What does "Un-churched" mean

I believe a true New Testament Church is not simply a church which attracts other believers who are walking with God and then provides them with a place for their family to worship. A true New Testament Church which is fulfilling the great commission will be a church which seeks to minister to people who are not connected to God at all. The term many people like to use to describe this group of people is "un-churched". Not simply "un-saved". But "un-churched".

Someone asked me last week what I meant by "un-churched". Great question! I was thrilled they asked me this question because it revealed to me that they had possibly been considering ways to reach the un-churched. Way to go_________________(you know who you are)!

There are several authors and church growth strategists who have eloquently defined the term "un-churched". Many books have been written about the un-churched and strategic ways to reach them. But the simplest way to define an un-churched person is "a person who is disconnected from God and from other believers". This person can be un-saved and not have any type of relationship with God at all. Or, they could possibly be a believer who is not actively living their faith by participating in a local body of believers.

The key term in understanding the un-churched is "disconnection". An un-churched person is either disconnected from God and a relationship with Him...or they are not vitally connected to a local church body of believers. Our goal should be to reach the "un-saved" whether in church or not...but also the "un-churched".

WBC is not going to have a problem with attracting other believers who love the Lord. We are naturally going to be a place where believers grow and learn and worship. In fact, when things really start getting cranked up at WBC people from other churches will want to be a part of it. While this is ok and we welcome ANYONE who wants to be a part of our fellowship...our mission is not to take sheep from another pasture. We want to find the "lost sheep".

What we need to begin to think about is "how are we going to reach the un-churched".