Preaching to the context of unbelief has not been normal. Try to find a book on the topic. Google: Preaching to Unbelief. You won't find much. Yet in our country where the Nones (those religiously unaffiliated) are the fastest growing segment of religious identification if we don't learn how to preach to unbelief we will lose our voice in society.
I was thoroughly schooled to preach to belief: 1) begin with the propositional truth of the biblical text, 2) describe and explain that truth to the audience, 3) illustrate that truth in action. That was the bones of the sermon. Deeper than this sermon structure is the sermon purpose. In preaching to belief the purpose is to confirm the already existing belief of the audience. We want our people to leave the worship experience confident in their belief and affirmed that they are right. But what happens today when people do not believe our presuppositions about God, Jesus, or the Bible? How do we connect with them in a way that recognizes their unbelief and provides room for us to engage one another around the question of belief? This is where preaching to unbelief enters.

​Here are 4 keys to help you explore the idea of preaching to unbelief:

1. Begin with a question. Where preaching to belief begins with a truth proposition preaching to unbelief begins by uncovering the question of unbelief. This may be the most challenging of these 4 keys because it means, as the spiritual guide, we must first explore our own unbelief. What in the biblical text do we find ourselves doubting? What is too hard to do? To difficult to understand? To good to be true? It takes courage to allow our own doubts arise so we can speak to them, but remind yourself that wherever your doubts lie many other people will have those same doubts. We must learn to cry out, "Lord! Help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24).
2. Don't assume knowledge. It is so easy for those of us who are preachers, who have dedicated ourselves to the biblical text or spent our lives in church pews, to forget that most people have little knowledge of the Bible. They don't know the stories. They don't know why this book has all these different chapters with funny names like 1 Thessalonians, Mark, or Philippians. And what in the world are these big and little numbers all over the page? People who are not yet believers need us to orient them, to give them background, to provide them a place to stand so they can engage the story of God.
3. Create a yearning future. Tim Keller describes the idea of defeater beliefs that keep people away from the gospel story. His conclusion is: A person must come to the point where he or she says, "that would be great if it were true--but is it?" As you preach to unbelief help your audience yearn for what could be. Help them see a future so appealing that they yearn for it to be true. Can a marriage actually be fulfilling? Can I really escape my addictions? Can life be worth living?
4. Ask them to test it. Every sermon is an invitation to test the Word of God to see if the God of the Word really is. If God is our creator, our Lord, the one who knows us better than any other, then what he says must make sense in life in some way. God's story challenges us. His call to our hearts is not shallow; it is a deep, powerful current pulling us deeper into Him. Invite your hearers to engage God. Ask them to try it out, to see what happens, then ask them to come back and share their experience of God. God is big enough to hear our questions. By asking people to test God you are giving God the space to work in their lives.

More people in America will be in church on Easter Sunday than any other Sunday of the year. Why? Easter represents spring, hope, and renewal. It's a time for family. And somewhere in the psyche of many Americans Easter still reminds them of church.
Still, consider that 39% of those who rarely attend religious services and 19% of those who only attend on religious holidays haven't decided if they will attend an Easter service or not. What can help them make that decision? You can--by inviting them to attend services with you.
Inviting people to a church service can be a scary thought for many people. Here's a few key steps to help your people gain confidence to invite their acquaintances to come to your Easter services.her with your church.

​1. Pray for the people by name before inviting them. Prayer turns God's attention to these people and opens their hearts to God. We believe that God works supernaturally to make people ready to receive our invitations.
2. Be specific. People really do need specific, accurate information to make decisions. Tell them what time to be ready, how long, and briefly what to expect. Church is a scary place for people who are not or have never been part of a church. Take the mystery out of the invitation by giving them a good idea of what they will experience. By doing this it also helps them know you are really serious about  your invitation. And don't forget to talk about how they can dress. Help them dress in a way that they will feel comfortable and not stick out abnormally at your church.
3. Pick them up at their house that morning and ride to church together. It's easy to just expect your guests to find their way, but how much better to make it a shared event. You, after all, are their guide for the day. Introduce them to people. Show them around. Minimize their fear and discomfort by being their tour guide to faith.
4. Put something in their hands. Even in our electronically saturated, social media world don't underestimate the power of a piece of paper stuck on the refrigerator. If your church has printed information cards great. Circle the date, time, and put your name and phone on it for your friend. If you don't have a printed card give them a handwritten note with the same information, the name of your church and when you'll come by to pick them up.
5. Arrange a time to visit with them later about their experience. This can be a phone call, a cup of coffee, a lunch date, or even a hallway conversation. Thank them again for coming. Ask them what stood out to them. Ask them what questions the experience raised in their minds (then be ready to listen carefully). Assume they do have questions so they won't feel awkward about not understanding everything. Finally, ask them how they might see themselves connecting furt

We don’t often put those three names together in the same sentence. Yet the idea of the third space—those places where community forms, distinguished from home (first space) and work (second space—is a powerful concept becoming part of the the conversation among those for whom church continues to be an important third space.
Yet somehow the idea of church as a third space doesn’t quite feel like it makes sense. Our church is currently exploring the idea of third space as part of our mission focus to “create places where people can experience life with God.” The conversation has raised questions like:
Can church be a third space and do we need a third space that is separate and distinct from church?
Ray Oldenburg, the popularizer of the third space idea, defines third spaces as those settings “beyond home and work in which people relax in good company and do so on a regular basis.”
Oldenburg suggests that third spaces are characterized by:

• Ready accessibility, they are welcoming, comfortable and easy to find
• Neutral ground, there is little or no obligation to a larger idea
• Conversation is the main activity: playful, witty, common and valued
• Wholesome atmosphere, they are not snobby, pretentious, or out of local character
• People whom you know come and go as they please

City planners and environmental designers also suggest that third spaces are places of food and drink, music and art, health and wellness.


Because of Starbucks we often identify coffee shops as the most common third places. But coffee shops are often not nearly as active third places as other opportunities. In our town the local Foundation of the Arts may be one of the most vibrant third places around. They have collected a great community of volunteers and attenders. Cafes and homegrown restaurants serve as third places. Sporting leagues, hobby clubs, and schools provide great third place opportunities. Service programs that serve people with specific needs—like reading programs, recovery groups, and food banks—often generate their own third place communities.
Can Church be a Third Place?
There’s a lot about church that characterizes it as a third place. In earlier years churches were main street institutions, sitting right downtown where they were daily entities as people worked, were schooled, and played. In fact, churches were often the center piece of social life. They were where you went to see friends, to engage in conversation, and to enjoy fellowship and entertainment. I think James Emery White is on the right track when he suggests that early Christians occupied third spaces such as the Jewish temple, the synagogues, and even the marketplaces of the first century world.
For those of us who are Christians church is one of our significant third places. Church is where we gather, we talk, we relax. In our large worship gatherings we find significance in numbers and outlets for our interests and needs. In our smaller gatherings we connect in relationships that are close and affirming. As I reflect on my life church has been my most significant and ever present third place experience.
Do we need a third space separate and distinct from church?
For the last thirty years or so our country has experienced a growing antagonism towards Christian faith with a commensurate barrier between those whom we would wish to influence towards Jesus and the very faith that gathers those of us who believe as church. Our church as third place is often considered hostile and neither welcoming or accessible to those not of our faith tribe. Faith removes the neutrality so essential to third place context.
If we are to gain the opportunity to influence those estranged to faith in Jesus most likely we are going to need to begin by engaging in their significant third places. Their third places are bridging opportunities where we get to know one another as we develop significant conversations. We’ve got to go to them, to their places and spaces, to build enough credibility to help them feel comfortable enough to come to our places.​

You've probably done it again, made some new year's resolutions: lose a little weight, eat a little better, exercise a little more. It's time to do the same for your church. But before you launch into the generic church resolutions (add more people, gain more contributions, improve Bible classes, etc.) here's a quick tool that will give you a better perspective on what you might ought to give priority to.
This effective exercise was developed by Tom Paterson after whom the Paterson Center, a strategic planning training group, was named. It's called the 4 Helpful Lists; this exercise will help you identify the things you need to do to prioritize them over all the things you could do. You can use this little jewel at almost anytime: to set new year's resolutions, to evaluate an event or program, or just to get better perspective on what is happening.
Get your paper out and draw 5 columns. Starting from the left and working right you'll answer these four questions leaving the last column for perspectives gained.

Have you ever heard of the 3-hump camel? At our Multiplying Church Cohort meeting at the University Church of Christ, Malibu, CA, Tom Nebel, author of Leading Church Multiplication, prepped us on how to set a growth calendar for a church around Special Sundays. View Tom’s presentation under Resources for Multiplying Churches.

The 3-Humped Camel and Special Sundays
There is a rhythm to the church calendar. Some times of year people around us are more willing to consider attending a church: at the start of the school year, Christmas, Easter, and Mother's Day are typical seasons. Tom suggests that your church should identify three seasons in your church calendar where you can promote seeker-sensitive activities. In between these "humps" are the times when you intentionally you affirm new commitments and increase the discipleship strength of your committed.
You're probably familiar with the one-off Friends Day approach where you encourage your people to invite friends, co-workers, and relatives to come with them. That's fine, but Tom encouraged us to make better use of special days by making them the beginning of 3 or 4 week special preaching series on topics of particular interest for people looking for spiritual answers.
​
Three Benefits of Special Sundays
1.  Special Sundays give your people the opportunity to invite others to come with them. Your people are your best advertisement for your church. Churches that grow are churches whose members are constantly inviting their networks to come with them. Give your people reason to make statements like these: "Wow, we had a great day yesterday at church." "Our preacher really touched me with his lesson; I could hardly wait to share some of those thoughts with you today." Or "I wish you could have been with me  at church this week, the lesson was so helpful to me. I know it would help you too." These sort of statements are like irrigation, they water the desire to investigate God.
2. Special Sundays create an attendance surge. Visitors are good but often those who will return and stick because of Special Sundays will be people who are already part of your church network but irregular in their participation. Special Sundays lets you see the size of your network and gives your irregular attenders opportunity to develop an attendance habit.
3. Special Sundays give people chances to reboot--to recommit--to their spiritual journey. Life sometimes just wears people down. A period of intense work, sickness, or even vacation may get people off track of their habit to be at church. We're also seeing the decline of church attendance among committed Christians. Special Sundays give people regularly occurring reasons to encounter God again, to experience his refreshing presence in their lives.
For more information on helping your church grow check out the Beyond 200 overview on the Kairos website.
The 3-Humped Camel and Special Sundays
There is a rhythm to the church calendar. Some times of year people around us are more willing to consider attending a church: at the start of the school year, Christmas, Easter, and Mother's Day are typical seasons. Tom suggests that your church should identify three seasons in your church calendar where you can promote seeker-sensitive activities. In between these "humps" are the times when you intentionally you affirm new commitments and increase the discipleship strength of your committed.
You're probably familiar with the one-off Friends Day approach where you encourage your people to invite friends, co-workers, and relatives to come with them. That's fine, but Tom encouraged us to make better use of special days by making them the beginning of 3 or 4 week special preaching series on topics of particular interest for people looking for spiritual answers.
Three Benefits of Special Sundays
1.  Special Sundays give your people the opportunity to invite others to come with them. Your people are your best advertisement for your church. Churches that grow are churches whose members are constantly inviting their networks to come with them. Give your people reason to make statements like these: "Wow, we had a great day yesterday at church." "Our preacher really touched me with his lesson; I could hardly wait to share some of those thoughts with you today." Or "I wish you could have been with me  at church this week, the lesson was so helpful to me. I know it would help you too." These sort of statements are like irrigation, they water the desire to investigate God.
2. Special Sundays create an attendance surge. Visitors are good but often those who will return and stick because of Special Sundays will be people who are already part of your church network but irregular in their participation. Special Sundays lets you see the size of your network and gives your irregular attenders opportunity to develop an attendance habit.
3. Special Sundays give people chances to reboot--to recommit--to their spiritual journey. Life sometimes just wears people down. A period of intense work, sickness, or even vacation may get people off track of their habit to be at church. We're also seeing the decline of church attendance among committed Christians. Special Sundays give people regularly occurring reasons to encounter God again, to experience his refreshing presence in their lives.
For more information on helping your church grow check out the Beyond 200 overview on the Kairos website.