jesus to the cross. This must be the passion of the church!