Having gone through the devotionals of the 40.day prayer season, I would like to share my reflections on what it will take to win souls.
- Say no to cliques and elitism
- Meet practical needs
- See others the way Jesus does
With that, let’s jump into the first point.
1. Say no to cliques and elitism
Cliques form among people with shared commonalities, such as being in the same industry, which can serve to fuel conversations.
However, while this dynamic may be attractive to those already in cliques, it is repulsive to others who do not share such commonalities.
One does not have to explicitly reject people who do not share commonalities; making it difficult for people to relate to conversations is enough to turn people away.
Personally, I was plugged into a church community way before things like LinkedIn, payslips and name cards became a part of my life. I was still a full-time student then and kept a low profile in church.
Things started to change when I transited into life as a working adult. While I was thankful to be gainfully employed as a semiconductor engineer in a global MNC, I found that some people began treating me differently at church because of my new profession.
People who spoke less than five sentences to me all this while, now started to chat with me every week. The conversation would invariably land on the technicalities of my job, taking the centre stage of the whole discussion both in real life and online – often in plain view of many others who know nuts about semiconductors. Expectedly, those who had zero knowledge about semiconductor processing were left out of the conversation.
I think it is important to question and reflect if we have formed elite circles inside and outside the church. Elitism causes people to feel excluded or worse, condemned.
It is better to keep the door open for others to join in, as wide as we can.
With my friends, we enjoy many activities that are blind to how pretty our LinkedIn profiles are. Sometimes I meet my friends for tennis, or just to chat about dating.
During big football seasons like the World Cup, my friends – both Christian and non-Christian – know that my house is always open if they want to watch a game, they just need to inform me in advance.
Through opening up my home in this way, all my football kakis eventually visited my church. Most recently, someone I invited to watch the critical Spain and Germany game in Euro 2024, joined an Alpha class as a result of the connections made that night!
I thank God that He uses my hobbies to engage people outside my church community!
In reaching out, may we always aim to emulate Jesus, who put things like career and status aside when He called His disciples and engaged people.
For example, He challenged societal norms by talking with a Samaritan woman (John 4) even though Samaritans were despised by the Jews. He made friends with Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector (Luke 19:1-10), although tax collectors were shunned by society.
It’s tempting to feel good when we know someone of prominent standing; it can become easy to name drop in conversations. If we have been doing that sort of thing, maybe it’s time to stop.
We should simply come to church just as we are, stripped of our LinkedIn profiles and all our stuff. Will we pray against elitism in church? Will we stop practising it? After all, the Gospel and discipleship are meant for everyone.
2. Meet practical needs
Let’s not forget the practicalities of life: we also need to meet people’s real needs when it comes to sharing the Gospel.
Going back to the conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, that conversation started with a question about a physical need as Jesus asked her for a drink (John 4:7).
So, when it comes to winning the youth, for example, it is also important to acknowledge the practicalities of that life stage such as career exploration, job applications and work-life transitions.
That knowledge helps us to be empathetic towards them and to give practical advice, meeting their real needs where possible, making a way to speak Jesus into their lives.
To share a personal testimony, I had the chance to work temporarily at a executive search firm while waiting to enter university. I had the privilege of doing data entry work for around twenty resumes each hour.
That meant I went through resumes before I even started doing my own resume!
Later, I used this knowledge gained about resume writing in a conversation with a friend at university, who I was able to invite to church many months later.
Meeting her real need at that point of time, allowed me to point her to Jesus later on.
3. See others the way Jesus does
Just like how Jesus engaged the Samaritan woman and Zacchaeus, the love believers show to others must go beyond cultural and socio-economic boundaries.
Will we show love to those with a smaller payslip or the unemployed? Or are we overly “practical”, only seeking to converse with people we think can help advance our careers?
Believers must have the heart to engage all, regardless of nation, tribe and tongue. Regardless of LinkedIn profile, payslip, house address and career status!
So, focus on the common ground we do share, and show sensitivity in conversation.
Reaching out to highly educated youths in a digital society may seem challenging, but it can and must be done.
I believe if we share God’s heart for people, rid ourselves of elitism in church communities and make room to meet practical needs, more people will surely be plugged into church communities!
